Looking for a world class trip without having to leave New England in the next few weeks?
There’s an option, and one that just so happens to be a favorite spot of President Joe Biden.
Conde Nast Traveler recently released its list of the 13 best places in the world to travel in May, and a popular New England destination made the list, alongside places like Zambia, the Cyclades, and Sicily.
May, they said, “is one of our favorite times to roam the world because the weather is usually ideal no matter where you go—whether in the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern, and the crowds are much thinner than during the summer months when most families and their kids are off for holidays.”
What New England spot landed on the Conde Nast Traveler list?
Nantucket was ranked at number five for the best places in the world to travel in the month of May, according to Conde Nast Traveler.
Why did Conde Nast Traveler say this destination is great in May ?
The Conde Nast Traveler website stated, “So much more than just a summer town, Nantucket is a beauty in every season. But there are a few perks to visiting in May – namely, beating the summer influx of tourists. You won’t have to dodge quite as many crowds as you bike and sail your way around the island, and you can score some unobstructed views of the three million daffodils that bloom here in late April and early May.”
Other tips from Conde Nast Traveler
If you go to Nantucket in May, Condé Nast recommended adding the following to your itinerary:
- Eat seafood at the many restaurants on the island.
- Try the oysters at Cru (open for the season in May) or Atlantic halibut at Dune.
- Plan your visit around the Nantucket Wine Festival, a four-day event happening from May 15-19, 2024.
- Stay at The Wauwinet, a five-star hotel on the island that allows visitors some quiet isolation.
Biden visits:President Biden often goes to Nantucket for Thanksgiving
What other spots made the list?
Other places on the Conde Nast Traveler list include:
- Zambia, Africa;
- The Cyclades, Greece
- Holland, Michigan
- Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
- Machu Picchu, Peru
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Healdsburg, California
- Sicily, Italy
- he Hamptons, New York
- Puebla, Mexico
- Nova Scotia, Canada
- Greenville, South Carolina.
Fun facts about this destination
The following are facts from the Nantucket Historical Association:
- While it’s a tourist destination now, in the beginning sheep had the run of the island. “At the beginning of English settlement on Nantucket, most of the island was one unfenced common for the grazing of livestock, mainly sheep.”
- It used to be that people used the moon to predict the weather. “In the days before modern weather forecasting, Nantucketers anticipated bad weather around the time of an underground moon. The Inquirer and Mirror’s 12-month calendar not only indicated the phases of the moon throughout each month but the dates on which an underground moon would occur. “
- Collecting seaweed is a right of the townspeople. “In 1904 a committee making recommendations for the management of the Cliff Bathing Beach included: ‘The right to collect seaweed from the beach, subject to the direction of the Cliff Bathing Beach Commissioners, shall be reserved to the town’s people.'”
- “The first golf course was the Nantucket Golf Course on the north shore along Cliff Road.” It was built in 1897, with a permanent clubhouse being built in 1899.
- One of the first industries on Nantucket was silk, with the whaling industry taking off later that century.
