Home  >  Massachusetts  >  Martha's Vineyard

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts Vacation Rental Houses, Beach Cottages and Condos.

Martha's Vineyard (including nearby Chappaquiddick Island) and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts vacation rental beach cottages, houses, and condos, are on an island off the southern coast of Cape Cod and is often known simply as "the Vineyard". Located in the American commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Vineyard makes up most of Dukes County, Massachusetts (the rest of the county consists of Cuttyhunk and the other Elizabeth Islands and the island of Nomans Land).  The town and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts vacation rental beach cottages, houses, and condos are now primarily known as a summer colony, though its year-round population has grown quite considerably since the 1960s, despite being accessible only by boat and by air.

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts vacation rental beach cottages, houses, and condos grew as a tourist destination primarily because of its very pleasant summer weather (during summers, the temperature rarely breaks 90°F) and many beautiful beaches.

Wealthy Boston sea captains and merchant traders formerly created estates on Martha's Vineyard with their trading profits. Today, the Vineyard has become one of the Northeast's most prominent summering havens, having attracted celebrities like The Clintons, Tom Welling, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ted Danson and Mary Steenbergen, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Peter Simon, Alfred Eisenstadt, Dan Aykroyd , Jim Belushi, and Donna Dixon, Spike Lee, Michael J. Fox, William F. Buckley, Alan Dershowitz, former US Senator Bill Bradley, Diana Ross, Beverly Sills, Art Buchwald, Walter Cronkite, Dorothy West, Mike Wallace, David Letterman, David McCullough, the late Katherine Graham, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Martha's Vineyard is one of the traditional resorts of U.S.'s African-American upper class. Due to a long history of racial harmony on the island, many black families started vacationing there a century ago. The center of black culture on Martha's Vineyard is the town of Oak Bluffs, where many African American celebrities own houses. Its main beach has been dubbed "The Inkwell" by African-American residents.

The island now boasts a year-round population of about 15,000 people in six towns; in summer, due to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts vacation rental beach cottages, houses, and condos the population swells to 100,000 residents, with more than 25,000 additional visitors coming and going on ferries every day. The most crowded weekend is July 4. In general, the summer season runs from June to the end of August, correlating with the months most American children are not in school. Martha's Vineyard Airport links the island to the mainland with scheduled air carrier service from US Airways and Cape Air.

The island has been designated an official American Viticultural Area and is home to the winemaker Chicama Vineyards in West Tisbury.

Other popular attractions which draw vacationers to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts vacation rental beach cottages, houses, and condos include the annual Illumination festival in Oak Bluffs; Katama Farm in Tisbury; and the Flying Horses in Oak Bluffs, the oldest carousel in the United States.

Martha's Vineyard and the nearby Chappaquiddick Island played a major role in the sets of the movie Jaws. If you look hard enough in the movie you will be able to spot many of Martha's Vineyard's landmarks. The stores and Chappy ferry in Edgartown are particularly visible. Even now, years after the filming of the movie, residents will tell you what it was like to be an extra in the movie. The casting crew of the movie took most of their extras from the residents of the Island.

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts vacation rental beach cottages, houses, and condos are an excellent way to enjoy an upscale vacation at budget prices, or at least less than you would have to pay for a comparable hotel room. Becket, Massachusetts vacation rentals by owner cabins, cottages and houses are just that - private owners sharing their second homes complete with all the amenities their own families enjoy.

Since the market for renters of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts vacation rental beach cottages, houses, and condos is so competitive, owners knock themselves out decorating their rental condos, cabins, cottages, villas and houses to be the most attractive in their particular area. You will find many Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts vacation rental beach cottages, houses, and condos decorated better than many 5-star resorts at a fraction of the price. It isn't uncommon to be staying in a $1 million to $5 million home living the life of the privileged few at least for a week at a time. It is a wonderful, pampering experience not to be  easily forgotten.

In short, there is no more rewarding vacation experience or better vacation value than Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts vacation rental beach cottages, houses, and condos. It's the smart way to vacation.