Nantucket Beaches

Nantucket is an island so naturally it has many beaches, and some very fine beaches they are.  Possibly the most popular beach on Nantucket is Jetties Beach.  Jetties Beach, less than a mile from town and with all the amenities a person could want.  There is a playground for children, a basketball court, tennis courts, a restaurant, and even a shop were you can rent loungers.  Jetties beach is named after the famous jetties that come off the island on either side of the harbor entrance, which are right next to the beach.  There are virtually no waves at Jetties Beach and it is a perfect place for young children and families, because of this though Jetties is usually fairly crowded and may not be the best place to go if your looking for piece and quiet.

Jetties Beach with Ferry Leaving Nantucket Harbor

If you want to go to a beach that is similar to Jetties but less crowded there is always Cliff Side.  Only a short distance from Jetties the beaches are basically identical only Cliff Side is somewhat smaller and nowhere near as many people are there.  Cliff Side is easily accessible and to get to it you really only need to follow the signs that take you to Jetties Beach, but instead of turning into Jetties drive about half a mile past and Cliff Side will be on your right.  It is a quaint little beach and a great spot to relax on the sand, or go for a refreshing dip in Nantucket sound.

If your looking to go to a beach in on the ocean rather than the sound then Ladies Beach is perfect.  While Cisco is perhaps the most well known ocean side beach on Nantucket, Ladies beach is just as good if not better.  In order to get there you have to follow the signs for Cisco but turn onto Bartlett Farm Road, that road becomes a dirt road and you can follow that all the way to Ladies Beach.  Ladies is perfect for going out lounging around, throwing a football in the sand, and of course body surfing in the waves.  Sometimes you may see a boat anchored a few hundred yards off shore, and people swimming into shore from their boat to meet up with their families after fishing for a day at the beach.  All Ladies has to offer is a huge sandy beach, the massive Atlantic ocean, and sometimes some island natives renting out surfboards to anyone wanting to learn, everything else you bring yourself to make it a great day at the beach.

One other great beach in Nantucket is only accessible by boat, that beach is Tuckernuck Island about a five to ten minute boat ride from Madaket Harbor it is by far one of the best beaches on the Island.  The main part of the beach forms into a point and creates an inlet for boats to park in and for a nice calm swimming area.  On the other side of the beach is the ocean where there are waves and a strong current, a very fun place to swim.  Tuckernuck also has some defining characteristics about it, such as a statue in the middle of the island that is made up of old junk that has washed up on the shore.  The island is also home to seals, which can sometimes be seen either basking in the sun, or playing and feeding in the water.  Since there is no where to get food on Tuckernuck, it is a great place to bring your own and even perhaps a grill to have a cookout.  Tuckernuck is truly one of the most unique place in Nantucket and a place that you should definitely visit if your are in Nantucket.

Tuckernuck Island Inlet

Any beach you go to on Nantucket is going to be great, but these beaches just have a little more to offer than some of the others.  The way that each of these beaches differ is what makes Nantucket such a great place, it can have all these different venues in such a small confined island.  The beaches are of course an attraction for Nantucket and a great attraction at that.

Travel Arrangements

The first thing you are going to want to do, if you plan on vacationing in Nantucket, is to figure out how you are going to get there.  Since Nantucket is an island thirty miles out to sea you cannot simply drive there.  There are though many different ways to get to Nantucket and they range from; a fifteen minute flight to a two hour long ferry ride.  If you want to take your car with you on the island then you really only have one option, which is to drive to Hyannis, MA and go to the Steamship Authority which is located at  141 School Street.  There you can buy a ticket to take both your car and all its passengers on the ferry.  The ferries that the Steamship Authority uses to take cars across to Nantucket each hold about 100 cars and have a top speed of around fifteen miles per hour, this means one that space is very limited so it is always smart to make a reservation and also that the thirty mile trip takes about two hours.  A reservation can be made at the Steamship Authority Website, and is very easy to do.

Steamship Authority Car Ferry "M/V Eagle"

      If you don't want to take your car over to the island there are a few more options for you.  You can still take the car ferry over as a foot passenger or with a bicycle, doing this is much less expensive than taking your car across $35 to be a foot passenger compared to $400 to take your car on, both of these are for a round trip.  If you don't want such a long crossing there is also a fast ferry, this ferry leaves from the exact same dock as the car ferry but only takes 45 minutes to get to Nantucket.  The fast ferry is a very fun and quick way way to get to Nantucket but it does cost a bit more than the "slow" ferry at $67 round trip.

Steamship Authority Fast Ferry "M/V Iyanough"

   The quickest way to get to Nantucket is to fly there.  There are a few airlines that fly to Nantucket, such as JetBlue which flies out of JFK on a direct flight to Nantucket.  The most used airline though is Cape Air, which flies out of Hyannis directly to Nantucket.  The flight from Hyannis to Nantucket takes about fifteen minutes and costs $56 each way.  Flying is a great and fairly cheap way to get to Nantucket and offers a really nice view of the island.  Although Nantucket airport is considered one of the scariest airports in the world because on days when its very foggy, as it often is in Nantucket, the run way is very hard to see and it can be unnerving to some people.  Even so plane crashes are not at all common on Nantucket and flying to Nantucket is very safe.

Aerial View of Nantucket Memorial Airport

While all of these modes of transportation are great ways to get to Nantucket, I myself prefer taking the "slow" ferry to Nantucket.  If it is a nice day the ride is very nice and relaxing.  The two hour ride across the Atlantic really gives you a sense of how far out to sea the island actually is.  From leaving the moment the boat leaves the harbor in Hyannis to the time it docks in Nantucket the ride is enjoyable and there is a lot to look at.  You can see hundreds of boats, jetskis, and even a few windsurfers on the way out of Hyannis.  Out in the Atlantic there are big fishing boats, other ferries making the trek, and also you can see Martha's Vineyard at some points on the trip.  Once the ferry closes in on Nantucket you can begin to make out buildings, then you begin to see jetties on either side of you, which mark the entrance to the harbor.  Finally the ferry enters the harbor and you see the entire town and all the houses that mark the shoreline and it is very nice.  This ferry may be the slowest way to get to Nantucket but it is by far the most pleasing.  And if your not a boat or plane person, a thirty mile swim would be great exercise.

Nantucket Harbor