Luxury on a Budget: Martha’s Vineyard
Martha’s Vineyard is not the most economical day trip. Being that it requires a mode of transport other than driving, trains, or buses, there is an added level of complexity to visiting the island. Known for its pristine coastlines and high-end New England feel, Martha’s Vineyard can feel inaccessible for those of us who don’t want to drop a lot of money to visit. However, if you play your cards right, you can spend a full day on Martha’s Vineyard for $50.
Getting to Martha’s Vineyard is the hardest part. Depending on where you’re coming from, the cost might vary. However here are the options I found:
Drive or take the T into Logan Airport or South Station. Take the PeterPan bus from Logan Airport or South Station to Woods Hole. The price of this option is variable depending on how many different lines of the T you need to take or whether you are taking the commuter rail. However, generally, the Peterpan bus from Boston to Woods Hole is about $32 per person.
The least expensive option is to just drive to Woods Hole. This works well because you can split the cost of gas and parking. For me, the ride was just about an hour which worked out nicely.
Once you get to Woods Hole, the Steamship Authority ferry to Martha’s Vineyard is $20 round-trip per person for a passenger ticket. If you are going with a larger group of friends who all fit in one car, you can bring your car onto the island. It is $128 round-trip for a car smaller than 17” and increasing prices for larger cars. I weighed this option when embarking on this trip, however for my group, when factoring in the number of people, the price of buses on the island, and the cost of parking, we found being passengers to be the cheaper option.
Once on the island, getting between towns is extremely easy. The Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority provides cheap, clean, safe, and easy transportation between all of the main towns on the island. We genuinely enjoyed our time on the buses, seeing the views, and chatting with kind strangers around us. Most of the people on the bus were families, teens, and senior citizens.
Our goal was to make it to the iconic Aquinna Cliffs on the far edge of the island. We first took the bus from the port in Vineyard Haven to Oak Bluffs and continued to Aquinna. We were able to see the Jaws Bridge, the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, and some beautiful panoramic views of the coastline as we traveled. We briefly stopped in Edgartown for lunch, where we ate sandwiches, walked around, and soaked in the laid-back nature of the town.
Aquinna is breathtaking. We walked up to one of the vantage point areas to see some of the most beautiful cliffs in the world. This was a great spot for us to take some pictures, walk around the market area, and putts around. We decided that we wanted to go down to Moshup Beach, so we took the hike down from the tops of the cliffs to the beach. It was an easy walk, however, I wouldn’t recommend bringing much down with you, as you probably won’t want to carry it up when you’re leaving.
Always remember to check signs before you walk down to beaches. I was with my friend who works as a lifeguard, so she ensured to check for signs alerting of sharks, high tide, or dangerous conditions before we made our way down. This beach had no lifeguards, so we made sure to take extra care when in the water. The area right near the path was full of families, teens, and average beach-goers. We decided to walk towards the cliffs so that we could see the cliffs from a different perspective. However, even though we checked practically every piece of signage at the beach, there was no warning about the nude section of the beach. I highly recommend not walking further down the beach to see the cliffs because the cliffs will not be the only thing you see!
We hiked back up and took the bus from Aquinna to Edgartown where we had overpriced ice cream, windowshopped, and walked around. As it was getting late, we took the bus from Edgartown to Oak Bluffs. In Oak Bluffs, we continued to pop in and out of shops for about an hour. At this point, we knew we wanted to start heading home, so we walked over to the port in Oak Bluffs.
Because we had bought the round-trip ferry tickets, we were able to get on the ferry to go home easily. Then, we drove the hour back home.
The biggest thing I learned from this trip was how to make reasonable swaps to save money. We ate breakfast and dinner at home, packed water bottles and snacks, opted to take public transit, and enjoyed free activities! Sometimes it is all about perspective and making your own fun with the people you like spending time with!
