Newport, a tender port, requires some planning. Make sure to book your tender spot in advance, especially if you have a planned excursion. These spots fill up quickly, but they do have a specific waiting area for those with independent plans. We took the free trolley (which is actually a bus) from a short walk away from the tender pier. The bus conveniently dropped us off at the famous "40 Steps" ...
If you want to visit the summer home of a rich family, this is a great place to go. With two large cruise ships in town at once, I found it somewhat overrun by cruise ship passengers in the same way that most ports in Alaska can be -- you don't run into too many local folks, just other cruise ship passengers bumping into each other. The restaurants I looked at seemed too pricey for what they ...
IF you are fit walk to Mansion Cliff Top Walk - North end and head south - great views and fairly level until after The Breakers - we caught the local free bus back (and caught the end of a great narrative from the driver) - some didn't even get off but rode the bus back. Hint - if doing this catch it from the station (was quite a line up when we got off) ...
There is a long tender ride into Newport and the loading of passengers onto the tenders was chaotic. The ship needs to hire more tenders to move people to the port efficiently. People were packed into each tender as if it was a cattle car. ...
We had hoped to see some foliage, and rented a car to do a self-guided trip. Foliage was a bust, for the most part, but we still had a lovely drive around a state we'd never been to. ...
Enjoyed the tour of the Mansions. The Breakers and the Marble House. Great views of all the surrounding mansions. Would recommend if you like history and architecture. ...
If you have to tender it may take some time away from your time to visit the city. Tours to mansions vary so be careful to read the descriptions. Some are drive-by and others include some admission into them. If you have been inside other mansions of this era these are pretty much the same design and decor. ...
We took the free bus out to the Cliff Walk, and then walked back along one of the streets. We had trouble getting a bus back because they were all full so we decided to uber. Other than the mansions and the cliff walk, it's not the greatest port. ...
Nice and rich town. The town provides a free trolley service (#63) for a quick tour of the town. You can drop off in many designated stops.
There are many seafood restaurants near the harbor. ...