Martha's Vineyard Day Trip from Boston with Ferry & Optional Island Tour

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/21

Duration13h

GroupUp to 28

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Boston to Martha's Vineyard: Ferry Day Trip with Island Explorer Option

You get picked up from your Boston hotel, driven to Woods Hole with live commentary about the region's history, and have thirty minutes to grab breakfast before boarding the 9:30am ferry. Once on Martha's Vineyard, you have six hours free to explore, with the option to join a three-hour guided van tour through all six towns. Round-trip ferry tickets, snacks, water, maps and a discount food card are included, and you're back in Boston by 6:30pm.

13h

Step-by-step itinerary

Boston to Martha's Vineyard day trip

Pickup from hotel in Boston
Coach ride with live commentary
Mini tour of Falmouth and coast
Visit Nobska lighthouse
Arrive Woods Hole, explore town
Board ferry to Oak Bluffs
Ferry ride to Martha's Vineyard
Free time or optional island tour
Ferry back to Woods Hole
Coach ride back to Boston

The Experience

The coach pulls up to your hotel before dawn breaks over the Charles River, and you step into an air-conditioned cabin with maybe a dozen other travelers, all heading the same direction. The driver—one of the veteran guides who runs this route year-round—starts talking about Plymouth and the Cape Cod Canal before you've even left the city, pointing out the low marshes and the way the light hits the water. By the time you reach Woods Hole, you've already learned something about the place you're about to spend the day in, and you've got thirty minutes to grab coffee and a breakfast sandwich from a local cafe before the 9:30am ferry departs. That's the thing about this Martha's Vineyard day trip from Boston: it doesn't rush you through the logistics. The ferry tickets are already paid for, the snacks and water are on the coach, and you're not standing in a holding area with a hundred other day-trippers.

The ferry itself is forty-five minutes across the sound, and you can stay inside with the air conditioning or climb up to the passenger deck where the wind hits different and you can see both Cape Cod and the Vineyard getting closer. Once you land at Oak Bluffs, you've got roughly six hours to move around the island however you want—rent a bike, take the local bus, order a ride share, or sign up for the optional three-hour island tour. If you choose the tour, you'll ride in one of their fourteen-passenger vans (not a school bus, they're clear about that) and hit all six towns with stops for pictures and restrooms along the way. The guides know the island inside out, and the van has air conditioning, which matters on a hot August day. If you'd rather just wander, that works too. You get the freedom either way.

The return ferry leaves Oak Bluffs at 3:45pm, and the ride back to Woods Hole is another forty-five minutes where you can decompress after however you spent your day. Your original driver meets you at the terminal and drives you back to Boston, pulling up around 6:30pm. Before you get out, they'll probably hand you a discount food card for Boston restaurants and mention a few events happening that week. It's a small thing, but it's the kind of detail that makes the difference between a ferry ride and an actual day trip that feels planned.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off in the Boston area, coach transportation to Woods Hole with live historical commentary about Plymouth, Cape Cod Canal, Bourne and local Native American reservations, a mini tour of Falmouth with views of cedar shake houses and Vineyard Sound, a stop at Nobska lighthouse for photos and cliff views, round-trip ferry tickets from Woods Hole to Oak Bluffs, thirty minutes in Woods Hole to grab breakfast and coffee before boarding, forty-five minutes on the ferry each way with access to indoor seating and the passenger deck, approximately six hours of free time on Martha's Vineyard, bottled water and snacks on the coach, island maps, a discount food card for island restaurants, and the driver's recommendations for Boston dining and events on the return ride. The optional three-hour island van tour through all six towns is available for an additional fee.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by New England Excursions

Is this one for you?A good fit if you want a full day on Martha's Vineyard without arranging your own transportation or ferry tickets from Boston. Plan to be out from early morning until around 6:30pm—that's what gives you the coach ride with commentary, breakfast time in Woods Hole, and six hours on the island all in one day.