Salem - The Witch City

Boston, United States of America

Discover the history of the Salem Witch Trials! Travel north from Boston to historic Marblehead, the birthplace of the American Navy. Visit Abbott Hall to see Archibald M. Willard's famous painting, "The Spirit of 76."

In Salem, step back to 1692 and visit the Salem Witch Museum (admission not included). Learn about the history of witchcraft as well as some of the reasons why the witch trials occurred.

Travel down Derby Street past Nathaniel Hawthorne's Custom House and the House of the Seven Gables. Time is allowed to stop at Pickering Wharf for Lunch and exploring. Whether it is witches or authors, museums or shopping, you will find it in Salem.

This tour is seasonal and only operates from June to October.

USD $42.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by: James M	November 2011
Fun, Interesting and our driver, Bob was extremely entertaining. What a memorable tour we will never forget. Thanks Bob !

Review by: Richlyn1	October 2011
A very good day although we would have liked longer in Salem itself - so much to see and do! Bob was a great driver and tour guide and "Tell them you're with Bob" became a catch phrase for us._br/_ The drive across the causeway into Marblehead's finest real estate on the way home was fascinating and provided an insight into how the other half live although we would have preferred a shorter stop on the way to Salem and more time for exploration there as that was the main object of taking the tour._br/_ Great tour and thanks to Bob!!

Review by: Cathy L	October 2011
This was a very good tour . Bob the driver really knew his stuff... The stop at the Seven Gables is a must .

Review by: obie S	October 2011
Salem is just o.k. , expected more in order of witch trails, one time is enough, will not go back.

Review by: Sara H	October 2011
My husband and I had a great time on this tour. Bob was a fantastic driver/guide. He was informative and charismatic. We loved Marblehead and had a great time in Salem.

Review by: kitty	September 2011
This tour was very enjoyable. The tour guide was good fun and gave us plenty of information. The tour lasted a lot longer than stated and we got a lot for the money spent. Salem itself was a little disappointing, very commercialised, and failed to get across the real horror of what happened there.

Review by: Marilyn D	August 2011
The driver was entertaining and kept us amused with all his tales and observations. Salem was fascinating though I felt a bit overwhelmed with the witch story by the end of the morning. A lunch venue was suggested which I am sorry I took up as it was ordinary to say the least. But you can choose your own place to eat. The House of Seven Gables is really worthwhile visiting. The trip back through Marblehead was beautiful and should not be missed. Heavenly views! Be prepared to get back into Boston quite late!

Review by: Settimo T	July 2011
The bus driver Bob was great and he took us along the coast with some beauitiful scenes. Salem itself was a waste of time. The tours we did at Salem were weak. Overall I rated it a 8 because of Bob.

Review by: Deborah B	July 2011
Bob, the bus driver was fantastic. He handled that bus like it was an extension of himself. And he went out of his way to give us our money's worth. We got out of Boston late, but he made sure we saw everything, even asking if anyone needed to get back early. When no one said yes, he extended the tour about 2 hours beyond when it was supposed to end. While we were in Salem, he gave us his personal cell phone number in case we got lost from the group. His knowledge of the events and areas we visited was wonderful and he added interesting tidbits that he had personally researched. The next time we're in Boston, I hope we get Bob again. I'd recommend this tour to anyone.

Review by: Bart H	July 2011
We spent a lot of time in Marblehead and didn't get to spend as much time in Salem as we should have. We only had time to go through the House of Seven Gables and half of the Witch Museum then visit a few shops. The shops were disappointing. I was told it's better to visit in the fall.

Review by: Rebecca Q	November 2010
The trip to Salem was nice. However my sister and I were unable to get into any of the museums because of so much time wasted driving there. The New England Seacoast trip should have been great, my mom and I ordered the tickets a month in advance and because of the wrong address posted on the voucher got to the pick up very close to departure time. Not only that but even though we had printed out a voucher we were put in a long line and by the time we got to the bus were told that the tour was full. The infuriating part of this was that our names were the first to even appear on the tour's booking list but because of the wrong address printed on the online voucher our taxi driver got lost. Then after being told the bus was full, we were very disappointed however they suggested that my mom sit in one seat and I sit in the fold out chair over the stairs of the bus which is not even meant for traveling. Needless to say I was very unhappy as my mom was visiting from Florida and I rarely get to see her and instead of sharing the drive together we both alternated sitting in the very uncomfortable fold out chair. We feel that we were wronged and that we should at least be given some sort of compensation. The online vouchers that you print out should have the correct address on them and should be all that you need to board the bus. The should just be for those who have yet to purchase tickets not for those who purchased them a month in advance. Overall I was very disappointed.

