From Boston: New England Seacoast Day Tour – Salem, Massachusetts

EXPERIENCE

On your journey from Boston, see the incredible beauty and history of the New England coastline as your guide navigates the Coastal Scenic Byway. Smell the aroma of salt air as you skirt along rugged coastal beaches, harbors, lighthouses and much more during this all-day tour from Boston. Stop at quaint villages settled in the early to mid-1600s: Salem, Gloucester, Rockport, and Essex. Learn about famous personages like Cotton Mather of the witchcraft trials of 1692, trade, and coastal fishing industry. Hear the story of the tragic Andrea Gail, sailing out of Gloucester in search of swordfish on a glass sea, and the movie it inspired, The Perfect Storm. Visit historic Bearskin Neck in Rockport and snap a photo of Eastern Point Lighthouse and the fishing shack Motif 1.
Leave Boston and the hustle and bustle behind and enjoy a drive north first to Salem, famous for the 1692 witchcraft trials where twenty town folks met their fate. Learn about the Puritan Cotton Mather. Visit the House of the Seven Gables, inspiration for the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Walk the first National Park Service Historic Site, home of 12 homes and structures from the 1800s, right on the waterfront. Visit the old Custom House Hawthorne worked in. Study the Friendship, an exacting replica of an 1800s schooner.
Gloucester is the next stop, established in 1713. An important fishing port to this day, because of Georges Banks, one of the richest fishing grounds in the world, blending with the Grand Banks of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. This town is home to the world-famous Gorton’s Seafood of Gloucester.
Rockport: Take a leisurely stroll around the artist colony at Bearskin Neck, and window shop past one of the 35 art galleries in one of the oldest art colonies in America. Join thousands of photographers and painters around the world in viewing the iconic Motif No. 1 fishing shack overlooking picturesque Salem harbor. Snap a photo of one of the many historic lighthouses still protecting mariners along this rugger coastline.
Experience Essex, a small colonial town once renowned for shipbuilding, and pure tidal waters allowing for an important clamming industry today. Have lunch at Woodman’s of Essex, where you may choose to try a “fried” clam roll. Did you know that the movie The Crucible was filmed Essex?
After a adventuresome full-day of touring, your guide will return you to your hotel or pickup location with once-in-a-lifetime memories to take back home.

HIGHLIGHTS

Explore the House of Seven Gables
Learn about the Maritime National Historic Site Schooner Freedom
Tour the Gloucester Fisherman Memorial and Fishing Port
Eat at the Motif 1 Fishing Shack
View the Eastern Point Lighthouse

Discover more exciting & fun things to do in Salem