I’ve officially been on Nantucket for one month now! I’ve included the first few vlogs I did about my trip below if you want to see what I’ve been getting up to, but today I want to show you what I did for a long weekend on Nantucket this past weekend with my family!
They came to visit and arrived at noon on Friday and left at noon on Monday, so I had exactly 3 days and nights to show them all of my favorite spots on the island. It was a whirlwind, but I managed to do it!
I have my car with me since I’m here for two months, but if you’re just coming for a long weekend, you probably don’t want to pay to bring it over. The good thing is you can rent a bike, grab a cab, or ride on “The Wave” bus all over the island!
My Ideal Long Weekend on Nantucket:
Day 1
1. Walk around ‘Sconset
After my family arrived on Friday afternoon, we drove directly to ‘Sconset. It’s about a 20 minute ride from town, and we had a couple of hours before we could check into our Airbnb. We decided to spend the afternoon in ‘Sconset since the roses were just starting to bloom!
Siasconset (lovingly known as ‘Sconset) is on the Eastern coast of Nantucket. It is full of adorable cottages and, this time of year, beautiful roses! I had so much fun strolling around the neighborhoods with my family and checking out all the charming houses and flowers.
2. Sankaty Lighthouse
Also in ‘Sconset, Sankaty is one of the three lighthouses on Nantucket. It’s a great pit stop to make while you’re out east!
A trip to Nantucket isn’t complete without seeing a lighthouse, and of the two that are easily accessible (Sankaty & Brant Point, the other one, Great Point, requires 4 wheel drive, a permit, and letting air out of your tires), Sankaty is a wee bit more impressive.
3. Dinner at Brotherhood of Thieves
We drove from ‘Sconset back to town, where we ate at our favorite restaurant – Brotherhood of Thieves (known to the locals as just Brotherhood, or BroHo)!
You’ll notice I have no pics of the food because I couldn’t wait to eat it! It’s THAT GOOD. We always eat outside, and I highly recommend:
- Drink: Red Sangria by Half Bottle
- Appetizer: BroHo Nachos
- Entrée: The Brotherhood Burger (GF buns available!)
- For seafood lovers, their lobster roll is the best on the island!
4. Ice Cream at Juice Bar
While we were in town, we couldn’t resist heading to Juice Bar – the most popular ice cream spot on the island! Be prepared for a long line, but don’t worry – it’s worth it.
Favorite flavors:
- Toffee crunch
- Peanut butter cup
- Crantucket (vanilla with chocolate covered cranberries)
If you’re not gluten free, definitely get a homemade waffle cone or waffle bowl! You might even smell them freshly baking when you’re there.
I suggest walking down to Easy Street to eat your ice cream with a water view!
Day 2
5. Farmer’s & Artisan’s Market
If you’re in Nantucket on a Saturday between June and October, definitely check out the Farmer’s market! A couple of farms offer fresh veggies, local honey, and other goods. There are also lots of great artisans and you can find everything from jewelry, to cards, to art prints and sculptures. There’s also a henna artist there most weeks!
The market is right in the center of town (they shut down a couple of roads), so my mom and I also checked out some of the shops in town.
6. Shop in Town
There are so many great shops in town for anything you could ever want! Some of my faves:
- Sweet Inspirations – get your chocolate fix here! I love the dark chocolate whales and chocolate covered cranberries.
- Nantucket Bookworks & Mitchell’s Book Corner – two awesome places to pick up your summer beach read! Bookworks has a super cool kids section, and Mitchell’s often has book signings.
- Annie & The Tees/3 Girls and a Dog – two adjoining stores that offer a variety of Nantucket t-shirts & sweatshirts.
7. Lunch from Provisions
Provisions is right on Straight Wharf in town. They have the best sandwiches around! I’m a huge fan of the Caprese, but the Turkey Terrific is also super popular. They offer gluten free bread and are super allergy friendly.
You can take your sandwich and eat by the marina right near Provisions, or take your sandwiches for a picnic lunch at our next destination:
8. Brant Point Lighthouse/Beach
Brant Point is the other easily accessible lighthouse on Nantucket! You may have seen it on your way in on the ferry. It’s a cute, chubby little guy. 🙂
There’s a small beach around Brant Point, and it’s a nice place to sit and watch the boats go by. You’ll likely see sailboats, motorboats, ferries, and, if you’re lucky, some impressive yachts!
9. Beach time!
There are a ton of great beaches on Nantucket! My mom and I went to Surfside because it was near where we were staying, and it has a nice parking lot, bathrooms, and snack shack (get yourself a blueberry mint lemonade!).
A good rule of thumb to remember is that North Shore beaches have small waves and South Beach ones have big ones! You can also look up which beaches have facilities, food, etc. online. I’ll make a full beach guide toward the end of my trip!
10. Dinner at Millie’s
Millie’s, out in Madaket, serves mostly Baja-style fare, like tacos and quesadillas. We ended up getting takeout and eating at their outdoor picnic tables, because there was a bit of a wait to sit inside and we didn’t want to miss sunset!
I got the Hulbert Ave tacos and they were delicious! Millie’s also has a small store that sells drinks, snacks, t-shirts, and beach toys.
11. Sunset in Madaket
Madaket is the Western most part of Nantucket, and it’s the place to be for Sunset! We got there about a half hour before the sun was set to set and it was absolutely gorgeous. It’s the perfect way to end a Nantucket night!
Day 3
12. Brunch at Island Kitchen
Island Kitchen has a great brunch menu and you can either sit indoors or outdoors. I highly recommend the breakfast BLT (they offer GF bread!) – the herb mayo they put on it is literally so yummy I could eat it with a spoon!
My family loves the cinnamon roll French toast (it’s a special but they’ve had it both times we’ve gone, a month apart).
2. Drinks at Cisco Brewers
Cisco is one of the hottest spots on the island. They have 4 bars (beer, wine, cocktails, and a tiki bar), food trucks, and live music. It’s all outdoor, but they do have tents so you can get out of the sun!
I went with the frosé, which was super delicious and refreshing!
3. Watch the surfers at Cisco Beach
Not far from Cisco Brewers is Cisco beach, which has the biggest waves on Nantucket! It’s the hot spot for surfers, and they also rent boards and give lessons there.
I have so much fun just watching the surfers do their thing, but if you’re adventurous, you can take a lesson yourself!
4. Dinner at Lola Burger
Lola Burger is a spinoff of Nantuket’s Lola 41, but this one is focused only on burgers! They have other selections on their menu, but they’re mostly known for their burgers, fries, and shakes.
You really can’t go wrong here, but I will recommend the truffle fries! And they offer gluten free buns, which is always a plus in my book.
And THAT, my friends, was my ideal long weekend on Nantucket! I’m honestly still shocked at how much we fit into three days, and I’m exhausted from it, but it was so worth it!
I’m hoping to create full Nantucket beach and food guides before the end of the summer (and I’ve been doing lots of field research, LOL), but this was a peek at everything you can do in a long weekend.
Nantucket tends to be on the expensive side, but if you can find an affordable Airbnb and stay for just a long weekend, it is about comparable to what we’ve paid for for a week on mainland Cape Cod!
Nantucket is such a quaint and beautiful little island. I highly recommend adding it to your list of travel destinations!
