Most people are familiar with locations like Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket Island. Memories of warm summer days with Atlantic Ocean breezes may come flooding through your conscious mind. A fun fact, Martha’s Vineyard was where the original Jaws movie was shot, but you can relax because the shark was fake and anytime a great white gets anywhere near a beach the authorities are hot on its tail. However, there is a lesser known Island off the coast of Rhode Island that, in our opinion, could be better than any of the aforementioned locations. Block Island is a small island that is just a ferry ride away for any who wish to enjoy its shores.

With the summer heat in full swing, my wife and I decided to take a day for ourselves and go find some cooler climates. We landed on Block Island as we had not been there before and we had only heard good things from friends. We were pleasantly surprised to find this to be a relaxing day for two.

As a disclaimer there is some planning that should go into this date before proceeding. The parking on the island is not ideal so plan on either walking onto the ferry or paying to take your bike. The island is small enough that using a bike to get around is doable for just about anyone. Also, bicycle rentals on the island are basically highway robbery, so it’s worth it to pay to bring your own bike with you (only $7 – not bad!). There are places to park and lock your bikes all over the island so have no fear, they are ready for you.

There are many ports you could choose to travel to Block Island so pick the one closest to you and please for the love of Pete, show up early! We chose to leave from the Galilee port and thought that we would be fine showing up about an hour early as was suggested by the company running the ferry. They are wrong, especially if you decided to take the 11AM ferry versus one of the earlier ones. So we decided to risk a parking ticket and park in the 4 hour parking about a half mile away from the ferry. Luckily we had bikes so we closed the gap enough to make our ferry by five minutes before it left port. I’m betting this does not sound very relaxing and to be honest it wasn’t, but hopefully our experience will be a testimony to you so that you learn from our mistakes.

Once we got on the ferry, all tensions were gone as we bobbed and puttered all the way to Block Island through the blue waters of the Atlantic. Once we landed, we retrieved our bikes and quickly found a place to eat. The ratings of the restaurants on the island are all about the same so we picked something close and ate at the Mohegan Café and Brewery (literally across the street from the ferry landing). It was perfect for a pair of salty tourists who had just done the tour de Galilee. I fancied the nachos with their sweet veggie chili while my better half had the Portuguese clams with chorico.

Once finished we rolled out of the restaurant and began our leisure bike tour of the island. We rode along Mosquito Beach (pictured at the top), an amazing and picturesque beach despite its name, and then decided to head to the other side of the island to go see Mohegan Bluffs. The bluffs makes for great pictures and fun in the sand but does not offer great swimming due to the high percentage of rocks and kelp.

After our time enjoying the bluffs, we decided that Mosquito Beach was the place to set up camp and get wet in the Atlantic. We are officially convinced that the name of this beach was purposely given an awful title to keep it Block Island’s best secret. Mosquito beach is perfectly sandy with a north facing shore so the waves are well mannered, crystal clear and perfect to play in. Additionally, Mosquito Beach is in close proximity to the Beachead Restaurant. It was the perfect fare for some sun soaked beach goers. My wife opted for stuffies and Rhode Island clam chowder while I snacked on some truffle fries and some mushroom shrimps.

We again rolled away from the restaurant and made our way back to the ferry. We looked back at Block Island fading into the distance with thoughts of returning to explore everything else Block Island has to offer. This made for a great date day full of drama, at least for us, and relaxation. It’s a small island with a lot of character that just begs to be discovered. A perfect place for you and your boo take a mini weekend vacation or fun day date.