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    Real Pirates Salem

    4.8 (31 reviews)
    Closed Closed
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Andi C.

    Must see in Salem! Unfortunately, the guided tours weren't available the day I visited, which is something I was really looking forward to. Salem has as much maritime history as it does Witch history and it's often missed. The owner is clearly very passionate and knowledgeable and the artifacts are fantastic. I do feel as though I missed out on an experience without the guide, so maybe call ahead to find out when the tours are available.

    This is Authentic, well-concieved, entertaining and fun! Well done, and informational, this tour covers the story of the richest pirate of all time, Sam Bellamy. There we're artifacts and gorgeous murals. There were displays and the tour guide, Cap'n Jonny Depths (Jason) was a spectacular and very invested pirate. He made a good tour GREAT. Well-worth the price of admission. Very good attraction, I came with my sister and will come again with my kids and husband. I enthusiasticlaly recommend this!!

    Břöœķ Ķ.

    Witches and Pirates? Perfect. There was another pirate museum across the street but from what I read this was the one to go to. They did not disappoint. We showed up and were able to coordinate and get a guided tour by Stephanie. It was just the two of us and she took us through and I left knowing a lot more then I would've navigating solo! She was informative and friendly, cute gift shop at the end, clean restrooms and temperature controlled (it was hot and humid outside).

    Kate C.

    Salem is famous for the witch trials, but the pirate history is truly fascinating and often gets overshadowed by the witchcraft and spooky tourist options. We thought we'd stop by this exhibit to learn a little bit more about another aspect of Salem's history. Truthfully, we didn't enter this exhibit with super high expectations, but we ended up spending two hours there. The reason? Our pirate guide was incredible. He walked us around and told us so many personal stories and theories. While the exhibit itself was very informative, he brought the experience to an entirely new level.

    My son and our tour guide!
    Jamie B.

    My son and I got the guided tour and it was awesome! We learned so much and had a fantastic time. Our guide was wonderful and made the whole thing really special for us! Highly recommend!

    Boarding the ship.
    Anna M.

    Orders of magnitude more impressive than I expected, a great blend of modern technology and genuine artifacts. The depth and breadth of history you want to engage with is up to you; the options are there, so the museum adapts well to various ages and interest levels. You start off using your ticket to take a wanted poster of yourself (scan your ticket with your phone to view/save it later) before proceeding down the hall, reading a bit about Sam Bellamy and the Whydah as you go. There's a quick video introduction in a theater; as lightning flashes and sinks the Whydah, the doors open to reveal the museum proper. There's proper acknowledgement of the Wydah's origins as a slave ship before you reach the myriad artifacts rescued from the wreckage. There's everything from cannons and munitions to plates and gaming tokens. There's a reconstruction of part of the ship. You can touch some of the recovered treasure! You can practice your knot-tying skills! You can sign the Articles! And at the end, you can get a peek at the art/science involved in the ongoing restoration work. Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention the beautiful artwork throughout. Put a visit to Real Pirates high on your Salem to-do list.

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    1 year ago

    Great museum. A lot of interesting history and artifacts. Very well laid out and wheelchair friendly

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    Carolyn S.

    Thank you Damon - really appreciate the feedback!

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    Carolyn S.

    Much appreciated, David! Thank you for stopping by!

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    3 years ago

    Lots of history. Very interesting! The guide was friendly and explained things thoroughly.

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    4 years ago

    The best attraction in the Northshore! This is the real deal. My tour by Jason was amazing.

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    Ask the Community - Real Pirates Salem

    Review Highlights - Real Pirates Salem

    I loved the way it told the story of the golden age of piracy through the lens of Sam Bellamy and the Whydah.

    Mentioned in 9 reviews

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    Hocus Pocus Tours - Town Hall

    Hocus Pocus Tours

    4.9(204 reviews)
    0.2 mi

    I found Hocus Pocus Tours while seeking things to do in Salem on Yelp and TripAdvisor. Fellow…read moreYelpers' rave reviews did not disappoint! In messaging Hocus Pocus Tours with a couple questions about the tour and travel to and from Salem, the owner Susan replied immediately and suggested that I call her. This led to a one hour phone conversation where Susan was so gracious with her time, knowledge, and suggestions, not just about how to make the most of the tour, but how to appreciate a day in Salem. I can see why those who had the opportunity to take the in-person tour with Susan really enjoyed it. Covid changed the business model and Hocus Pocus now offers a self-guided tour by purchasing one of two tour apps. I opted for the $19.99 grand tour and it was well worth it. It has 37 points of interest. The app is user friendly and well designed. It provides a map of all stops, tracks where you are, and guides you to the next stop that you select on the tour. When you get to your stop, you can confirm you're at the right spot by comparing a photo of the site with what you see. Then you click on a 2-3 minute audio recording that provides a great snapshot of the significance of the site. As Susan had pointed out to me, there is much more to Salem than the historic witchcraft trials. It includes author Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables, America's oldest candy company, and other interesting sites. Of everything I visited, I experienced a very deep emotional connection with the 1692 Witchcraft Memorial with 20 stones dedicated to each of the victims of the witchcraft trial. The tour includes brief descriptions of some of the victims including those written about in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. If you plan to visit Salem, I highly recommend this tour. All sites can be visited on the outside and some on the inside at no charge. Some sites, such as The House of Seven Gables, charge separate admission fees. If you want to travel to Salem and don't have a car, the ferry from Boston offers a nice, scenic, and entertaining 50 minute ride. The commuter trains run more frequently and can come in handy if the ferry schedule coming or going doesn't meet your needs. There are plenty of good places to dine at to break up the tour. We had lunch at FINZ and really enjoyed it (I'll post separately about that).