Review by: Norma T	October 2010
we enjoyed ourselves very much, just a little too commercialized for me. I guess from what I had heard there was more about the witches in the 1600. The Musem was great tho. Lots of nice people

Review by: KAREN R	October 2010
Bus was comfortable, driver very knowledgeable. Some passengers didn't get lunch due to busy restaurants and not enough time. Had to make a choice between Witch Museum and Hawthorne Museum for a short visit (or skip lunch and walk a mile between the 2), then everyone boarded the bus for a very short drive to the Peabody Museum (where I really enjoyed the temporary exhibit). We were given the option of all 3 museums if you skipped lunch and able to work 1 mile.

Review by: Pamela P	September 2010
A little disappointed with Salem itself, too commercialized for me. The journey there is very scenic through New England and our tour guide was fantastic. Bob is a very flexible and funny guide and enjoyed his interaction with the people on the tour.

Review by: LENA N	August 2010
The trip was WONDERFUL thanks to the BEST tour guide imaginable - BOB JOHNSON! He is the most knowledgeable guide we met in Boston. It was the best tour of all, we learned a lot and had wonderful time!!! Thank you, Bob, we will remember you !!! Lena and Olga from Albany.

Review by: Gary W, United States of America	October 2009
Pretty drive up.The guide was a hoot! Lots of t-shirts, cute decorations and the witch dungeon was an OK haunted house. The tour includes the House of Seven Gables - that was intersting if you like history. The hidden staircase is awesome.

Review by: Carolyn W	October 2009
Pretty drive up.The guide was a hoot! Lots of t-shirts, cute decorations and the witch dungeon was an OK haunted house. The tour includes the House of Seven Gables - that was intersting if you like history. The hidden staircase is awesome.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	September 2009
Our guide was very friendly and thorough. The morning in Marblehead was terrific. However, in Salem, although he did take us to the memorial stone garden where the innocent peoples' names were carved who were executed as witches, the next thing was an hour and a half in the modern Peabody Museum, touring artifacts and art from various nations and periods. Who wants to see that when you're in Salem? Many in the group were asking, "Where's more witch stuff?". After all, most will only see Salem once in a lifetime. So the two of us left and walked down the main street, Essex Street, to see the old Town Hall, various period houses, and The Witch House - the only remaining home from the witch trial years, belonging to the witch trials' Judge Corwin! We took the self-guided tour of the period-decorated rooms with many authentic features. This house should be a formal part of your tour. Other people missed it because they didnt look in the tour books we were given, or they were afraid to wander off from the group. Next, at The Witch Museum, the "reenactment" statues with piped in voices was great, but very short. The following lecture tour of the Witch Museum - this is not the tour company's fault but people should know - was very anti-Bible, explaining that there are really practicing witches who use their powers for good, but blaming the Christian Church throughout history for all witch-hunt type activities. After Salem came an excellent tour of the House of Seven Gables. In summary, cut the Peabody and add a walk down Essex Street and The Witch House to this tour.

Review by: M S, United States of America	August 2009
I was a bit disappointed that we made a couple of site-seeing stops along the way, which limited the amount of time spent at Salem. Even though we left Boston around 9-ish, we didn't make it to Salem until around noon. We chose to skip the Essex museum so we could still wander around the town to check out other sites and have a lunch that wasn't rushed. Our bus driver was very insightful on the drive out to Salem, pointing out interesting sites and related history.

Review by: Michael S	August 2009
I was a bit disappointed that we made a couple of site-seeing stops along the way, which limited the amount of time spent at Salem. Even though we left Boston around 9-ish, we didn't make it to Salem until around noon. We chose to skip the Essex museum so we could still wander around the town to check out other sites and have a lunch that wasn't rushed. Our bus driver was very insightful on the drive out to Salem, pointing out interesting sites and related history.

Review by: Veronique A, France	June 2009
We were very lucky they organized this trip only for 3 people. Absolutely fabulous. One thing could be improved: At the Peabody Essex Museum that we visited at the end of the afternoon, the last tour of the typical houses is at 2PM, so we should be here at 2PM. We had the opportunity to see the cemetery where the witches are buried, near the museum. It's not planned in the visit but is free - should definitely be included in the tour, really interesting to see.

Review by: ANITA W, United Kingdom	November 2008
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! A great time to visit Salem so close to Halloween! Great coach driver who entertained us all on the trip. We visited Marblehead en-route to Salem which boasted magnificent homes. hen we arrived in Salem my husband and I enjoyed the tour of the Witch Museum and the history of The Salem Witch Trials! We also managed to have time to fit in a guided tour of the House of the Seven Gables - both these tours well worth the visit! Everyone associated with the tours from the driver to the guides were very knowledgeable and friendly and made our trip to the East Coast extremely enjoyable!! Many thanks.

Review by: Carolyn B, United States of America	August 2008
We had a great time. Our tour guide was fabulous. I would recommend this trip to all.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	June 2008
Great time, but tour guide was the bus driver, and he wasn't very knowledgeable. But it was lovely.

Review by: Catherine K, United Kingdom	December 2006
Might appeal to children.

Review by: Heather P, United States of America	October 2006
Fabulous. Do not miss visiting Salem if you're going to Boston!

Review by: Susan M, United States of America	October 2006
This tour was very good.