Newport for a week -enough to do with a 10 and 13 year old?

We plan on staying in Newport from August 4th - 11th. Is there enough to do with a 10 and 13 year old? Is an attempt at a day trip to Cape Cod or Martha%26#39;s Vineyard, out of the question?

Newport for a week -enough to do with a 10 and 13 year old?

Well besides going to the beach and other tourist sites in newport, I have a suggestion or two for side trips or day trips:

Are you going to have access to a car? You can rent some bikes and drive up to the east bay bike path. It is a 17 mile bike path that follows the shoreline along the east bay of RI. It starts in Providence and ends in Bristol. Bristol is closer to newport than providence but you can get on or off of the bike path anywhere you want to.

Also, the RISD museum has interseting tours and programs for kids, that is in providence.

Providence also has waterfire shows that families like to attend it runs at night, I am sure you can find information about it by doing a search on waterfire here. Providence is about a 45-55 minute drive from newport but there is also the ';fast ferry'; to providence that kids might enjoy: http://www.nefastferry.com/pnfastferry/

Aside from that, you can take a day trip to block island on the ferry .http://www.visitri.com/current_category.1075/companies_list.html

I know you can get the fast ferry to Martha%26#39;s vineyard from new bedford which would be a reasonable drive from newport, about 40 minutes(?).

Hope this helps.

Newport for a week -enough to do with a 10 and 13 year old?

You can take the Vineyard Fast Ferry from Quonset, R.I to Martha%26#39;s Vineyard. vineyardfastferry.com .Newport to Quonset is a short drive

Wow thats cool about the fast ferry from quonset! I wasnt aware of that. i remember back in the old days (haha) having to make the drive out to the cape to get to an island.

In all honesty ... If I were 11 0r 13 again , I would find Newport Boring . The beach is about the only major attaction for them . And this really isn%26#39;t all that convient to the Thames St. area .

There is a train ride geared towards children on the weekend . They might like the RumRunner boat ride ( but don%26#39;t get the cocktail run ! ). They can go shopping for t-shirts and such , and of course eat . The Mansion Tours will probably bore them ( especially if they are boys ) . If they are into Tennis they might like the Tennis Hall of fame . You can take a shuttle boat to Jamestown and grab a bite to eat . They might like the Fort Adams Tour ( BOYS) if they are into military history . Other than the festivals and Music at the Newport Jazz Cafe%26#39; , Newport is meant for relaxing ! The few clubs are geared to the 21 to 26 year olds . My wife and I spent 4 nights in Newport And by the 4th Night We had finished 5 out of the 6 bottles of Champagne we bought at the Newport Winery tour . Newport is a Noon to Midnight kind of town . There are no arcades , amusement rides , malls , ... even ice cream stands are hard to find ! You can go to gonewport.com for more ideas .

$2 gets them into a great Baseball game right in town at Cardines Field ..The Gulls...all College kids that will be drafted into the major leagues the next year, Very entertaining and right on top of the action, There is a huge Arcade right in the heart of Downtwon called Ryans AMusement Center, you can go racing on an America%26#39;s Cup boat for two hours any evening...catch the boat at the front of the Newport Marina Hotel, You will both love, I mean love Waterfire in Prov on Sat night Aug although I think it%26#39;s the 12th..there might be one earlier on the week before, take them out to the very end of Newport on Ten Mile drive as that is Kite Weekend out there..thousands of them, Jazz festival starts that weekend to so traffic will slowly build during the week....

Actually the Gulls ( a ';best of'; college players summer league ) will get about 30% of the players drafted into the MINOR leagues , in a year or two . Maybe you%26#39;ll get to see one player who goes straight to the majors . If you have sons REALLY into baseball it will be a good experience . The stadium is vintage , small and friendly .

Ryans arcade offers about the same experience as the local mall arcade , but pricier .

I think they could be perfectly happy for a week in Newport. As a kid, I found the mansions fascinating. Astor%26#39;s Beechwood, for example, has people playing the parts of the Astor%26#39;s servants, and I think the kids would get a kick out of it.

Other options not yet mentioned:

Take them to Green Animals in Portsmouth -- the grounds have topiaries in all kinds of shapes, and there%26#39;s a toy museum, too.

How about the Cliff Walk for a physical activity?

There%26#39;s also the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown (see its website).

Get them kites, and fly them down at Bretton Point.