When planning our trip to Boston, I mentioned to my sister, Keighlin, that Salem was super close.

“I’ve been trying not to acknowledge that because I’ll lose my mind.” - Keighlin

We decided to go to Salem.

Things to know

We took the train from the North Station in Boston. The train ride is about 30 minutes so it was perfect. The tickets were around $15. There is also a ferry, so if I ever go again and the weather is nice, I will absolutely take the ferry.

Salem is a seasonal town meaning most of their tourism is around Halloween. We went in February and some things were closed for the season, but for the most part, things were reasonable and the town was very quiet! I would like to visit in the Fall, but I probably wouldn’t want to go around Halloween…

Salem is pretty small so it is easy to walk around! Try to orient yourself and know where you’re going and you can get around pretty quickly to the major sights.

There is a double red painted line throughout Salem to take you to the major sights. Just follow the line to see the Witch House, Hawthorne Hotel, Ropes Mansion, the Salem Witch Memorial, etc.

If you feel compelled to take a car between some spots, download the Salem Skipper app. It’s a local version of Uber or Lyft and is significantly cheaper.

Things to see

Hocus Pocus filming locations - We visited the Ropes Mansion, Max & Dani’s House, Old Burial Hill. The Pioneer Village was closed so we couldn’t visit.

**Keep in mind that Max & Dani’s House is a residential home so be respectful.

Salem Witch Trial locations - We visited The Witch House and the Salem Witch Trial Memorial Park.

Hawthorne Hotel - Supposedly haunted, but we went in to grab a drink and get a reprieve from the cold and wind.

Witchy things - Salem Witch Museum, getting palms, tarot cards, auras read, Satanic Temple, and plenty of other shops to help with any witchy needs.

House of the Seven Gables

Where to eat/drink

If you go from the North Station, stop at Hub Hall before or after to grab a snack or drink! They have a ton of options and even have a Mike’s Pastry stall to get a famous cannoli!

We grabbed lunch at Gulu-Gulu Cafe immediately after we got off the train. It came highly recommended and it ended up being the first place we saw. I got the Barcelona sandwich - turkey, cheddar, arugula, dijon mustard, and apple butter on sourdough. SO good. We also started with the Bavarian pretzel (only $2) and it was a great appetizer. Sandwich, cocktail, and pretzel was around $35.

It was super cold so we stopped in Kakawa Chocolate House for a hot chocolate. We did not realize they had 6 different kinds of hot chocolate to choose from… I was in heaven! I got the chai hot chocolate, and Keighlin got the nutmeg hot chocolate. It was a little expensive, with a 6 oz hot chocolate being $7, but it was needed in the moment so I was okay with splurging.

We ate dinner at Howling Wolf Taqueria. The food was decent, but the pomegranate margarita is where it’s at. Keighlin and I both had 3 margaritas each… We ended up getting 6 margaritas altogether, split a queso, I got a cheese quesadilla and she got 3 enchiladas and it was around $120.

Other recommendations though we didn’t eat there:

Notch Brewery
Bambolina - pizza
Ledger - nicer
Sea Level - Seafood
Olde Main Street Pub - Divey

Where to Shop

We walked down Essex Street since this is where most of the shops are. I got a postcard for Neal at one shop and Keighlin got 2 t-shirts.

Most of the shops are “witchy” or “new age-y,” but you’re in Salem so it matches the vibe.

The best shop we stopped in was Moody’s Home and Gifts which is across the street from the Hawthorne Hotel. I bought 2 goat milk lotions and another postcard. Though they have a lot of cute home decor and gifts there.

Story

We landed in Boston at 10am and decided to take the 12:05p train from the North Station to Salem. The train ride was only 30 minutes so it was perfect! There was an 11:35a train, but I had a meeting from 11:30-12 so I was worried about getting on my meeting and a train simultaneously.

When we got to the North Station, we went by Hub Hall and grabbed a coffee from Dunkin Donuts. When we arrived in Salem, we walked toward the town center and immediately saw Gulu-Gulu Cafe, so we stopped in there. The interior is your typical cafe with people working away on laptops and chatting with friends.

At Gulu-Gulu, I started with the Bavarian pretzel, got the Barcelona sandwich, and had a cocktail to celebrate a work milestone :)

After Gulu-Gulu, we walked to the Witch House and the Ropes Mansion, which was about a 7 minute walk.

After those 2 sights, we walked back towards town and walked down Essex Street. Essex is full of shops and visitor centers. We stopped in a few shops, but I only bought a postcard for Neal (I’ve started doing this on trips and it has been so much fun).

It was very, very cold and windy so we stopped in Kakawa Chocolate House to get a hot chocolate. They have an entire menu of different kinds of hot chocolate! It was heaven!

While we didn’t stop at the Peabody Essex Museum or the Salem Witch Museum, those are available to visit.

Our next stop was the Salem Witch Trial Memorial Park where they have stones with every name, date, and way they died of every person killed during the Salem Witch Trials. It was a sober moment and I always feel like memorials like this (especially when I visited Auschwitz) carry a weight in the air around you. It just feels different.

To escape from the wind and cold again, we stopped in the Hawthorne Hotel for a cocktail. Now my guilty pleasure is watching The Real Housewives, mainly Beverly Hills, New York, and Potomac. During COVID, the New York ladies visited Salem and stayed at this hotel and had some iconic fights in the hotel. So naturally, we visited and I asked the bartender about her experience with the housewives lol.

Across the street was a super cute store called Moody’s Home & Gifts. I bought 2 lotions and another postcard. The shop was so cute and the woman working was very kind and helpful.

Keighlin really wanted to see Max & Dani’s House from Hocus Pocus, so we got a lyft to take us to the house. The house is residential and a family does live there, so we made sure to be really respectful. It is right on the water and we made it right during sunset. It was gorgeous.

Finally, we headed back to town and went to Howling Wolf. As I said above, Keighlin and I had …. a few margaritas. 3 each to be exact. We had also done a lot of walking so the margaritas were hitting hard lol.

We stayed at Howling Wolf for a few hours and decided to take the last train back to Boston at 8:27pm. As I’ve stated multiple times, it was cold and we were drunk. I hadn’t packed gloves for this day trip because Jamie, who lives in Boston full-time, didn’t think it was cold. Hence, the electric handwarmers on my ears in this photo.

I also was sooo sleepy from traveling to Boston earlier that morning (4:30am), walking all day, drinking, and just the end of a long day with excitement of traveling. So I rested my eyes on the train lol.

Things I wish we did

Pioneer Village
Palm reading or past life regression
Lobster rolls by the water
Visit more bars or local brewery

Price Breakdown

Gulu-gulu lunch: $35
Hot chocolate at Kakawa: $8
Postcards, stamps, and lotions: $20
Train: $15 round-trip
Howling Wolf for 2: $120 (inlcuding 6 margaritas and a tip)

If you have any tips for Salem, drop them in the comments below :)

Day Trip to Salem