All the Details From Our Trip to Nantucket!

Ahhh I am so excited to tell you about our recent trip to Nantucket! So many of you have been asking for a recap, so here we go. This post is going to be SO long and photo heavy, but I’m giving you all the details!

I’ve wanted to go back to Nantucket ever since Eddie and I were there in 2013. We LOVED it, even though it rained the entire time. This is a big birthday year for my mom and I wanted to do something special – something that was more of an experience, you know? So we planned a girl’s trip for my mom, aunt, Lacy and myself. Tons of details, coming right up.

Where we stayed…

We stayed at the While Elephant residences and it was incredible. I don’t even have words! It’s funny because I remember Eddie and I walking by the White Elephant when we were there, and I thought I’d never be able to stay there. Well, if there is ever a time to splurge, it’s on your mom, right?

Our room was the Cisco room in the Mad Hatter and it was fantastic. It had two bedrooms with a king bed in each (totally fine for us, my mom and aunt shared while Lacy and I shared), two incredible bathrooms, a living area, kitchen area and kitchenette. Also a great patio with rocking chairs.

It was so spacious and the location was perfect for us. It was literally right next to the pool and a very easy walk into town.

So pretty, right!?

The White Elephant was incredible – they have bikes that you can use, their lobby is gorgeous, the pool is beautiful and the service was top notch. The room we stayed in would be great for two couples, or even a family of four or five if you need/bring a crib or pack and play. If Eddie and I go and take the kids back, I would call and make reservations specifically for this room. It’s right at ground level and the access is incredible if you have kids.

We went during an “off” time of the week – Sunday through Wednesday, so we got the best prices on the room. And since it’s not quite the tourist season yet, prices hadn’t jumped too high. They get ridiculously expensive as the summer goes on. But our experience here was 500% worth it and now I can see why.

Sunday

We arrived Sunday and did lots of walking around town, as well as sat at the pool for a few hours which was lovely. The weather forecast for the entire time was in the 60s with rain, so we were pleasantly surprised that it was so nice! It was warm enough to sit and enjoy some rosé.

The food at the pool comes from The Brant Point Grill and there are lots of snack and drink options.

We also grabbed a quick lunch at Provisions before checking in. Eddie and I loved Provisions and the Straight Wharf Fish Market for quick and easy lunches, and both were still fantastic!

We had reservations at CRU on Sunday night, which is what I had been waiting for! They have the best lobster roll I’ve ever had in my life, even after we went and ate lobster rolls every day in Maine. The roll at CRU is warm and soaked in butter and herbs – so good.

We also got the potato chips with crème fraiche, the calamari and the smoked fish dip. Everything was delicious, but unfortunately, the service was not great. It was such a bummer. I wonder if it’s because it was late on Sunday night, it got really chilly (like 55 degrees) and since it’s not full-blown summer yet, everyone was just ready to go home for the night?

I don’t know. But the food is there is still amazing, and you should definitely try it.

Monday

Each morning, Lacy and I would walk for coffee and a croissant. Let’s just say the croissant was a nice little bonus because I was taking an antibiotic and “had to eat” with it – haha! Otherwise, we probably would have skipped the pastries, because both of us would rather splurge at lunch/dinner/ice cream on vacation. But oh my gosh, the croissants.

The chocolate croissant at Island Coffee is amazing. So is the pistachio muffin. And the coffee!

Lacy and I went for a bike ride and walk for a few hours. We rode to Brant Point and Jettie’s Beach, and from Jettie’s Beach we walked down to Steps Beach and Galley Beach.

We ended up having ice cream from the Juice Bar for lunch and then chips and guac at the pool. #vacation.

It was overcast and in the 60s again, but we still got more pool time in. Before we went in to get showered, they actually came around the pool with complimentary smoothies and ice cream happy hour. So cute!

We had reservations at Galley Beach on Monday night. Eddie and I loved our meal there before, but we ate really late (way past the sunset time), so we made early reservations hoping to get the sunset. That didn’t really happen with the weather, but the food was so good.

This was about the time that we switched from rosé to aperol spritzes too.. They are just the best.

We got oysters and tuna to start, their incredible clam chowder, the crab cake, the Caesar salad, a vegetable pasta special and the wagyu beef filet which had aged gouda shaved on top. And the chocolate cake!

Tuesday

Tuesday was the crummiest day in terms of weather. Lacy and I walked to Lemon Press and got coffee (I got a vanilla latte with macadamia milk, omg) and an everything croissant. It is the cutest place ever!

It poured for most of the morning so we all stayed in bed and read and then started getting ready to head out around lunch time.

We had grand plans to go to Millie’s in Madaket and we were SO excited about it. We even Uber-ed all the way out there but they ended up being closed on Tuesdays (since it wasn’t the full beach season yet) and we were insanely bummed. Lacy and I had been looking forward to that meal the entire trip!

That was the only downside of going when we did – many places were only open Thursday through Sunday, even still in early June.

We headed back in to town and had lunch at Brant Point Grill. It was great. We got the poké bowl, which had sesame and pineapple and wontons. We also shared lobster mac and cheese and got another lobster roll. I still prefer warm, buttered lobster rolls but this one was not heavily dressed and it was very good.

We shopped the rest of the afternoon in town. If you’ve been reading awhile then you know that my mom and aunt are major shoppers. And I don’t mean shoppers in terms of spending money – I mean that they can go out, physically, not online!, and shop (window shop, try things on, look at literally everything) for eight or 10 hours at a time. They took us to the mall every Friday with Mother Lovett when we were kids and we’d be there forever.

So, needless to say, when I tell you that we shopped all afternoon, we literally walked around from the hours of about 1PM until 6PM and shopped.

Our favorite store was Milly and Grace, where we spotted The Pretty Dish! I was so excited.

Since we had a big lunch, we weren’t very hungry for dinner, so Juice Bar ice cream for dinner it was.

Lacy and I ended up taking the bikes again for a little golden hour ride. We rode back to Jettie’s Beach and caught the sunset since the rain had finally stopped. So pretty.

Wednesday

Wednesday ended up being gorgeous, but we only had half the day. The morning was beautiful and we went in a few more stores after we packed up and stored our luggage.

We ended up having lunch at Dune (so many of you recommended it!) and it might have been our favorite meal of the entire trip. It was WONDERFUL!!

We got the burrata plate and calamari (um, can you tell our mom’s love that?) to start and then we all split the halibut tacos and the asparagus risotto. With one more aperol spritz, of course!

We left late that afternoon. I don’t like to fly to begin with, and taking the puddle jumper planes from the island to Boston is so anxiety-inducing! The ride back was so, so bumpy. For years Eddie and I have wondered about the easiest way to take our kids there – it just seems like such a long day to fly to Boston, lose a few hours to get on a bus, then get on a ferry for an hour or two, but that may be the route I take next time because the tiny planes scare the crap out of me.

Overall we had such an amazing time. I was super sick the entire trip so I feel like we didn’t get to quite do maybe everything we wanted? But I really sucked it up and tried to look on the bright side since we were there. And we’d been looking forward to the trip for so long.

It was a bit chilly for my mom and aunt but honestly, my favorite kind of weather, minus the rain. I was amazed that even in six years so much has stayed the same on the island! Since we went earlier in the year, the hydrangeas weren’t as wild as last time, but everything was still so beautiful. I don’t know what it is, but I love this little place so much. It’s super magical.

Thanks for coming along for my virtual trip diary! xo