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9/11/2011
My friends and I purchased the Living Social deal for the day trip to Martha's Vineyard and that was how I found out about New England Trips. This is a wonderful service and a great way to get out of the city for the day.
The bus driver was so friendly and they offered complimentary water and breakfast as well as snacks on the way home which was a really nice touch!
I would definitely go through New England Trips again!
9/1/2011
My friend purchased us some tickets to Martha's Vineyard via one of Living Social's deals and that is how we were introduced to New England Trips.
I really feel like people said it all with regards to this company. If you are in Boston and want to head to MV, don't have a car, etc I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND this company! The owner/driver was AMAZING.
A few highlights:
-Commute time to Falmouth/back to Boston= impeccably short
-Free Breakfast/Afternoon Snacks on the way there and back (BONUS!)
-Spacious, CLEAN, Comfortable seating!
8/20/2011
I think everyone has pretty much said what there is to say, but I had such a good time I want to add to the positive reviews. I did the living social deal to Martha's Vineyard as well and everything was smooth and easy. A really great option if you just want a trip out of the city rather than a full on vacation.
8/12/2011
I'd never been to Martha's Vineyard, and took the day trip offered by New England Trips.
The major upsides to this trip is that it's a package deal that gets you from South Station in Boston all the way to Martha's Vineyard and back. So, even if you've never been there before, you don't really have to PLAN anything, beyond just booking your trip with this company (I guess I would also check out the weather before booking, but that's it). I don't have a car, so this was a great way to get down there without having to convince someone to drive and leave their car parked down on the Cape.
NOTE: I know that the consensus on Martha's Vineyard is that one day is not enough and you need to spend at least a whole weekend there. But since I'd never been there before, I wanted to scope it out and see different parts of the island before shelling out $$ to rent a house.
New England Trips picks you up in a small bus (15-passenger?) at South Station and drives you down to Falmouth and then gives you the tickets for the ferry to (and from) the island. When you get back to Falmouth, the bus is there waiting as you step off the ferry, and you hop in for the ride back up to Boston. Steve (the owner/driver) was incredibly friendly and helpful.
I'm not a morning person and I'm not a long-trips-with-strangers-in-a-bus person, but I actually enjoyed the bus part of the trip. In the morning at South Station, he offered us breakfast snack foods and bottles of water (no charge), along with guides to Martha's Vineyard, so you can read up on the towns and points of interest during the drive down. He also has other maps and information about guided tours if you want to pay for that. He had envelopes with our names on them with the ferry tickets inside. When we came back to Falmouth on the ferry at the end of the day, he was parked right there and welcomed us with more bottled water and bags of chips. It kind of reminded me of a field trip, but in a good/fun way.
The bus looked pretty new and was VERY clean (huge plus) and comfortable. I normally can't sleep on planes, trains, cars, or buses but I just put on my iPod and am pretty sure I caught myself snoring more than once. (I had to wake up at 5am to get myself down to South station in time to catch the bus, so I was grateful for this).
The bus ride is about 90 minutes each way and the ferry ride takes about 30 minutes each way. The ferry was fine, but obviously not as comfortable as the bus.
We were picked up at South Station at 6:30am and were dropped off at the end of the day at South Station at about 6:15 pm. So you can squeeze this in and still be back in time for dinner. However, almost half of your time is spent on the boat and ferry. You have six hours on the island, which is enough to see what you want to see. I got a day pass for the bus system on the island ($7 - worth it) and was able to explore Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, and Aquinnah (cool lighthouse, awesome cliffs, nice beach) pretty easily in that time while still having time to grab a breakfast, quick lunch, and mid-morning coffee break. Six hours may not sound like much but there's not a huge amount of "attractions" on Martha's Vineyard and nothing you do needs to take more than 15 minutes of your time unless you want to just stay there and enjoy it. I like to just move quickly to see as much as possible but after a short time you realize that people go to Martha's Vineyard just to chill and relax, not to check out any kind of tourist attractions.
I enjoyed my trip and felt like I saw everything that I wanted to see.
8/9/2011
I'm new to the area and had never been to Martha's Vineyard so was happy to learn of this service. The entire process went very smoothly. After I emailed to make my reservation they emailed me back quickly and explained where to pick up the bus. When the guy called the day before to confirm my reservation he gave me an updated pickup time so I had less time to wait. The drive was easy and pleasant, and came with snacks and bottled water. We had different drivers each way and both were helpful, friendly and professional. It's a long day and on the ferry ride back I was happy to think I could sleep on the drive back, not have to worry about staying awake or fighting traffic back into the city.
The amount of time on the island was perfect to do some wandering, shopping and have a meal. Or there are plenty of beaches, nature areas, etc. if the weather is good (it wasn't the day I was there).I found the island bus service easy to use and was glad not to have a car on the island's crowded roads. I'd happily take a New England Trip again to get away for a day.
7/25/2011
Flew up to Boston from DC for some baseball and a side trip to Martha's Vineyard. Steve- the owner and our driver- really understands customer service. I was picked up at my hotel at the exact time promised- complimentary snacks and water to/from Falmouth. The transportation was clean, reliable and professional. Loved having the ferry ticket included- enjoyed the ferry and Martha's Vineyard. Took the add-on 2.5 hour tour- I had travelled alone so it was a great way to get to see the whole island and get an overview- especially the lighthouse and cliffs. Took the Sunday afternoon trip- was able to take some spectacular sunset photos before reboarding the ferry. Steve was waiting at the dock with water and snacks as we relaxed (and some slept) on the trip back to Boston. Awesome trip!
7/7/2011
This is a new company, only open for the last couple of weeks, and they're providing a great service. They make it possible to take a day trip to Martha's Vineyard from Boston. This is traditionally hard because all the ferry services to the island leave from Cape Cod, so if you're looking to do a day trip, first you have to get to the Cape (bad traffic in summer months), park and book a ferry. At the end of the day when you come back, the traffic back to Boston is always horrendous. It's a long, hot, drive on a day that started very early, and if you've done it, it's enough to make you never want to do it again.
This is where New England Trips comes in. For their $93 fare, they pick you up at your hotel and provide transportation to and from the Cape, as well as the ferry ticket, so it's an all-inclusive way to take a day trip to Martha's Vineyard.
I took the trip yesterday and it was great. Since I wasn't at a Boston hotel, I took the T from the suburbs to South Station (first trains start running just past 5am). Steve, the owner, met us at 6:15am in a new mini-bus that seats 14. There were five people on the bus. Steve couldn't have been more accommodating. Super nice guy, he had cold water and snacks for the trip, newspapers, and island guides. He dropped us in Falmouth right at the entrance to the Island Queen ferry with about 45 mins. to spare. The package includes a ticket for the 9:00am ferry, and the 3:45pm return.
When we got back on the 3:45pm ferry after a day on Martha's Vineyard, Steve was there waiting. After a day of sun and walking around, it was awesome to just sit back, enjoy the AC and dive into his snacks as he negotiated the stop and go gridlock back to Boston. Traffic was particularly bad-- we got back at 6:30pm. It was fantastic to be able to sleep on the ride back!
Very happy with how the trip went-- if you're looking to do a day trip to Martha's Vineyard, this is the best option by far. On a side note, when you pay on the website, there's an option to sign up for the 2.5 hour island tour of Martha's Vineyard given by a different company. We did it, but I wouldn't recommend it; kind of boring, and it takes up too much of your limited time on the island.
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