anantucketsummer 2024 Guide

Whether it’s your first time visiting the island or you’re looking for new places to explore, here are some of our favorite things to do and places to go during the summer on Nantucket. 

my favorite breakfast spots

Bartlett’s Farm Breakfast Sandwiches — can’t go wrong with a Mr. Popular sandwich (pro tip: add a hash brown in your sandwich, you won’t regret it)

Lemon Press — see photo for all the reasons why you need to try their waffles

Black Eyed Susans — BES is back! Get there early to beat the line out the door.

The Hub — ily @ The Hub’s blueberry muffins

Things to do

The Beach

One of our most favorite things to do on Nantucket is go to the beach! With over 82 miles of beaches, the island has plenty of options for everyone.  For a complete guide to Nantucket's beaches, visit this site!

Depending on which beach you go to, there are lots of great places to grab lunch to bring with you on the beach—here are a few of my favorite places & my favorite thing to order from each:

167 Raw Market, Truck & Oyster Bar — Carnitas Tacos always

Something Natural — nothing better than a turkey sandy on Portuguese bread with a Matt Fee Tea

Provisions — try the turkey terrific, it’s legendary

Claudette’s Sandwiches — anything with their house sauce is amazing! 

A popular spot people like to go after the beach is the Cisco Brewery.  The brewery is great for families with kids of all ages and has live music, great drinks and plenty of food trucks to choose from (pro tip: try the Pineapple Express cocktail & a Mac & cheese egg roll at the Lobster Trap’s food truck—you’ll thank me later). Cheers! 

Explore Sconset

For cloudy days or when you just don’t feel like going to the beach, I recommend taking a trip out to the picturesque town of Siasconset on the easternmost end of the island.  Step back in time to the 17th & 18th centuries as you walk through Sconset with cute, tiny cottages lining the narrow streets.  If you look closely, you’ll find doors & nautical figureheads taken from shipwrecks and repurposed as home decor. Some things to do in Sconset include:

• walking around town & on the Bluff Walk

• grabbing a sandwich at Claudette’s or visiting The Chanticleer for fine dining amongst the roses

• Getting ice cream at the Sconset Market

• Visiting Sankaty Head Light to learn about one one of the island’s three lighthouses
  

Spending the day in town

If you’d rather stay in town to explore, there’s still plenty for you to do! At the heart of downtown Nantucket there are plenty of boutiques to shop from as well as some other fun activities!

• Some of my favorite shops to visit are 120 Lino, Nomad and Clorinda Antinori—with that being said, I recommend exploring any/all the shops (I certainly do! 😉)

• Did you know that Nantucket was once the whaling capital of the world? To learn all about Nantucket in it’s heyday, you can visit the Nantucket Whaling Museum—it’s family friendly and rich with history.

• For those extra rainy days that are best spent watching a movie, head to Nantucket’s one and only movie theatre, the Dreamland!

• If you venture slightly out of town to the end of Easton Street, you’ll find the famous Brant Point Lighthouse—the second oldest lighthouse in the US!

• For Lobster rolls & caviar topped-onion rings head to Straight Wharf Fish! (Plus, you can get fish at the market to make at home!)

where to go at night

Dinner

This is a tough list for me to narrow down because there are truly so many amazing restaurants on the island—you really can’t go wrong with any of them! With that in mind, here are some of my recommendations (along with aforementioned recs!): 

• Straight Wharf—this is a favorite of mine because they have both a fine dining side (reservations needed) & a bar side which is more casual & first come, first serve. After trying almost every restaurant’s bluefish pate, I can confidently say that theirs is my favorite!

• Ethos—great wine selection & lots of delicious shareable plates—no reservations!

• Oran Mor—black truffle bucatini.  That’s all you need to know.

• Cru—great food, great drinks & great view from the dock

• Bar Yoshi—best sushi

• Lola 41—also great sushi, even better truffle fries

• Proprietors—Cool vibe & great food

• Pi Pizza—my favorite tomato sauce & roasted garlic on a Margherita pizza & a great aperol spritz

• Toppers—AAA  5-Diamond restaurant with a waterfront view

• Ventuno/Gamelle’s—pasta to stay at Ventuno & pizza to go at Gamelle’s

• Languadoc—fantastique French dining

Where to watch the sunset

As you may already know, Nantucket is home to some of the most beautiful sunsets—ok, maybe we’re a little bias but they truly are stunning! While the sunset is beautiful from pretty much anywhere, the two most popular spots are the following:

• Steps Beach: named after the famous steps you walk down to get to the beach, Steps is my favorite sunset spot! You can watch the sunset at the top of the steps or head down to enjoy a picnic on the beach.  Nearby are two restaurants where you can enjoy a great meal with a view—Galley Beach (fine dining) & The Sandbar Jetties Beach (casual, family friendly dining).

• Millie’s: on the Southeast side of the island you can also get a fantastic view of the sunset from Millie’s restaurant in Madaket.  

What to wear

While there is obviously no dress code on the island, there are some important things to note especially if it’s your first time visiting! 

• People tend to dress more casually on island so I’d recommend leaving your gowns & tuxedos at home—unless you’re attending a black tie wedding! 

• Ladies, I cannot stress this enough, do NOT bring your heels (kitten excluded) unless you want to twist your ankles on the cobblestone roads & uneven sidewalks.  

• While it gets hot during the day, the temperature drops at night—so make sure you pack a light jacket or shawl to wear when you go out for dinner! 

• To shop my lewks like the ones pictured here, head to my ShopMy page & LTK!

Where to Stay

• Greydon House—loacted in town & designed by Roman & Williams

• The White Elephant—walking distance to the heart of town

• The Wauwinet—stunning views & luxury resort

• Faraway Hotel—in the heart of town & interiors that call back to Nantucket’s history

• Life House—walking distance to the heart of town

• The Nantucket Hotel—Newly renovated & close to the heart of town

So there you have it! I hope this post helps you in planning your next trip to Nantucket, whether its your first or thousandth time visiting the island.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us on Instagram or by email: info@anantucketsummer.com.

xoxo

anantucketsummer