When it comes to things to do in Nantucket, it’s time to surrender to the salty breeze and step back in history and the sandy outdoors. This stunning small island used to be known as the “faraway place” and when you go there, you will realise why.
Let me show you Nantucket…
An Introduction To Things To Do In Nantucket
Compact and picturesque in charcoal grey and deep-sea blue, the island of Nantucket once hosted the astronauts of their time: the whaling captains who inspired Moby Dick.
They ruled the marine world, trading in risk, adventure and wealth. And then something happened.
Something which makes a visit to this curious corner of Massachusetts all the more rewarding.
So here’s a guide to things to do in Nantucket.
- Visit the Whaling Museum – It’s the flagship site of the Nantucket Historical Association’s fleet of properties. Inside, you’ll find a full size whale, ivory carvings and interactive exhibits that bring to life life at sea.
- Enjoy 80 miles of unspoilt coastline – Locals swear by Jetties Beach on the Northern Tip, surfers prefer Nobadeer, sunset photographers think Madaket Beach is the best bet and parents prefer Children’s Beach. South shore beaches tend to be cooler than in the north, with strong currents and tides so always be alert.
- Sip a whale tail pale ale from on-island brewery Cisco’s.
- Toast s’mores on a campfire. It’s a classic combination of melted chocolate and marshmallow squeezed between two biscuits. And it’s lush!
- Coatue Wildlife Refuge – a conservation area of 390 acres that shelters Nantucket Harbor from the Sound. As you’d expect, the beach is great but it’s the wildlife that steals the show. Cacti and wind buffeted dwarf cedars give a hint of the wild and you need a four wheel drive and valid Oversand Vehicle Permit to enter.
- Tour the Jethro Coffin House, also known as the Oldest House on Sunset Hill. Built in 1686 at the time when the Wampanoag outnumbered the Europeans by three to one, it’s a National Historic Landmark and fascinating piece of American history. Tours bring this history to life.
- Follow the Sconset Bluff Walk – described as the most scenic hiking path and one of the best things to do in Nantucket. It runs from Siasconset to Sankaty Head Lighthouse, with small fishing cottages on one side, the Atlantic on the other.
- Get a taste of the history of weaving at the Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum. Their online shop is also a great way to pick up the souvenirs if it’s too tricky to fly home with them or to fit them into your weekend bag.
- The Nantucket Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum tells the heroic activities of everyday people as they tried to help stranded sailors during Nantucket’s golden age.
- In a state with a lot of firsts, Nantucket also holds America’s record as the owner of the oldest mill in the USA. The Old Mill on Prospect Street began work in 1746 and still grinds corn today.
Disclosure – This trip was made up of some self-funded aspects and a mixture of paid/unpaid partnerships with Hertz, Visit Massachusetts, Norwegian, and Cellhire. As ever, all opinions remain my own. Otherwise, what’s the point?!
The Nantucket Travel Story
Nothing gives a different perspective faster than arriving somewhere by sea.
“As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts.”
That sounds as though it could be me talking, but of course it isn’t.
It is, of course, a quote from Moby Dick, the Great American Novel by Herman Melville, published in 1851, that charted the course of the whalers on an epic quest around the world.
It could also describe, in 21st century terms, the arrival on Nantucket itself.
Nantucket and Moby Dick
In the book, the whalers start and hope to end on Nantucket, a small island off the windswept shores of New England. A community that once mined the whole world’s waters as its dominion.
Today, it startles visitors in two ways: few cars and few franchises. You read that right. American land. No Apple, Starbucks, and no Tommy Hilfiger (even though the man himself has a house here.)
Stripped of America’s biggest icons, Nantucket feels more remote than it is.
Passengers must arrive by sea or air, connecting either by ferry from J.F.K. hotspot Hyannis, or by “puddle-jumper” from New York or Boston to clear the 30 mile difference from the coast of Cape Cod.
A whitewashed lighthouse guards the harbour at Brant Point, taut stars and stripes on its squat façade. And slate-coated rooftops stretch out in much the same way as they did in 17th-century Nantucket, protecting grey-shingle walls with white-slicked wooden fences. Old-fashioned lamp posts still stand guard.
In short, it’s like nowhere else on earth.
The layout from the harbour isn’t hard: head straight up from the dock and keep walking.
Our hotel, at 76 Main Street, lived up to its name with joyful simplicity.
And so, luggage and toddler in tow we arrived beneath the white columns and steep porch stairs to sip lemon-iced water in the marine lounge beneath a beautiful betentacled octopus.
