The Ultimate Nantucket Travel Guide

 

While Nantucket sure looks like a set from your favorite summer movie scene, it’s a wonderful destination year-round! A stone’s throw from the coast of Massachusetts, Nantucket is known for hidden beaches, quiet luxury, and slowing down by the sea. Take a quick ferry from Martha’s Vineyard (or a longer one from New York City), or fly in and enjoy the view. 

It’s an island icon for a reason. Tucked between the ocean and the bay, you have your own private access to (and incredible views of) both. Choose to stay in the main house or one of the private cottages and enjoy complimentary breakfast and other refreshments throughout the day. The Wauwinet is adult-only and set a few miles from downtown, making this the perfect stay for true relaxation. You’re also already on site of one of the most renown restaurants on the island, Topper’s. 

The Nantucket Hotel offers 1-to-4-bedroom suites or 1-or-2-bedroom cottages. This is the only year-round hotel on the island, and it’s full of tradition. At the Nantucket Hotel, even new guests are made to feel like family, and you’re guaranteed to book your second stay even before the first one’s up. Walk a few steps downtown, enjoy the heated pool, take a yoga class, and order the lobster tacos at Breeze Restaurant. 

At the White Elephant, choose between staying at the Residences, the Inn, the Hotel, or the Garden Cottages. Any accommodation here ensures chic Nantucket style and endless modern comfort. Take a yacht excursion from the hotel’s dock, stroll to the nearby Brant Point Lighthouse, or enjoy a couple’s massage. The White Elephant is also home to one of the best spas on Nantucket.

Hotel Pippa is the newest boutique stay on Nantucket, and she’s bringing a fresh version of luxury to the island. Perfect for a girls’ trip, Hotel Pippa is the ideal backdrop for your beach days and late nights. It’s just steps away from the best downtown dining, drinking, and essential Nantucket travel destinations. Rooms are uniquely designed and outfitted with crisp linens, natural light, Dyson hair dryers, and spa-grade skin care products.

How does a quarter pound of lobster in your bloody mary sound to start the day? Brant Point Grill at the White Elephant hotel serves up some of the most decadent breakfast on the island, and you don’t want to miss it. Then, you have to try a Terry Terrific from Something Natural for lunch. Their trademark sandwich includes turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce—a flavor combination that satisfies year-round! We also recommend lunch at Galley Beach to enjoy fine afternoon dining with your toes in the sand.

As the evening approaches, start with champagne and oysters at Cru and then head off to Sayle’s Seafood for a traditional Nantucket clambake: mussels, clam chowder, lobster, corn, potatoes and beyond! Or, if you’d rather something a bit more formal, enjoy the prix fixe menu at Straight Wharf. It’s different every day to accommodate the island’s freshest fare.

Unwind after dinner with cocktails at the Nautilus, Tree Bar, or Club Car. If you’re not in the mood for cocktails, have a beer at Cisco Brewers or swing by the champagne vending machine at the Gaslight. Then, enjoying live music at the endearingly divey Chicken Box is the only way to say goodnight to Nantucket. 

You’ll want to carve out plenty of beach time on your Nantucket travel itinerary. Jetties Beach is a favorite for good reason. It’s easy to get to, there are volleyball nets and a playground, well-kept showers and bathrooms, and the Sandbar nearby for food and drinks. For an adventurous beach day, drive on to Great Point to enjoy 1,100 acres of nature preserve, or to Smith Point which lies between the ocean and the sound. You also can’t miss the sunset on Madaket Beach.

When in Nantucket, do as the locals do—and that means spending lots of time on the water. Take a lesson at Nantucket Island Surf School, or take a boat charter out to sail the waves in style. If you’ve spent enough time outside, you can’t miss the local boutiques, independently owned bookstores, or artisan craft markets in downtown Nantucket.

Beyond a tee time at Miacomet Golf Course or reservations at the spa, don’t feel the need to schedule your every minute on the island. Rent bikes and meander through Sconset, walk around the Whaling Museum, or simply admire the manicured saltbox homes that line Nantucket streets.