There is no shortage of things to do in Newport Rhode Island. Don’t be overwhelmed, these 7 amazing ideas will make sure you have no regrets after your trip to Newport, Rhode Island.
Don’t allow things to do in Newport Rhode Island to overwhelm you during the planning process. You want to make sure if you’re going to go someplace, that you see enough to get a sense of the area, but you also want to relax. You can’t possibly do everything! Newport, Rhode Island is one of those places that has so much to offer it can really become stressful to try and plan too much in just a few days.
In this post, I will share my 7 favorite things to do in Newport Rhode Island that I don’t think should be skipped. This list includes a beautiful ocean side walk. You will have a chance to learn the history of this beautiful city without barely realizing you are! That’s my kind of history, LOL! You’ll have a few chances to get out on the water, which is what it’s all about in Newport. Also, you’ll see how the rich lived during The Gilded Ages. And don’t forget a day to just relax on a beautiful, quiet beach! So if you’ve been stressing about the perfect, well rounded activity list for Newport Rhode Island, look no further!
You’ll notice this does not include food. If you’re interested in food in Newport, Rhode Island check out my post: Delicious Newport Rhode Island Restaurants for Every Budget
If you’re looking for a place to stay check out this post:
Where to Stay in Newport Rhode Island | My Favorite Little Inn in Newport
This post is all about things to do in Newport Rhode Island.
1. Gansett Cruise
2 Bowen’s Landing Newport, RI 401-619-1300 Trip Advisors Top 10 in the World
Morning Mimosa Cruise Afternoon Cruise Evening Cruise
Gansett Cruises offer 1.5 hour narrated harbor tours as well as sunset cruises on Narragansett Bay offering stunning views of Newport and Jamestown. We did the narrated harbor tour “afternoon cruise”. We really wanted the morning mimosa cruise but they didn’t have enough people in the morning so they moved us to the afternoon cruise. These cruises are decently priced in my opinion, like $35. You can check current pricing here. Scroll to the bottom of the homepage for pricing.
I thought it would be cheesy, to be honest. I just wanted to get on the water. Boy was I wrong! It was amazing. The narrator was very entertaining, not boring in the least. He was knowledgeable and had personality. You could tell he loved his job. He’d have to be not right to not love cruising around that beautiful bay all day! The tour was calm and relaxing and the Bay Area is the prettiest I have ever seen! It didn’t hurt that we hit it during some type of yacht racing.
tip: Head to the upper deck of the boat, it seats less people and you get better views. Also they offer certain drinks COMPLIMENTARY. IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT, I BELIEVE YOU CAN PAY FOR ANOTHER DRINK. But it’s not a booze cruise, it is tasteful and they’ll offer a few drinks to keep things from getting out of hand. Bring a light jacket or sweater.
This was the first thing we did essentially, and I would highly recommend doing it out of the gate. It offers so much information that you have a good handle on what Newport is all about by the end. Also, we got a few good recommendations from the crew for other things to do. This is a definite must in my opinion! Pictures shown below:
2. Tour the Gilded Age Mansions
The mansions are literally like stepping on to the set of Downton Abbey! They are reasonably priced and the tours are self guided audio tours. For an in depth discussion of the mansions see my post:
Newport Rhode Island Mansions for Newbies| Don’t Miss The Gilded Age at it’s Finest
tip: Drive down Bellevue Avenue to see these beautiful mansions. It’s 2.5 miles and offers more elegance and history than most avenues in the u.s. plus it’s free to drive by them all! Also it leads you right into #3 Ocean drive
3. Ocean Drive
This 10 mile drive starts as you end the Bellevue Avenue drive. It is 10 miles of coastline meets up to a winding road. The views are some of the most beautiful I have seen in the U.S. You’ll eventually come to Brenton Point State Park. You can park for free and walk across the street to sit and watch the ocean. We saw yachts racing and the views were just stunning. There were families flying kites and you can find restrooms here. Once you leave here, you’re very close to #4, the iconic Castle Hill Inn. Below are some shots from Ocean Drive.
