update: TAKE 2 *** anyone that's been to salem, mass...

TAKE 2 ********************
okay, so i see it got moved to "travel" anyway, lol.
most people just told me to hurry up and book if we are going, and i understand why... i just double checked and there is availability at the salem inn (i was in between hawthorne hotel and salem inn but hawthorne is booked when we are looking to go so there's my decision). anyway, now that that's taken care of...
it seems like there are a lot of places to go while in salem and yet i've been told that it's not worth staying more than a day or 2 because you don't spend a lot of time doing any one thing. is this true, in your opinion? (for the girls that have gone). what would you recommend doing while we are there? we would be going on a thurs and checking out on a saturday... and i was thinking of taking the ferry (45min ride) from salem to boston after we check out saturday, spending the day in boston, then ferry ride it back, then drive home. so... if you were spending ONE day in boston, what would you do? we have never been there, so we want the touristy things. thanks!
can you tell me where you stayed... why you would or wouldn't recommend it. and what you would recommend or not recommend to do while we are there, places to eat etc.
and if you know... how long is the drive from salem to boston... can you do boston in a day or would you recommend staying over night and again, where to stay/eat/what to do.
we're thinking of a 3 day trip in october...
please don't move to the travel board; NFR gets so much more traffic.
thanks in advance for anyone and everyone's help

Message edited 8/2/2007 6:33:50 PM.

Re: anyone that's been to salem, mass...

These may help

Salem

Boston

Re: anyone that's been to salem, mass...

I was there for a wedding a loooonnng time ago.

We stayed in The Hawthorne Hotel.

It's a historic hotel. I thought it was a great place to stay, very centrally located. Service was great. Rooms small but nice.

If you're thinking of going, definitely book now. October is high season in Salem.

Message edited 8/2/2007 6:52:57 AM.

Re: anyone that's been to salem, mass...

You might not be able to even book October at this point in actual Salem.

People book in 10-12 months in advance b/c of all the Halloween festivites.

We tried one year in early sept. and couldnt find anything even remotely close...

do it FAST!

Re: anyone that's been to salem, mass...

My dad used to live in Salem for a few years. A couple of his church goers own the Amelia Payson House , which is a bed and breakfast. Very nice. I worked there for a summer.

I am dying to go back there. More museums and attractions have opened since we lived there. I suggest just going to all the museums.

Pickering Wharf is nice. Theres a restaurant right on the water (at least there was when we lived there).

Check out House of Seven Gables. Take the trolley!! it takes you there, and to other interesting places too.

you're also not far from Boston (30-40 minutes), so you can hang out there one day or evening.

Salem site

Message edited 8/2/2007 9:05:55 AM.

Re: anyone that's been to salem, mass...

I stayed in Salem around Halloween time. We stayed at Homewood Suites in Peabody which is right outside Salem. Everything IN Salem was sold out. It was nice there because they had a shuttle bus that ran from the hotel to Salem.
We booked a month in advance so I was even surprised we got that deal.

Re: anyone that's been to salem, mass...

you should call or email michele and eric...they went in june both to boston and salem!

Re: update: TAKE 2 *** anyone that's been to salem, mass...

bump

Re: update: TAKE 2 *** anyone that's been to salem, mass...

Wife and I went there two weeks ago. Small town, not so much to see. The witch museum was a waste of time. Sorry to disappoint. If you have the time, go to Boston. We also went to Newport, RI and that was nice. If you are going to go to Salem I would not plan on spending more then 4-5 hours there.

Re: update: TAKE 2 *** anyone that's been to salem, mass...

A group of friends and I went there about 3 years ago in October. We went to Boston first which was fun. I'd actually like to go there again because it is a very nice city. Salem was a very small town. We went to the witch museum which was a waste. There was a street fair when we went which was cool. At night we went on a ghost tour which was ok for the first 20 minutes. After that it just got silly.

Re: update: TAKE 2 *** anyone that's been to salem, mass...

i've definitely heard not to spend too much time there... we'll have about a day and a half in salem and then a day in boston... but i've never heard not to spend more than 4-5 hours. seems like a lot of people love salem; i'm surprised to hear otherwise. anything that anyone WOULD recommend doing while we are there. the trip is booked so we're going.

Re: update: TAKE 2 *** anyone that's been to salem, mass...

Honestly, I really was disappointed with Salem. There isnt much to do there at all. I liked the House of the Seven Gables, don't bother wasting your money with the Salem Witch Museum.

It's only about 30-40 minutes from Boston. I would plan on spending more time there. I did a whale watch from Boston, it was awesome.

The Salem Ferry docks right next to the New England Aquarium in Boston.

Hope that helps!

ETS: I have heard that the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem is really nice. We got there too late to go.

Message edited 8/5/2007 10:11:52 AM.