Salem Transportation

Take a fun and fascinating one-hour tour of Salem and then use the Trolley as an all day shuttle to see the things you want to see the most.

To purchase tickets, visit one of our locations listed below.
Purchase Locations

* Aboard The Salem Trolley
* National Park Service Regional Visitor Center:
2 New Liberty Street
* The Trolley Depot gift shop:
191 Essex Street

Check their website for prices.

If you're in Boston and want a great place to go for a day ... take the train to Salem. From the North Station at the Fleet Center, it's only $3.75 for a 30 minute ride to Salem's Depot. From there you can walk into Salem and to many of the attractions such as the Peobody Essex Museum and the House of Seven Gables.

A great way to spend the day and let the driving be done by someone else. There's lot's to see & do in Salem besides enjoying the "Historical Feel" to the city.

From North Station, take the Rockport/Ipswich Line to Salem At the Salem Depot, exit up the stairs. It's a 5 minute walk to the Visitor Center. The total ride to Salem is around thirty minutes which isn't a bad journey.

Driving is my preferred method of transport to Salem. The drive depending on traffic can be anywhere from 3 1/2- 4 1/2 hours. It has taken us 4 1/2 in the peak summer months.

We hop on I-95 North to 91 North. In Hartford we take 84 East to Route 90 East. The Mass Pike East brings us to Route 128. Continue on route 128 North to Exit 25A. Follow route 114E. You'll see signs that will lead you to the heart of Salem and its historic district.

The best way to get to know Salem and all it has to offer is to put on a good pair of walking shoes and follow the red heritage trail. The red heritage trail takes visitors to all the major points of interest in Salem and it winds past several places to eat and loads of places to shop. Richie and I grabbed a map from the visitor center to help us with some information for the boys.

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The attractions in alem are very easy to walk to. We had had our car at the Hawthorne Hotel parking lot so we were centrally located. We walked to many of the attractions: Witch Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, derby House, House of the Seven Gables, The martime Center and many of the shops. I find that you see and experience more when walking around an area.

The Salem Trolley is a hop on/off tour of Salem. You can purchase tickets at the Trolley Depot located down the block from the Peabody-Essex Museum. The tour is a fun ride around Salem and lets visitors off at key sites around town such as the Visitor's Center, Essex Mall, Derby Street, Salem Ferry, Witch Dungeon, Witch House, House of Seven Gables, Salem Witch Museum, Salem Willows, and Winter Island.

The tour guides are funny and packed with information ready to share. One of the guide knows Liz from her previous visits and they had a fun time rehashing old times and stories.

Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors/students and $5 for children.

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The city parking can be expensive at $1.50 per hour or more. They have garage parking and some surface right in the middle of town. Museum Place Mall is the most convenient, but I did not want to pay the high cost for this town. The other parking is on the streets, and meters charge 75 cents an hour, but street is only good for 1-2 hours most places. Free parking is by the Salem Common park, if you could find a spot. The MBTA commuter lot at the north end of the town may be the best choice. It is only $2 for all day. It does fill up with commuter vehicles, though by 8:00 during the week. Otherwise, parking down by the harbor may be one other alternative.