Block Island is eminently manageable, being only seven miles (11 km) long at its longest point. You can enjoy a lot of the island on a day trip, more if you stay overnight, and all of it if you stay for a week, perhaps in a vacation rental apartment.

The voyage to Block Island is pleasant enough, with plenty of room to sun on the top-deck benches, and a small bar and snack counter on board.

As you approach Block Island, the character of the place becomes clear: sand dunes and white cliffs, low shrubs and grass with a few trees, ponds, and hillocks (highest point on the island is 211 feet/64 meters above sea level). And beaches all around!

Block Island has two settlements. Old Harbor is the larger, with docks for the ferries from Galilee/Point Judith RI and New London CT; and New Harbor, with several marinas, and the dock for ferries from Montauk (Long Island) NY.

The big old hotels come right down to the harbor in Old Harbor, presenting a proud first view of the island to visitors arriving on the ferries.

Several of the hotels have vans which will be waiting at the dock to pick up passengers who have reservations, or those who want a room but have not reserved.

Most of the island's buildings— houses as well as hotels— date from the late 1800s or early 1900s. More...

Most of Block Island's roads, excepting the paved main road around the island, are rough and sandy (nobody has to be in a hurry to get quickly from one end of the island to the other. A bicycle tour is the favored way to see the island.

On Block Island the pace is relaxed, and islanders have a strong sense of community. Here's how it got that way.

Here's what there is to see and do on Block Island.

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Tourist Information

What to See & Do on Block Island

Getting to Block Island

Block Island Hotels

South County RI

Newport

Providence