We just got back from the most amazing week in Nantucket with the kids. I feel so lucky to have gone to Nantucket twice this year (!!) — it truly is such a magical place. We hadn’t been since before kids until this year, and I’d love to make it a regular part of our rotation, especially now that it’s so easy to get to from our home in Connecticut. I have gotten so many questions about Nantucket — where to stay, when to go, what to do, where to eat, and the best Nantucket hotel with kids, so I thought I’d share all my recs and recap in one post on here. It had been years since I had been to Nantucket and I honestly forgot how special it is until I went on a work trip there with Tastemaker Travels and a bunch of other influencers in May. I took Grace and it was just so amazing, so I jumped at the chance to return for the Fourth of July week. As you know, I was a travel editor for years for The Knot, so I love exploring places and sharing all my finds and recs. But I especially love it when it’s family-friendly places like this that I know a lot of you plan to visit or are curious to visit. So I’m excited to share our amazing Nantucket experience.
Best Nantucket Hotel with Kids?
We stayed at The Nantucket (where I also stayed for my influencer trip in May), and I couldn’t recommend it enough. Whether you’re traveling as a couple, with girlfriends or with your family, it’s one of my favorite hotels. The Nantucket couldn’t have a better location. It’s within walking distance to town and all the shops and restaurants. They will shuttle you to all the beaches and anywhere else you want to go. It’s an easy drive to the ferry or airport. We loved having The Nantucket as our home base because it made it so easy to do all the things we wanted with the kids without having to worry about driving around. In fact, we didn’t bring our car. The staff is so nice and accommodating and helped us get anywhere we wanted to go that wasn’t walkable. But with kids, I just find it’s so much easier when you can just walk somewhere or jump in a shuttle versus having to get your car, get everyone in it, find parking etc. They also offer ferry shuttles so you don’t have to worry about getting an uber when you arrive.
When I went in May, I stayed with Grace in one of the cottages (the Lily Pulitzer one, which was so cute). It was so nice because it had a little room to hang out in, plus, a bedroom so I could nap Grace and still hang out in the room and there was a great deck to relax and read on. They also have two bedroom cottages and a huge Captains Quarters cottage that would be great for a big family (like if you were traveling with grandparents, siblings etc. or a wedding party). The hotel is so family-friendly with great rooms that fit families of all sizes. This time, with Andrew and all four kids in tow, we stayed in one of their suites. They have suites of all sizes, but we stayed in the Captain Cromwell suite and it couldn’t have been a better set-up for our family. There are three bedrooms, dining and living areas, a washer/dryer in the unit, and a pull out in the living room area. What I loved about it is that it felt like our own little condo, but we got to enjoy all the amenities of a hotel. I don’t love renting houses on vacations because I feel like it’s not really a vacation for me. I end up cooking and cleaning and doing laundry and it feels more like a relocation. But with such a big family, it can be hard to find a hotel that feels comfortable enough with small kids and offers a good set-up so we can enjoy our time during naps and at night and when not out and about. So this set-up really felt like the best of both worlds. But they have all different accommodations to fit your family and needs. They also set us up with a crib and everything we needed for the kiddos that was right there on arrival. Oh, did I mention they’re dog friendly? With Dakota getting older, I thought that was such a huge selling point. We didn’t bring Dakota this trip, but my friend brought hers on our trip in May.
The hotel itself has a lot to offer but still has a boutique feel, which I love. There’s a spa, fitness center and kids club on the premise, so I was able to get some workouts in and a little mama time at the spa, and we were able to have a couple date nights and afternoons off while the kids were at the kids club. The kids LOVED the kids club — there were arts and crafts, field trips to places like the Whaling Museum, and the counselors were great. The kids club room itself has so much for the kids to do and not a TV in sight (which I can’t say is the same for all kids clubs we’ve used on vacations). I feel like kids clubs can be hit or miss, but our kids begged to go back every day.
The hotel has this old school antique fire truck that you can take rides in, which was a highlight for Brooks. The hotel actually went above and beyond and sent it to pick us up at the ferry (they also have a shuttle that will pick you up) and it made for the best memory, as we drove through town, ringing the bell and feeling like celebrities. My kids immediately felt the magic of Nantucket and this special hotel. They lay out cookies at 3pm each day and do s’mores as well as dive in movies at the pool. They have beach chairs and boogey boards you can use so you don’t have to lug yours (which was great for us since we didn’t bring a car) and fun games you can play in their library. They have two pools, including a kid-friendly pool, which was also a key feature that sold us on the property. We love the beach, but my kids have lots of energy, so we’re always looking for a place with a pool to burn extra energy in the afternoons. I think one of the best parts of the trip was how the kids made friends with other kids staying at the hotel and they’d spend hours in the afternoons playing together at the pool. You can order food at the pool and they even had a special spread outside next to the pool for the Fourth of July.
We got to eat at the onsite restaurants — Breeze and Sailor’s Valentine — while I was there in May and then we ate at the hotel a bunch on this trip, and the food really does not disappoint. They do weekly clambakes during the summer — on Mondays and Thursdays — which are so fun and I highly recommend. That was one of our favorite nights and meals of the trip. They also do a special Sunday brunch. We ended up eating at the hotel quite a bit — the breakfast is easy and delicious and then we all liked the food so much, we ate a few more times because town was so crowded with the holiday weekend. And honestly, by the end of the day, we were so exhausted from doing so much, it felt so easy to just sit on the porch or in the dining room and enjoy a dinner at the hotel. The staff is just all so kind and accommodating it made it easy for us too. You can also use the kids club at night, so we’d take the kids down to play while we waited for our food or to burn some final energy afterward.
