Tour Options in Nantucket

Adventure Tours

No matter what you want to do around Nantucket, be it kayaking, mountain biking, climbing, birding, hiking, snorkeling, or scuba diving, Eco Guides: Strong Wings can customize a small-group tour.

Tour Operator

Eco Guides: Strong Wings (9 Nobadeer Farm Rd. 508/228-1769. www.strongwings.org).

Van Tours

Sixth-generation Nantucketer Gail Johnson of Gail's Tours narrates a lively 1½-hour van tour of the island's highlights: the moors, the cranberry bogs, and the lighthouses, in addition to Nantucket Town. The 13-passenger cranberry-red van heads out at 10, 1, and 3 in season; pick-ups at in-town inns can be arranged.

Contacts

Gail's Tours (508/257-6557. www.nantucket.net/tours/gails).

Walking Tours

Walking tours generally cover the major sights within the historic district. The Nantucket Historical Association's 90-minute Historic Nantucket Walking Tours (offered several times a day in season) provide an overview of the island's history and encompass such sites as Petticoat Row, upper Main Street, and the wharfs, churches, and library. Twelfth-generation islander Dirk Gardiner Roggeveen leads 90- to 120-minute tours in the afternoons (except Sunday); children are welcome to tag along for free.

The self-guided Black Heritage Trail tour covers nine sites in and around town, including the African Meeting House, the Whaling Museum, and the Atheneum. The trail guide is free from the Friends of the African Meeting House on Nantucket, which also leads a "Walk the Black Heritage Trail" tour by appointment in season.

Tour Operators

Friends of the African Meeting House on Nantucket (York and Pleasant Sts. 508/228-9833. www.afroammuseum.org/afmnantucket.htm). Historic Nantucket Walking Tours (Whaling Museum, 15 Broad St. 508/325-1894. www.nha.org).