Saying Goodbye To Summer With A Block Island Trip | New England Life

Saying goodbye to summer has been hard for me the past few years. With work and our busy schedules (and this year with our wedding) it always feels like time slips by too fast and that we didn’t have enough beach days, time for swimming, hiking, biking, or enjoying the great outdoors. The end of summer always reminds me of the things I didn’t get to do, but truly wanted to. Of course, we can’t always have time (or resources) to do everything on our summer wish list. So as a farewell for summer I knew that I had to do one of the things that always gets pushed off; a trip to Block Island. This is our third summer in New England together and every summer Matthew and I have planned to visit Block Island together, but the past two summer we have found ourselves saying, “We’ll get to go next year. . . ” 

Block Island is my favorite summer New England destination. As a kid and a teen I have visited a handful of times and have always accumulated wonderful memories on the island, but Matthew has never been. For an island, it is pretty small (only about seven miles long), but there is so much to do. Matthew and I called on a Sunday morning for some last minute ferry tickets out of New London, CT. My suggestion is to call at least a few days ahead because the early morning ferries were all sold out. The high speed ferry only takes an hour and a half and there is a snack bar on board. Make sure to arrive early to find paid parking. For those of you who get a little sea sick, you can also opt to take a small hopper plane to the island. The ride is very fast and costs around $100 per person round trip (the ferry costs approximately $30 per person). One of the best parts about taking the plane is that parking at the small airport is free. 

The best time to visit Block Island is earlier in the summer season (before the 4th of July) because there are smaller crowds earlier in the year. I also suggest going on a week day or a Sunday to have a less crowded and more joyful visit. With hundreds pouring in for weekend get aways, the small roads can get busy, making biking and getting around the island a lot busier. Still, there are many great reasons to visit in the late summer and early autumn. If you’re only visiting for a day, then you want to travel very light so that you have the freedom to move around the island. I highly recommend a small backpack for convenience. I didn’t have one at the time so I brought along a market basket, but being able to hoist my belongings onto my back would have made getting around much easier. You will want to bring sunblock, a small book for the ferry and the beach, a bathing suit, a small beach towel, sunglasses, and a light jacket or sweater if you’ll be there into the evening when the temperatures may become cooler. And of course, no New England day trip is complete without a camera.

If you’re visiting for longer than a day and have a place to put your things, you may want to add a beach umbrella to your packing list. You can also pay extra to bring along your own bicycle. The ferry docks bring you to the sweetest New England port. One of my life goals has been to moped around the island with a hot date! Matthew and I made that goal come true. If we had more time and if it were a cooler day we would have rented some bicycles. Biking is another fun and wonderful way to see the island. It is also great for families and there are many options including random bikes. Our first order of business was to simply ride and leave our cares behind! Matthew and I have both been very stressed lately so it felt really good to be carefree for a short while. We did a two hour rental. Two hours is plenty of time to make it from one side of the island to the other. I loved seeing all the lovely farmland, cute New England homes, and the waterfront. Our first stop was the bluffs! Right next door there is also a lovely light house, but we skipped the light house on this trip to make more time for driving and the beach. It is hard to imagine that this exotic spot is so close to home! It felt like we were far far away. The Main Street has plenty to see and do. There are numerous cute shops and wonderful places to eat. This is the place to get fish tacos, New England clam chowder, and lobster rolls. If you stay overnight for a weekend or several days there are numerous hotels, inns, and bed & breakfasts to choose from. There is another light house on the other side of the island! We spent the afternoon at the beach. I brought a good book and Matthew got some time in the water. The sand on this part of the island (close to the ferry docks) is very soft. This is the Avonlea Bed and Breakfast. I stayed here once when I was around nineteen and I loved the tranquility of the Inn, especially the front porch in the morning. If you know me, then you know my obsession for baskets! The Glass Onion is your place if you share my love for baskets too. And of course, no trip is complete without some ice cream or fudge. There are so many historic and delicious ice cream shops on the island. How do you choose? Wind down the day with a sunset walk. After a long and beautiful day that flew by all too fast, we boarded the last ferry to home at 8:10 at night.