Visit historic, coastal Newport at your own pace during this attraction-packed, self-guided tour. Follow a carefully chosen itinerary and live GPS map, with stops at celebrated mansions like the Bellevue House, the chateau-inspired Elms, and the iconic Vanderbilt home, the Breakers, plus natural sights like Easton’s Beach and Fort Adams State Park.

A self-guided tour of Newport’s top historic and natural attractions
Ideal for groups: purchase only one tour per car, and everyone can listen in
The tour is available from the moment you book, with no expiration date
Take as long or as little as you’d like in each location, with plenty of enriching audio

What's Included

Engaging storytelling: Uncover unique tales and thrilling history for a memorable journey!
Perfect narrator: nothing can beat listening to a great voice. Proven with tons of rave reviews!
Comprehensive route and stops: See it all, miss nothing, leave no stone unturned!
Offline maps: no signal, no problem! Works perfectly without cellular or wifi.
Hands-free: audio stories play on their own based on your location. Easy to use!
Go at your own pace: Start anytime, pause anywhere, enjoy breaks for snacks and photos freely!
Great value: purchase per car, not per person. More affordable than bus or guided tours!
Easy-to-use app: download Action’s Tour Guide App onto your phone

Attraction passes, entry tickets, or reservations

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

23 America's Cup Ave, Newport, RI 02840, USA
After booking the tour, search your email for the phrase "Set up your self-guided tour now." Follow these instructions NOW to finish setting up the tour while you have Wi-Fi/data. Do NOT wait until you are onsite.

Start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

Opening hours

4/11/2020 - 5/15/2025
Monday - Sunday : 07:00 AM - 06:00 PM

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Newport Visitors Information Center

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

International Tennis Hall of Fame

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Audrain Auto Museum

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Edward King House

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Kingscote

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Bellevue House

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Isaac Bell House

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

The Elms

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

424 Bellevue Ave

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Chepstow

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ochre Court

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

McAuley Hall

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

The Breakers

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Chateau-sur-Mer

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

National Museum of American Illustration

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Frederick Law Olmsted Park

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Rosecliff

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Gustave White Sotheby's International Realty

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Marble House

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included

Belcourt of Newport

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Rough Point Museum

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Bailey’s Beach

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Gooseberry Beach

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Brenton Point State Park

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Castle Hill Inn

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

OceanCliff Hotel

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Hammersmith Farm

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Fort Adams State Park

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Beacon Rock

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Bonniecrest

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ida Lewis Rock

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Rochambeau Statue and Monument

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Spencer Park

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Newport Public Library

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Easton's Beach

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Forty Steps

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Lands End

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
How to access: Once you book a tour, you’ll get a confirmation email and an instructions email. Follow the instructions right away: • Download the app • Enter the password • Download the tour • MUST DO while in strong wifi/cellular
How to start the tour: Once onsite, open the Action's Tour Guide App: • If there is just one tour, launch it. • If there are multiple tour versions, launch the one with your planned starting point and direction. • Go to the starting point. (Note: no one will meet you at the start. This tour is self-guided). • The audio will begin automatically at the starting point. If you face audio issues, visit the FAQ. • Stick to the tour route & speed limit for the best experience.
Amazing savings: • Driving Tours: Save money by purchasing a single tour for the entire vehicle, avoiding individual fees per person like on a bus tour. Connect your phone to the car speakers to share the audio. Walking Tours: While each person typically needs their tour, couples or small groups can share one using split headphones.

Flexibility and Convenience: • Use the tour app anytime, on any day, and over multiple days. It's perfect for tailoring your exploration and revisiting your favorite spots on future trips. • Start and pause the tour whenever you like, taking breaks and exploring side excursions at your own pace, free from the constraints of a group.
Comprehensive Tour Experience: •The app provides a full itinerary, travel tips, narrated audio stories, scripts, images, videos, and recommendations for additional activities. • Enjoy a private experience without the crowds, ideal for personalized stops and photo opportunities.
Ease of Use and Accessibility: • The app is hands-free and activates stories via GPS, offering support through call, chat, or email. • There is no need for a continuous cell or Wi-Fi connection as the GPS map works offline.
Memorable Keepsakes: • Utilize the app’s images to create a photo book or share on social media, ensuring you have high-quality, crowd-free memories from your trip.
Preparation: • After booking, download the app and the tour using a strong Wi-Fi connection. • Review the tour at home before your trip for a better experience.
Starting the Tour: • Open the app upon arrival at your destination. • Select the appropriate tour based on your starting point. • Head to the starting location; the audio will begin automatically. • Follow the suggested route and adhere to the speed limit for an optimal experience. • By following these instructions and taking advantage of the app's features, users can enjoy a personalized, flexible, and in-depth exploration of their destination at their own pace and convenience.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.0

