This past week, Steve and I spent a week on vacation in Nantucket, Massachusetts. This was our third visit to the island, and Nantucket truly is one of my happy places. Although it’s wonderful to take some short jaunts near our house in Santa Barbara, it was terrific to head out for a grand adventure for vacation on Nantucket Island.
We flew to Boston and took a 9-person plane to the island on Cape Air. A couple thoughts before you book this journey: it’s not cheap and the little plane can be super bumpy. I nearly kissed the ground when we landed! You can also take Jet Blue from Boston or NYC directly to Nantucket, which might be a little less turbulent!
The best parts of vacation on Nantucket
I want to share a few things we love about Nantucket.
Beaches – obviously being an island means lots of beaches! Our other trips have been in September and it was a touch cool for beach time but June was fabulous!
Biking – there is an extensive bike path system throughout the island that lead to most of the beaches. And the island is flat (not that I needed it to be, after all that Peloton biking! :))
Brews – We did a fun bike ride to Cisco Brewery where you can sit in the beer garden and have lunch from one of the food trucks. We got a lobster sandwich and ahi tuna sliders. Delicious!
Architecture and Flowers– Nantucket is charming with all the gray sided homes; many in the center of town are historical. And on this visit, there were amazing roses and dogwoods; the hydrangeas were just starting to bloom. One advantage of being on vacation in Nantucket in September is that the hydrangeas are at their peak!
Restaurants – There is amazing food on the island. It was a little more difficult to get reservations in June than September, I must admit. This also was due to many restaurants still spacing out tables due to COVID.
Here are some of our favorite restaurants when we’re on vacation on Nantucket:
- Oran Mor
- Toppers at the Wauwinet
- Donuts from Downyflake bakery
- Sandbar at Jetties Beach – toes in the sand and $1 raw oysters from 3-5!
- Bar Yoshi
- Pearl
- American Seasons
A stopover in Boston
On the way home to Santa Barbara, we spent a day and night in Boston. We love Boston. Of course we only visit in early summer or early Fall – no snow- we are Californians after all! On this visit, we stayed at the Kimpton Marlowe Hotel in Cambridge. We’ve stayed there before- it’s a great hotel and we found that the restaurants that we wanted to visit were mostly in Cambridge. It’s such fun to walk through MIT and Harvard campuses.
On this occasion, we did a big walk through Boston starting with pizza in the North End. There is a very moving art installation near the North End that is a Holocaust Memorial. We have walked through it during our last couple of visits and find it incredibly impactful.
We walked through the Public Garden, and I had to indulge in the Swan Boat ride. Steve is not a big fan of getting stuck on any type of boat but this was 10 minutes so he joined me. The Swan Boats are pontoons that have a swan on the back and are powered by a person. They have been in operation since 1877. I thought it was really fun which you can tell from the smile on my face!
My restaurant suggestions in Cambridge are sure-winners!
Amy and Sophie are heading to Boston in a week or so, and I’m sure they will have some new finds to share. It’s just wonderful to be out and about again!