Private tours in Newport, RI?

[AtA]

We are booked on the Whisper for the NY-Quebec cruise in late September. We are wanting to do 3 of the mansions and are looking for a private guide for the day for 5 of us. Hoping for some recommendations please.

[Capri73]

Hi I am previously from the area. You do not need a guide. The Mansions can be done on your own.

[crusinbanjo]

12 hours ago, AtA said:

We are booked on the Whisper for the NY-Quebec cruise in late September. We are wanting to do 3 of the mansions and are looking for a private guide for the day for 5 of us. Hoping for some recommendations please.

Mrs Banjo and I live about an hours drive from Newport and visit frequently in the off seasons.

 

Three mansions in one day could be a rushed day.  They are all beautiful of course.  If you want to do three, I would recommend Marble House, Breakers and Elm House. If you have the time, the Servants tour at Elm House is a fascinating look at the inner workings of the mansions.  
 

I haven’t looked at the time in port for this IT, a guide really isn’t necessary because all of the mansions have either live guides or self guided audio tours that are quite good.  What you really need is transportation from the docks to the mansions and return.   They do have a trolley that makes the circuit, but again, time will not be your friend for 3 mansions.

 

Newport, in the dock area, is very walkable, with great sights, shopping, dining and history all very close.   

Edited July 23, 2022 by crusinbanjo

[Rothko1]

Newport is a great walking town, along the wharves.  By September the crowds should hopefully be gone.  It can be a zoo in the summer, with the tourists.

 

The mansions are, of course, great to see and explore.  The Cliff walk is also great, if you have the time.

 

 

[crusinbanjo]

35 minutes ago, Rothko1 said:

Newport is a great walking town, along the wharves.  By September the crowds should hopefully be gone.  It can be a zoo in the summer, with the tourists.

 

The mansions are, of course, great to see and explore.  The Cliff walk is also great, if you have the time.

 

 

I agree the Cliff walk is spectacular, but parts of it are closed currently because of erosion.

[Rothko1]

3 hours ago, crusinbanjo said:

I agree the Cliff walk is spectacular, but parts of it are closed currently because of erosion.

 

Aw, that's a bummer.  

 

I haven't been to Newport in over a year.  Love sitting at Harbour Court as the sun is going down.

[AtA]

I've been to Newport several times and the only 3 that will be open are Marble House, Breakers and Elm House so those are the 3 we are hoping to do. We have one member who cannot do a full day of walking so maybe what we are looking for is a driver for the 3 mansions?

[crusinbanjo]

8 hours ago, AtA said:

I've been to Newport several times and the only 3 that will be open are Marble House, Breakers and Elm House so those are the 3 we are hoping to do. We have one member who cannot do a full day of walking so maybe what we are looking for is a driver for the 3 mansions?

I would say yes.  A quick google search 👀 will result in some options for reliable service.
 

Edited July 24, 2022 by crusinbanjo

[bobolz]

Ata

 

we are also on your cruise. I assume you don’t like group tours which is why you are inquiring. We don’t particularly like them either, but since they are included in the cruise fare, we are taking the included  tour titled ‘ In the Vanderbilts footsteps’. It includes the Breakers and the marble house tours (not the Elms), I see the tour as a means of transportation, as well as entrance fees,  that  I don’t need to arrange or pay for on top of the cruise fare. Also not sure how many tours they allow during the day and if there are other cruise ships in the port also providing similar tours . Will there be availability is what I’m wondering. . Good luck with your private car search, I hope everything works out. .
 

I’m wondering don’t you have to arrange for tickets in advance especially for the Breakers? . We were there years  ago and I feel like this was required, but maybe you can pick them up at the door the day of. 
 

Looking forward to this cruise as I’m sure you are also ATA . Happy planning! 😊

Edited July 24, 2022 by bobolz

[AtA]

15 minutes ago, bobolz said:

Ata

 

we are also on your cruise. I assume you don’t like group tours which is why you are inquiring. We don’t particularly like them either, but since they are included in the cruise fare, we are taking the included  tour titled ‘ In the Vanderbilts footsteps’. It includes the Breakers and the marble house tours (not the Elms), I see the tour as a means of transportation, as well as entrance fees,  that  I don’t need to arrange or pay for on top of the cruise fare. Also not sure how many tours they allow during the day and if there are other cruise ships in the port also providing similar tours . Will there be availability is what I’m wondering. . Good luck with your private car search, I hope everything works out. .
 