The lounge, like the boutique shops and cafes we passed en route, makes the marine world beautiful; they extol the outdoors life.
Things To Do In Nantucket: In Detail
Beautiful Sandy Bluffs on Nantucket
And it’s an outdoor life that’s easy to love. Eighty miles of unspoilt coastline, accessible mostly by bike, the lack of other transport touching them all with an air of seclusion.
Locals swear by Jetties Beach on the Northern Tip, surfers prefer Nobadeer and sunset photographers think Madaket is the best bet.
Those with young children (hello, that’s us!) prefer the aptly named Children’s Beach just on the edge of “town.”
Here is a world where the elite rest their well-heeled feet. Beaches. Cycling. Lobster rolls.
Whale tail pale ale from on-island Cisco brewers. Smores, the biscuit, chocolate and hot marshmallow concoction melted over a campfire, made all the romantic with a DIY gift set waiting in our room.
All set on an island where 40% of land is protected conservation land and whose very existence is a National Historic District.
- Recommended reading: A Road Trip from Boston: A Two Week Massachusetts Driving Itinerary
A Town Built On Whaling
The town itself is easy to enjoy, boutique art shops mingling with the steady pace of relaxation that New Englanders are made to enjoy.
Yet it’s the whaling history that fascinates.
It’s so reviled today, and yet so intriguing.
How did this small island, a mere 3 ½ miles by 14, rise to such a prominent place in the world?
It isn’t long before I find myself in the glossy $11 million whaling museum, my spine arching back in order to take in the magnitude of the spine hanging in the air.
At a staggering 14 metres long, it’s humbling to realise that’s only half the size of the one featured in true-life Hollywood Movie Heart of the Sea.
In part, it’s as grisly as I’d have imagined. Blood, harpoons, spears and blubber.
Yet compared to the whalers of today, these seamen seem hopelessly outsized. The boats insubstantial, the threat immense.
Voyages used to last three to five years; men would be away from their families for most of their cut-short-and-injured lives. Not that the whales fared much better, of course.
And on closer inspection, the history of Nantucket holds up a mirror to the history of the world. The battle and struggle for survival. The shifting influence of Empire and economics.
When English-speaking settlers arrived on Nantucket, they first tried their usual methods of farming. Sheep, goats, cattle and corn.
Things didn’t go well.
Together with the native Wampanoag, at least to begin with, they moved to fishing and local trade, harvesting bones and oil from dead whales that washed up along the shore.
The Nantucket Gold Rush
With the advances in marine technology, the Nantucket whalers could travel further and deeper than those before. From the “scorching heat of the equatorial sun” to the “shivering in the frozen regions” the Nantucketeers, harvested whale oil from untouched regions around the globe.
1712 saw the first offshore expedition. By 1750 Nantucket was world leader and by 1773, Nantucket whale ships took part in the Boston Tea Party.
But then came the California Gold Rush. Hundreds fled. Railroad and steamships arrived on the mainland, boosting their ports, while the Nantucket sandbar blocked access for larger ships.
And just like that, these masters of the sea found themselves redundant. The declining whale population made journeys harder, more dangerous and less rewarding than before.
The workforce left. Nantucket hibernated.
In the language of the Wampanoag, Nantucket means “Faraway Place.”
And for a while, again, it was.
Until the next gold rush arrived: tourism.
Nantucket’s virtual abandonment and lack of industrial development made it all the prettier and more perfect for the 20th and 21st century traveller.
The museum itself has an observation deck that brings these points together, inviting visitors to look across the harbour to see Nantucket as it would have been then.
As it is now.
- Recommended reading: So what’s new in Boston? The old, of course!
Astronauts of the Deep
En route to the deck, it showcases whale-bone corsets, intricate scrimshaw, oil portraits and a fascinating story about the Nantucket Quaker tradition and its role in the progression of women in science (America’s first female astronomer, Maria Mitchell, was both a Quaker and a Nantucketeer.)
And then on the rooftop, you can look again at that welcoming Nantucket harbour.
Through the summer sun, I can see another ferry arriving, visitors spilling with excitement onto the dock, as we did only a day before.
Beyond that, the foam settles quickly on the deep sea of blue.
“Let America add Mexico to Texas, and pile Cuba upon Canada; let the English overswarm all India, and hang out their blazing banner from the sun; two-thirds of this terraqueous globe are the Nantucketer’s. For the sea is his; he owns it, as Emperors own empires.” Moby Dick.
They’re captivating, haunting words. But we all know what happens to Empires.
