Moving out to New England we fell in love with summer on Nantucket, and I wanted to put a Nantucket Travel Guide together for you that includes ferry info, our favorite restaurants, places to stay, and most cherished activities. It’s definitely a highlight of our summer and I get asked quite often for travel suggestions, so I wanted to put it all in one place.
Ferry Info
There are several modes of transportation that you can take to get over to the island. You can fly or take the ferry over. I prefer to travel by ferry, since we are in Connecticut. I’ve taken all the ferries over at some point, but my preferred mode of transportation is to use Seastreak Ferry out of New Bedford. We avoid the Cape traffic with Seastreak and it’s a shorter drive from Connecticut.
I don’t like flying on small planes and the fog can delay a lot of flights, so I just find this the best way to get there. Also, I love that they offer valet service. We just pull right up to the ferry entrance and they take care of our car for a small fee. It’s a really nice service that the other ferries do not offer. It’s a fast ferry and in peak season they offer more times for arrivals and departures.
Ferry over
By air
*there are several private jet services to look into
On the island
If you are not bringing your vehicle over, there are several places on island to rent a vehicle. The Wave Bus runs regularly out to different points on the island and the hub is in town. If we don’t rent a Jeep, we usually just call an Uber. You can bike to a lot of places too.
Peddle Around
Nan Tuk Tuk (pedicab–great for getting to dinner or to your boat cruise)
Cook’s Cycle (bike rentals)
Where to Stay
We’ve stayed in home rentals and many hotels on Nantucket. If we are traveling with the family, I prefer a vacation home. When it’s just the two of us, we pick a hotel we both really enjoy staying at in town.
My favorites
FOR VACATION HOMES:
FOR HOTELS:
The Cottages at the Boat Basin
Dining
There are so many restaurants to enjoy during your visit. We love Born and Bread and Gyp-Sea Cafe for breakfast. Born and Bread has the best breakfast sandwiches, and Gyp-Sea is very family-friendly. Black Eyed Susans is the locals favorite that’s been serving the island for 30 years.
For more casual lunch fare: Something Natural, Claudette’s, Provisions, Straight Wharf Fish, and Lemon Press are my picks.
If you are looking beach vibes, The Sandbar is very family-friendly and right on Jetties Beach.
If you fancy a family-friendly yet more upscale lunch on the water, Brant Point Grill at The White Elephant is wonderful.
Also, you have to get ice cream from The Juice Bar and Sconset Market.
For casual dinners…honestly a grab and go Connecticut style lobster roll from Walter’s Deli is pretty darn delicious. Also, we love picking up to-go lobster dinners at Sayle’s Seafood and The Nantucket Lobster Trap to bring back to house or beach. Those are classic Nantucket seafood establishments that are more old school, and we love them.
For lovely dinners: these are my absolute favorite ones. I’ll add to this list as we find new ones to love too.
My favorites
Summer Activities
I really love to relax when I’m on island time, so we do a lot of beach days, walks, and always fit in time on the water. Here are some favorites we enjoy.
My favorites
Cruise Aboard the Chugalugatug with Nantucket Tug Co.
Rent a Jeep to head out to Great Point
Rent bikes from Cooks Cycle and ride out to Sconset
For beach days: Steps Beach, Sconset Beach, Madaket Beach (amazing sunsets here)
Lighthouses: There are three lighthouses on the island. Brant Point is right in town, Sankaty is in Sconset, and Great Point is only accessible by driving on the beach. You will need a permit for this, but it’s so worth doing. If you rent a Jeep on the island, it should come with the permit and sticker.
Shopping
There are SO MANY shops on Nantucket. I don’t think you could hit them all in a day. Maybe over 3 days. It’s hard to narrow down to just a few, but if I had to pick my favorites here’s the ones I’d recommend.
My favorites
More Nantucket
- You can see my Nantucket Photo Gallery and I share some of my favorite spots on the island to capture and enjoy.
- You can read the article I wrote for Yankee Magazine’s newengland.com: “5 Ways to Make the Most Out of Your Next Nantucket Visit”
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