Hi friends, welcome back! We recently spent a week in Nantucket, and I thought I’d share some snapshots with you. This year we drove to Hyannis and then took the high-speed ferry over. The last time we drove we said never again, but we are at least an hour closer, so we figured we’d see how it goes. Thankfully we had a smooth travel day. This is our fourth time going to Nantucket, so we usually go with no plans only dinner reservations. I’ll share some highlights of each day and some of our favorite eats.
Day One: Our mornings always started by getting some lattes at Handlebar Café and finding a bench along Main Street to people watch. We spent the morning doing some shopping in town and then met up with our friends at the Sandbar at Jettie’s Beach. Our friends from the city joined us a few days of the trip and Violet got to see her BFF. While we waited for our reservation the girls played in the sand and it was nice not having to chase them around. This restaurant had a live band at dinner so it was a fun time for all.
Every night ended at Juice Bar (the most popular ice cream spot that doesn’t actually sell juice) for some nightly ice cream. There’s always a long line, but it moves quick. My favorite flavor of the trip was Cookie Butt which was vanilla ice cream with Oreo and Butterfinger chunks. Violet was a big fan of ice cream this year. Her arms would instinctually try to grab the cone when we gave her bites.
Day Two: we took the Wave bus to Surfside Beach to meet up with our friends. The waves here were powerful, so we only dipped our toes in the water. This beach is on the ocean side so if you have younger kids, I’d recommend Children’s Beach or Jetties Beach which are in Nantucket Sound.
We had dinner at Cru, one of the most coveted reservations on the island, and the food was excellent. I loved the Lobster Fra Diavolo and Jon enjoyed his lobster roll. Jon and I tried their Crucumber drink that everyone loves, but we instantly regretted it. Tasted too much like a green juice with a vodka aftertaste. To get a reservation and we all set alarms in our calendar to make sure we got one right when they were released.
Day Three: we took a long walk around town admiring the beautiful homes and landscaping. This is our favorite thing to do in Nantucket, we could spend hours just strolling around the island. Our walk took us to Brandt Point Lighthouse that greets everyone coming in by boat.
We had an early dinner at Nautilus, another hard reservation to get. I love their Dan Dan noodles and their version of crab fried rice.
After dinner we started going to the to the playground in the harbor and the lighting was so pretty. It was a great spot to walk and digest dinner before our nightly dessert.
Day Four: Jon had some work commitments, so we did more shopping and walking around in the morning to be close to home.
We wanted a break from dining out so we grabbed some pizza from Pizzeria Gemelle and took it to the park. I got a hot honey pizza and unfortunately a wasp was interested in it too.
Day Five: we went to Children’s Beach to go swimming. I went in, but Violet wasn’t too interested in anything other than dipping her toes. Maybe next year…
We went to Proprieter’s for dinner and this was one of our favorite meals of the trip. The menu is a lot of sharables and a few bigger plates. We enjoyed sampling the different dishes.
Day Six: our last full day we took the bus to Sconset to walk to the Sankaty Light House. The walk is about half an hour from town and longer than we remembered, but it’s a tradition.
We went to Brotherhood of Theives for our last meal and Violet got a massive serving of chicken tenders and fries from the kids menu while we feasted on some fresh sushi.
We ended the night seeing the full moon over the harbor before getting one last ice cream.
Day Seven: we savored our last coffee, grabbed some final souvenirs, sandwiches from Provisions, and then we took the 11:10am ferry back to Hyannis. I made the big mistake of suggesting we eat our sandwiches before getting on the bus to the parking lot instead of hopping on the bus that was there waiting. We had to wait 25 minutes until the next bus came and it felt like an eternity. Thankfully traffic wasn’t bad on the way home and the drive took about four hours. We stopped at an outlet mall, grabbed some groceries, and then we were home sweet home.
I realized I unintentionally took a month off from the blog! I usually always take a break when we travel but then we had back-to-back plans. We hosted Jon’s parents a few days after we got back from Nantucket and then shortly after we were in Michigan a week for my sister’s wedding. It’s been a busy end to summer but so great to spend time with our families. Violet especially eats up all the attention! I think this was the busiest summer of our lives, especially with the move. All that to say I’m back to regularly scheduled content and looking forward to a slower fall 🙂
Looks like a perfect summer trip!
