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Great Things to Do in Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket

Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket offer quiet walks in elegant, unspoiled villages

Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, two island jewels off the coast of Cape Cod, are blessed with lovely beaches, elegant towns, and plentiful excellent dining and shopping. Both islands are accessible by ferry and air. Martha’s Vineyard, larger and closer to the mainland, is famous for its streets of brightly painted Victorian gingerbread cottages in the town of Oak Bluffs. While in Oak Bluffs, be sure to visit the Flying Horses carousel, considered the oldest working carousel in the United States. Other towns on the island are Vineyard Haven, a picturesque, turn-of-the-century community, and Edgartown, formerly a wealthy whaling port heavily salted with the old, stately homes of ships’ captains and now a center of yachting. The most dramatic display of outdoor beauty probably is the famous color-streaked Aquinnah Cliffs above Aquinnah (also known as Gay Head) public beach.

The crescent-shaped island of Nantucket, 30 miles from the mainland, was once the home of whaling ships, and this history can be found at the Whaling Museum. In the present days, whales play safely in the waters off the island as people on whale-watch cruises hang over the rails and gaze in amazement. As in other parts of Cape Cod, Nantucket offers lighthouses for visitors to admire and photograph. Nantucket Town is the place to go for walks among beautiful old New England houses, shopping, and fine dining.

Great Things to Do in Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket