A Little Spin Around Martha’s Vineyard
We’re about to leave the Cape — at least for now — but before we go, there’s a little hook worth tugging on. Around here you’ll often hear people say “The Cape and the Islands.” Now, “the Islands” refer to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, but here’s the fun twist: neither one is actually part of Cape Cod. They’re simply spoken together because that’s how locals frame the region.
So let’s start with the Vineyard — Martha’s, that is.
Getting There Is Half the Fun
When people say getting there is half the fun, they mean it literally. There’s no bridge, no road, no secret tunnel. Martha’s Vineyard is a true island. You either board a ferry or hop on a plane, and that’s the whole point — you choose to go, and the island rewards you for the effort.
The ferry ride takes about 45 minutes, and on a sunny day it’s as relaxing and pretty as coastal New England gets. Ferries run year‑round, but once May arrives your options multiply. Seasonal passenger service pops up from Falmouth, Hyannis, New Bedford, Quonset Point in Rhode Island, New York City, and northern New Jersey.
You can’t catch a ferry from Boston, but you can fly. Logan offers daily year‑round flights, and between May and October the schedule expands with routes from American Airlines (Washington, D.C.), Cape Air (multiple cities), Delta (LaGuardia), and JetBlue (Boston and JFK).
A Summer Colony With a Long Memory
The Vineyard’s reputation as a summer escape stretches back more than a century. Families return year after year, building traditions that last generations. Oak Bluffs became famous for its gingerbread cottages — tiny, colorful homes that look like someone dusted a Victorian village with powdered sugar.
Edgartown grew into the elegant counterpoint: white clapboard captain’s houses, quiet streets, and that postcard‑perfect New England calm.
Jaws Put the Island on the Big Screen
If the scenery feels familiar, it’s because Jaws was filmed here in 1974. Spielberg turned the Vineyard into “Amity Island,” and locals still point out filming spots. Say hi to Bruce while you’re at it. The movie changed the island’s identity forever — suddenly Martha’s Vineyard wasn’t just a summer colony; it was the shark island. (Fun fact: Amity means friendship. Just ask the mayor)
And Yes… the Sharks Are Real
Back when Jaws was filmed, great whites were rare in Vineyard waters. That’s changed. As the ocean warmed and the seal population exploded, the sharks followed the buffet. Today great whites are regular summer visitors around both the Vineyard and Nantucket. Researchers tag them, track them, and occasionally name them, and every summer brings a fresh round of “shark spotted off South Beach” headlines. Islanders take it in stride. Sharks are just part of the neighborhood now.
A Place Where Friendships Form Easily
Locals talk about “Vineyard friendships” — the kind that form over shared ferry benches, sunset drinks at Menemsha, or long walks on State Beach. Something about being on an island makes people open up. Maybe it’s the slower pace. Maybe it’s the salt air. Or maybe it’s the fact that once you’re there, you’re all in it together until the next boat leaves.
A Tragic Footnote: JFK Jr.
The Vineyard is also tied to one of the most heartbreaking moments of the 1990s. John F. Kennedy Jr.’s plane went down in the waters off the island in July 1999 as he was flying there for a family wedding. Islanders still remember that night — the search lights sweeping the water, the quiet that settled over the community.
The Island Today
Despite the fame, the sharks, the movies, and the history, Martha’s Vineyard still feels like a place where you can exhale. Beaches, bookstores, ice cream shops, bike paths, seafood shacks — it’s summer distilled. You arrive by boat, you leave by boat, and in between you get a little taste of island time.
