Rhode Island Travel Guide

So excited to share my Rhode Island travel guide with you! We went on the best 5 night trip to Watch Hill/Westerly and Newport in August and had the absolute best time. I had been to Newport twice before, once with my family back in 2020 (here) and for my friend’s bachelorette in 2024 (here)! My husband had never been, and I knew he’d absolutely love it. I also vlogged the trip if you’d like to watch it on YouTube.

We drove up to Westerly, RI from NYC and it took about 4 hours with the summer traffic. Our first stop was this cute AirBnb so that we could enjoy the Ocean House dining options (they were sold out for a wedding, and we planned pretty last minute). I drove by the Ocean House back in 2020, but didn’t get to experience it, so I knew we had to! We visited the secret sushi garden and below deck after dark one night, and then attended the famous lobster boil the next night- SO FUN! The rest of our time was spent walking around and relaxing, exploring the shops, and having lunch at The Weekapaug Inn.

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After two nights in Watch Hill we drove over to Newport, which was about 40 minutes. We stopped at Easton’s Beach, also called First Beach, on the way for a few hours of relaxation in the sun. This is one of my favorite beaches, and we were able to easily find parking. Note- several of the other beaches were already full for parking for the day by 12p! After reading for a few hours, we grabbed a snack at Diego’s and then the best ice cream ever at Clementine’s before checking into our hotel.

Our first Newport hotel was Hammett’s Hotel, a modern, nautical hotel right in the middle of everything! This waterfront location was amazing, and you could walk to all the shops and restaurants right on the wharf. They also had a package for a sunset sail on the most gorgeous sailing yacht that we did and WOW, it was the most special experience! We highly recommend both Hammetts and Tree of Life Sailing Yacht. Next, to finish off the night, we grabbed dinner at Stoneacre Garden for a mix of fresh seafood and asian fusion.

The next day was our full Newport tourist day! We actually only stayed one night at Hammetts and checked into their sister property, Island House, for the final two nights. Our suite at Island House was stunning! It’s apartment-style rooms within a boutique hotel, so we enjoyed the extra space to spread out. After settling in, we walked over to the mansions after and had lunch at The Elms Carriage house before our tour. You seriously cannot miss the mansion tours in Newport! Last time, I did visit the Breakers and loved it too.

Because the weather was so amazing, we explored the shops on Bellevue Ave. and walked the Tennis Hall of Fame grounds before changing and heading over to Castle Hill inn for drinks on the lawn. Now, this has gained a TON of popularity since I last went in 2020, but it is still such a gorgeous view. The earlier you go, the more likely you are to get a seat in the iconic Adirondack chairs. We actually just picked up pizza this night and watched a movie in the living room since we had the space. 🙂

Our final Newport day started with coffee and the Cliff Walk- where you walk along the ocean and see more of the gorgeous mansions. After that we grabbed beach chairs from the hotel and walked over to Easton’s again for a few hours. For the last night, we headed back to Bowen’s wharf to shop and explore. Then, we had the most amazing dinner at Giusto, which is actually at Hammetts Hotel. It’s an Italian restaurant that focuses on local ingredients and we absolutely loved it! Overall, our trip was a lot of walking, exploring, and eating, but those are the best. 🙂 I’ll include a few recommendation lists below as well.

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