It’s the one place we can actually relax on vacation!
Wow, you guys ate well on this trip! Sounds like a fun getaway and a busy but fun summer overall. Looking forward to reading more of what you’ve been up to!
We did! I feel like we ate more in that week than the whole year prior ha.
I’ve read a few of Elin Hilderbrand’s novels and her descriptions of the Nantucket locales match your photos. I’d love to visit the island some day, but it seems the timing is essential to avoid the summer rush and have a shot at reservations at the better restaurants. Hopefully the visit was as uncrowded as your photos suggest. The weather looked great too, even if it was likely hot/humid. All of which is to ask, what did you think of the timing of your trip – best time of year to go?
We did have great weather, no grey days! Some days did get a little warm, but I don’t think it was ever more then upper 70s. I would say mid-end of June would be my pick. The crowds aren’t super crazy yet and everything is in bloom. The last two years we’ve gone the week before Labor Day and it’s quieter but a lot of the roses and hydrangeas were past peak bloom. We also aren’t huge beach people so if you like the beach then late august would be best because June can be chilly.
Sounds like a lovely family break. Gorgeous views too, all the hydrangeas are stunning.
I love all the hydrangeas. We missed their peak bloom, but they were still very pretty.
Looks like a fabulous family break Lyssy. An interesting place with a laid back vibe. Glad to see you back posting. Have a great day. Allan
It’s the one place we can actually relax on vacation!
That sounds like such a lovely trip! I love walking around and seeing all the houses/yards too and even the cute shops and cobblestones in “town.”
It’s the perfect place to just walk around aimlessly. Such a beautiful island.
What a great week you had! And we’ll fed too. Maggie
So much food! It was a great week.
Looks so peaceful, with lots of good food to boot! Never been to Nantucket, but you’ve sold me on going some day, whenever I’m back on that side of the country!
It is a very peaceful place and so many great restaurants. A hike for you out west, but definitely worth a visit one day!
We know Nantucket only from ‘Moby Dick’. Great to see your fine pictures of it.
Thank you very much
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank you, hopefully the downtown has stayed the same since Moby Dick.
Nantucket looks so beautiful Lyssy, I can quite understand why you have made return visits
The friend I mentioned previously showed me lots of lovely photos from.her week there. Her daughter-in-law’s mother bought a seaside residence there as an investment and Alice (my friend) says it’s stunning. It’s rented out for whenever they are not using it themselves and Alice was staggered at how expensive it is per night!
Oh wow it’s too bad they don’t need any publicity for their rental, you’d be perfect! It is crazy how expensive hotels and rental homes are on the island. I am hoping to one day meet someone with a house on island that wants me to visit 🙂
It’s such a pretty place. Love the boats at sunset and that’s a lovely shot of Violet at the beach xx
Thank you, it is a very photogenic island!
As an Australian, I remember Nantucket coming up in early American history. What a lovely-looking area.
That is funny, I don’t think we ever learned about it in the US. It is a stunning island.
Never been to Nantucket but it’s now on the list – fabulous food, humongous hydrangeas and perfect property porn. What more could I want?
It is right up your alley! I’d recommend you visit in June when everything is in bloom.
Noted and thank you
The houses and gardens of Nantucket are a real delight to look at. Apparently, the residents still seem to own just as many Jeep Wranglers as ever. I really like their collection of stickers allowing them to drive on the beaches.
Aw I always love your trips to Nantucket and this one looks just as wholesome and lovely. The food looks great and the sea views are beautiful. I can’t believe how big Violet has grown!! Look forward to your upcoming posts and I hope you’re managing to relax a bit now summer is over 🙂
Sounds like you had a lovely time in Nantucket. Glad to hear the drive to get to the ferry wasn’t too terrible this time. Mmm that ice cream looks amazing. Our little M was a huge fan of ice cream this summer too.
Sounds like a great trip – I’d love to visit one day….
The hydrangeas are beautiful! I’ve noticed they’ve been extraordinarily vibrant this year. What a great trip and the food…oh my!