1) to Provincetown, MA
2) to Boston
3) Rhode Island
4) Hyannis
5) Hartford, CT...
...by ferry and car? I have a crazy New England summer schedule coming up and we are trying to figure out day trips. My husband wants to stay on Martha's Vineyard but there is no way our families in New England will let us stay there without visiting them at least for the day. We don't want them coming to stay with us on MV because quite franky they will never leave and we want at least some time to ourselves. We have 2 weeks there so I won't mind getting off the island every once in a while.
And who said summer vacation was all about relaxing? Ho hum.
No kidding on early reservations. We tried finding a cottage to rent and couldn't find anything suitable along the Cape. We found a B&B and they said they have vacancy. I actually lived in the area and have been to visit family over the years, but we've never stayed on the Vineyard and used it as "home base" while on vacation. I normally stay in Providence or Hartford and drive out to each area, but I wanna do something different this summer. So I know the driving distance btwn each location but am unable to determine travel time with the ferry factored in.
My only other option is to stay with family in Plymouth and have everyone drive up, which is what I'm trying to avoid...unless the Mayflower II is open for reservations on deck!
Check out the ferry schedule first. If you plan to take your car, they may be all booked up already for summer. You might be able to take your car off the island but not be able to get it back on
Updated
Check out the ferry schedule first. If you plan to take your car, they may be all booked up already for summer. You might be able to take your car off the island but not be able to get it back on
Hopefully you have reservations on Martha's Vineyard. I've read that people reserve a year or more in advance.
I suggest that you start your visits on your way to or from Martha's Vineyard. Start at the most western end and work your way to the Vineyard or vice versa. These aren't really day trips.
If you have AAA membership, they will plot a route for you which would include travel times.
A.:
Hartford, CT is about 4 hours...that depends upon the ferry schedule.
Boston - 3 hours - depends upon traffic and ferry schedule.
Rhode Island - 3 hours - again - could be as fast as 2.5 hours - depends upon traffic and ferry schedule.
Hyannis - 2 hours - on a good day. You're talking heavy traffic for summer travelers...
Provincetown? Girl - that's at the tip of the cape - about 98 miles from Martha's Vineyard and on a good day can take about 3 hours...
ANYWHERE you travel off the Vineyard will be time consuming. These aren't "day trips" in my opinion...a day trip for ME? Takes me about 1 hour to get there and then 1 hour to get home...leaving me a good 8 hours of visiting and sightseeing time...these are all 3 hour trips...that means getting up at the crack of dawn and being out the door.
I would check out when the last ferry takes people back to the Vineyard too...
http://www.capecodtravelguide.com/ferry-schedules
have fun!!
I feel for you. One of my sisters vacations on MV every summer (she lives in NY) and it's a giant hassle for her. Everyone expects to see her but getting off the island and going anywhere is a big PITA. So then she invites people to stay with her for a night at a time and that's a pain too. In the many years she has done this I've gone down to see her exactly once - we made it a day trip (I live about an hour north of Hyannis, southwest of Boston) and it was a long, exhausting day for everyone.
What I would suggest would be to split your vacation - my sister sees people on the way to MV and on the way back and that seems to work out well. They drive here but you would be flying in and renting a car, right? You can decide to land in Boston or Providence and then visit with relatives for a day or two, then go and relax for a solid week on MV, then visit others on the tail end of your vacation. You can definitely rent hotels for a night or two here and there. We usually end up going down to the cape at some point in the summer with very little advanced planning and have no trouble finding a place to stay for up to three nights.
I know you're kidding about the Mayflower II but seriously, my MIL rented one of the Cape Cod Canal party boats for an afternoon last summer for my FIL's 70th birthday and it was fabulous. It wasn't that expensive, she had Roche Bros catering brought in and the party ran itself. If you want to have a big gathering but not be stuck at someone's house, it's actually not a bad idea.
I would get a place in Hyannis or Yarmouth instead. Ferry is a big pain fr yourself, kids, all the stuff and guests.
