I absolutely LOVE Newburyport - this area is so full of history - and the Museum of Old Newbury is…read morea wonderful introduction to it! Located in the historic Cushing House (built 1808), the museum is an extensive and interesting collection of artifacts from the long history of "Old Newbury" which encompasses the current towns of Newburyport, Newbury, or West Newbury. There are SO many pieces of interest here - and so many fascinating stories! The building itself has been in the Cushing family since the early-mid 1800s. Newburyport's first mayor, Caleb Cushing, even lived here. The early family members were integral in establishing trade around the world - definitely a lot of awesome history here. The historical society has done a phenomenal job of preserving many of the original features of the home such as the windows, carpeting, light fixtures, and even the faux-marble floors that were trendy in those eras. They've also gone to great lengths to obtain historical items belonging to the Cushing family and other prominent citizens from the area. For example, there's a lovely exhibit on a prominent Newburyport artist, Laura Coombs Hills, known for her intricate miniature paintings and pastels - as well as an extensive collection of silver pieces mined and made locally and books and books of historical records - and so much more! They also have some lovely 19th century gardens surrounding the house and also offer holiday themed events during December. One piece I really enjoyed was a large, ornate wooden sculpture that was meant to adorn a ship but never did - and became a local legend, so much so that HP Lovecraft even included it in his story "The Shadow over Innsmouth"! In order to tour the house, you must make a reservation online via their website (very easy to do) - it costs $10 and includes a docent to guide you and explain all the history. The tours run from end of May to October. In the winter months, tours are available as private tours for members only. PRO TIP: the tours are free to "Old Newbury" residents! Our guide, Shelley, was so knowledgeable and friendly!! We had a fantastic visit and learned so much more than we expected. Definitely made us love the area that much more and made our local adventurers more meaningful. Parking is all street parking but we were staying in Newburyport and just walked over (highly recommend- it's a truly lovely area)!!

From the owner: For the past 140 years, the Museum of Old Newbury has been collecting, preserving, and presenting…read morethe history of Newburyport, Newbury, West Newbury, Byfield, and Plum Island. With objects and documents, we tell the stories of local people from the past four centuries.

We had such a great tour with Sebastian, he was funny and very knowledgeable not just on hocus…read morepocus but also on Salem history which was amazing! Definitely recommend

This tour is as amazing! We learned so much about the movie, actors and locations! It is a 3.1 mile…read morewalk so be prepared. Thanks Topher!

A+ not to be missed. Enjoyed a fantastic afternoon seeing Portsmouth in a completely different way…read more Bravo! Well done! Fun even for the locals.

Nate in character (Christopher Shultz) was a terrific engaging and knowledgeable guide for our…read moreFreedom Tour Trail. He brought the history of Boston's role in the Revolution to life and kept the interest of both the kids and adults in our small group. Good sense of humor and was happy to answer both good and dumb questions. Tour was well paced. Highly recommend Freedom Trail Tours and Christopher as a guide.

I am not a tour person BUT this one was so informative and fun! The guide was hilarious and I could…read morehave listened to him for a few more hours on the history of Boston. The price was fair and in fact I noticed that other tours charged more for theirs. So happy with our choice and would recommend it to others.

Hilary; with one L, at Witch City Tours is hands down the best tour guide in Salem. I know because…read moreI listened in on a few other tour groups, and no one else compared. She spoke with the authority of a historian and the presence of an actress onstage, drawing us into each story through carefully crafted imagery and tone. She was approachable and engaging, and she projected her voice so clearly that I could hear her no matter where I stood and I am hearing impaired. The tour beautifully blended history with well crafted ghost stories that made the historical details even more memorable. Wear comfortable, supportive shoes because you will be walking and standing quite a bit--your feet and lower back will thank you! This was an excellent tour, and I would absolutely take it again. Bring cash, she earns her tip!

We did two walking tours in our one day we had at Salem. Crazy I know, but stay with me, I don't…read moreregret a single thing about it. Our first tour was the hocus pocus walking tour with Hilary. Amazing. Hilary was funny, knowledgable, and just a true joy to be around. That two hour walk went by faster than I thought it would. She has so many behind the scenes knowledge of the movie, I was thoroughly impressed. Oh, she also had a candy bucket! Cant ever go wrong with candy. Thank you Hilary for opening our day in such a positive way. My second walking tour was the history and hauntings of Salem. Our tour guide was Claire and she was great. She was able to keep the attention of our 13 yo son, no small feat these days. However, her story telling and live of history kept him into the walk and he didn't complain once. Thank you Claire for giving us a great tour of Salem and completing our night out!

