Day Trips from Salem

My husband and I will be staying in the Salem/Cape Ann area for about a week in early June. We%26#39;ll have our boys with us--age 14, 11, and 2. We%26#39;ll spend a day or two visiting the sites in Salem--then we%26#39;re hoping to visit some other places around Cape Ann or the general area. Do you have any favorite day trips you%26#39;d recommend? Thanks!

Day Trips from Salem

I would strongly suggest taking the ferry from Salem to Boston. It%26#39;s a 45 minute ride with nice scenery and drops you off right at Long Wharf next to the Aquarium and Fanueil Hall Marketplace. Boston is a great place to spend the day. They have a family 4 pack which includes 2 adults and 2 kids for $60 roundtrip. 3 and under ride for free, so it works out well in your case. Anyways, here%26#39;s the website if your interested.

http://www.salemferry.com/

Day Trips from Salem

Certainly a good suggestion about the ferry and Boston...whilst ';up here';, a drive up scenic Route 127 (and the quick bypass through Magnolia on 127A) to Gloucester and on around Cape Ann to Rockport and Annisquam is quite worthwhile; Newburyport (up Rte. 1) and nearby Marblehead, as well. Coming back down from Gloucester OR Newburyport, Ipswich and Essex (especially for seafood at Woodman%26#39;s, there) might also appeal.

The boys might enjoy the ';waterpark'; at a Danvers hotel- sorry, I%26#39;ve forgotten which one, but I think you could find ';it'; with an online search. They might (subject to good weather which is certainly likely) like a beach day a bit South of here and I%26#39;d suggest Nahant- 20 minutes away. Hopefully, with the good previous post and this one, you can fill and cherish your week in and around Salem.

Here are a few suggestions after walking around Bearskin Neck in Rockport, visiting Gloucester and Salem:

-Hammond Castle

-Salem Willows

-go whale watching or deep sea fishing

-the indoor water park that was mentioned in the

previous post is called ';CoCo Key';

-kayak

-rent a bike

-take the ferry to Boston- Go on a Boston Duck Tour

For a longer day trip -

Take a drive to Ogunquit, via Newburyport, Hampton Beach, Rye (visit Odiorne Point State Park),

New Castle, stop and spend a few hours at York Wild Animal Farm then proceed to visit Nubble light then continue on to Ogunquit.

http://www.yankeefleet.com/

http://www.capeannvacations.com/Kayak.cfm

http://www.yorkzoo.com/

http://www.hammondcastle.org/

http://www.salemweb.com/willows/

seacoastsciencecenter.org/visit_today/odiorn…

http://www.cocokeywaterresort.com/

http://www.bostonducktours.com/

Love it! What great ideas--thanks, everyone, for all the suggestions. We%26#39;re really looking forward to our trip.

We%26#39;re looking at taking the ferry over to Boston from Salem. Once there, we want to get a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour that will take us to Harvard/MIT %26amp; the Freedom Trail (among other places). Does anyone know if a trolley pick-up point (where we could buy tickets) would be close to the ferry dock? Thanks!!

Both the Beantown Trolley and Old Town Trolley tours have ticket booths at Fanueil Hall Marketplace, a 5 minute walk from where the ferry drops you off.

I don%26#39;t believe the regular hop on/off tours include Cambridge/Harvard, but you can easily do this on your own by red line T (in the Alewife direction) from downtown to the Harvard Square stop. On Friday or Saturday night, grab an ice cream cone and wander around looking at the jugglers and magicians and listening to the street musicians.

The Old Town Trolley covers the Cambridge areas that you are interested in, according to their web site it is stop #12. You can buy your tickets ahead of time online or buy them right near the ferry stop,towards Quincy Market.

http://www.trolleytours.com/boston/

Thanks so much for all the great information! Your help is much appreciated!