Tour was the easiest thing to book. Kristine was so accommodating with our schedule. She explained…read moreall about the island. There were 8 ladies and she was patient with all of us taking pictures. We never felt rushed. Very easy to work with. I would totally book it again or recommend it to others!!

We had an INCREDIBLE experience with Kristine of Peter Pan Taxi Service on Block Island! Kristine,…read morea former teacher and principal at a local school, is an absolute wealth of knowledge about the island. Throughout the tour, she answered every question we threw at her--whether it was about Block Island's history, architecture, forestry, nautical life, or the social environment. Between my children, my husband, and me, we asked a lot of questions, and Kristine had thoughtful, detailed answers for all of them. Her passion for the island and her engaging storytelling made the tour both educational and fun. Within the first five minutes, I already felt like we had gotten our money's worth. By the end, we were so glad we had booked this tour--it truly was a fantastic find and I'd do it again! I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Block Island. It's the perfect way to see the island while learning so much more than you could from simply driving around on your own.

What a fun and off the beaten path experience for a random Sunday night! I always love being a…read moretourist in my area, so I thought I would book a ticket for myself on the Ghost Tours of Newport evening jaunt around the city. Having never been on one of these tours but always seeing them when out walking, I figured at best, it would be a new activity to recommend to friends and clients, and at worst, it's 90 minutes long and the cost of a cold brew and cookie. I'm so glad I went on the tour, because it was very engaging and enjoyable. The start point at the Marriott is easy to find and has very clean bathrooms (use before you go- no bathroom stops on the tour), and from there, the walk was a simple half mile with no sharp inclines or strenuous walking, making this ideal for guests of any mobility. I will say that comfy shoes are a must, as you are standing for the whole time, and there are cobblestones. Our Ghost Hostess with the Mostess, Kathy, was fantastic! It turns out she is very active in the Rhode Island theatre community, and we had a lot of mutual friends. I hope to share the stage with her one day. She kept the group interested in the stories, and you can tell she's definitely got lots of performance experience, which added to the overall fun of the night. The stories told were mostly from Newport's Golden Age of Piracy in the 1700s and 1800s. I did find the content very historical and interesting, however, due to the nature of some of the stories (real pirates, after all), I would recommend the tour for children ages 8-10 and up. I would absolutely add this to any Newport adventure, especially as we get into Spooky Season!

I purchased two tickets online on the day off our evening ghost tour provided by Ghost Tours of…read moreNewport. The meeting location was outside of the MainSail (a restaurant inside of the Newport Marriott on Americas Cup Ave). There was lots of seating around, so my husband and I found a cushy spot to wait for the group to gather. We saw your tour guide right away. She checked everyone in by asking to see confirmation emails and then gave us all small, reflective 'Ghost Tours of Newport' stickers to wear (she told us they also offered us ectoplasmic protection). Our tour guide was so prepared and offered us many entertaining stories about the history of the area, the city, and the notorious paranormal figures of Newport. She even had photos that she passed around for the group to look at before certain stops. She kept the group together and safe (crossing streets in Newport has some potential dangers - cobble stone streets and fast driving tourists behind the wheel). Our tour ended outside of Trinity Church (which offers some cool nighttime pictures btw) and that's where the group disbanded. Our tour guide offered to walk people back to the Marriott if any needed, which was really thoughtful and nice. While people were saying thank you and goodbye, I overheard a repeat customer tell her that she did a great job (as they'd taken the tour in the past with her). Note: If you decide to do walking tours like this one, please remember to tip your guides!

Come hungry. Come thirsting for knowledge. Leave with a full belly and an enhanced appreciation for…read moreNewport. As a former resident of Middletown, some of my local knowledge has faded over time. Sue easily restored my love and appreciation for this beautiful port city. She was kind enough to do this for just two of us. A private tour! l enjoyed everything that graced my palate and really respected her thorough knowledge of the history. It was incredibly fun and interesting. There is a lot of walking, especially on a hot day, so you truly do earn each of the different tastes on this tour. These are not just small samples; they are full-sized portions. My favorite was hands-down, our first stop at the reef for clam chowder. It was so velvety smooth and creamy. Just delicious. But following that was a superb chicken sandwich with a light breading; a generous Italian restaurant serving ravioli, a salad, and prosecco; and finally some coffee along with two pastries. Since we were just a party of two we were given the opportunity to try both the rose' and the traditional prosecco at the Italian restaurant (in the Irish neighborhood!) What a kind gesture! Between our gigantic bites, Sue gave us an overview of the city. We even stopped on the grounds of the Elms to learn a little bit more about the history there. We had toured the mansion the other day, but honestly all of the mansions started to blur together, so it was nice to be refreshed on the family that originally owned the Elms. This tour went quite fast, but we were never ever rushed. It just went fast because we were having fun. I told Sue that if I still lived there, I feel like we would be friends! She was so approachable and knowledgeable. Oh! And another cool thing that she pointed out was the IYRS campus, which is the only one of its kind anywhere. It is a trade school for the repair and design of yachts. It is so specialized and so incredibly interesting. I had no idea this was here. All sorts of interesting things about Newport that I never knew. What a great way to spend the day! Pro-tip: park somewhere in the middle of Thames street. It starts at one end, but ends at the other side. We had parked at the end close to where it started and I had to be rolled back to the car. Thank you, Sue for such a fabulous afternoon. I cannot say enough nice things about your business. Bravo for a spectacular food tour!

