Grab your wayfarers, red pants and linen shirts. Easily accessible in the North East via car and ferry, Nantucket is the perfect place to shake off cabin fever without even leaving the country. Half of Nantucket is preserved open space, with miles of coastline, hiking and biking trails. The destination’s premier The White Elephant Resorts portfolio – Jared Coffin House, The Cottages, The Wauwinet, White Elephant, and the Boat Basin – are all set to welcome guests beginning June 15. Get ready to summer the right way.

November 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the sinking of the Essex, the Nantucket-based whaling ship that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby-Dick. A sperm whale attacked the boat while it was stationed thousands of miles off the coast of South America. Eight crewmen survived, and the tale drew international attention. Captain George Pollard Jr.’s house still stands on the island, located just down the corner from the Jared Coffin House.

Make Nantucket your own private island – sort of. White Elephant Resorts offers a number of accommodations to allow your stay to evoke the privacy of your own home. Among the options: the one- to three-bedroom cottages at the White Elephant are set amid gardens that overflow with hydrangeas; the Residences at the White Elephant – each with a kitchen and living room – are a natural extension of the Harborside guestrooms; the three-bedroom downtown lofts offer spacious convenience in the center of it all and come with the keys to a BMW; and the newly renovated Wauwinet is available for buyout to sleep up to 60 people – all have access to two private beaches.

Located right off Main Street, the Jared Coffin House will debut new accommodations – four suites and one guestroom – for the 2020 season. The property will keep its same footprint – preserving the historic integrity of the former whaling merchant’s home – and the accommodations will be named after notable 19th century residents such as Mary Coffin Starbuck and Maria Mitchell. The rooms were all crafted by local interior designer Audrey Sterk. Also new this year, the Tap Room – a staple on-island for 40 years – will re-open after a 14-year hiatus.

Located at the Nantucket Boat Basin, the stand-alone Woof Cottages are pet (and family!) friendly, meaning that fido can join on the annual beach vacation. The Cottages range from studios to three-bedrooms with all the amenities you’ll find in the standard cottages, plus doggie beds and bowls, a welcome bag of treats and pet turndown.

Festivals on Nantucket may look a little different this year, but they’ll be no less celebratory. Though the annual Daffodil Weekend was cancelled, White Elephant Resorts has brought the experience online with this video of the iconic woody driving along the island’s iconic streets. The ninth-annual Nantucket Book Festival, scheduled for June 18-21 has moved online. Details are still being finalized, but the virtual platform will allow people to hear from the authors who were scheduled to appear.

Easily spin from the beach to town to one of the more remote parts of the island without waiting on a ride-share. When you book a top suite at the White Elephant or The Wauwinet in July or August, you’ll receive the keys to a 2020 BMW X5 or a 2020 BMW X7. All accommodations during the spring and fall months will also offer access to the complimentary vehicles. The amenity equals a savings up to $450 per day by forgoing a jeep rental. For shorter trips, White Elephant Resorts also has a partnership with Priority Bicycles and Radio Flyer wagons, allowing guests complimentary access.

American Airlines will fly a new route this summer from Philadelphia to Nantucket. The direct flights will run on Saturdays from June 30 until September 8. Direct service is also offered on various airlines from east coast cities including Boston, New York, Newark, Washington D.C. and Charlotte. Weekday airfare can dip as low as $58 one way.

Seastreak Ferry’s seasonal service between Manhattan and Nantucket will return on weekends beginning June 26.

Blade offers non-stop, by-the-seat seaplanes from the east side of Manhattan to Nantucket. Tradewind Aviation offers similar shuttle service departing from White Plains, NY.