    This was legit SO much fun! The name Hocus Pocus kinda throws you off because you may be thinking…read moreabout the movie, but this tour really is amazing. Start off with the tour guides, extremely friendly and beyond knowledgeable. They really know their history for Salem. The tour itself was a few hours and you walk to all of the sites in Salem with historical significance. There is so much to learn from Salem. So much history and heartbreak. It really is eye opening to hear the stories oof the witch trials and how the witch trials began and who all was wrongly persecuted. The tour guides were so nice and explained everything with such great details. This tour was definitely the highlight of our trip in Salem. I highly highly recommend Hocus Pocus Tours, I learned so much regarding Salem, the witch trials, the history behind the two, and a little bit of Hocus Pocus and Bewitched. So much fun!

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    Bix's House

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    Witch City Walking Tours - Allison's House.

    Witch City Walking Tours

    4.6(231 reviews)
    0.2 mi

    This was my first time in Salem, and I booked this tour with 8 of my coworkers--we had an absolute…read moreblast. From the moment it started, it was spooky, fun, and incredibly entertaining. Our tour guide was great: super knowledgeable, hilarious, and very interactive. They kept everyone engaged while sharing tons of fascinating and spooky history. The Hocus Pocus and Bewitched references were a huge bonus and added such a fun, nostalgic vibe. Seeing the Witch House in person was especially cool and definitely a highlight. For the price, this tour was 100% worth it. $37 for a 2.5-hour tour felt like a steal for how much you see. The only downside was the other group that was paired with ours. They were loud and kept interrupting the guide, which took away from the experience at time but that had nothing to do with how great the tour itself was. Overall, we still had an amazing time and would absolutely recommend this tour, especially for first-time visitors who want a spooky, fun, and memorable Salem experience

    The only thing Salem might have more of than little downtown Halloween/witch-related tourist trap…read moreshops is guided walking tours of the city. If you search online, there always appear to be new tours popping up. I have been told that there is no regulation regarding who can start their own walking tour, meaning every year more people offer you to pay them so they can walk you around town and tell you the history of Salem. My family booked with Witch City Walking Tours due to their stellar reputation. We booked the "History & Hauntings Of Salem" 2 hour tour. No wonder this tour is ranked so highly on TripAdvisor and has won awards -- it was so educational and fun! Our tour guide was knowledgeable and told the history in a way that kept us engrossed and hanging on her every word. The length of the tour itself wasn't too long, making it accessible for just about everyone. They offer at least two other walking tours of Salem and I wouldn't hesitate to book with Witch City Walking Tours again.

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    Witch City Walking Tours - Witch house

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    Witch City Walking Tours - Our awesome guide!

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    Witch City Walking Tours - "Allison's house from the movie Hocus Pocus". But truly belong to many others.

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    "Allison's house from the movie Hocus Pocus". But truly belong to many others.

    Salem Historical Tours & Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tour - Across from the ticket shop.

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    3.3(63 reviews)
    0.2 mi

    It was unfortunate that the thing we were most excited about turned out to be the worst part of our…read moretrip. Mainly it was so disappointing because it was what our birthday girl was hyped about. We went on a sibling trip to Salem. The sister we were celebrated loves ghosts tours and was so excited to learn more about the history of Salem. The only history we learned was about the tour company. Our tour repeatedly told us about how old the tour company was. So I guess that was the historical element. We also learned a lot about her personal life. We were repeatedly reassured that once other groups moved she'd take us closer to the buildings so we could see them (often we were either across the street or half a block away) but then never followed through on any of those promises. She did however lead us into the backyard of one of the properties where we were chased out by security. Two of our sisters got frustrated and dropped out to get a beer after they watched an elderly man in our group fall off the sidewalk trying to keep up with our tour guide who the people in the back could neither hear or see. I haven't been on other tours and it was just kind of meh. But my sister who is passionate about both history and ghost tours was very let down. We went in very early September and it wasn't very crowded. But I can't imagine the quality of tour you'd get when there's more crowds to contend with. I think the guide really makes or breaks the tour and hopefully it was just a really off night.

    We went on the Ghost Tours as part of a class trip. We all were super excited about it, but…read moreunfortunately it was very disappointing. Our tour guide Bob didn't really talk about the history, but rather about his own past with ghosts. While some of the stories were a little interesting we wanted to know more about the actual hauntings of Salem not his personal experiences. Then when we asked to take a picture with him as is my teachers tradition he told two of the students to put their hands against his neck which was weird and creepy. All of us were uncomfortable with the request. Then at the end instead of talking about Hocus Pocus or hauntings he started talking about death and didn't include any verified information. He also proceeded to yell at us and our teacher throughout the entire tour if we even so much as whispered, stating that he didn't appreciate us talking. We all regret going on the tour and don't believe it was worth the money. We suggest the company has a serious talk with Bob as it seems he is very unpopular in other recent reviews.

    Photos
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    Real Pirates Salem - museums - Updated June 2026

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