Sue was the perfect guide for the Newport Foodies Stroll. She took us all around the town, sampling…read morewonderful local food, all while telling us about the history of Newport. You can tell Sue loves the town and loves giving tours. She was an amazing host! Make sure to come hungry! There are so many amazing things to eat! Thank you Sue for sharing your love of Newport and it's food!

The Preservation Society of Newport County is a non-profit organization based in Newport, Rhode…read moreIsland and its top priority is the preservation and conservation of its historic houses and their collections. This work includes restoration of roofs and windows, conservation of fragile textiles, cleaning and restoration of valuable paintings and much more. At any given time, dozens of projects are underway. A visit to the Newport Mansions is a donation to The Preservation Society of Newport County. During the holiday season, The Breakers, Marble House, and The Elms welcome visitors with spectacular holiday displays so it was a great opportunity to visit. In addition to the house holiday display, there is an outdoor holiday display called Sparkling Lights at The Breakers from November 22 to December 29, 2024 on select evenings. Admission is only at 4 pm, 4:30 pm, 5 pm, 5:30 pm and 6 pm. Gates close at 6:30 pm and the house and grounds close at 8 pm. Timed admissions tickets can be purchased online at https://www.newportmansions.org/. Tickets include access to the lavishly decorated rooms inside the house during the same visit. About a week prior, I bought 2 tickets for December 20, 2024 at 6:00PM ($40.00 each) and I was really looking forward to it. However, there was a winter advisory and it was snowing on the day of. Driving conditions were unsafe. I was worried I was going to lose my money since the website indicated tickets may not be resold, non-transferrable, non-refundable, and cannot be used for a different date. I tried calling the Preservation Society of Newport County, but there were just prompts and I couldn't talk to a live person. I sent a direct message to @newport.mansions through Instagram and they responded promptly that I could receive a refund by emailing info@newportmansions.org. Gary Ruff, Associate Communications Manager, responded and instructed me with what information he needed to provide the refund. I was so appreciative. Thankfully, the snow cleared and temperature warmed up a bit so I bought 2 tickets for December 29, 2024 at 4:00PM ($40.00 each). All the decorated Christmas trees, the 15-foot-tall poinsettia tree, poinsettias, garlands, wreaths and fresh floral in the interior of The Breakers were beautiful and then walking through the lights and illuminated displays of the outdoor 13-acre landscape was just a cherry on the top. The Preservation Society of Newport County also partnered with Stoneacre Brasserie to offer holiday treats and adult beverages. Thank you to The Preservation Society of Newport County for everything you are doing to protect, preserve, and present an exceptional collection of house museums and landscapes.

The family (wife, 10 y/o son, 2 y/o daughter) were visiting Newport and looking fo some activities…read moreto do. I noticed that the Newport mansions were on every to-do list, with the Breakers being the top choice of many. I looked at their website as well as other reviews and saw that this may not be the best place for younger ones. I saw that no strollers were allowed and I didn't think a tour of an old mansion is something my 10 y/o would be interested in. So I decided to take a solo trip on a nice Friday morning while the rest of the family slept in late at the hotel. The Breakers opens at 10 AM. The visitors parking lot is on the corner of Ochre Point Avenue and Victoria Avenue. There are other lots nearby but read the signs as they are for other buildings...The parking lot had adequate space when I arrived at 10:15 or so, but by the time I was leaving at about 11:45 is was pretty packed with visitors having to park in the rear overflow lot. Once you reach the front gate of the Breakers mansion, there are COVID restriction and general rule signs. As you proceed you can go to the left to buy tickets, use the bathroom or enter their cafe. Tickets are about $26 for adults and $8 for children 6-17 years old. The cafe has a bunch of premade food items, drinks, snacks, premade sandwiches... and few seats with tables. There are some more seats and table just outside of the cafe. Before you enter the mansion, there are signs showing you how to use their self tour audio app. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING THIS...AND BRING HEADPHONES. You download the Newport Mansions app from the App Store onto your Apple or Google device, select the mansion you are visiting and begin the tour. The audio tour was excellent and follows you through the tour route of the mansion. I enjoyed listening to all the interesting facts about each room via bluetooth earbuds while my hands were free to take photos with my camera. You only thing you will need to do is to advance (click the play button) the tour to the next room before entering. There are some interesting facts about the mansion as a whole and each individual room. You can also stay around longer in each area for additional facts, essentially lengthening the tour. Without the audio tour, you will have to fread the printed information sheet. You go through the main floor, upper floor and back down into the service area where the kitchen is. You then exit through the gift shop. The gift shop has lots of interesting items, which includes typical magnets, mugs and prints, but they also have some luxury items like platters and wine stoppers as well as a small jewelry section. You finally exit out onto the side of the mansion and are able to walk back around outside to the front where you entered. Before sure to walk through the opened gate to the right of the mansion which takes you through a small garden to the back. Here you can see the Cliff Walk path and the ocean. Overall, I had a great time...It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. The entire tour took just over an hour without listening to the extra information about each room. (During the tour, there are a few instances where you have to ascend/descend steps - I did NOT see any elevators - so you may want to call ahead to check if you cannot climb steps) Again, I highly recommend downloading the app and listening to the audio tour via headphones. It allows your eyes to focus on the beauty of the mansion instead of reading. Lastly, the mansion is right off of the Cliff Walk path...so be sure to make the short ride (or walk) north to Narragansett Avenue and visit the Forty Steps.

