hey all im trying to plan a day trip with my mother and brother,we will be leaving from northrn jersey and cant decide on the 3 places mentioned.
Were looking for beautiful settings, with a nice town square, nice shopping, and good restaurants (seafood). Ive heard good things about mystic, but then again heard that its not all its cracked up to being (but that it is good for a day trip) Dot knowmuch of Newport but heard its beautiful and has many options of things to do, and Cape cod sounds beautiful but the 5 hour drive doesnt sound that appealing since this is for a day trip, any suggestions or feedback on these places would be great, and maybe an idea of how far they are from say the george washington bridge. FYI we plan on leaving early sunday morning for our lil excursion.

All three locations seem far for a "day trip". My max is 2 hours in each direction, but that's just my opinion. Of the 3, Mystic is the closest and there's plenty to do for a day trip. Newport is another hour beyond the 3 plus hours to Mystic and Cape Cod is beyond that. I would recommend an overnight stay to make the trip more enjoyable.

yankee stadium is an hour from the GWB at rush hour/game time. Newport and cape cod should be reserved for overnighters, there is too much to enjoy/see in one day there.

Len,

Last Fall my husband and I went on a weekend trip to Providence, RI coming from the Jersey shore. On the way up we stopped in Mystic for the day and had a blast! There were a lot of great places to eat and things to do. We enjoy touring lighthouses and went to the one right in Mystic. Cute town center with lots of shops to go in. Mystic Pizza is a great place to grab a bite and it was used for the movie "Mystic Pizza" with Julia Roberts. Hope you get a chance to go I think you won't be disappointed.

Cape Cod is too far or day trip with much too much to do there!

Save that atleast a weekend if not longer!

For your purposes Mystic would be perfect! The aquarium is fantastic as is the village. Enjoy!