Suggestions for family visit to Rhode Island

We are planning to drive there from Long Island either in late June or end of August to stay for about a week. We have 3 children, aged 10, 13, and 15. My son is very active and may not be happy visiting mansions for more than a few hours. What other cities and sites are worth visiting with chiildren in and around Rhode Island? We have already been to Mystic and Foxwoods twice, which are in CT. Which hotels are kid friendly, reasonable rates, decent breakfasts? Which restaurants do you recommend in these areas?

Suggestions for family visit to Rhode Island

Might want to look into Watch Hill, Narragansett, Point Judith, Westerly area in SW corner near CT border. Spectacular beaches. Watch Hill is a village right out of the 1960%26#39;s. Spent a 4 day weekend in that area in a B%26amp;B last June and weather was super. If they are beach kids they should love, if looking for aracade they%26#39;ll hate it

Suggestions for family visit to Rhode Island

Johnson and Wales has their cooking school in Providence and they had a whole exhibit when we were there (it was a few years ago) but it depicted the history of cooking. You can also eat at their restaurants and try food from the students.

The mansions are pretty impressive, so might capture the attention of even an active child.

Perhaps your family would enjoy the cliff walk in Newport.

Green Animals is not too far from Newport and might be interesting--they have topiary animals.

There is a small, but pretty nice zoo in Providence.

The roger williams park zoo is nice. There is a new baby zebra.

The RISD museum can be a lot of fun. The last Sat of every month is Free For ALL Saturday and they have all kinds of stuff for the kids. It is located on the East SIde not far from many funky shops and eateries. If lucky, your trip there might coincide with a Waterfire in downtown Providence. A Newport Mansion tour may be interesting if spending the day in Newport.

The area around the beach may be pricey for lodging. IF you look into the Warwick area off of 95 you might use that as a base point. From there you can venture out on day trips such as Newport, the beaches in Narragansett, the zoo and downtown Providence, Providence Place Mall with the Imax theatre, etc.

As far as restaurants go, if you are planning on spending a day in Narrangansett, try Aunt Carrie%26#39;s (clam shack atmosphere). Newport with teens I would probably try Brick Alley Pub and as far as downtown goes, there are a number of restaurants at the mall, a Johnny Rockets on the east side and a nice Thai place called Pakarang on S main st if going to Waterfire.

If you do decide to stay in the Warwick area, I was thinking along the lines of something just off RT 4 which would give you easy access to Newport and the beaches. I think there is a Fairfield Suites in that area, maybe west warwick but right on the line. Close to that you would have Outback, Ruby Tuesdays, Panera Bread, Cracker Barrel and some waterfront restaurants in East Greenwich.

How about going to Block Island for the day? Try out George%26#39;s of Galilee. We like to sit in the rocks and watch the boats come in and leave while eating their clamcakes and chowder. There is a Science Center in Newport that has different exhibits. How about Slater Mill in Pawtucket? There is a Skate Park in Middletown if your son is interested. There are go carts to race in Seekonk, MA and Narragansett. Also, the Pawtucket Red Sox in Pawtucket is a great AAA farm team for the Boston Red Sox, with a great park and reasonable tickets. How about Laser Tag? There are a few places for that in/around the RI/MA line. Chelo%26#39;s and Gregg%26#39;s have great food and reasonable prices. The chocolate cake is the best! There is a Dave and Busters at the Providence Place Mall. Would they like taking a harbor cruise in Newport? There is also a day high speed ferry out of North Kingstown that goes to Martha%26#39;s Vineyard. Check out any of the tourism websites to see if there are any festivals or fairs going on for the weekend you are looking for. Hope this gives you some ideas!