I’m wondering don’t you have to arrange for tickets in advance especially for the Breakers? . We were there years  ago and I feel like this was required, but maybe you can pick them up at the door the day of. 
 

Looking forward to this cruise as I’m sure you are also ATA . Happy planning! 😊

Yes tickets have to be bought in advance.

We do want to see all three mansions if possible and are not interested in all the other "points of interest" as we're doing a b2b so will be back in Newport on the return and hope to do some of that on the return.

Also it's not clear that Marble House is included in the tour or if they just do a drive by.

[crusinbanjo]

3 hours ago, bobolz said:

Ata

 

we are also on your cruise. I assume you don’t like group tours which is why you are inquiring. We don’t particularly like them either, but since they are included in the cruise fare, we are taking the included  tour titled ‘ In the Vanderbilts footsteps’. It includes the Breakers and the marble house tours (not the Elms), I see the tour as a means of transportation, as well as entrance fees,  that  I don’t need to arrange or pay for on top of the cruise fare. Also not sure how many tours they allow during the day and if there are other cruise ships in the port also providing similar tours . Will there be availability is what I’m wondering. . Good luck with your private car search, I hope everything works out. .
 

I’m wondering don’t you have to arrange for tickets in advance especially for the Breakers? . We were there years  ago and I feel like this was required, but maybe you can pick them up at the door the day of. 
 

Looking forward to this cruise as I’m sure you are also ATA . Happy planning! 😊

You can book tickets online well in advance, but I don’t think you can reserve a time.  In September, the crowds will definitely be smaller, but the Mansions still get busy.  Best to go early to Breakers, then Marble House saving the Elm House for last.  I would hate for you to miss the Elm House as it has some unique features, as well as, the only backstage ‘servant’s tour’.  Good luck!

[Herman The Cat]

Mansions will be busy on weekends, less busy on weekdays. I recommend RoseCliff, which is not mentioned above for some reason. The Great Gatsby (with Robert Redford) was filmed there, as well as a number of other movies. Architect was Stanford White and it was modeled after the Grand Trianon at Versailles. 

 

Marble House is interesting because of all the marble, but not as beautiful as Rosecliff. The Breakers is fascinating due to its sheer size.

 

You can do the mansions on your own. You can try Uber to get you around or use the local trolley. You will tender in Newport. It does take some time to get ashore.

 

Also, sometimes the ships end up skipping Newport due to bad weather if they won’t be able to tender, so you might just want to wing it when you get there. 

[AtA]

Thank you everyone. We decided we're going to just Uber over to the Breakers first and go from there.

Herman, it's been at least 25 years since I've been to all the mansions, so will definitely take your suggestion to see Rosecliff. My actual favorite is a bit smaller; Kingscote, but it's currently closed.

[NetworkGuy]

It is not part of the official mansion tour, but you should check out the Doris Duke Estate.

https://www.newportrestoration.org/roughpoint/

[NetworkGuy]

And check our Discover Newport for a great ideas.

https://www.discovernewport.org/

[Herman The Cat]

On 7/27/2022 at 5:52 PM, NetworkGuy said:

It is not part of the official mansion tour, but you should check out the Doris Duke Estate.

https://www.newportrestoration.org/roughpoint/

It’s a good one to check out, but IMO I don’t think it’s as unique as other Doris Duke properties, such as in Hawaii. It is in a nice location and a 5 minute walk from Belcourt Castle (see below)

The majority of mansions are on Bellevue Avenue.

Belcourt Castle might be worth checking out. It was purchased and renovated by the owner of Alex & Ani jewelry and she put a lot of money into it. It is across the street and about a 10 minute stroll from Marble House on Bellevue Avenue.

[AtA]

Thank you. Definitely going to look into it.