Salem, MA honeymoon?

Salem is notorious for having shops that close down early during the week but it's a cool little place. You can see all of the tombs of the Salem witch trial victims too! If you have time visit the house of seven gables I didn't get to go since it closed early but it looked amazing.

Salem is AMAZING. We had such a great time there. There's a plethora of things to do around Halloween there. Depending on budget, the Hawthorne Hotel looks beautiful but will be expensive and likely booked up well in advance for October. There actualy aren't a lot of hotels directly in Salem, so you might want to look like, yesterday lol.

Definitely go to the House of Seven Gables, that was really interesting. The Salem Witch Museum is supposed to be cool but we didn't have time. There are a lot of fun restaurants and shops, and there is one strip where it's basically all haunted houses, ghost tours, etc. You'll have plenty to keep you busy there for two days this year, but if you like it and go back next year for longer, you might want to look into surrounding areas like Gloucester, Marblehead, etc. I don't think there's enough to do in Salem alone for 5 days.

We'll be there on a Friday and a Saturday, do they stay open later on weekends? It's about a four hour drive from us so I figured if we leave at 8:00 am, we'll be there by noon Friday. And then stay all day Saturday as well and leave after dinner. I will definitely look into the house of seven gables!

I can't imagine the shops closing too early in October, that's the busiest month of the year for them, especially on the weekends.

Salem is amazing, but it's hard to find 5 days worth of stuff to do. Maybe stay closer to Boston, it's a really easy drove into Salem, and Boston has some incredible things to do, and haunted graveyard/historical tours in the fall.

In Salem, definitely visit House of Seven Gables, make sure you see every graveyard, and take a trolley tour (cheesy but fun). Find local to tell you the story of the drunken elephant, and know that most businesses close fairly early. Have fun!

We are going October 15th for a day and a half before our cruise leaves out of Boston. Not really my thing but FH had been dying to go

Yeah it looks like this year we'll have to stay outside of Salem lol! People have booked everything lol

There is a seafood restaurant out in Ipswich called.... Wood mans or something like it. It's a glorified garage but serves the best food hands down!!!

ETA; its on route 133 Woodman's of Essex. The fried clams and chowda! Yum !!

Everything hotel - wise books quite early. Salem is going to be really crowded at that time but it will definitely be an experience! The Salem Harvest Fest is on 10/22, which is a huge beer/wine/mead festival. It's definitely worth the money and they have some amazing options there.

Restaurant recommendations- depends on your cuisine preferences, but I love Passage to India. Finz and Sea Level Oyster Bar are also really good. And if you like corned beef hash, go to Brothers for breakfast /brunch- it's not fancy but it's the best hash I've ever had.

I live in salem and I would have to say the best time to go is like the days leading up to Halloween. Halloween is insane they have lots of bands playing around town and djs everywhere also like in the streets. They also do a boos cruise which could be fun for a honeymoon if you like to party. I do recommend if you are looking for hotels even around the salem area to book asap for next year. When I was looking around back in January for hotel blocks I couldn't get any surrounding towns at all. You can also look into some of the halloween balls they do usually the good ones happen at the hawthorne hotel.i love Halloween myself and to live in the halloween Capitol is amazing every year. You can definitely do alot of stuff during your honeymoon for 5 days.

I live right next to Salem and it is wonderful around Halloween, but it gets INSANELY crowded in October. If you can deal with masses of people, go for it! Hawthorne hotel is a nice charming place to stay, but book soon because the rooms may be running out!

Also on the 22cd rockafellas is having a voodoo ball it's a costume event. I will actually be downtown bar hopping for my bachelorette party that day

Also if you are into scary stuff check out Connors farm in danvers they have an awesome haunted corn maze and I think may still have the zombie paint ball

Can you tell I love everything halloween lol

Salem is so much fun! I went to college there and now live very close by! Not sure about hotels, I never have stayed in any of them since I live so close. There is a ton of fun stuff to do during the Fall. If Salem Willows is still open when you visit, I recommend stopping by there.

Thank you for all the recommendations!! What are the surrounding towns so I can see if I can get a hotel outside of Salem?! And I'm pregnant so I'm not sure if I should be doing jump scares like a corn maze lmao but I would love too!! We love seafood so we'll be checking out those restaurants!!

I went to Salem this summer and was really disappointed. It's the worst tourist trap I've ever seen. Cool shops, though. And to be fair, I skipped The House of the Seven Gables (it was expensive and we were touring all of New England), but I hear great things about it.

There isnt really 5 days worth of stuff to do in Salem, but there is a LOT to do in the North Shore as a whole.

Seconding Woodman's. Fried lobster tail... mmmm. DH grew up in a little town a stone's throw away called Manchester-by-the-sea. Cutest town ever. Take a day trip to singing beach - the sand is squeaky and 'sings'! Also head up to Rockport and visit the little shops along the jetty known as Bearskin Neck. Get lobsters right off the boat, straight from the lobstermen at Roy Moore Lobster Co. They'll steam them right there for you. Take a whale watching trip if the water is still warm enough - the season runs April-Oct. Visit Halibut Point State Park. Its an easy hike through a small bit of woods, then along an old oceanfront quarry. The trail leads you right to the rocky oceanfront, little tide pools, etc. Its unspeakably beautiful.

We did a day trip to Salem on a family vacation in Boston, and loved it! It was such a traditional New England town and so picturesque. I would go back in a heartbeat, but I agree with others that a 5 day trip there might be a bit much. I recommend staying in Boston and visiting Salem.

I just did this trip last month and it was so much fun. We stayed in an airBNB in Beverly, a town in the North Shore directly over the bridge from Salem. It was a $7 uber ride into Salem. Beverly is adorable! Tons of bars, restaurants, and it's on the water, so there are nice places to watch the boats and the sunset over the water : ) We spent 1 day in Salem and squeezed a lot in. We visited the Witch House and got our tarot cards read, which was a ton of fun. We spent the rest of the day walking around the town, going into shops and eating/drinking. Although 5 days may be too much just for Salem, the good thing is- it's only 5 train stops from the North Station in the heart of Boston. I would definitely recommend going into Boston as well, even if it's only for a day : )