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Salem & Hammond Castle: Historic Day Trip
4.8
15 Ratings
Gloucester
Explore Salem’s witch trials and Hammond Castle’s history on a captivating day trip from Boston. Discover secrets, stunning views, and historic charm.
Explore Salem’s witch trials and Hammond Castle’s history on a captivating day trip from Boston. Discover secrets, stunning views, and historic charm.
Duration:
7 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Hammond Castle Museum - Travel to Hammond Castle (approximately 60 minutes). Upon arrival, enjoy a guided tour lasting around 75 minutes, where you’ll discover the fascinating history and origins of the Castle. Afterwards, take some time to explore the grounds and capture memorable photos.
- Salem - Head to Salem (about 30 minutes away). Enjoy…
- Hammond Castle Museum - Travel to Hammond Castle (approximately 60 minutes). Upon arrival, enjoy a guided tour lasting around 75 minutes, where you’ll discover the fascinating history and origins of the Castle. Afterwards, take some time to explore the grounds and capture memorable photos.
- Salem - Head to Salem (about 30 minutes away). Enjoy an hour-long lunch at one of Salem’s many outstanding restaurants (meal cost not included).
- East India Square - Discover Salem’s rich maritime history and learn how it became one of America’s wealthiest cities.
- Salem Common - Visit the heart of historic Salem and learn about its Puritan settlers.
- Salem Witch Trials Memorial - Explore the Witch Trials Memorial and uncover the true events of the Salem Witch Trials.
- Old Burying Point Cemetery - Visit Salem’s oldest cemetery, with graves dating back to the time of the Witch Trials.
- Houdini Way - Discover the story of Harry Houdini’s escape from Salem’s jail.
- Bewitched Statue of Elizabeth Montgomery - Learn how the popular show Bewitched boosted Salem’s tourism.
- Witch House - Explore one of the few remaining buildings directly linked to the witch hysteria.
- Ropes Mansion and Garden - Tour the famous mansion featured in the film Hocus Pocus and hear about the two renowned ghosts that still linger there.
- Chestnut Street District - Walk along one of America’s most picturesque streets, admiring the multi-million dollar mansions from Salem’s gilded age.
- Hamilton Hall - Visit one of Salem’s most notable dance halls and see America’s first “red carpet.”
- Proctor’s Ledge Memorial - View the site where the accused witches were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials.
- Boston - Return to your hotel in Boston and enjoy a convenient drop-off at your doorstep.
What's Included
- Private transportation
- Bottled water
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Surcharges on fuel
- Guide
- Hammond Castle Admission
- Parking fees
- Private transportation
- Bottled water
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- Surcharges on fuel
- Guide
- Hammond Castle Admission
- Parking fees
What's Not Included
- Lunch
- Gratuities
- Lunch
- Gratuities
Additional Information
Enjoy a unique day trip to Boston’s northern shore, combining Salem and Hammond Castle! Start the day with a pickup at your door and a comfortable ride to Hammond Castle, located on the ocean cliffs of Gloucester. Take a guided tour of the castle, learning about the history of the eccentric millionaire inventor who built it. Enjoy free time to explore…
Enjoy a unique day trip to Boston’s northern shore, combining Salem and Hammond Castle! Start the day with a pickup at your door and a comfortable ride to Hammond Castle, located on the ocean cliffs of Gloucester. Take a guided tour of the castle, learning about the history of the eccentric millionaire inventor who built it. Enjoy free time to explore the castle and gardens with plenty of opportunities for stunning photos.
Drive to Salem, where you will have free time for lunch. Choose from a wide variety of dining options in the historic downtown.
After lunch, your guide will take you on a tour of Salem. Learn about the infamous witch trials of 1692, see the real places where the victims were hanged. Learn the story of the “Corwin Curse” as you take a picture in front of the historic Witch House. See the locations where Hocus Pocus was filmed. Take a drive through one of the most beautiful streets in North America, lined with mansions built on the city’s maritime fortune.
- Note that per Massachusetts state law: “All children riding in passenger motor vehicles must be in a federally approved child passenger restraint that is properly fastened and secured according to the manufacturer’s instructions until they are 8 years old OR over 57 inches tall.” We do not provide child seats, please bring age appropriate car seats for kids who do not meet these criteria. We will not be able to do the tour if you do not have child seats for everyone that needs one. A refund will not be issued the day of the tour due to lack of proper car seats. All children must be registered as separate tour guests.
