It was a bunch of hocus pocus in Salem for the weekend of Halloween.
We did a “ghouls” trip!
The whole town of Salem goes above and beyond for Halloween. The decorations are iconic and people are in the spirit.
Hotel
We flew into the Boston airport and stayed at a hotel (Holiday Inn Boston Logan Airport in Chelsea, MA) for the first night. We then drove the next morning to Salem for the day. The next two nights we stayed in the town of Tewksbury, Massachusetts at the Fairfield Inn and Suites Marriott. While you are there you need to eat breakfast or brunch at Vic’s Waffle House. Tewksbury was a 35 minute drive from Salem.
We decided to go to Salem and see the Halloween festivities 12 days out. So we weren’t able to get hotels downtown due to booking the trip so late. Both of our hotels were in prime spots and I would recommend staying in these areas if you can’t/don’t want to get a hotel downtown Salem.
Transportation
We rented a car ahead of time through Orbitz. We picked the car up at the Boston Logan Airport prior to arrival and dropped it back off on our way home after the weekend was over. Definitely rent a car to go to Salem from Boston.
Parking
We chose to drive into Salem each day. We got there early around 9 each day and were able to find parking in lots downtown. The first day we paid $30 and got in the middle of downtown near Odd Meter Coffee. The second day we parked in public parking down by the Salem Harbor and we got to park for free. Both days were perfect locations and walking distance to everything we wanted to see.
Events/Activities
Salem is “bootiful” on Halloween. They had so many spooktacular activities and events going on while we visited.
We chose to do a haunted walking tour that morning for 2 hours. The tour was called History and Hauntings of Salem with Witch City Walking Tours. It started downtown by the Town Hall. They take you to many locations in the Historic Downtown Salem area, and tell you stories of events that happened back in the Witch Trial days. The cost of this trip was $35 a person. We got to see and take pictures next to these locations on the tour:
-The Bewitch Statue
-Town Hall (where Hocus Pocus was filmed)
-Witch House
-Ropes Mansion (Hocus Pocus House)
-The First Church in Salem Unitarian
We then walked along the Downtown District and it had The Haunted Happenings Marketplace. There were booths and vendors set up along there. We also looked in The Witch City Mall. Most people were dressed up for Halloween and you could take fun pictures with them. We then went into some shops to look for souvenirs.
-Trolley Depot
-Bewitched in Salem
-Village Silver Smith
There were so many fun shops to browse and look in this historic district. The vibes were oozing Halloween and the cobblestone streets made for a perfect spooky season.
The next day we decided to go on the Salem Harbor side and go on a Private Schooner Sailing Tour on the Salem FAME. The Schooner boat took us out to the Salem Sound and Salem Harbor. They let us all raise the sails to begin sailing the schooner. They also let us steer and turn the boat on the tour. The tour lasted 2 hours and took us in the Harbor and the Salem Sound. They fired a cannon on the boat also. This schooner was huge and a neat way to explore Salem by water. You can see the coast and feel like you are living in the 1600’s. I highly recommend this tour.
We walked by the House of Seven Gables on our way to the schooner tour.
We booked all our tours through Viator before the trip. The cost of this trip was $44.
Food
-The Derby (lunch)
-Odd Meter Coffee Co.
-The Chocolate Pantry
-Jaho Artisan Coffee
