For those too poor to visit St. Bart's and too timid to ski Killington this break, a perfect getaway lies just three miles off Cape Cod--not the faraway island of Nantucket, but nearby Martha's Vineyard.

This island has sustained a steady stream of tourists since pre-colonial times, when explorer Bartholomew Gosnold named it for his mother Martha. The island has been a family spot ever since.

During the Revolution, patriotic island families hid their cattle from hungry British troops who repeatedly raided the island looking for supplies. But since those days, islanders have been more welcoming to boat-loads of summer visitors which furnish much of the island's economy.

Land-lubbers will prefer the Vineyard to Nantucket because the ferry ride from Woods Hole is just 45 minutes--as opposed to the two-hour-plus trip to Nantucket.

And impoverished students will be pleased to find that a bus ride from Boston to Woods Hole and a ferry ticket to the island cost just 15 dollars.

Steamboats packed with religious revivalists once disembarked each summer at Oak Bluffs, where one of the country's first free-Black communities sprang up. Today, Oak Bluffs is a delightful mix of gaily painted cottages and curio shops. Kids of all ages will enjoy catching the brass ring on the nation's oldest Carousel, "The Flying Horses."

Just a 15-minute bike ride from Oak Bluffs lies Vineyard Haven. This somewhat quiet town is the home of many excellent beds and breakfast which can be enjoyed off-season for less than 50 dollars a night.

Visitors should not miss the Black Dog Tavern an Bakery, where they can get a souvenir T-shirt for less than the price of dinner--and it'll last longer too. Don't wear it on the island, though; it's a sure sign you're "from off island." Less sober spring-breakers will be disappointed to find that Vineyard Haven is a dry town, hailing from the days of "tee-totaling"--but most restaurants don't mind if you b.y.o.b.

More illustrious visitors than the normal college students and New Englanders arrived by plane last summer--Air Force One--and apparently enjoyed themselves immensely.

The President stayed in Edgartown, the third of the six towns which lie scattered around the island's shores. (Unlike its tiny, cramped neighbor Nantucket, the Vineyard has more than one real town.) Visitors to Edgartown will enjoy the shops and restaurants which line the town's main street, and the adventurous traveler can take a ferry across Katama Bay to the "island" of Chappaquidick to see the site of Edward M. Kennedy's '54-'56 infamous accident and perhaps the ruin of his Presidential hopes. But the island is much more than a collection of tourist-trap towns.

Anyone with a bicycle (which can be rented cheaply in all of the towns) and a good pair of legs can bicycle the length of the island along wooded roads and bike paths. The island's crowning glory is a sunset seen from the cliffs at Gay Head over a plateful of fried clams.

But perhaps the most surprising aspect of life on the Vineyard is the tremendous variety of experiences. From a hike in the woods to a jog on the beach, the island offers something for everyone, from serious bikers to vacationing Presidents to you.