Total Costs for the Day minus food/drinks:
Ferry: $62 round trip/person
Parking Offsite thru Hyline: $17
Electric Bike Rentals for the day: $75
Carousel Ride: $3.50/person
Total: $157.50 (including one person paying for parking)
My friend I met studying abroad in Australia came to visit for a weekend with her husband, and one of the days we went to the Vineyard! Not the "Vin" LOL
We wanted a full day there so we took the 8 AM ferry over from Hyannis to Oak Bluffs because we were staying at my gram's house in South Dennis. I paid for parking through the ferry for $17 but you can honestly find parking closer than where they park you. Just remember to have cash on you.
The ferry docked around 8:45 AM. The first thing we did was grab coffee/tea at Toccopuro. They didn't have any options for anyone that is celiac, but if you just need a good coffee/drink/pastry, this is a good, quick stop. We also grabbed breakfast at Linda Jean's which was simple and lots of locals go there.
We rented electric bikes for the day from All Star Rentals which is very close to where the ferry drops you off, and they opened at 9 AM so it was close and convenient. Having an electric bike was nice but not completely necessary. This island is not as hilly as Nantucket.
We rode from Oak Bluffs to Edgartown (roughly 6 miles).
On the way, we stopped at the Jaws Bridge to jump of course. There was hardly anyone there at that time so we jumped twice. You just need to make sure you are jumping where it isn't shallow, and look for jellyfish coming in/out of the pond (there were some big boys going by).
Once in Edgartown, we walked around the shops and saw some of the different houses off the main streets which are very quaint and Vineyard-esque. We had lunch at Seafood Shanty because everyone was raving about it, but it honestly wasn't that great to me. The view was great to see all the boats go by but that was about it.
We walked around some more and then it started to downpour so we stopped in at 19 Raw for some drinks. If we were hungry, we would have gotten some their seafood but we were that full. That was a recommendation that I would recommend to people. It is pricier, but the food looked awesome from what was going by our table.
It was about 3:30 PM at that point, so we decided to start our bike ride back to Oak Bluffs. We returned our bikes around 4 PM (roughly a 6 mile bike ride/36 min but took less time because we had the electric bikes).
We split up to grab ice cream/shop around but I honestly was not impressed with the ice cream I had so I won't even mention it.
I had us ride the oldest carousel in the country, the Flying Horses Carousel, where you collect rings as you go around. It is a lot of fun and only costs $3.50 for the ride. Highly recommend doing it at least once. I still remember doing it as a kid.
We somehow were hungry again and decided on Mexican so we ate at Dilly's Taqueria which has bomb steak tacos. Another fun place to eat is Fat Ronnie's if you like burgers if you are in Oak Bluffs.
Originally, we had booked the 7:20 PM ferry to go back to Hyannis, but we decided to move it up to the 6:45 PM ferry so we could get back earlier. It was very easy to change our time. We went up to the ferry window and asked to change, and they handed us new tickets, no questions asked.
While waiting for the ferry, we walked around the gingerbread houses which are very close to the ferry.
I do recommend getting in line for the ferry so you can get a seat if you want one. We arrived 25 minutes early, and there was quite a line but we still were able to get a seat.
That was our day! And what a fun day on the Vineyard it was! (Nantucket is still my favorite though)
Here are some pics of the day =)