I had a delightful visit at the Maritime museum this past weekend. I was in Newburyport because I…read moream a big fan of the novelist John P. Marquand. (He came from Newburyport, and some of his books involve towns largely based on Newburyport.) I visited the museum mainly because it has a room of Marquand artifacts. However, the museum is not mainly about John Marquand (who you should read by the way!). It's about the maritime history of Newburyport. I had the real treat of having Susan, a volunteer docent, give me a personal guided tour. She made the artifacts come to life by explaining their historical context in relation to one another and made learning about Newburyport's maritime history--something in which I was not initially all that interested--fun. I felt very spoiled and grateful to have her all to myself. Other than the Marquand exhibit, my favorite part of the museum was the beautiful models of boats, which are works of art in their own right. I care about the the design of museums, and the maritime museum is very thoughtfully arranged. In contrast to a number of local historical museums I have visited, each exhibit room adheres to its subject, the artifacts are spaced out so as to let you know where to rest your eyes, and there are thoughtful captions in sufficiently large print.

For $7 a person, this is definitely worth the price! It won't blow you away, but there is some…read morereally neat stuff and history in here. They also host local events as well which is neat. All in all, worth a stop in an you could spend an hour or so learning about the town of Newburyport and it's history.

This was a great walking tour of Salem!! I went in knowing basically nothing about the witch trials…read moreand left knowing a lot more about- and with some local restaurant recommendations. We got plenty of steps and saw a lot of Salem. I carried my baby around, and he got a great nap!!

This was an excellent tour! Sarah is the host and she is terrific! She is very knowledgeable and…read moregreat in telling the stories and historical facts and events.

We just used Seacoast Trolley for our wedding on 6/22/13 and they were fabulous. I went with them…read morebased on the review from the other guy on Yelp who said they worked out well despite their old school ways. It's true they snail-mailed me a brochure, but I dealt with Paul primarily through email and he was extremely responsive and good-natured. Our driver, Eric was fantastic! The trolley was adorable and they drove my parents, groom's parents and our wedding party to the South Church in Portsmouth. Eric was very accommodating when we changed plans to have him pick us up in the middle of town because we were taking pictures. Then once we all piled on, he blasted "going to the Chapel" as we cruised through the streets of Portsmouth which was awesome! So so fun. Paul was very thorough coordinating everything, even sending a picture of the exact pickup location so I couldn't recommend Seacoast Trolley more! They were also significantly less expensive than some other trolley companies we looked into.

I cannot recommend Seacoast Trolleys enough for wedding day transportation! From the start,…read morePaul--the owner--was incredibly responsive, flexible, and offered a very reasonable price, which we truly appreciated during the planning process. He worked closely with us to create a thoughtful transportation schedule and determine the best hotel pickup locations based on where our guests were staying. On the wedding day, everything ran perfectly. Our trolley driver was punctual and professional, transporting the wedding party for photos before bringing us to the venue, and then seamlessly picking up guests from the hotels and getting everyone where they needed to be on time. The trolley itself was absolutely adorable--such a fun and charming alternative to a standard bus. We loved getting a few photos in front of it, and riding in the trolley felt like the quintessential New England wedding experience. If you're looking for reliable, well-organized, and unique transportation for your wedding day, Seacoast Trolleys is a fantastic choice!

Truly enjoyed every minute of this tour. Check in was easy and the staff inside the store was very…read morefriendly. Our tour guide, Vin, provided stories full of historical facts and just enough humor to make it a fantastic adventure. (We did another tour with another company and the tour guide made constant jokes making the tour corny and we lost interest) He didn't rush us and answered all of our questions I would 100% book with Black Cat Tours next time we visit Salem and request Vin to be our guide

Such an amazing tour with our guide Jack. He was so knowledgeable, answered questions, and was…read morehighly entertaining! Highly recommend to anyone who is looking for the history of the Salem Witch Trials. You get to stop at some of the key places during your tour, plenty of time to take photos to see if you catch a spirit, or two.

Great activity for families or large groups. We were 10; small children, parents, and grandparents…read more It was very enjoyable for all ages. The Captain, did a great job of teaching us about the Essex River, but also NOT talking and letting us experience the river. They really get that part right. It is beautiful, fun, educational, and accessible.

If you are looking for a loud, rowdy "Booze Cruise" then this is definitely for you…read more When I purchased tickets the website clearly advertised a relaxing, scenic boat cruise with bird watching and some narration of the history of the area. Perfect for my elderly family members birthday. Imagine my surprise when a large group of intoxicated people showed up and ruined the entire experience for everyone on board. They continued to drink throughout the tour making it even more intolerable. At one point two of the drunk men stumbled over to where I was sitting for a "better view." They got so close that I was pinned against the boat and one of their friends had to intervene. The captain however, did not intervene. I observed him being tipped by this group which gave him incentive to turn a blind eye to their behavior. I wanted to address all of this at the time but did not want to make a scene in front of my family. Furthermore, I would've had to complain to the captain right in front of the drunk people which would leave me open to retaliation. I did reach out to the company the next day via email and outlined everything that took place. I received an email back a few days later from the captain denying that anything happened. No apology, no compensation of any kind. He had total disregard for the safety of everyone else on board who had their experience ruined. One last note to put things in perspective. I work at a night club. I deal with intoxicated people all the time and have a high tolerance. This behavior was unacceptable and unreasonable, especially since all of their advertising leads you to believe this will be a peaceful experience.