Newport

Hi

I am travelling to New England at the end of March and would like to visit Rhode Island. Would it be feasible to stay in Newport and visit all the other areas from there or do you recommend staying somewhere else/changing hotels each time we want to visit another area?

Thanks!

Newport

Rhode Island is tiny. You can easily base yourself in one area and see other areas. Keep in mind though that Newport is an island. Heading out from there will entail a trip over the Newport-Jamestown bridge to reach the mainland, or a drive up the east side of the bay to Providence and then back around to the shore. Take a look at a good map to get your bearings on this one. Newport is a great town, and stays busy and interesting even in the off-season.

What other parts of the state did you want to visit? Most of the waterfront areas (Narragansett, Point Judith) are closed up for the season, but it is still a nice drive and a chilly walk on the beach. If you get to Narragansett I highly recommend dining at Spain of Narragansett.

Newport

Thanks for your replies. We are travelling around by public transport as I am not confident about driving on the other side of the road! Would you still advise to stay in Downtown Boston and take day trips out to the Cape and Rhode Island? I guess my question is, how good is public transport out of Boston? thanks!

Public Transport once you leave Boston and its immediate environs gets a little sparce. You can get a train to Providence from Boston if you want to poke around down there, or you could look for tour bus trips to Newport in order to visit there. Providence can be done as a day trip - check MBTA.com to see what the train schedule is out of Boston. There might be a commercial bus company that serves Newport from Boston - that way you could make it an overnight and see what you want.

Here%26#39;s a link to information on visiting the mansions: http://www.newportmansions.org/

Here%26#39;s a link to things to do in Newport:http://gonewport.com/

If you want to rely on public transpo more, then you can do day trips out of Boston for places like Salem, Gloucester and Rockport. Rockport is at the tip of Cape Ann and is a quiet, seaside town filled with small galleries and shops. Gloucester, with its still active fishing industry is a little grittier but had shops and restaurants and a lovely shoreline. While Salem is notorious for its unfortunate role in the witch hysteria of the 1600s, the city also has a vibrant waterfront and a terrific maritime museum, the Peabody Essex Museum.

The end of March is a fickle time - it can be warm and springlike one moment and icy miserable the next. Keep that in mind when planning what to bring. Sturdy shoes, practical layers and an umbrella are key.