The day started with a hotel pickup at 6:30am downtown Boston. The shuttle driver offered bottled water and breakfast bars. She provided everyone with an envelope with our tickets for the day - ferry admission and tour tickets (optional). The drive to Falmouth took about two hours, including a rest stop about 20 minutes from Falmouth. Our driver shared some information about Boston while we were in town and then was quiet the remainder.
We boarded the Island Queen at Falmouth at 9am. It’s a 35 minute ride to Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard. The ferry has 3 levels, the lowest deck is enclosed from the wind, thankfully. There are restrooms and a snack bar.
We arrived at Oak Bluffs where we met Tom, our island tour guide (if you book the optional island tour). We road in a converted school bus with shuttle bus seats and windows. Tom is a local who loves on the island year round and is proud to tell his stories of being an extra in Jaws, which was filmed on the island, and his unlikely friendship with the Clintons, who stayed near his property several times.
We stopped first in Edgartown and had 50 minutes to explore. Cute town. Then back on the bus to head to the west end of the island. Along the way, Tom pointed out where celebrities lived, described life on the island, and some history. We had only 15 minutes at the Gay Head lighthouse, which wasn’t enough. Then back in the bus. Then back to Oak Bluffs. All in all, the tour was almost exactly 3 hours, 2 of which were spent on the bus.
I saw another reviewer describe this tour as “racist.” I would say that some of Tom’s commentary about the history of African Americans and Native Americans on the island is a little revisionist, over-simplified, and tinted with unexamined white supremacy.
We had 2.5 hours in Oak Bluffs (1-3:30pm) to roam and eat. I wish I’d found my way to the Methodist Campground Tom told us about (Mvcma.org) where rows of historic gingerbread cottages were built as part of the Methodist camp meetings of the 19th century. Another traveler told me about it later, and it sounded much more interesting than the dozens of tourist shops is puttered around in for two hours. There are some cute local boutiques but it’s mostly ice cream and t-shirt shops.
The ferry departed at 3:45pm. Our same shuttle driver picked us up at Falmouth at 4:30, and we were back in Boston at 6:20. Long day. Lots of time in transit. Not the best use of time, but we had beautiful weather and benefitted from the fact that it’s still off season. If I go again, I’d skip the 3-hour bus tour, do my own research and see the island my way.
Відповідь від хоста
Jun 2022
Thank you for taking the time to write this detailed 4 star review of our Martha's Vineyard day trip from Boston. Though I may disagree with some of your analysis, overall you were on point with the majority of your description. (If you wanted to see the gingerbread cottages all you would have had to do was ask someone or look at the map in your guidebook that were given by us) Again, I appreciate your review and am happy that you had a 4 star day. (Though we always want our guests to have a 5 star day)
Kind Regards,
Stephen M. Belcastro
President
New England Trips Inc.