Martha's Vineyard is an island off the east coast of the US, south of Cape Cod. Often called "the Vineyard", it is an island of 87.48 square miles. When you visit with your Cape Cod car rental, you will find this is primarily a summer colony, and you can only get here by boat or air.

You can almost feel the colonial atmosphere

The island that is today Martha's Vineyard was originally, and still is, inhabited by the Wampanoag Indians. It was named Martha's Vineyard by the explorer Bartholomew Gosnold who sailed here in 1602. His mother-in-law and second child, who died in infancy, were both named Martha. The island was brought to prominence in the 19th century when the whaling industry came to the area. The discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania gave rise to a cheaper source of oil for lamps in the late 19th century, and the industry of the area collapsed. It was after this time that summer residences began to develop on the island and grew as an area for tourists to visit. When you visit Martha's Vineyard today with your Cape Cod car rental, you will find a resort town that has a lot of famous faces. You may also recognize some of the scenery from the Jaws movies, which were filmed here.

Spend the day on the water

When you visit with your Cape Cod car rental, you will need to take a ferry across. The island is only about three and a half miles off the southern coast of Cape Cod and there is a ferry that departs from Woods Hole. There is also regularly scheduled air travel from June to October from Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

See it all: points of interest

There are many towns that have interesting points of interest for you to visit with your Cape Cod car rental. In Vineyard Haven (Tisbury), you will find the Steamship Authority wharf, Owen Park, Lake Tashmoo, the Lagoon, The Black Dog, and West Chop. In Oak Bluffs, which was once "Cottage City", there is a flying horses carousel, which is the oldest operating carousel in the United States; Circuit Avenue; Farm Neck Golf Course; State Beach and Inkwell Beach. Edgertown is the old whaling town that re-emerged in the 20th century as a summer sailing and beach town. It is characterized by 18th and 19th century homes, including well-preserved whaling captains' homes and historic churches. In Chilmark you will find Menemsha, which is where many people watch the sun set, as well as a place for sailing and kayaking. Aquinnah has the Gay Head cliffs and lighthouse, as well as Lobsterville. When you visit the island with your Cape Cod car rental there are many popular beaches for you to visit along with all of these historic sites and points of interest.

Martha's Vineyard is a popular place to visit when you are here with your Cape Cod car rental to see some of the island and enjoy the summer weather.