Nantucket Island is 30 miles (48 km) off the coast of Cape Cod (map), a voyage of about one hour for a fast catamaran passenger ferry, two hours for a traditional ferry, or 2-1/2 hours for a car ferry.

Nantucket Docks

Nantucket Town has two ferry docks a five-minute walk apart in the town center (map):

Steamboat Wharf
Vessels operated by the Steamship Authority from Hyannis, both car ferries and fast catamaran passenger ferries, arrive and depart from Steamboat Wharf at the eastern end of Broad Street.

Straight Wharf
Passenger ferries, both traditional and fast catamarans, operaged by Hy-Line Cruises (Hyannis and Martha's Vineyard) and Freedom Cruise Line (from Harwich Port) arrive at Straight Wharf at the eastern end of Main Street.

Passenger Ferries

In summer, passenger ferryboats run to Nantucket several times daily from the neighboring island of Martha's Vineyard MA, and from Harwich Port and Hyannis MA on Cape Cod.

A round-trip ferry voyage for two passengers, plus the fare for bicycles, plus car parking at the mainland ferry terminal for a few days, plus taxis to and from your hotel on Nantucket, can add up to $200 or so total, but taking your car on the ferry to Nantucket (see below) costs over twice as much and involves more planning.

If you need to park your car while visiting Nantucket, be sure to calculate the cost of parking for the time you will be away from the mainland. This cost may be $15 to $18 per calendar day in summer, less off-season.

From Hyannis

Hy-Line Cruises
Hy-Line Cruises, Ocean Street Dock, Hyannis, MA (map; tel 508-778-0404, 508-228-3949, 800-492-8082) operates both traditional ferries (2-hour voyage) and high-speed catamaran ferries (six departures daily, 1-hour voyage) daily between Hyannis's Ocean Street docks and Nantucket's Straight Wharf. More...

Steamship Authority
The Steamship Authority runs the passenger ferry Flying Cloud from Hyannis's Pleasant Street Dock (map) to Nantucket five times daily from mid-May through mid-October (four times daily from mid-March to mid-May and mid-October to early January). The voyage takes one hour. More...

From Harwich Port

Freedom Cruise Line
Freedom Cruise Line (tel 508-432-8999, 702 Main Street [MA Route 28], Harwich Port MA 02646) runs three trips daily from late June through early September to Nantucket from Saquatucket Harbor in Harwich Port on Cape Cod (map).

They voyage takes 80 minutes (compared to the 60-minute voyage of the Hy-Line Grey Lady and Steamship Authority Iyanough). Fares are a few dollars higher than the Iyanough, and a few dollars lower than the Grey Lady, but Freedom Cruise Line offers free parking for day-trippers (overnight parking is $17 per night).

From Martha's Vineyard

Hy-Line operates an Inter-Island Ferry service three times daily in each direction between Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket islands from late-June to mid-September. The voyage takes 2-1/4 hours. Buy tickets at the Dockside Marina in Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard (tel 508-693-0112) and on Straight Wharf, Nantucket (tel 508-228-3949). More...

Car Ferries

The Steamship Authority runs the only car ferries (m/v Nantucket and m/v Eagle) to Nantucket six times daily from Hyannis's Pleasant Street Dock (map). The one-way fare for a car (up to 17 feet/5.18 meters long) is $200 ($400 round-trip), more for a larger vehicle (17+ feet, such as a Chevrolet Suburban SUV).

Thus the entire round-trip fare for a family of four with a car will be over $500.

Advance reservations are essential in summer. More...

Most visitors do not take cars to Nantucket. They rent a car, bicycle or scooter there, or use the convenient shuttle buses. More...

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