4. Castle Hill Inn
590 Ocean Drive
Although this is an Inn and restaurant, I’m mostly talking about the ambiance right now. This is the quintessential New England scene. White Adirondack chairs sprawled over rolling grass facing Narragansett Bay and the bridge. You can get some majorly good footage here. It is just beautiful! I linked to an earlier post below that talks more about the food here.
You do need to have a reservation for lunch or dinner to use the chairs. At the very least, you need to get drinks at The Terrace Bar. I recommend making reservations a month ahead of time if you can. Reservations can be made at opentable.com. It was a struggle to get in at The Lawn for a late lunch. We really just wanted to hang out on the lawn in the Adirondack chairs anyhow. We visited in June and there were a good amount of geese, just so you know. I felt like no other sites were mentioning the geese. Eventually they beat it, but they left little gifts behind, if you know what I mean…watch your step! All of it is worth it for the scenery!
For a more in depth read on Castle Hill Inn including the food at The Lawn you can read my post:
Delicious Newport Rhode Island Restaurants for Every Budget
tip: They have valet parking. It seemed a bit ridiculous being that the parking lot is a stones throw away, but that’s just the way it is.
5. Cliff Walk
This is the most stunning walk I have ever done! I can see why the most elite and rich people settled along this coast and built this walk. It’s a 3.5 mile walk with about the first 2/3 of it being easy walking conditions. You get stunning ocean views with waves crashing against rocks on one side and Gilded Age Mansions on the other side. It really is awesome, and it’s free! We stayed close by and walked over. But if you’re not within walking distance you can park at Memorial Boulevard at Easton’s Beach. You can pay with cash or credit card. This is the northern most entrance of the walk and the easiest portion of the walk. If you’re not looking for tough terrain, start here.
Visit the Discover Newport site here to get some answers to common questions about Cliff Walk and decide which portion of the walk you prefer to do.
6. Blue Shutters Beach
69 East Beach Road Charlestown, RI
Okay, so you’ll notice this beach is not exactly in Newport. Beaches in Newport are going to be more crowded. Also, I feel that it is good to venture out a bit and see more of a state, so long as I’m there. I did my research and this beach ranked very high if you prefer less crowds. We decided to check it out and fell in love with this beach. It’s about a 50 minute drive, but I promise it is SO worth it. We had the most relaxing day here. Read all about this beautiful beach in this post:
Blue Shutters Beach | Prepare for an Unforgettable Day at the Beach Not Far From Newport, RI
7. Sunset Sail
32 Bowen’s Wharf Newport, RI 401-849-3333
This was a last minute splurge for us. We really wanted to get back on the water before heading home. So on a whim my husband booked this for our last evening in Newport. It totally didn’t disappoint! We went through Aquidneck, you can visit their site here, to find out about pricing. We opted for the sunset sail that comes with complementary beer, champagne, or soda. The sail is roughly 1.75 hours, but the sunset sails vary in length slightly.
tip: Be sure to bring a blanket or light jacket as it can get a bit cold on board.
The photos you will get are stunning! The sun setting over the bay with the sails, bridge and yachts in the background are just amazing! You don’t get the deep history the Gansett Cruise gives, but this is more about being in an actual sail boat for the sunset. It was the perfect way to sum up our trip and relax before heading home. It is a bit more expensive than the Gansett Cruise, but not terrible. If it’s within your budget, I’d say go for it. See their schedule here, scroll to the bottom of the page to book.
These were my 7 amazing things to do in Newport Rhode Island that I don’t think anyone should miss.
I hope you found this post to be helpful. Honestly, if it wasn’t for COVID, I would have never stumbled on this breathtaking city! Now we have been a few times! There is so much to do, some of which is free or very reasonably priced. This city can get expensive, but I tried to give a good variety of things to do that won’t completely break the bank! I hope you’ll consider giving Newport, Rhode Island a try, you won’t regret it. Thanks for reading! Happy traveling!
This post was all about things to do in Newport Rhode Island.
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Delicious Newport Rhode Island Restaurants for Every Budget
Newport Rhode Island Mansions for Newbies | Don’t Miss The Gilded Age at it’s Finest
Blue Shutters Beach | Prepare for an Unforgettable Day at the Beach Not Far From Newport, RI
Where to Stay in Newport Rhode Island | My Favorite Little Inn in Newport