Newport can be a tourist trap in the summer, so plan to spend the day. Along Thames Street in Newport there is a video arcade and lots of shops and even a great little music store. Brick Alley Pub is a great place to eat. Burgers and chicken fingers, fries for the kids and seafood, etc for mom and dad. Check out Cliff Walk and the Easton%26#39;s Beach-Flo%26#39;s Clamshack is across the street for lunch. Mansions are a short ride from there. Block Island can be a fun beach day in the summer-bikes and mopeds can be rented. But you can walk most of the island. About a 1/2 hour you can walk and see the light house over by Mohegan Bluffs, which are beautiful! Ballard%26#39;s Beach has a restaurant on the beach and if you get there early, you can rent a lounge chair, or just pack a blanket. There%26#39;s usually a volleyball game going on closer to the restaurant. There%26#39;s not too much to do--but if the kids like the beach...and lots of waves--then all should be fine. If you go to waterfire.com, you can find a schedule for waterfire in Providence, usually on Saturdays--but they have some weeknight days as well. The RISD museum is very interesting (and reasonable)--a trip down Thayer Street is a must. Great little shops, a few chain stores (the Gap and Urban Outfitters) but there%26#39;s sidewalk seating at many restaurants very casual and great people watching, Johnny Rockets (chain 50%26#39;s style place), Paragon (excellent %26amp; reasonable)! Also a Coldstone Creamery and Ben %26amp; Jerry%26#39;s for a little extra treat. Maybe even check out Brown University Grounds? The Mall does have an IMAX theater and a Dave %26amp; Buster%26#39;s for more video games (I believe after a certain time, its over 21 though?). The Roger Williams Park Zoo is a fun way to spend a few hours, animals are not in cages per se? But in a somewhat more natural environment...and the Children%26#39;s Museum could be quite fun for your 10 yr old--the 13 %26amp; 15 yr old--could even enjoy themselves too :) Have you thought of venturing to Boston for the day? You can drive or the T (commuter rail) leaves from Providence and South Attleboro...Its only an hour away--and you can visit the Aquarium, Museum of Science, the Freedom Trail and Fanueil Hall or perhaps Plymouth Village, in Plymouth MA? All are just an hour away from Providence? You can even drive to Cape Cod for the day (full of traffic on the weekends)...oh and check-out Federal Hill (near downcity and on the other side of the mall) for excellent Italian food! Angelo%26#39;s is a favorite and the prices are CHEAP--Caserta makes an excellent thick pizza! Talk a walk 5 minute walk to DePasquale square, grab desert at one of the bakeries enjoy the music and sit by the fountain.

What is the weather like in the summer months - which are most comfortable for travel to Rhode Island and Boston? Thanks for your recent posting. It seems like an excellent idea to travel by train to Boston if it%26#39;s only 1 hour away. Do you know what the train fares would be?

You can see amtrak.com for times and prices for the train from Providence to south station boston.

I am just writing to second or third :) the recommendation for the RISD museum. We used to go there all the time when i was growing up and I always loved it. Make sure the kids get to see the mummy and the buddah - those were two of my favorites. Plus the staff really puts on great programs for kids - if they are into art at all.

I also recommend the roger williams zoo, it is very nice and not as overwhelmingly huge as the Bronx zoo or the national zoo in washington.

The two best hotels to stay in in providence are the biltmore or the westin, you can walk to just about everything (except the zoo) from there. You can easily take public transportation to any place from there too.

The best way into Boston would be drive 95N to 93N to Braintree.

park in the Quincy Adams Garage ($3..50 a day). I haven%26#39;t been since November but it is 2 tokens into the city and one when you leave and one in the turnstile to get back to the garage upon your return. I think it was $3.00 each way. The summer can be humid here, but it could be 75 one day at 96 the next...crazy I%26#39;ll tell you.

If planning on going into Boston, check the hotel prices on hotwire.com. I always get the 3.5 star in the Quincy market/Financial Dist very cheap...It%26#39;s the Hyatt. Close to the T and within walking distance of Boston Common, Quincy market, The NE Aquarium and the North End.

Your kids would be too old for the Prov Children%26#39;s Museum but there is or was a Star Wars Exhibit at the Boston museum of Science.

hold the tough drive freshly founder