21 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 21 reviews

Good trip

Denise_S, Apr 2024

Loved seeing the steps and mansions. Sometimes a bit confusing, but overall a good experience for the cost.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

I'm so glad you enjoyed my Newport tour! Check out my Massachusetts Self-Guided Driving and Walking Tours Bundle to explore Boston, Salem, and Cape Cod too. Enjoy your next adventure, and I hope to guide you again soon!

Newport

Ambra_D, Mar 2024

Great self guided tour, love that we could go at our own pace! Tons of stops and easy to use once we got started.

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Thrilled to hear you enjoyed the Ultimate Newport tour, Ambra! If you're keen on discovering more of New England at your own pace, our Massachusetts Self-Guided Driving and Walking Tours Bundle offers a fantastic range of experiences. From the historic Boston Freedom Trail to the picturesque shores of Cape Cod, there’s so much to explore. Check out where you booked your Newport tour for access to these immersive self-guided adventures. Excited for you to explore more incredible places with us!

Rip off!

Carol_G, Feb 2024

First, the app is very difficult to upload even though we did it when we had strong wifi long before we needed the tour. Also could not understand the person on the phone trying to help due to thick accent. Then it was very difficult to figure out exactly where the tour started due to much construction in Newport. America's Cup was not at the address it sent us to for the meeting place. Even once we began at stop 5 by the time we figured out where we were supposed to be, it was very difficult to know if we were still on the right route or not. The recording stops after each description until you get to the next stop. So if you mistakenly veered off the route, you wouldn't know it until the recording ever started again when you, by chance happened to be at another stop. It was stressful and had us driving in circles trying to figure out where we went wrong. This was a total waste of money since we only got to hear about maybe 4 stops. DO NOT BUY UNLESS YOU WANT A LESSON IN FUTILITY!

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Carol, I'm sorry about your challenges with the Newport Bundle Audio Tour. The combination of app difficulties, construction in Newport, and navigation issues significantly impacted your experience. I understand how frustrating it can be to navigate through unexpected construction and find the correct route. The tour is designed to guide you seamlessly from one point to the next when following the designated path in the app. I recognize the importance of clear communication for assistance, and I'll ensure our support team's clarity and helpfulness are improved. Your feedback is invaluable for enhancing the experience for all future travelers.

Needs work

Mitch_P, Jan 2024

We bought several viator tours in Hawaii which worked pretty well, so my fiancee suggested we try this one for Newport where we are now and have been many times. Every element from the purchase to the use of the audio tour in our car seemed deficient relative to those prior experiences. It uses a different app than I recall for one thing, which when first ran to get to the starting point opened a resident map utility on the phone. No problem there except after reaching the start point it took several minutes wondering why it didnt display where to go or turn that the actual relevant app remained hidden behind the navigation it opened. Then the app the tour actually uses does not display smoothly, rather the mapping is klunky and visually stutters. This is asde the less flexible feature of our prior experiences which allowed for starting anywhere. This one only had a specific start point. Parts of the tour also had highlights apparently too close together for the app to manage or not well coded to accommodate that situation such that the tour would be reciting it's audio for a site and would abruptly stop and commence the audio for a subsequent highlight. This happened repeatedly except for places where the highlights had greater geographical space between. The purchase and launch of this was also confusing - it was an audio tour, needed Just one for the car yet the point of purchases asks for a number of persons even though nothing about it was specific to how many people are in he vehicle, for example while it suggests stops at museums for example there are no admissions involved that world be per person ? Also, if you go off tour route and reverse yourself on any portion of the ride the app does not know that and will launch the audio highlights and the directional information will be confusingly reversed. Again a prior version we used on a previous trip seemed to have no such problem. You could start anywhere and the audio was apparently recorded to avoid such confusion.

