lcontr

We will be staying in Nantucket for 3 days of R&R following a hectic conference schedule in Boston in late May. We want to know how to get to Nantucket from Boston and what are our options? If we rent a car to Hyannis and catch the ferry, is there a place to park the rental car? We don't really want to drive to Hyannis from Boston. Would it be better to take a bus to Hyannis? If so, how long does it take and how much will it cost and which is the best bus service (assuming we have a choice)? Or better to fly from the Boston airport?What airline and how much would that cost? thanks for any help you can offer w/ this.

rizzo0904

You can also fly on Cape Air

rizzo0904

Looks like Cape Air would run you about $270 around trip per person...got that off kayak.

Ackislander

I live there, so this is fairly exhaustive. I have done every permutation of this.

1 Cape Air round trip from Boston Logan, taxi to and from hotel in Nantucket
2 Plymouth and Brockton bus from South Station to Hyannis, then pick one:

A. shuttle from bus station to Steamship Authority where you can take the large slow car ferry or the smaller fast ferry
B. taxi to Hyannis airport then Cape Air to Nantucket, taxi to hotel
C. Taxi to HyLine, then their fast ferry to Nantucket. The Hy Line does not have a shuttle.

Both ferry companies have parking lots, but they will cost you about $25 per day, a lot of money to park a rental car.

HyLine and Steamship both let you off in downtown Nantucket.

If you are traveling anywhere near Memorial Day, you will need an advance reservation for either of the fast ferries. The car ferry does not take passenger reservations. Take the car ferry if the weather is bad. The fast ferries can be a bit of an adventure.

Later in the summer JetBlue flies from Boston, and they are best of all and cheap if booked in advance. Check their website.

That's pretty much it. the Steamship Authority and Hyline websites will give you current prices. The Steamship is cheaper than the HyLine and is more generally on time.

What else can I do to help you?

flpab

We went in Sept and had to park far away in a field. We waited until day of because of weather and could only get the slower ferry over but did get tickets for the faster ferry back. We rocked and rolled on it. So much water was washing over the top deck that it was leaking on us. I gave up and sat on top. I found a little area and tucked myself away. That is the best place to be if you feel a little sea sick also.

Ackislander

Actually if you are seasick, the lower deck below the main deck on the slow ferry is best. The lower you are, the less you roll. But fresh air is your friend.

logandog

I once knew a girl from Nantucket .

AAFrequentFlyer

http://destinationinsider.com/nantuc....php?type=htgh

emalloy

Do check jet blue, in June you can fly round trip from Boston for a little over $100, about the same as parking for 4 days.

volcanogirl

We flew on Cape Air from Boston when we did it; we decided to fly because we didn't have a lot of time. Worked great for us.

joethekay

May is still quite chilly for the islands and 3 days on a holiday weekend leaves little time for R&R. If you have not made any reservations yet you may want to consider Cape Ann (Rockport) on the North Shore or even Cape Cod ( Hyannis or Yarmouth or P- town). You will save time by not taking the ferry and have other land based activities if the weather is foul.

lcontr

thanks much to everyone for their replies. Very helpful information from all.