Newport RI? Info, reccomendations?

[MKCP5]

Summer vacation just isn't coming together for us this year, for several different reasons. So it looks like we may do a staycation and daytriip our way around our area.

Who has done the cliffwalk in Newport? How do you get back to your car? Reccomendations for lunch/dinner with teens?

Thanks!

 

[bamor]

Park at First Beach
RIPTA trolley back
Great food at Flo's clam shack across from First Beach (cash only)

 

[MKCP5]

How about the mansions? How many are going to keep us interested, but not kill the kids? 2? Costs to get in?

thanks!

 

[bamor]

OK, I have not done the mansions in years (field trips, etc).
I would do only one, IMO.
The Breakers might be your best choice.
$19.00/adults
$5.00/kids under 17
I'm sorry, I'm not sure about any discounts available.

Are you looking to go for a day trip or a weekend?

 

[SSRJen]

Just went back home and visited Newport. We hit up First beach and ate at Flo's...The food is great (although mainly fried), but super cheap!

I also highly recommend visiting some of the mansions.

 

[stefplus3]

I just did the mansions and lunch and the cliff walk with my sil this past tuesday!

We did the 5 manions ticket for $31 per person. You can pick which 5 you want to visit (with the exception of 1 that isn't part of that package, it didn't look good anyways!). We did the Breakers, walked on the cliff walk from there until the next "exit", walked up a LONG dirt road to the main street, saw the Marble House, walked back to RoseCliff (this one has a/c on the first floor....soooo nice! it was about 95 degrees in the other houses, lol). Then we took the trolley ($1.75 per person for one ride) back to the Breakers where we had parked. Drove back to town for lunch. We ate at the Red Parrot, it was very yummy and affordable! It dosen't have outdoor seating but we were seriously melting and didn't want to sit outside anyways.

After lunch we went back and saw the Elms and finally the Bell house. Skip the Bell house, it's "under renovations" and completely empty!! It does have beautiful woodwork but again....sooo hot and with nothing to look at boring!!

We did a TON of walking. My sil runs marathons and I walk a lot and we were both feeling it by 5pm (we arrived around 10:15 at the first house). Make sure the kids are prepared! They don't allow any picture taking inside the mansions either which bummed me out....they are beautiful!!

Message me if you have any questions!!

 

[stefplus3]

Another thing with the mansions....some are self guided audio tours (you each get headphones with a little mp3 sized thing that gives you information and you can skip/fast forward if it's boring), 2 of the houses we saw (rosecliff and bell house) are guided tours......boring imo. The guides go into SO much detail I could see the kids being bored. We saw tons of kids on the audio tours and none on the other 2.

 

[C.Ann]

Love the mansion tours! We (adult DD and I) did the combo ticket..

Actually, I love all of Newport - LOL..

 

[DisneyokwSSR]

We just visited Newport, RI for a couple of days. The walking ghost tour was a lot of fun. Also, while not that inexpensive, a sailing cruise was very nice.

The parking for the cliff walk is free on-street parking. I have never had a problem getting a spot. We ate at the Red Parrot which is a tourist type place. The food was good.

 

[DisneyKT]

The Cliff Walk I would park on a side street. Also Fort Adams is nice to walk around. Twelve mile drive,brick market place. I wouldn't recommend Flo's it has really gone down in past years. I would rather do something closer to the market place. Just my opinion. Have fun.

 

[MKCP5]

does anyone know if the breakers has a guide or a self narrated tour? Do those little tour mp3 things you listen to cost extra?

I amthinking the kids would tap out at 2 mansions, lunch, then cliff walk, wandering through the shops,..............

 

[stephbillalec]

My kids love to eat at the Red Parrot on Thames St.
When we do the cliffwalk we always park on a side street.
MacDougal's Pottery and Wild Mermaids (next door to each other) on Spring St. have some funky jewelry at great prices if you have any female teens or for yourself
Have fun!

 

[pediatric-rnp]

Drive along 10 mile drive, and bring a picnic lunch and kites! My kids were bored with the mansions when they were young, but enjoyed them when they were in their early teens. Brick market place is a great place to browse and has a little something for everyone.

 

[amylynne01]

There is also the Rose Island Lighthouse out in the Bay. It is located about a mile offshore right near the Newport Bridge. In the summer, you can take the ferry there from Jamestown or from Fort Adams. It is a completely self sustained home with a windmill, cisterns for collecting water, and toilets that are flushed after every 3rd person! I was an intern there for a year in college, and I can't wait to take the kids down sometime.

 

[MKCP5]

Great info guys! Any other thoughts?

 

[Gigi22]

We went on the Breakers tour about 3 years ago. No audio/self-guided tours at that time. Further, the number of people touring the house at any one time was limited--I recall waiting about 20 min. at the front door for the time we were allowed in.
Beautiful, amazing house.
I suggest you look carefully for the bust of Anderson Cooper's great-great-(3 greats?) uncle, it looks amazingly like A.C.!

 

[3boymthr]

Other great things to do in Newport:

Fort Adam State Park - explore the fort and absolutely bring a Kite! and don't forget to pack a picnic There are fantastic views of the ocean.

Tennis Hall of Fame

A drive down Oceanside drive is always amazing.

You can drive by, but no longer visit Hammersmith Farm - Jacquelyn Kennedy Onassis' childhood home. Even though you can no longer visit it's still a neat place to see.

If you do a walking tour of the downtown area there are some really, really old Revolutionary War era homes (and some older). Some are open to the public. There is a little green that has Revolutionary War era cannons.

If you have boys there is a really good Army/Navy Surplus store downton.

Take a tour of the docks downtown, sometimes there are some really amazing racing yachts.

 

[rella's fan]

We always have to eat at the Brick Alley Pub and get ice cream at the Newport Creamery. We don't have Christmas Tree shops where I live so that's somewhere else we always have to stop at.

 

[Telcogirl]

Great info guys! Any other thoughts?

Check into this website for a lot of ideas :
http://www.gonewport.com/

If you are looking for a lobster roll sandwich, I highly recommend H2O & The Water Bar Lounge. The best I have ever had. Coming in a close second is the tiny bar and restaurant on Waites Wharf.

We try to avoid 1st Beach in Middletown because they typically have a lot of red tide. If you want to do a beach, try 2nd Beach, it is much nicer.

There are some real nice harbor cruises that you can take right off of the Bowen's wharf area.

We love Newport and try to spend as much time as we can over there in the summer.

 

[TinaLala]

I would definitely bring a kite, a ball, frizbee and a picnic lunch and drive beyond Bellvue Ave to Ocean Drive over to Brenton Point to fly your kites! In early July they have the Kite show which is amazing, but you can find someone flying a beautiful kite there anyday!

Be care of the mice in the area with your picnic lunch. This use to be a horse barn so the mice (who have been there for centuries) are alittle loud and territorial.

Explore the grounds - good spot to let the kids let off some steam if you do go through some of the mansions.