Response from Host, Jan 2024

Mitch, I appreciate your detailed feedback on my Ultimate Newport Audio Bundle Tour. Our tour guide app is location-based and designed to work best when following the specific route and speed limits to prevent audio cut-offs. Your suggestion about improving the visibility of the map while audio plays is valuable, and we are prioritizing this feature in our updates. The reason for asking the number of persons, especially for walking parts like Newport's Cliffwalk, is to cater to individual experiences, but for couples willing to share headphones, one purchase is indeed sufficient. I'm glad to remind you that your purchase never expires so that you can revisit the stories at home or on a future trip to Newport. We're constantly working to enhance our app's functionality and user experience, and your input is crucial for that. Thank you for sharing, and I hope your next experience with us will be more in line with your expectations.

Excellent product

Pierre_C, Oct 2023

Excellent product for this city, hood gps reception, clear instructions and narration. Would highly recommend

Response from Host, Oct 2023

Hey Pierre! I'm so pumped you vibed with my Newport Self Audio Tour. Crystal-clear narrations and smooth rides are what I aim for. If you catch the travel bug again, remember that my Action+ Tour Bundle is packed with tales from many spots. Safe travels, and keep rocking those roads!

Okay not great

sacredtides, May 2023

It was hard to follow as to which house was being spoken of. We were grateful that we took trolly first so we could figure it out!

Response from Host, May 2023

Thanks for letting me know! This is why I include photos of the houses — did those help? Which homes in particular were hard to spot? I can fix those images asap.

Needs to be GPS based

Jessica_H, Aug 2022

Worst experience ever. The routes and map need to sync with phone GPS so the user can start where you are. The driving tour gave you directions to turn after you past the road so be prepared for turning around multiple times.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

Thanks so much for your feedback and suggestions Jessica! I'm so sorry for your experience! Unfortunately, it cannot be GPS-based because we also feed the information in the tour other than the map service, so you can only begin the tour from the starting point specified. Once you have fully downloaded the tour, it will work completely offline. In response to your concern about the turns, my team checked the tour and found that there are no turn instructions after you pass the road; this appears to be due to the slow GPS syncing, which is triggering the audio after you pass the turn. In addition, I have 100 other tours in the US. I hope to see you on one of my other self-guided tours in the future. Also, just to remind you that the tour you bought is yours for a lifetime. So, you can listen to it at home or on your next visit also.

Newport RI - Self ride guided tour

hoathi, Oct 2021

Excellent tour for lowest cost, easy to follow instruction. Beautiful sceneries and gorgeous mansions

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Thank you so much! We love bringing the history and beauty of Newport to life with our tour. Hope you get the chance to try out other tours in the future. Thanks again!

Entering the Breakers and...

Rubby_G, Oct 2021

Entering the Breakers and Marble house. However we were given a location to go to to start the tour and it was closed. We were not given a warning of that.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

So glad you enjoyed the tour and visiting the mansions along the way! The Discover Newport Visitor Center sadly closed during the pandemic. If you enjoyed the self-guided style of touring, we have lots more tours across the country — details at ActionTourGuide.com. Thanks again!

Don't buy-- Did not work as advertised.

Su_R, Sep 2021

I used part of the Cliff Walk tour. We took a break and could not sign back in. I could also not access the Scenic Newport part of this tour at all, as it said that the password had already been used. They falsely advertise that this tour has no expiration. I tried to contact them via the app and the provided phone no., but got no response. I asked Viator for a partial refund, after returning home the next day and the tour provider refused, sending me a new password, which is useless, as I don't plan on visiting Newport again.

Response from Host, Sep 2021

We’re sorry to hear you had this experience! Our support team is available nearly 24/7 to assist with these sorts of issues, so it’s odd that you weren’t able to get in touch with them. Our tours definitely don’t expire, however. Once purchased, they’re good forever. We do offer refunds to anyone who is not entirely satisfied with our tours. Feel free to email us with your purchase receipt so we can process this for you.

Great self audio tour!

Cindy_J, Jun 2021

After an inicial hiccup the tour worked beautifully, loved all the information and seeing so many places from the car.

Response from Host, Jun 2021

So glad you enjoyed the tour! Thanks so much for the great review! What was the initial hiccup? I’d love to be able to fix that! Please shoot me an email via ActionTourGuide.com.