MV On The Spot

It is a frequently asked question!  Most renters that make the Vineyard an annual vacation destination are now in the decision making process of when, where and how.  Because The Steamship Authority will be opening up vehicle ferry reservations for the summer months soon, many regulars are now trying to fit together the puzzle pieces.

Historically the primary turnover day for weekly rentals has been Saturday.  We now see almost half of our owners use Sunday as the turnover day.  This has occurred for a couple of reasons.  The steamship authority is no longer able to handle the volume of cars being brought back and forth on Saturdays alone and owners have also been having difficulty finding a cleaning crew that can turn over that number of rental houses in one day.

We also now see a few owners consider mid week turn over days for the same reasons.  Many of our tenants tend to like this as it gives them a full weekend on the island instead of having to pack and leave on one of the busy Saturday or Sundays.

When making your Martha’s Vineyard vacation plans you should try to book your rental home in advance of your ferry reservation so you know what days you will need to travel on.  If this is done far enough in advance you should not have a problem come travel time!  Many of our owners will try to be flexible on the turn over day as it gets closer to season if they can.  Many of their weeks will be boxed in with prior bookings.

It always pays to plan ahead for your Vineyard vacation!

A week on Martha’s Vineyard can pass in the blink of an eye.  There is so much beautiful scenery and so many activities you could fill many weeks with great experiences.  Here are a few that you should consider.  Even if you just want to lounge at the beach, take some time to travel to various beaches and enjoy the sites along the way!

1. Chilmark Chocolates
2. Aquinnah Shops
3. Menemsha Sunset w/ Lobsters on the Beach
4. State Beach bridge jumping
5. Kayak with the Trustees - Cape Pogue (chappaquiddick)
6. Tour a Lighthouse
7. Shop for fresh veggies at Morning Glory Farm or West Tisbury Farmers Market
8. Walk on the beach and then Ice Cream in town one or more evening(s)
9. Carousel in Oak Bluffs, even if you don’t have kids, take a ride!
10. Biking from town to town

Hope to see you out there next season!

Wile away the summer days on the island of Chappaquiddick.  It is a special place with many unique characteristics. This house offers what we like to call “Chappy Charm” with many updated amenities.  The views across the meadow and out to the marsh and ocean make this the perfect picture of serenity.

This house and guest house not only offer great proximity to the highly desirable south shore beaches at Wasque but also a mooring for your boat near the Chappy ferry.  Enjoy beautiful summer days and nights with the ocean breezes and lovely sunsets right from the deck and screened porches on this property.

The master suite on the upper level with an enhanced view out to the sea also has a cat walk to a screened gazebo style porch making this a lovely romantic getaway.  There’s not much more you could ask for in a Chappy rental!

For more information please contact Anne Mayhew at annemayhew@gmail.com

For those of you that have been to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, you know that the process of bringing a vehicle along on your Vineyard vacation can be very trying if you don’t know the process!  Our island population goes from around 15,000 year round residents to 100,000 August visitors.  You really do need to take a ferry to and from the island.  It is a 45 minute ferry ride from the Cape.

Once you have booked your Vineyard vacation rental, you will need to work on making arrangements for getting here.  The Steamship Authority does not take reservations for the summer season until sometime in January.  This year they open reservations online and via mail on January 20th.  Mark your calendars!  They will open the phone lines up on January 27, 2009.

Sometimes it feels like you have won the lottery when you get just the right times for your reservations for your August vacation.   The process can seem unbearable much of the time but following are some tips that might help:

• Go online to the Steamship Authority and sign up for your profile number and pin prior to making your reservation.
• Go online as soon as you can on January 20, be patient as you may get bumped off the site due to high volume.
• Book any time you can on the day of travel or as close to the day of travel and request to be wait listed for your preferred times.

You should know that the wait list system does seem to work out for most travelers that are reserving their tickets this far in advance.   The steamship has represented in the past that they do not completely book all of the boats so they will have some flexibility.  Things do shift around but you may not know for sure right up until travel time.  They do also have a day of sail number you can call to try to change your reservation while you are on the road.

I once had a customer call and book a house one Saturday in August, drive down and get right on the boat and arrive at my office to pay for their vacation home and pick up their key, all in the same day.  This is not the norm and I do not recommend you wait to see if this works but, please realize that some of the systems that may seem very flawed can work well in the end!

Do you love the Vineyard?  Do you know someone who loves the Vineyard?  You can now shop Vineyard online!  There are many beautiful gift ideas available at www.thevineyardshopmv.com.  What a great reminder that the summer season is not so far away and Martha’s Vineyard can be enjoyed during the holiday season too!  I especially love the hand painted lighthouse ornaments from the MV Museum.  Not only is it beautifully painted, but it comes in a lovely red box!

It is also a great time to surprise your family with the summer vacation rental plans.  There are so many vineyard vacation rental options available whether for a crowd or just your family.  I like the following rental.  It offers the quiet tranquility of the island with it’s beautiful waterfront location yet, is just minutes to the town center and beaches.  Experience to full vacation experience at your own pace!