I can’t recommend The Nantucket enough, whether you’re staying with friends, the hubs, or your whole family. It’s such a special spot and this historic property owned by a family committed to creating an atmosphere that families can truly enjoy. And the location just can’t be beat. They were so kind to give me a code to offer all of you last time I stayed and it still works! Use KENN10 for 10% off all their properties (Lovango in St. John’s, The Nantucket & Winnetu in Martha’s Vineyard) accommodations for the 2025 + 2026 seasons.
What to Do with Kids in Nantucket?
There’s so much to do with kids in Nantucket. Our favorite Nantucket activities with the kids were:
Cliffside Beach Walk: This wasn’t far from the hotel and so scenic and fun to do early in the morning with the kids. We brought our stroller for this and were glad because the kids took turns sitting and running on the trail.
Cisco Beach: A beautiful beach that we loved and is great if you surf.
Children’s Beach: Such a fun spot with the kids — the water is calm for swimming and there is a playground right there. For the Fourth, they had tons of kid-friendly activities, from bubbles and crafts and games to a puppet and magic show.
Jetties Beach: Has a playground and water sports and great for swimming.
Sconset Beach and Steps Beach: These are more picturesque beaches worth seeing, but not where we would necessarily hang out all day with the kids. Or at least my kids who are still so little and need to be entertained more at the beach, but they were fun to check out and walk along.
Whaling Museum: This was a great place to visit with the kids to get out of the heat and would be a great rainy day activity.
Critter Cruise: This was such a cute activity. They take you out around the harbor for an hour, let the kids try fishing and teach the kids about marine life. I love that it was short but a fun way to get out on the water with littles.
Nanpuppets Puppet Show: This was such a highlight that happens at the beach and our friends told us about. I’m so glad we got to see it — they performed at Children’s Beach on the Fourth, and it was such a treat. It’s actually a fun show for kids and adults and we loved it!
Berry Picking at Bartlett’s Farm: We didn’t do this while we were there, but friends recommended this to us and we would have done if we stayed longer.
Obviously we were there for a holiday weekend, so we also got to experience the Fourth on Nantucket. It’s special! I would highly recommend going this weekend. I was nervous about crowds etc, and it was crowded but it was so much fun. They do this water fight in town that we’ve heard is so fun but they canceled this year due to the drought. But there was a bike parade at the beach, music and food trucks in town, they raised the flag on a firetruck right in town, which my kids loved. And then fireworks at Jetties Beach at night, which we missed but our friends all went and loved. It was truly such a special experience and I don’t know if there is a better place to celebrate the Fourth tbh.
Shopping: There’s so much great shopping in Nantucket. Some of my favorite places to shop included Asha, Alice Walk, Beau & Ro, Doen, Grace Geier, Cartolina, Peach Tree Kids, Island Variety, Mitchell’s Book Corner, Veronica Beard.
Where to Eat?
There are so many great places to eat, both with and without kids. HEre’s a list of our favorite Nantucket restaurants.
Cru: The food is So good. I prefer this as a couples dinner spot, but you can do either way. The whole island really is family-friendly.
Breeze Nantucket; This is located at The Nantucket hotel and the food is so good. We ate quite a few meals here and I can’t recommend the Clambake that they do on Mondays and Thursdays enough.
Slip 14: We went with the kids and had a great meal.
Brotherhood of Thieves: We went here for lunch when we first arrived and sat outside and it was great. I think inside would be a great couples dinner spot.
Lemon Press; For coffee and breakfast or lunch We loved the smoothies and muffins.
Cisco Brewers: Such a fun lively spot to go hang with friends and the kids.
Millie’s: My friend Mackenzie Horan suggested this spot and it didn’t disappoint. Great with kids but get there early as they don’t take reservations.
Island Kitchen: Great breakfast spot.
Sandbar at Jetties: We loved it here. So fun and the kids loved too. It was a two-plus hour wait, so go early, put your name down and play at the beach.
Provisions: For picking up sandwiches to picnic at the beach
Something Natural: Another great sandwich spot we loved this for lunch.
Walters: Best BLT on the island.
Juice Bar: The best ice cream on the island and worth the wait in line
Nantucket Bake Shop: A friend recommended their donuts and we loved.
Do You Need a Car on Nantucket?
We didn’t bring ours and felt totally fine without it. I don’t think there was one time where we wished we had brought it. With that said, I think it really depends on where you stay. The Nantucket is so centrally located and offers shuttles to the beach and town, so we really didn’t feel like we needed one. We went to see friends one night and took an uber, but that was about the only time we didn’t just walk or rely on the hotel’s shuttles. If we were renting a house, we probably would have wanted to have our car.
How to Find Childcare on Nantucket?
I used nannytucket to find a sitter when I came with Grace and she was so amazing, I’ve recommended her to all my friends. It was such a great experience. The Nantucket has a kids club that includes evenings so it was great for getting to sneak out to dinner. They don’t take babies, so we just took Grace along with us, but we are used to doing that and don’t mind.
And that’s our recap for our time in Nantucket and for my rec for the best Nantucket hotel with kids. Let me know if you have any questions or anything else I can share.
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