Martha’s Vineyard in October: Revisiting our Honeymoon

When we were planning our honeymoon, we were set on Cabo San Lucas. About two weeks before our wedding, hurricane Odile terrorized the Baja California Peninsula, with Cabo getting hit hard. It was the most violent hurricane in Cabo’s history. We prayed for everyone’s safety and the area’s recovery. We put our Cabo plans on ice, and pivoted to Martha’s Vineyard in October.

Note – all photos in this post are from early October 2014!

I didn’t realize we had not recapped our honeymoon 1.0! Here’s the recap filled with some of the important pieces if you’re planning a trip to Martha’s Vineyard without a car.

How did we arrive at Martha’s Vineyard in October? It’s a good question! We still wanted a get-a-way. My work-team, at the time, was so helpful with planning our plan b honeymoon. The head of our team even offered her beach houses in Key West! We wanted to relax and stay local-ish. Traveling to Martha’s Vineyard was affordable and gave us that get-a-way without going too far. So we traveled to the island in early October.

I thrive in coastal New England and Martha’s Vineyard is the perfect place. There’s something to do for everyone.

Martha’s Vineyard in October…was it worth it?

Yes! But be OK with whatever weather you get. We made the best of our trip. The weather was a little rainy, a little cloudy, and windy. There was a possibly a storm off coast because one or two of the days, the ferries were shut down. For me, I was in my element: sweater and a hot coffee in hand. We knew we were going in the fall and were not expecting warm, beach weather. It was not crowded. There were other tourists out and about, but it did feel a little quiet when we were there–sometimes we were the only ones on the bus. For us, that was perfect, as we wanted a quiet get-a-way. However, we made a pledge to come back in the summer…that recap coming soon!

Why is Martha’s Vineyard called Martha’s ‘Vineyard’ when there is no vineyard?

In short, no, there is no wine vineyard. Martha’s Vineyard was originally named “Noepe” or “land between the streams” by the indigenous inhabitants of the Wampanoag Native American Tribe. But when a white British explorer “discovered” the island it was renamed to Martha’s Vineyard. “Martha” being his daughter and the “vineyard” for the viney undergrowth found along the coast.

Traveling to Martha’s Vineyard without a car

We flew JetBlue from JFK (I think lol) to Martha’s Vineyard airport. The airport is so cute, at the time it was just two terminals. It was a walk on and walk off experience, which makes for a great “getting on my private jet” photo opportunity. For the remainder of the trip, we used the bus system.

Story time: when we were traveling, we took hummus with us. Brought it onto the plane in New York and snacked all the way to the vineyard. On the way back, we stopped at a grocery store, picked up some hummus, and went to the airport. Our poor hummus was confiscated because it’s defined as a ‘paste’! We were so mad and confused. While the airport is very tiny, nothing gets by their security haha.

Are Martha’s Vineyard Buses free?

No! But they are affordable. We traveled by bus exclusively during our trip, with one day renting a car to explore. Being used to living in a public transportation hub, taking the bus was like second nature. It was so easy to get around as long you know which bus to take, and where to get on and get off. Today, you can buy tickets right from their website and download them to your phone for easy traveling. Go here to learn more about the bus system. My parents visited Martha’s Vineyard earlier this year, and if they can navigate the bus system, so can you!

Where did we stay on Martha’s Vineyard?

We stayed at a cute hotel called The Dockside Inn. It was a no frills, boutique hotel located in a convenient part of Oak Bluffs. You can walk to everything you want to explore in the town: the food, the Gingerbread Houses, the ferry, and bus stops. They even had a hot tub on premises. Much needed considering the weather was a little chilly.

What did we do on Martha’s Vineyard?

The hotel was located in Oak Bluffs and that’s where we spent most of our time. However, we made an effort to explore other parts of the island.

What to do in Oak Bluffs?

Oak Bluffs has so much to do. There are so many places to eat, shop, and explore. Here are the highlights:

• Gingerbread Houses in Trinity Park (Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association)
• Walked the boardwalk and along Seaview Ave to Inkwell Beach
• Shopping for souvenirs
• Mocha Motts for daily morning coffee
• Linda Jean’s – great breakfast, brunch and dinner options! We went here a few times because it was so good!
• Lookout Tavern – the best lobster roll on the island. Was voted the #1 lobster roll (even when we were there), and continues to be the best. We stopped here for a margarita and lobster roll on the covered porch right after we landed.

What to do in Edgartown?

We took the bus all the way to Edgartown. It was a quick 15 minute ride. The bus drops you off right in the middle of the town.

• Walked through downtown and up North Water street to the famous Harbor View Hotel for a drink on the porch.
  • Classic coastal New England architecture everywhere you look.
• Shopping for souvenirs throughout the downtown.
• The Newes from America – went here twice once for lunch and again for dinner! They had a delicious steak and cheese sandwich.
• Mad Martha’s ice cream – you can’t go to Martha’s Vineyard and skip Mad Martha’s!

Other things to do on Martha’s Vineyard

• We took the bus to the West Chop lighthouse
  • Our Bus Driver was the best. We were the only riders and he gave us a little history on the ride up. Did you know Martha’s Vineyard was once part of New York?? It’s county is ‘Duke’s County’. New York has a ‘Duchess County’, but where’s the Duke? This and Nantucket were part of what we know to be New York up until 1692. When we got to the lighthouse, the driver let us off to take pictures and even waited for us so we didn’t have to wait the 30 minutes for the next bus. He was so nice and I wish I remembered his name!
• Rented a car and drove to Menemsha for lobster rolls at Larsen’s
  • The front desk recommended a trip to Menemsha for the sunset. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day. Instead, we drove to South Beach and then to Menemsha for Larsen’s lobster rolls! We didn’t get to see a sunset, but we enjoyed the trip (and the lobster rolls in our Jeep).
  • We also visited Aquinnah Cliff Overlook and Gay Head Lighthouse – a must see! We took a slice of our wedding cake (photo below) with us to the cliff overlook. We walked down to the beach and ate our cake on the beach!

We had a really nice honeymoon on Martha’s Vineyard. While we were expecting beach, sun, and pool time in Cabo, we made the most of the situation and really appreciated the quiet coastal destination that is Martha’s Vineyard in October. I would absolutely go back in September or October (maybe Halloween??). But first, a family vacation…

We just got back from our family’s summer vacation to Martha’s Vineyard and we’ll be dropping that recap next week.