Whether large or small the Vineyard need not feel so very far away during the holidays!  Wishing everyone a very Vineyard Holiday.

On Martha’s Vineyard, we begin booking rental homes for the following season before the current one ends!  Many families decide they like coming to the island every year for a least one week.  If they like the rental property they are staying in, and know they will be back, it makes sense for them to commit to the same house while they are here.

Rental home bookings continue through the fall and right up until the beginning of the season.  Critical things to consider when trying to decide when to book your vacation home:

• Most owners know whether their repeat tenants are coming back by the end of September.  If you are a new tenant or looking to change houses it may be difficult to get a commitment prior to that.
• Steamship Authority (vehicle ferry) opens up ticket sales for the summer months around mid January.  Tickets sell out quickly for the weekend turnover days during the season.
• January is a strong booking month because of the ferry ticket sales and many popular houses will book up quickly.
• Rental homes are listed through out the season, to a certain degree, making last minutes bookings a strong possibility.

All in all, you should consider booking your Martha’s Vineyard vacation home ahead of time, especially, if you have specific criteria, price and dates in mind.  If you can be somewhat flexible, any time is a good time!  We have a house for you with over 500 listings in our inventory.

North Water Street, one of the most historic,  runs along the north side of Edgartown Harbor.  The street is lined with captain’s houses that date back to the whaling days and ends with The Harborview Hotel.

Being the last house prior to the hotel gives the guest of this house the versitillity of enjoying their own private vacation rental with the ability to utilize the restaurant amenities right next door.

Enjoy summer days on the front porch admiring the view of Edgartown Harbor with the Edgartown Lighthouse and beach just steps away.  Don’t like to lounge out front with an open view from the street?  No problem.  Lovely den on the upper level in the back of the house.  Can be used as office or just a quiet reading nook.

This property brings you back to what old Vineyard summers must have felt like (only with upgraded amenities for today’s comforts).  Perfect house for multi-generational family with separate guest accommodations off the back of the house.

Love this property, let me know what you think!

Looking for the perfect house so you can get away and go to the beach next summer?

This unique island house located in upper West Tisbury is perfect! With beach access less than five minutes away, room for six and all of the best amenities, this is a truly ‘Vineyard’ house.

The gourmet kitchen is just right for your inner chef and those lazy, homecooked lobster dinners. And it’s complimented, of course, by a formal dining room perfect for entertaining guests, hosting a small lunch or eating dinner with the family. If your goal is to be laid back, don’t worry, the house has its own private breakfast nook separate from the dining room or a beautiful deck complete with a grill.

The fireplace located in the living room is great for the occasional chilly summer night. And the separate den is equipped with a large TV. The house also boasts a private indoor Jacuzzi and a heated in-ground pool.

But the real gem, is the property’s proximity to Makonikey Beach. Mokinikey is named after the huge boulder that rests about 20 feet off the beach and looks like a perfectly sculpted whale’s head. The waves are very mellow because Makonikey lies within Lambert’s Cove, on the north shore of the island. This is also the Vineyard Sound side, as opposed to the south shore which faces the Atlantic. Sunsets, sea glass and family adventures abound.

If you’re looking for a beautiful Edgartown vacation rental that has five bedroom complete with four and a half bathrooms, a pool and a patio, this is the house for you. Tucked in the woods, it’s private but still easily accessible. Brand new its equipped with just about everything you could imagine, outside shower, deck, pool, 52” TV home theater system, washer/dryer, high speed internet, air conditioning and more.

With two master bedrooms and three others all outfitted with full baths the house can easily accommodate 10 people. The fabulous cooking kitchen is decked out with a stainless steel refrigerator, microwave, stovetop and oven, full sink and plenty of counter space.

The four seasons room, with glass sliding doors to the patio and entire walls of window, is the perfect place to curl up and read a book, and the home entertainment system in the family room is great for those one or two rainy days we sometimes get in an otherwise perfectly sunny summer! There’s also a TV (with cable) in each of the master bedrooms and the kitchen.

In keeping with the woodsy, natural feel of the Vineyard, this house features hardwood floors in all the bathrooms and a beautiful wooden deck off the second floor master bedroom overlooking the grounds and pool. A patio in the back of the house with furniture and a grill is great for a family BBQ.

This house goes out of it’s way to wrap you up in the ultimate, carefree, Vineyard vacation.

This is a great home away from home in Edgartown. It has all of the classic amenities, but, unless you live somewhere like Hawaii, it’s in a much grander location than your own house!

About a mile outside of Edgartown center, this colonial is a short walk to an island favorite, the Morning Glory Farmstand - filled with local produce, a just picked salad bar, specialty items and incredible baked goods. You can also hop on the bike trail and head into the nearby State Forest or zip downtown or out to Katama and South Beach.

The house has a huge porch and a very private backyard, three bedrooms and two full baths. High speed internet was installed in 2008. Rental costs range from $1000-2100 weekly, depending on the time of the year.