off2rome

Hi everyone, planning our first trip to this area and considering a stay at this resort. Seems to be highly spoken of (and quite costly in August). My question is for length of stay. Current plan is to arrive Sunday night around 7 pm and stay until Thursday morning. Is this too much time on Nantucket? Just wondering if my wife and I will be bored? Anything to do besides whaling museum, restaurants and beaches? Any recommendations and reviews of hotel would be appreciated . Thanks in advance

tfred

that is what you do there - beaches, shopping, restaurants. That being said, you really only have three days there and at a relaxed pace it would be just enough time. It is a very high end summer residence and playground. Little or no honky tonk is to be found

there is another recent thread here on this board that discusses places to stay

are you flying in or taking the ferry? if you are driving to the ferry, there are other places to visit along the way (Cape Cod, Newport)

Jimmie76

3 days is okay but if you're not a beach person there are still things to do. As for hotels the other big one in town is the Nantucket Hotel http://www.thenantuckethotel.com/ which I have had a tour of and it's a very nice place, (#1 on TripAdvisor). They also have a pool which the White Elephant (WE) doesn't although it's not on the waterfront which might be something you fancy more at the WE.

Sadly you will miss the White Elephant Brunch on Sunday which is (in my opinion) excellent value, especially for the children. I've never stayed there only had the brunch and I like that but can't eat anything for a long while afterwards .

As for other things to do well..... Basically there are loads of beaches some you can swim at some you can't (current too strong), and you can spend a day at the beach quite happily on Nantucket if the weathers good. If not or you fancy a change:

You can go out to www.ciscobrewers.com and they offer tours as well as sampling the produce http://ciscobrewers.com/about/tours I've not done one but relatives have and said it was really interesting. They don't just do beer it's wine and spirits too. They also do a shuttle bus which I've seen around town but never used.

There's the Shipwreck museum in Polpis http://www.nantucketshipwreck.org/sh...-museum/about/ not been but if it's as entertaining as the Whaling museum then it's worth a visit.

There are shuttle buses http://www.nrtawave.com/ to destinations all over the Island and both of the mentioned hotels have their own ones (the Nantucket ones are vintage and classy).

Car hire is very expensive but you can rent bikes and cycle to places. One popular one is to cycle to Madaket spend the day at the beach and then eat at Millie's (see below) before sticking your bike on the rack on the bus and heading back into town that way.

As for out of town food:

In recent years it's gone down hill but the Summerhouse hotel in Siasconset http://thesummerhouse.com/dining/the-beachside-bistro/ (Eastern end of the Island) have a beachside bistro next to their pool. In my opinion it's not as good as it was (especially for a VLML) in previous years.

Other end of the island in Madaket (West) is www.milliesnantucket.com which is a Tex-Mex place (named after a local resident) and you can watch the sunset eating a Quesadilla and downing a cocktail.

Toppers at the Wauwinet www.wauwinet.com/dining.aspx is nice it's at the top of the island and you can get there by shuttle boat from town which is quite fun, although bring something warm to wear for the trip back.

Loads of restaurants in town ranging from the casual, to the jacket required type places.

Nantucket is not a cheap place in season and virtually everywhere is expensive and get restaurants booked (if they take reservations) early as they do dry up. Also "Fog Happens" on Nantucket and the airport can get fogged in. Depending on the airline they either make you wait till it clears or stick you on the ferry to the mainland and onwards from there. Normally fly down from BOS on 9K to ACK but B6 also have a daily service in the afternoon which we took when it was around a 4-5pm departure.

off2rome

Thank you! Would appreciate any additional restaurant reccomendations

Jimmie76

It's an island so lots of seafod places. but Strait Wharf www.straightwharfrestaurant.com which is unsurprisingly on Straight Wharf is nice but not fussy, If you can get a table outside at the back you can watch the harbour and ferries, see here for a photo http://www.panoramio.com/photo/78129996 you might like that you might not, personally I do.

The Lobster Trap www.nantucketlobstertrap.com (if you like Lobster that is) certainly not for VLML or VGML types which includes me, does I'm told the best Lobster on the Island as well some other seafood. They provide a bib and I suggest you use it and don't wear expensive clothes.

Oran Mor www.oranmorbistro.com is nice, usual American/International cuisines on offer. Unusually is above an antiques shop so not huge but always enjoyed ourselves there.

Sushi by Yoshi http://www.sushibyyoshi.com/ is tiny and casual comparison to some if not most, but my brother who claims to know a thing or two about sushi rates it highly. It is also Bring Your Own Booze!

Company of the Cauldron www.companyofthecauldron.com is very good (book early) but it is a set menu and not cheap. On the plus side they cater for Vegetarians despite the lack of a la carte.

Le Languedoc http://languedocbistro.com/nantucket...h-cuisine.html is also good but suffers for me by a lack of vegetarian dishes especially for the main course.

The Brotherhood of Theives http://www.brotherhoodofthieves.com/ has changed since we first went there for our first meal on the island about a lifetime ago. They had a fire that gutted the place and it isn't what it was. It's also quite touristy doing the usual burgers wings etc. However I managed to watch a rain delay to Sox game there quite happily upstairs whilst eating and they have a wide selection of beers if you are into that.

off2rome

Thank you great info

Jimmie76

No worries, hope you have a great time.

Jimmie76

Ah almost forgot there are two ice cream places in town:

The Juice Bar which is very popular and their can be a wait to get yours especially if the queue is out of the door. It's just down from the Sunken Ship on Steamboat Wharf/ Broad Street.

http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-juice-bar-nantucket

&

Stars which is just off Straight Wharf and tends to be a bit less crowded. to get to it walk past the the Straight Wharf restaurant and turn left past their rear terrace and it's along there.

http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/stars-ice-...gurt-nantucket

off2rome

Sounds great! Any sense in also visiting Martha's Vineyard after Nantucket?

Jimmie76

Depends if you have time and the money to spare. The Vineyard is larger than Nantucket which has been described to me as a one town place*. There are several towns on the Vineyard (Edgartown, Oak Bluffs etc.) and I'm told they each have their own character - I haven't been for a few years. However bear in mind they're broadly similar islands (we don't have any stoplights and they do ) and as someone once said to me So you may find them a bit samey in that respect. I enjoyed my last visit which was possibly helped by the fact that we sailed over (not on the ferry) and had unbroken sunshine and a stiff breeze all the way. That having been said the Vineyard is closer to the mainland and therefore they get a lot more day trippers who pop over on the ferries and is busier. We don't get your President (I'm British) holidaying in the summer (or the alleged disruption), we have the Vice President coming around Thanksgiving which they've been doing for over 30 years.

Personally if you have an extra day you can spare and can fly out of MVY then why not. There are basically two options:
The inter-island Hy-Line ferry which has one afternoon sailing each way daily (1:10mins) from Straight Wharf to Oak Bluffs $36 each
or
One of three Cape Air (9K) flights (0:20 mins) which are two in the morning and one in the afternoon. $54 each

I'd be tempted if it were me to have lunch then do the ferry which leaves at 14:50 and arrives at 16:00 check in to some accommodation (I know nothing about this - sorry) in Oak Bluffs for the night and then go wandering. You would then have the next day (depending on your flight time) to spend in Oak Bluffs before heading to the airport.

*It's true but I don't like the phrase as it sounds a bit like they're describing a place in the Old Wild West.