Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket Movers
An island move is really two moves and a boat ride — and the boat is the part that goes wrong without planning. Boston Best Rate Movers coordinates the ferry reservation, the load timing, and the island delivery as one job: one crew, one truck, one transparent hourly quote from your door in Greater Boston to your door on-island.
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How an Island Move Actually Works
Vineyard moves cross from Woods Hole; Nantucket moves cross from Hyannis. Both islands are served by vehicle ferries that take our truck — with your belongings loaded, wrapped, and untouched — across in a reserved freight slot. The crew rides with the truck, drives to your new address on-island, and unloads the same day. Your furniture is never cross-docked, never handed to an island subcontractor, and never repacked at a terminal.
The single most important factor is the ferry reservation: vehicle and freight slots in season book out weeks ahead, and a missed boat can strand a move by a full day. We handle that coordination as part of the job — matching the load window to the sailing, building in buffer for the standby line in summer, and planning the return crossing so you're not paying for a crew waiting at a dock.
What It Costs — and Why We Quote the Whole Trip Up Front
Our island moves run on the same hourly model as everything we do: $149/hr for 2 movers, $179/hr for 3, $219/hr for 4, with a 3-hour minimum and 15-minute increments. Because crossings add fixed time, we quote island moves door-to-door in writing — drive time to the terminal, the crossing, island delivery, and the return — plus the actual ferry fares for the truck, passed through at cost with no markup. You see the full number before move day; nothing about the boat shows up as a surprise.
Island housing rewards experience: weathered-shingle homes with tight second-floor stairs, historic Edgartown and Nantucket town properties with strict neighborhood logistics, dirt roads up-island in Chilmark and Aquinnah, and seasonal rentals with firm turnover windows. We pad and wrap everything as standard, and our crews plan carries for properties a truck can't reach directly.
Seasonal Patterns: When to Book
Summer is the hard season — ferry slots are scarce, island traffic is slow, and turnover dates cluster around weekends. If your dates are flexible, spring and fall island moves are dramatically easier and cheaper: more sailings available, less drive time on the hourly clock, and off-peak rate tiers. For summer moves, the rule is simple: the earlier you book, the better your sailing. Three to four weeks ahead is comfortable; season-peak Saturdays need more.
We've been running Massachusetts moves since 2002 — 33,158+ of them, with 817+ Google reviews. Licensed (USDOT #1718049, MDPU #31391), fully insured, and every crew member a trained, full-time W-2 employee — the same standard whether the job ends in Somerville or Siasconset.
Island Communities We Serve
Both islands, every town and village — from Vineyard Haven to Edgartown and from Nantucket town out to Madaket and Siasconset.
Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket Moving FAQs
How does my furniture get to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket?
On our truck, on the vehicle ferry. We load at your origin, drive to Woods Hole (Vineyard) or Hyannis (Nantucket), cross in a reserved freight slot with the crew riding along, and deliver directly to your island address. Your belongings stay loaded and wrapped the entire way — no terminal handling, no island subcontractor.
How much does an island move cost?
It's our standard hourly rates ($149–$219/hr by crew size) applied to the real door-to-door time — including the crossing — plus the truck's ferry fares passed through at cost. A typical 2-bedroom Boston-to-Vineyard move lands in the $1,800–$3,000 range depending on sailing times and addresses; Nantucket runs higher because the crossing is longer. You get the complete written quote, fares included, before booking.
How far in advance should I book an island move?
Off-season: two weeks is usually plenty. In summer: book three to four weeks ahead minimum — vehicle ferry slots are the constraint, not our crews. Peak Saturdays around lease turnovers can sell out further ahead; the sooner we can reserve the boat, the better your options.
Do you handle moves off the islands too?
Yes — island-to-mainland moves work the same way in reverse, and island-to-island (Vineyard ⇄ Nantucket) is possible with a mainland connection. Estate clear-outs, seasonal closings, and furniture deliveries to island homes are all regular work for us.
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