Carefree Summers and the Final Revenge
And so I leave this museum behind, head back to the sand and the surf, the lighthouses. Cycle and scrunch my toes in the sand with the rest of them, ending the day by a campfire, toasting my Nantucket s’mores, before retiring to luxurious cotton sheets and dreams.
I drift asleep on the waves of the deep, chasing the tale of the whale.
And wake to a news alert on my phone, one that makes me smile in more ways than one.
The local whale population is recovering, with sightings from the not-so-far-away urban Manhattan.
There once was a girl from Nantucket
There once was a girl from Nantucket. Despite all the gloss and glamour, one word about Nantucket and filthy limericks bubble up like unwanted corpses at the start of a murder mystery. Not ideal when travelling with a toddler. Unlike corpses, though, at least the limericks are funny. Head here to find out what they’re all about and to keep this family site clean
Where To Stay In Nantucket
As you’d expect for such a lovely spot, accommodation is in short supply so lock in those bookings as early as possible.
I’d recommend the stylish bijou hotel known as 76 Main. It’s part of a small local chain, called/run by Lark Hotels and these guys know what they’re doing. The bedrooms are beautifully designed and there’s a s’mores station. Need I say more?!
Where To Eat In Nantucket
Nantucket offers everything from fine dining and pub grub to bakeries and take-outs.
Gallery Beach – Want to dine like the stars? The likes of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Robert De Niro are rumoured to have eaten here. This highly rated restaurant has earned praise from magazines such as Vanity Fair and Zagat. The menu at Gallery Beach includes lobster crepes, roasted halibut and sirloin steak.
Brotherhood of Thieves – This spot serves classic pub meals alongside an inspiring message. You’ll also find artisan liquors, 10 beers on tap and wine suggestions to pair with each main dish on the menu.
Fog Island Cafe – This local institute dishes out generous portions and regularly offers specials, such as the Tex Mex skillet. The Fog French toast is always a popular choice.
How To Get To Nantucket
We travelled to Nantucket as part of our epic road trip through Massachusetts from Boston. Read the full, detailed itinerary here.
Flights
Our partner for this trip, Norwegian, serves Boston with a daily non stop service between London Gatwick and Boston Airport. To book visit www.norwegian.com/uk or call 0330 828 0854
Car Rental
Although cars are allowed on the island, they’re actively discouraged and it will make taking the ferry that much harder. Plus, half the fun is learning to live without
Hire a car to travel through the rest of Massachusetts. Leave it behind for Nantucket.
We rented a car through Hertz. The booking and collection process was simple, but what makes the service even better is that they have an American Road Trip Planner. It makes drafting itineraries so much easier.
If you register with Hertz Gold Plus Rewards BEFORE you make your reservation you receive better deals, the chance to skip the queues and to use the Gold Plus Rewards counter. It’s free to register and only takes 60 seconds, so it’s worth doing.
More About Travel In Nantucket
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- How to spend two days in Boston: your weekend Boston itinerary
- The best cranberry bog tours in New England
Oh Yes, I remember it well. I visited the island and fell in love with everything about it except the cost of real estate. Had you bought a small hut there in 1970, say, you could now sell it for a million.
It’s often twinned with Martha’s Vineyard. Both of these islands have deer and therefore Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis and Babesiosis. Not that that should stop you going there, its just nice to know in case you get a fever.
I loved the piece all around. Abigail you get better and better.
Why, thank you. The more sleep I get, the better! ;-) Visited Martha’s Vineyard as well and really enjoyed that island too. But it felt worlds apart from Nantucket in many ways. More on that to come!
I have no clue where you get this no cars and no franchises idea. There are lots of cats on the island. There are several places to rent a car and even a car dealership. Also, bringing a car on the ferry is pretty easy to do and not at all uncommon. I’ve gone to Nantucket almost every year since I was young and have never heard anyone say that cars are discouraged. Regarding the franchises, no there are no chain restaurants, but there are a good few franchise clothing stores.
Hey Brion, thanks for stopping by. You’re right, I suppose the text should rechnically say “few cars and few franchises” when compared to other cities in America. There are cars in the pics. But it’s striking how different that is to other places in the US.
All told, the ferry company, hotels and tourist boards discouraged us from bringing our car. There were certainly more ferry options as passengers and we didn’t need a car at all on Nantucket – even with luggage and a toddler in tow.
Thanks for making it clearer for future travellers. Enjoy your future trips to Nantucket, as well. I’d love to be able to go back one day.