Martha’s Vineyard is an island off of Massachusetts that is only accessible by plane or boat.  Since we were nearby in Cape Cod we decided to take a ferry and see what all the fuss is about! We took Hy-Line Cruises high speed ferry from Hyannis.

The round-trip ferry takes you to Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard. From what we saw, this is the party spot on the island and there are a lot of restaurants and bars here. Since it was early in the morning when we got there and we knew we’d be back to take the ferry that evening, we decided to see other areas on the island first.

We had researched the best way to see the island and found information on the VTATransit website that showed an example of a day trip and how to get around. We followed this itinerary and it worked out really well. We caught a bus to Edgartown and spent some time walking around there. There are several restaurants and gift shops there, but we thought the best spot in this town was Edgartown Memorial Wharf where we spent some time taking pictures and watching the activity on the water. One of most fascinating things was what we thought might be the world’s shortest ferry!

Next, we hopped back on a bus and headed for Aquinnah and the Cliffs of Gay Head. The cliffs are stunning, but from here it is difficult to get close to them. There is a walkway to the beach that would have allowed us to get closer, but with only one day to spend on the island we didn’t want to take a couple of hours getting closer. We took pictures from where we were, then went to the Gay Head Lighthouse for more pictures.

Then it was back on the bus to visit Menemsha. This is a small fishing village with a cute old antique store. The area is cute and fun to walk around, but afterward we wished we’d spent the extra time at Gay Head.

Finally, we took the bus back to Oak Bluffs, which included a quick stop to change buses at Vineyard Haven. We got dinner at Oak Bluffs at The Sand Bar & Grille, a bar and restaurant overlooking the docks. The food was good and we really enjoyed relaxing and watching the crowds. We walked around the docks later and saw a fabulous sunset! After that we treated ourselves to ice cream, then it was back on the ferry for our ride back to Cape Cod. It was a great day and we are finally able to take Martha’s Vineyard off our bucket list!