What can I do in Nantucket, MA?

Some au pairs have the privilege to go with their hostfamily to Nantucket,MA. A small island close to Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. It is a real chill island and there is not too much to do. But if you have a weekend off we have a list with things you might enjoy doing.

Rent a bike

First of all: you can’t do anything in Nantucket if you don’t have a bike. Of course, you can go with a car if you have one but it is easier to have a bike. There are a few amazing bike routes you can take. The best part of these routes are the fact that they have their own bike lane so you don’t have to worry about cars. We did the two longest and they don’t take longer than 2 hours max if you’re biking slow.

When you rent a bike you can get a little map with the different biking routes you can take. We recommend the Madaket Rd Route. It is the most beautiful route through nature and you’ll end up all the way on the left side of the island. There you will find Millie’s where you can get an ice cream (take the coffee flavor, its to die for!) or you can have dinner at the restaurant. It takes about an hour to go from downtown to Millie’s.

Another route we took was the Cliff Rd route. This one is not as beautiful as the Madaket Rd Route but it is a nice little bike route. If you start on Cliff Rd you bike towards Madaket Rd, take a left and you’ll head back. This is about a 45 minute bike route.

If you want to go from downtown all the way to the right side of the island take Milestone Rd. Be prepared because it is a really long bike route, not the most beautiful one, better then Cliff Rd but not as good as Madaket Rd. This is the longest route we’ve taken and you should schedule half of your day for it.

Ghost tour through the city

The walk begun first in 1998 and it is a great evening stroll. You meet the guide at 8pm at Center and Main Street in front of the bank. Make sure you’re 10-15 minutes early. The tour is also a great activity for you and your hostkids in case you have kids who are a bit older and who love ghost stories.

There are two different walks, Town Route and Cemetery Route. They are both about a mile long and it takes about 1,5 hours to walk it and hear about the ghost stories. We have done the Cemetery Route and it was really fascinating. Our guide knew so many cool stories and he brought the story in a very spooky way.

The price for adults is $20, seniors $15 and kids between 7-12 $5. Under 7 years it is for free.

Places to eat

There are so many great places in Nantucket where you can get something to eat. No big chains, all local businesses. Do you want to take something with you on your bike ride? Get a sandwich at Something Natural. For about $5 you get a sandwich like you’ve never seen. You can build it how you’d like it and they always make it fresh.

Another great place to have something sweet is The Juice Bar. If your hostfamily has been in Nantucket before they’ll know all about this place because this is the most famous ice cream bar on the island. They have so many great flavors, a flavor of the week and the best thing they have are cone cups. They make their own ice cream cones and they can also put those cones in a cup. Then you can eat the cone without having to worry about spilling ice cream.

The most beautiful bike ride will bring you right to Millie’s. A Tex Mex restaurant where you can buy the best shrimp quesadillas we have ever had. We also recommend sitting either outside or upstairs. With the last option you’ll have an amazing sunset view over the beach. You can easily have a table by yourself and the staff is the nicest ever.

Feeling like eating fresh baked doughnuts or having a breakfast away from home? Go to Downyflake Restaurant. They have home made doughnuts/breakfast to take away and you can also just take a seat and dine in.

Whaling museum

Nantucket, MA is famous for the story of Money Dick. You can find signs and nicknacks of Whales every where on the island. There is even a whole Whaling museum that you can visit in your free time. When we were on the island the museum was closed so we were not able to go there, but we’ve heard that it is a very interesting and cultural thing to do while on Nantucket.