Nantucket is the quintessential New England beach destination conveniently located a stone’s throw off of Cape Cod. After spending a long weekend lounging around in West Dennis over the summer I impulsively booked a round trip ferry ride from Hyannis to the island of Nantucket.
I chose Nantucket over neighboring (and closer) island Martha’s vineyard for a handful of reasons. Most prominently being I had just finished an Elin Hilderbrand novel. Hilderbrand sets almost all of her beach reads on Nantucket and I wanted to see the island first hand. Although I only had about 8 hours to explore, I fit plenty into a day.
11:20 am: Ferry from Hyannis to Nantucket
At around 10:00 in the morning we left the hotel we were staying at in West Dennis and headed about 20 minutes North to the ferry terminal in Hyannis. There are a few ferry options to get to Nantucket from the mainland. We chose Hy-line cruises as they are an hour long ride as opposed to two hours. Since we didn’t have much time to begin with on the island we didn’t want to waste too much time on the boat over. We sat on the top deck and drank beer on the way, served from ferry concessions on board for a reasonable price.
Cutting time off the ferry led to more expensive tickets, but it was worth it in the end. If you’re okay with spending two hours on the ferry Steamship Authority is another popular cruise line.
12:20 pm: Arrive in Nantucket
Hy-line cruises drops off in the heart of town, which gave us a great starting point to our afternoon in Nantucket.
12:30 pm: Lunch at the Tavern
First things first, we sought out lunch. We were planning on eating on the early side for dinner before heading back to Hyannis so we sat down for a light lunch near the port at a restaurant called the Tavern. They serve burgers, sandwiches and other lunch faire in an outdoor courtyard. We split a dozen fresh oysters and clams casino. Additionally, we each tried a draft beer from local Cisco Brewing.
1:30 pm: Walk to Brant Point
I could not leave Nantucket without seeing one of the iconic lighthouses. I always favor getting from point A to B on foot while traveling, so instead of bussing to the other side of the island we decided to walk about a mile away from the port to Brant Point lighthouse. The stroll itself is lovely. Nantucket has gorgeous architecture and lush gardens to admire around every corner. We stopped for many photos before finally making it to the pebbly beach and checking out the lighthouse.
Brant Point typically has some decor on the side, it is rather short and squat compared to other lighthouses I’ve seen. When I visited in June a large American flag hung down to side since we were in between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. We grabbed some photos on the boardwalk and on the rocks in front of the lighthouse before sitting down on the beach for a few minutes and enjoying the view of the port. Once we got our fill of the lighthouse we strolled back into the heart of the main town.
2:30 pm: Explore the Whaling Museum
I had low expectations for the museum, but it turns out that it is a staple for any trip to Nantucket. Located in a historic hall, there are 9 galleries displaying artwork and treasures from colonial times. You will also find a real 46 foot long Sperm Whale skeleton. Although I did not bank on spending over an hour in the museum, it was so mesmerizing we didn’t leave until close.
3:30 pm: Ice Cream from the Juice Bar
Although you can of course grab a cold pressed juice or smoothie from The Juice Bar, they are actually famous for ice cream. I grabbed a cone of peanut butter cup with chocolate sprinkles and sat on a bench outside the shop to eat the cone. It lived up to all of my expectations.
4:00 pm: Shop Around the Main Town
One of the unique things about Nantucket is that nearly all businesses on the island are locally owned. You will not find your typical McDonalds or Walmart here, instead there is no shortage of Mom & Pop shops scattered throughout the island. We spent plenty of time shopping through the ones that looked most interesting.
I ended up purchasing a sweatshirt, a hardcover Hilderbrand novel, a vintage postcard from one of the antique stores and a few bottles of wine. Something I learned while on Nantucket is that Martha’s vineyard is not actually a vineyard (is this common knowledge?). While in a wine store I had to ask. Although there aren’t too many wines local to Massachusetts in general, one of the clerks recommended a white from Provence, France that was made specifically for Nantucket.
5:00 pm: Early Dinner at Cru
After our fill of shopping we sat down for a slow dinner at Cru. I had heard great things about Cru ahead of time, but we ended up choosing it due to location. The oyster bar is located only a block away from where we needed to meet our ferry back to Hyannis in 2 hours.
We started the meal with cocktails and appetizers. We ordered 2 Aperol Spritz and a handful of starters to share including fried calamari, smoked tuna dip and New England clam chowder. Once happy hour ended, we stayed for the second course. We split a bottle of Sauvignon blanc and each ordered a main to split. I ended up getting orecchiette pasta with guanciale and mint while my mother got a warm lobster roll. My pasta was great, but we both agreed it was quite possibly the best lobster roll either of us had ever had. The dining experience was perfect from the food to the lovely view over the harbor.
7:05 pm: Depart Nantucket
We strolled from dinner to wait in line for our ferry about 15 minutes in advance. Once again, we grabbed seats on the top deck. Once the boat set sail we each grabbed prosecco from concessions filled to the top of transparent plastic cups and toasted to a rather laid back day in Nantucket. The 7:05 ferry perfectly caught the sunset so we sipped out champagne and watched the sky as we returned to the mainland port in Hyannis.
Our day in Nantucket was relaxed, but we ended up seeing everything we could have without utilizing public transport. Had we been able to spend another day on the island I would have loved to get to the other side of things. However, for those looking to walk and spend ample time in the main town this was the perfect itinerary.
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