My boyfriend lives in California. He wants to go to Martha's Vineyard the weekend before July 4th. First, I've never been there and he hasn't been since he was in high school, but I have no idea about finding a place. My guess is that because it's Martha's Vineyard and it's close to the holiday that we are going to have a problem getting a place. Secondly, he want to stay in a B&B with an old fashioned tub. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would drive down there for a weekend to check things out, but I just have no time off between now and then and I have never been there. He is so busy with work that I know he's done little research and I'm not sure he understands that it's a busy place in the summertime. We don't see each other often (I'm on the east coast) and I really want our trip to be special and free of an hassles if possible. Thanks for any feedback.
Elle

You are going to have a hard time finding anything (especially so close to the holiday) and if you do, expect to pay a lot more than you normally would.
That being said, my suggestion to you is check out this website.

http://www.marthas-vineyard.com/lodging.shtml#HOTELS

Then start calling places ASAP. If you are lucky you can find something.

Good Luck!!

Pointsgirl,
Thank you so much for the URL. I have forwarded it to my boyfriend. You've only confirmed my worst fears. I have been trying to impress upon him the urgency that he needs to work on this, but I'm not sure that I have been successful. It's a great site, thanks,

Elle

Oh it is very urgent.

A few years ago my boyfriend flew in and we wanted to stay at a B&B. It was..you guessed it...the week of the 4th. It was very hard to get two consecutive nights in the same place. We finally found a place in Plymouth.
It worked out well in the end, we really loved the B&B, and the owners were very friendly.

Again, Good Luck. I hope you find something.

Elle, if you can't find what you are looking for on the Vineyard, have you considered the towns on Cape Ann, which is just north of Boston? They too could be just as booked but Cape Ann may be worth some investigation. This link has some interesting information which might be useful to you. http://www.cape-ann.com Good luck!

Elle: MV is a great destination, but you will be there in high season where everything is pretty swamped (roads, restaurants, hotel, etc). You didn't say if you are flying or driving. If you are driving, have you reserved a place on the ferry for you and the car? This space is sometimes reserved months in advance, especially on summer weekends. It might be a good idea to see if there is space available before booking/putting a deposit on a hotel room. You need to contact the Steamship Authority which provides ferry service to MV and Nantucket. You can always take the ferry and rent a car once on MV.

My personal preference for location is one of the "up island" (western end of island, more rural) towns: Chilmark and Menemsha, Gay Head, Aquinnah and West Tisbury (Chilmark is my favorite) as opposed to the "down island" towns of Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and Vineyard Haven.

Some hotels and B&Bs offer temporary guest access to "restricted" beaches (i.e. those open to town residents only such as Lucy Vincent or Squibnocket in Chilmark) - this is nice in the crowded summer months.

Another resource on the web is Martha's Vineyard Online which is full of good information.

If you go, have a great time!

[This message has been edited by blairvanhorn (edited 05-07-2002).]

Pointsgirl, Analise, & Blairvanhorn,
Thank you for all the great information. I have forwarded the information to my boyfriend and I think I got the message across that it's urgent. I didn't even think about the ferry. That in itself could be a problem since he's flying into Boston and we were going to drive down to Woodshole. I think we're probably too late, but we'll see. And there's always Cape Anne.

Thanks,
Elle

How busy is the ferry? Coming off-island on Sunday, April 28th, we had car reservations on the 5 pm boat. We finished what we had to do early, the weather was lousy, so we got to the dock in plenty of time to get on the 3 pm boat - if there was room. There wasn't, nor was there on the 4 pm. There were already over 100 cars lined up waiting for any available space.

This was in April. June/July will be MUCH worse. There's more ferry service then, but not proportionately to the increased demand.

MV is a lovely place, but don't plan on taking a car from the mainland. Go over without one and take a taxi to wherever you're staying. (They meet the boats.) Now unencumbered, rent bikes (my preference), mopeds (the locals hate them) or a scooter to get around.

Excellent advice from Efrem. We flew in and had a rental car, but ended up walking and biking quite a bit (my brother, who is a Harley nut, wanted to rent one to tour the island - luckily none were available. That would have gone over big ).

Frommer's website provides some good general info on the ferry service and where to park if you are not taking your car, as Efrem suggested:

It also discusses the fairly recent shuttle service from Westwood to Wood's Hole:

Click here for more details, and some updated info on new restaurants and lodging.

[This message has been edited by blairvanhorn (edited 05-09-2002).]

Well, looks like MV is pretty much out because of lodging issues. So now the goal is to go to Plymouth. My boyfriend arrives June 28 in the very early AM and we are trying to find a relatively inexpensive place to stay since there will be four of us;we have the kids and will need two rooms. Does anyone have any suggestions for something inexpensive south of Boston near the 93 & 3a interchange? I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but I have to ask. Maybe something of the beaten path like a B&B or something? Thanks for anyone who takes the time to reply!!!!
Elle

Elle,

Check out your other thread. I have posted some information there for you.

Dawn