Practical Information for visiting Rhode Island

Coverage is good statewide and excellent in the populated east.

Signal is patchier in the rural west and can drop on the water and at the far end of Block Island.

Free Wi-Fi is standard in cafés, libraries and hotels.

Rhode Island is a safe state. Providence has neighbourhoods with higher crime, as any city does, and they are not places a visitor would need to go.

Ordinary precautions apply: lock the car and leave nothing visible at a beach or trailhead car park.

The water is the real hazard. The south-facing beaches have strong rip currents, particularly on the swell ahead of a distant hurricane, and several of them are unguarded outside the summer season. Swim where there are lifeguards.

Summer weekend traffic on the bridges is a genuine safety issue as well as an inconvenience.

No vaccinations are needed and tap water is safe.

Ticks are widespread from spring to late autumn and Lyme disease is common throughout southern New England. Check after any time in grass, dunes or woodland.

Greenhead flies are a real nuisance on the salt marshes and beaches in July.

Sunburn and rip currents account for most summer incidents. Healthcare is excellent and expensive; insurance covering medical costs is essential for non-US visitors.

Tipping is expected: 18-20% in restaurants and bars.

Shore access below the high-water line is a constitutional right in this state, fixed by statute at ten feet inland of the seaweed line. Beach access is a live local argument — know the rule, and do not cross private property to reach the shore.

State and town beaches charge for parking in season, and non-resident rates are considerably higher.

Shellfishing requires a licence with enforced size and quantity limits. The drinking age is 21 and identification is checked routinely.

911 reaches police, fire and ambulance statewide.

Rhode Island Hospital in Providence is the state's largest and its only Level I trauma centre. Nowhere in the state is more than about an hour from it.

Block Island has a small medical centre; serious cases are flown or ferried to the mainland, which takes time.

The Coast Guard covers the bay and the offshore waters. Hurricane and coastal flood warnings come through the state emergency management agency, and shore towns issue their own evacuation notices.