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We're two young couples, each with a 2 1/2 year old, looking to take a vacation to Newport and rent a house for a week (or less) in May before Memorial Day. I have no idea what the better areas are for rental houses. I don't necessarily want to be in the busiest part of town, but would like to be close enough to walk to it. Also, would like to be within walking distance of the beach.
Are there any neighborhoods that fit this description?
We are going to RI this summer to visit some of my wife's family for a few days. I was thinking we could extend our stay and hang out at the beach for a few days. It would be my wife & I and our 3 year old daughter. I was wondering if RI has a vacation type beach town like Wildwood, NJ or Ocean City, MD? I don't think there is anything with a boardwalk but how about a town with other attractions & things to do?
The two towns you mention in NJ and MD are very built up with massive hotels on the beachfront. RI is not generally like this- fortunately!!! You'll find that Newport has a hotel or two on the beach but the rest are in town. There's loads to do in Newport- just look up the tourist websites. You can also look in the Narragansett area, Watch Hill, etc. This area is known as "South County" although there is no such county.
Many people book RI vacation cottages about a year in advance. Look on Craigslist under vacation rentals to get an idea of what rents are like. If I were you, I'd just try to find a motel or hotel within 10 miles of the beach and drive since I suspect you'll find close to the beach prohibitively expensive ( I certainly would!).
We are going to RI this summer to visit some of my wife's family for a few days. I was thinking we could extend our stay and hang out at the beach for a few days. It would be my wife & I and our 3 year old daughter. I was wondering if RI has a vacation type beach town like Wildwood, NJ or Ocean City, MD? I don't think there is anything with a boardwalk but how about a town with other attractions & things to do?
Nothing like that up here. Not anywhere near that scale.
Doesn't mean you shouldn't come, try Misquamicut, Charlestown breachway,
Point Judith/Galilee, Narragansett Pier, Scarborough, or Newport on the other side,
Block Island ferry, etc
Pump all those individually into a search engine.
Things to do, yes, New Jersey ? hardly.
If I'm not mistaken the South Coast of RI used to be quite a bit more like New Jersey: big hotels, boardwalks, casinos, amusement parks- there was even a train and ferry service from NYC to Narragansett. But the 38 hurricane wiped a lot out and they never rebuilt.
The beach towns in RI are still on the south coast though, as Snowball mentioned; the Newport area has a different feel.
Thanks for all the suggestions and tips. I have been searching the internet for the best place to go but the information seems spotty. The best website I found so far with the most information is Welcome to Misquamicut Beach - Surf, Sun, and Sand
It lists the different things to do in that area. Other information I've found points to Newport being the best area. I guess we're looking the best area with the most to do in a close vicinity including the beach. We would prefer to be able to walk to the beach and other destinations.
Thank you Hollytree for that website, I glanced over it quickly but it appears it will be very useful. It's not necessarily a board walk that we're after, we just want to make sure there will be other things to do than the beach.
There's tons to do in Newport, the main beach that you can walk to is just ok though. One of the state's best beaches is a ten minute drive away, and there are many beaches and places to explore in the general area, like for instance the state parks in Jamestown. But if you really just want to walk from a rental cabana to the beach, the south coast is better.
Thanks Saltatrix, that's really good to know about the beaches in Newport. Based on my criteria what beaches would you recommend on the South Coast?
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