Martha's Vineyard has some of the best beaches in New England, and the variety is part of what keeps people coming back. The south side of the island faces the open Atlantic and gets surf; the north side, facing Vineyard Sound, is calmer and warmer.
South Beach (Edgartown) is the big one — a three-mile-long stretch of dunes and big surf, with free parking and crowds. Long Point in West Tisbury and East Beach on Chappaquiddick are wilder, with a long walk in and white sand. Moshup Beach, below the Aquinnah Cliffs, has the most dramatic backdrop on the island. The Inkwell at Oak Bluffs is the historically Black swimming beach and still the most social. Lambert's Cove in West Tisbury is a residents-only beach unless you have a hotel pass; Lucy Vincent in Chilmark is the same, but worth angling for if you know someone.