Staging Site: Rhode Island

Newport may be thought of as a summer playground for the wealthy, but it offers the same amount of summer fun to families vacationing on a budget. Read on for family fun tips!

Take a ride on the carousel at Easton's Beach.

1. Make Easton's Beach your destination for a day of fun and relaxing by the Atlantic. This sandy, 3/4 mile-long beach is spacious and dotted with vendors and gulls alike. Wish you could have packed some beach umbrellas and sand castle building supplies? Not to worry: they're available to rent at Rosie's Rentals. The cherry on top, of course, is the cheery carousel: at $1 per ride, it's the shortest route to ear-to-ear grins!

2. Tennis, anyone? The International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum is housed in the historic Newport Casino, meaning your admission fee ($12/adult and kids free) gets you two for the price of one: a fascinating history of the sport right up to today's stars, as well as access to some of the word's most breathtaking Victorian shingle-style architecture. Be sure to take a stroll around the beautifully manicured grounds, too.

3. If you have doll lover in your family, or a connoisseur of all things miniature and magical, bring them in for a wander through Miniature Occasions and Dolls. You can marvel over handmade porcelain dolls, marionettes, and miniatures, take a peek at the dolls healing in the Doll Hospital, and maybe even see an elaborate, miniature doll house under construction.

Accommodation Tip: Grab a cozy room at The Best Western Mainstay Inn. Affordable rates and easy access to downtown Newport and the beaches!

Thrifty Travel Fun: Providence, RI

It may be the smallest state in the country, but Rhode Island still has plenty to offer for a family vacation, from gorgeous beaches to charming, bustling cities without the chaos. Below, three kid-approved items to add to your list for a budget visit to Providence, RI.

Photo by Rich Moffitt / Flickr

1. Explore Roger Williams Park! With 435 acres of open spaces, lakes, and specimen trees, energetic little travelers will have lots of room for adventuring. The nationally recognized Roger Williams Park Zoo, the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, and the Botanical Center are all housed within the park, and be sure to ride the beautiful Victorian-style Carousel ($1 per rider)!

2. Take a ride on the East Bay Bike Path. The 14.5 mile paved path stretches from Providence to Bristol - get a great view of Providence, stretch out little legs, and (most importantly) work up an appetite for a double scoop at Dari Bee Ice Cream, located right off the Path.

3. Do the little tykes have no patience for history museums? Providence's mile-long Benefit Street is crammed with history, but SO much more fun. Perhaps a stroll down this cobblestone street calls for dressing up in fancy hats and pretending to be from the olden days? Admire one of the highest concentrations of Victorian and Colonial era houses in the country (you can pick up a street map from the Rhode Island Historical Society at 21 Benefit Street) - and, psst, rumor has it Benefit Street is frequented by ghosts of the past...

Thrifty Travel Fun: Newport, RI

Thrifty Travel Fun: Providence, RI

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