Whether on foot, on a sailboat or in a Mercedes, the picturesque destinations of Rhode Island are wonderful places to arrange group tours. Depending on the group’s preference, planners can book, among others, a Providence tour focusing on history or cuisine, or a Newport tour highlighting where some famous movies were filmed or where President John F. Kennedy would hang out. Following are eight great tours to get attendees even more excited to meet in the Ocean State.
Providence Walks: The East Side
The Providence East Side walking tour provides a comprehensive look at the city’s East Side. It was created to highlight 17 storied institutions and inform participants about the city’s history, from its founding by Roger Williams in 1636 through the present day.
The tour includes Brown University and Benefit Street, which is lined with stately mansions, awe-inspiring architecture and is also home to the Providence Athenaeum.
“The walking tour also presents the history of the city through the eyes of some of its greatest residents, including religious visionary Roger Williams; the father of modern science fiction, H.P. Lovecraft; and the cultural leaders of the Brown family,” says Christina Robbio, communications and social media manager at the Providence Warwick CVB.
Experience Rhode Island Tours, Providence
Providence is well known for its culinary offerings, which groups can enjoy in numerous ways, including via the An Evening in the City tour with Experience Rhode Island Tours.
According to the tour operator’s president, Ted Stricklin, groups will enjoy dinner at Los Andes, one of the highest-rated restaurants in the city, take a gondola ride down the Providence River, and then enjoy live music and dessert alfresco in DePasquale Plaza, the most famous plaza in the city.
“Nothing captures the essence of Providence in one evening like this tour does,” Stricklin says. “The delicious food and marvelous ambience combine to make this an absolutely delightful evening in one of America’s most-loved cities.”
RISD Museum Tours, Providence
The RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) Museum offers two themed group tours that explore art and design from different times and cultures.
According to Mariani Lefas-Tetenes, the museum’s assistant director, school and teacher programs, the RISD Museum Highlights tour involves groups learning about five to eight works of art and design on exhibit, and the Artists’ Ideas, Materials and Process tour presents an in-depth exploration of the artists behind five to eight works.
Lefas-Tetenes adds the one-hour tours should be scheduled a month in advance.
And, according to Deborah Clemons, the museum’s assistant director, public and academic programs, RISD Museum educators will also work with planners to create professional development programs for groups, based on proven methods from art-based learning and tailored to meet the group’s goals.
Botanical Center Tour, Providence
The Roger Williams Park Botanical Center is home to more than 150 types of plants, flowers and trees, as well as a large Koi pond and a rose maze featuring 30 varieties of roses.
“My favorite thing about the center is that it’s always a warm summer day inside, no matter what the weather is outside,” says Kerri Furtado, tourism sales manager for the Providence Warwick CVB.
She explains tours are led by trained “master gardener” volunteers from the University of Rhode Island and can be customized based on a group’s interests.
“In addition to talking about the environmental conditions of their natural habitats, guides also discuss how the plants are used and why they are important,” she says. “It provides a cultural perspective as well as a scientific one.”
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Newport History Tours, presented by the Newport Historical Society and the Newport Restoration Foundation, offers various guided tours of the city.
Among them are the evening Holiday Lantern Tour, which is offered from November through the end of December and explores the evolution of American holiday traditions, and Road to Independence, a tour that highlights Newport’s contribution to the American Revolution.
During the 75-minute Rogues & Scoundrels tour, which features Newport’s Old Quarter, groups will learn about where scoundrels lived, pirates profited and criminals were punished.
“Hear tales about figures such as Thomas Tew, Desire Dyer and William Mayes while viewing sites such as the 1739 Colony House, the White Horse Tavern and the 1699 Great Friends Meeting House,” says Elizabeth Sulock, manager of public outreach and living history for the Newport Historical Society.
The Newport Film & Celebrity Tour offers groups the entertaining opportunity of experiencing the area as if from the chair of a Hollywood director.
The two-hour tour includes locations where over a dozen films were shot throughout Newport, starting on the famed Ocean Drive
“We’ll show over 70 movie clips as we drive,” Fasano says. “And we’ll visit locations from over a dozen films.”
Highlights may include locations from High Society, which was released in 1956 and starred Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra, and Irrational Man, Woody Allen’s latest, released earlier this year.
“Using our specially equipped Mercedes Sprinter, we offer an intimate setting for groups of 10 or less,” Fasano says, adding larger groups with their own vehicle should call to discuss an outing.
JFK-Themed Tour, Newport
President John F. Kennedy’s ties to Newport include his wartime training at Newport Naval Station and his marriage to Jackie at St. Mary’s Church.
Discover Newport has outlined these and other JFK-specific Newport stops in an itinerary that groups can facilitate on their own.
Start on scenic Ocean Drive and then go to the Newport Country Club, where the president would hit the links, and Bailey’s Beach, where the Kennedy clan would often get together to socialize and relax.
Planners can also add time for lunch and shopping along Bellevue Avenue, which Jackie was known to frequent, and a sail aboard the Schooner Adirondack II, an elegant 80-foot vessel.
Top Cat Cruises & Tours , Bristol
Another group-friendly waterborne outing docks in Bristol and carries passengers away for a tour of Narragansett Bay and beyond.
Top Cat is a 38-foot sailboat that only carries six passengers, so it’s best suited for a small incentive group or board retreat.
A tour will sail past Newport mansions, visit the harbors of Bristol, Jamestown or Wickford, and if the group has more time, they can book a longer Top Cat excursion to Block Island or Martha’s Vineyard.