Amazing tour! Rick was an amazing guide and gave us amazing stories of the island and the lore…read morebehind many of the well known buildings. Definitely a must for people wanting to get to know the island or people who love these kinds of stories. Not going to spoil anything! If you are interested please go! Best, Bob B.

Rick is a great storyteller! His tour on Block Island's spooky history including pictures and…read moredevices made for a fun and enjoyable walk around town.

The tour with Sarah on August 16 was terrific! She shared…read moreher insiders knowledge of the island and was extremely informative and charming. I would highly recommend a tour with her. It was worth the money that we spent to say the least. We will be looking her up on our next visit to Block Island. Thank you Sarah!

Polly was great and picked us up from the airport to take us on a 1.5hour tour of the island. It…read morecost $70-80 for the 4 of us. She was very knowledgeable and personable about the island and is a long-standing resident of it. Going on a tour with her is really like getting to know one of the locals. She'll take you to the second bluffs and throughout town and you'll get to learn about the history of the island and even the politics of it a bit. We really enjoyed our tour with Polly and would gladly recommend her to anyone. Just give her a call to set it up ahead of time.

We enjoyed a magnificent sunset cruise. We were fortunate enough to see a seal and a pod of…read moredolphins! Corrie was knowledgeable and kind. We really enjoyed ourselves & would absolutely do this again.

Cori is a born and raised local who will be more than happy to meet your needs - informative…read moreecology, relaxed sunset float, show your kids the ropes, whatever. She can tell you about the egrets and minnows or the latest island gossip all with a great island attitude.

My husband and I had planned a two hour cruise in Mystic on the Argia on the day we were…read morecelebrating with our family visiting from California. We were looking for an activity that would be fun for a multigenerational group of 23 people with toddlers, seniors, and everyone in between. We had been in communication with Oliver for months in advance. About two weeks before the big day, we saw that the forecast called for showers throughout Memorial Day weekend, particularly the Sunday of our planned cruise. We monitored the weather and decided to make a decision closer to the day. Throughout the entire process of planning, Oliver was responsive, reliable, accommodating, and kind. On the morning of the trip, Oliver gave us multiple options and worked with us to make sure that we could cancel and get a full refund due to the inclement weather. He provided us with agency up to the last hour of decision making. On a day that could have been really stressful, Oliver alleviated some of that stress. That is exceptional customer service, and that is the reason we will be coming back to the Argia for another special occasion. Highly recommend working with Oliver and his team if you get the chance!

We took a sunset cruise on the Argia, which is the last commercial sailing ship left in Mystic,…read morewhen we were visiting Mystic with a couple of friends on the Fourth of July. The boat has different seating options - wooden benches and cushion seats without backrests. We reserved two of the cushioned areas and showed up ready to check in on time (they ask you to show up about 30 minutes before boarding to check in). You board at the dock just next to the bridge in Mystic, so it couldn't be more convenient if you're exploring Mystic for a day or a weekend. The Argia allows you to bring alcohol (wine and beer) on board (although they ask that you not bring large coolers - there's no room for them), so we brought a couple of bottles of wine bought from the great wine shop down the street. The sail is partly narrated. Our sail was two hours long, and the staff narrated for some of the sailing time - pointing out historic and interesting sites along the sail (islands with an interesting history, homes with interesting architecture, etc.). Between the gorgeous scenery, some narration of fun and interesting facts about Mystic and its harbor, the great wine we'd brought aboard, and great company - it was the perfect way to spend a couple of hours in Mystic. What a beautiful way to enjoy Mystic and its harbor!