Nantucket has been on my bucket list ever since I read Elin Hilderbrand’s book 28 Summers. We had an opportunity to drop our kids with their grandparents in Ohio and squeeze in a weekend getaway for us. I suggested Nantucket and Eric immediately began his research. It’s not the easiest place to get to unless you’re on the East Coast, but the idea of being out in a place where so many of my beach-reads take place felt like quintessential  summer, so we made it happen. I actually read Elin’s latest book The Hotel Nantucket in anticipation of the trip and she actually has a “blue book” of her recommendations that we factored into our trip. The book was fantastic (my favorite of hers) and so fun to read while we were there. I highly recommend!

Nantucket is located about 30 miles south of Cape Cod. You can get there by ferry or there are a few flights that connect into Nantucket’s airport. We started in Newport, RI for a few days and then took a ferry over from New Bedrod and checked into our cute bed and breakfast, Seven Sea Street Inn.

Wow, Nantucket. It may have topped our list of favorite places we’ve been together. Not only is it charming and beautiful and beachy with perfect summer weather, but there is so much history, tons to see and do, and truly delicious cuisine.

We spent our first couple hours strolling around, taking in the scenery, and getting our bearings. We discovered an ice cream store called Jack and Charlie’s, so of course we had to take a picture and buy some tees for our boys.

Eric was eager to get us into this sushi restaurant called Lola 41, located just across the street from our Inn. He had heard amazing reviews. In order to get a reservation, you have to call day-of at 4pm. They have enough demand that all of their spots will fill. Eric made about 17 calls before he finally got through and we scored an early 5:45 pm spot.

The food was INSANE y’all. Seriously, the most delicious sushi I’ve had! And of course, the presentation was awesome too. Eric and I couldn’t stop laughing because our waitress kept filling our champagne glasses to the rim. We were a bit boozy at dinner but it was so much fun. If you are lucky enough to secure a reservation at this spot, you’re in for a treat.

A great way to see the island is to rent a jeep, because you can drive them on the beach. We rented one but didn’t do the beach drive since we had so many stops we wanted to get to, but many people LOVE that so you can park up with all your gear.

We received a few recommendations from some locals to visit Sconset, which is a more quiet part of the island filled with stunning summer homes. It was the most charming part of Nantucket (in my opinion). We were told to do the Bluff walk  which goes from town to the Sankaty light house and wow, was it breathtaking. It was actually kind of funny making this stroll because you literally are walking through people’s backyards and overlooking the bluff down to the water. But anyone outside on their back porch would just wave! So they are used to it. I had to snap pictures of all the gorgeous homes with their beautiful hydrangeas.

After our walk, I read for an hour on the beach while Eric made a few work calls. I failed to snap a photo of the beach, but it was lovely and not too crowded. There were lots of families with kids as well as couples like us, yet it didn’t feel touristy. We then had lunch at a delicious spot called Millie’s (their fish tacos are out of this world!) and a beer at Cisco Brewers (which was hoppin!). Both were highly recommended by many people and we totally get why. Not pictured, but Cisco Brewers has a ton of food trucks with fresh sea food and the likes. They even had Millie’s but we were unaware or we would have eaten there!

After the brewery, we stopped by Steps beach where Eric dropped me for further reading. The water on this side was more clear and green and there were a few sandbars where kids were out playing. It was so relaxing to sit here and read! I then made the one-mile walk back to our inn which was beautiful and quick.

We were given several recommendations to have dinner at Galley Beach so we could sit and get the best view of the sunset. We ate a little earlier than sunset but the meal was delicious and we loved the ambiance of the restaurant.

The night life in Nantucket is boomin and we loved stopping into Gaslight for a drink. I also convinced Eric to stop by a dive bar called The Chicken Box because it’s featured in a few of Elin’s books. However, we arrived hours earlier than the usual young crowd so we showed up to an empty bar and shot some pool!

We finished our trip with a little sailing excursion. If I were to do it again, I’d love to do it at sunset and have a glass of wine in hand. The island is so fun to see from the water!

Our trip was quick and in hindsight, we probably should have stayed in one place for our 4 night trip instead of dividing it into two cities. I would have spent more time on the beach and stretched out our time in some of those must-see spots we visited.

We are hoping to bring our whole family back next summer. We shall see what the year brings!

Nantucket, you were wonderful! We hope to be back soon.

nantucket island weekend in nantucket