martha's vineyard travel guide

How was your holiday weekend? Ours was pretty amazing. My parents were in town from Puerto Rico, so we decided to take all of last week off and go to Martha’s Vineyard. The Vineyard is one of my favorite places in New England. It’s hard to describe it. The whole island is so magical to me. If you have never been, I highly recommend it.

Here are my tips to make your stay at The Vineyard as memorable as it can be.

First, you need to take your car with you. There are some people that don't agree with this piece of advice, but I highly recommend you do this. This is the only way that you will be able to truly experience the entire island.

Make your reservations at the Steamship Authority.

If you are going for a quick visit, staying at an inn will do. But if you are staying for a whole week, you should rent an apartment. Eating out on the island is super expensive and to be totally honest, the food is not that great. So you will save a good amount of money cooking your meals at home and just going out for the occasional meal, drinks and dessert. This last time we rented a house in Edgartown — my favorite town in the island. We found this pad on homeaway.com.

If you want to stay at an inn, we recommend the Dockside Inn.

Go on nice long walks through Edgartown and take in all of the dreamy houses. Oh and the landscaped yards are also pretty amazing. I bet that the job to have in The Vineyard is as a landscaper.

Rent bikes for the day. My favorite route is to go on the bike path on Beach Road between Edgartown and Oak Bluffs. 

For bike rentals, I recommend: Martha's Vineyard Bike Rental

When you are at The Vineyard, you should follow the saying that when you are on vacation calories don’t count. My favorite dessert places are Back Door Donuts (order the Apple Fritter!), Scoop Shack and Ben and Bill's Chocolate Emporium.

Go to Menemsha to see the sunset and to eat some yummy seafood right on the beach. We also like to bring some wine, cheese and crackers. Since this is a very popular spot, I recommend you get there around 6pm. That way you will be able to park, get the fish you want and you will get to enjoy the beach before the sun sets and it gets dark.

Our favorite spot for seafood is Larsen's Fish Market.

 Another great spot to watch the sunset is in the Aquinnah Cliffs by the Gayhead Lighthouse. The view is pretty breath taking.

On cloudy days or after going to the beach, explore all the little shops that Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Heaven have to offer. My favorite ones are: Portobello Road, Brickyard and Mix.

And last but not least, you have to go to the beach. But I think this last one is a given ;) My favorite beaches are South Beach and Bend in the Road Beach. 

(image via Katherine Gendreau)

Have you been to Martha's Vineyard? If so, do you have any other tips to add? I'm already looking forward to next year when we get to go again :)