Sightseeing Tours

Sightseeing Tours

More than a dozen yacht companies operate tours of Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor. Outings usually last 2 hours and cost about $25 per person. Flyer Sailing, a 57-foot catamaran, departs from Long Wharf. Madeline, a 72-foot schooner, departs from Bannister's Wharf. RumRunner II, a vintage 1929 motor yacht, once carried "hooch"; it leaves from Bannister's Wharf. Sightsailing departs from Bowen's Wharf and has three boats available for 1¼-hour tours of Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay. The Spirit of Newport, a 200-passenger multideck ship, departs for tours of Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor from the Newport Harbor Hotel, on America's Cup Avenue, from May to mid-October.

Viking Tours of Newport conducts trolley tours of Newport daily from May through October and on Saturdays the rest of the year; one-hour boat tours of Narragansett Bay operate from mid-May to Columbus Day weekend. The Newport Historical Society sponsors walking tours focusing on varying themes from April through December.

The Old Colony & Newport Railway follows an 8-mi route along Narragansett Bay. The vintage diesel train and coaches make 80-minute round-trips to Middletown on Sunday at 11:45 and 1:45.

Tour Operators

Flyer Sailing (401/848-2100). Madeleine (401/847-0298). Newport Historical Society (82 Touro St., Newport. 401/846-0813. www.newporthistorical.org). Old Colony & Newport Railway (19 America's Cup Ave., Newport. 401/849-0546. www.ocnrr.com). RumRunner II (401/847-0299). Sightsailing of Newport (401/849-3333 or 800/709-7245. www.sightsailing.com). Spirit of Newport (401/849-3575). Viking Tours of Newport (Newport Visitors' Information Center, 23 America's Cup Ave., Newport. 401/847-6921. www.vikingtoursnewport.com).