- Luggage - please note that the tour vehicle is a Toyota Sienna minivan. If you are planning to bring luggage on the tour, the vehicle will only be able to seat up to four guests. The back row of seating can be collapsed to fit 4-5 suitcases or smaller bags, but the minivan will not fit 6 passengers with more than one personal item each. If you have more than 4 guests with luggage on the day of the tour, and your guide determines upon arrival that the luggage and passengers can not all safely fit in the vehicle, the tour will be canceled without refund. For alternative options, please contact us directly before booking.
Location
Hammond Castle Museum
80 Hesperus Ave
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(15 Ratings)
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Alicja
Nov 16, 2025
An extraordinary experience - This was a wonderful trip. Our guide showed us everything and shared many stories. A memorable experience- highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alicja_r
Nov 16, 2025
A tour to remember - A great tour of the Hammond Castle and Salem. Our guide was phenomenal and told us many wonderful stories. Overall highly recommended.
Review provided by Viator
Janet
Nov 14, 2025
Must do! - The guide was extremely knowledgeable and the tour was at out own pace! This is a must do experience!! We will be doing this again !!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Steven_a
Sep 18, 2025
Wonderful trip with a great guide! - Our guide, Maria, was waiting early at our hotel, ready to go in a very comfortable, well appointed van with nice visibility. On our way to the castle, we got acquainted and she shared details of both the castle and our day’s plans. Maria was very knowledgable of the castle and picked up on my passion for architecture - which she leaned into for the rest of the day. While on the tour I had a question that she did not know the answer to and she found a docent who also wasn’t sure, so Maria took the time to reach out to someone the next day. She got a very complete answer and actually texted us what she found out! Above and beyond for sure!! From there we went to Salem where Maria recommended some eateries that could accommodate our special dietary needs. After lunch we toured around Salem and Maria catered nicely to our interests and paced us quite well. Before leaving Salem she even got the van and toured some of the historic streets with lovely homes. On the way back to our hotel, Maria sensed we were tired and let us decompress but picked up on our lack of dinner plans and made a recommendation that led to a nice place to dine in Boston that we hadn’t been to before. We would definitely recommend both this trip and her company for any trip they might offer!
Review provided by Viator
Quest13152437472
Aug 26, 2025
Amazing tour of Hammond Castle and Salem! - Our cruise changed our destination at the last minute and added Boston as one of the stops. We had visited Boston many times before and wanted to do something different. Our Travel Agent suggested a Boston Hidden Gems tour. Alex gave us an amazing tour of Hammond Castle and Salem MA. He made it fun and interesting. He made sure give us the time we wanted to shop while still showing us all of the important historical places. Five stars!⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
831reidc
Aug 1, 2025
Jenny - thoughtful, mindful, and knowledgeable!! - Jenny was fantastic! We had our 6 month old daughter along with us and Jenny was so mindful of our time, looking up restaurants and pit stops with a changing table. So thoughtful!!! And she is so knowledgeable about all the different facets of history in Salem. We are so glad we had Jenny to guide us through our day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nancyt345
Jul 18, 2025
Boston Hidden Gems the way to see Salem - Jenny was a fantastic tour guide. I knew nothing of Hammond Castle and now would put it on a must see list. Salam with Jenny was not kitchi but historical Learned about the real people that lived in Salem—their beliefs and their lifestyle. Able to put the witch trials in perspective. Also learned about each individual that was hung as well as the many that were affected by the hysteria. Highly recommend Boston Hidden Gems. They do the driving planning and research and you get to sit back walk around the town and enjoy the history
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Drdawnc
Jun 19, 2025
A magical experience! - This was fantastic! The castle was beautiful and the views were breathtaking! Salem was also good, but was our guide who made is magical. She told stories and lore about what we were seeing that made the history come alive.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Janet
Jun 14, 2025
Salem/Gloucester Day Trip - Alexandria was a treasure trove of information on our tour to Hammond Castle and Salem! Her bubbly personality and friendly demeanor more than made up for the cloudy and cold weather…we had a great day!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amandadf9359gj
Aug 24, 2025
Not worth the money - Jenny was great and very knowledgeable. Unfortunately it was not worth the money. You don’t go into anything except the castle. We were expecting a lot more- museums or something more to do.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
