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Salem Self-guided activities

Our most recommended Salem Self-guided activities

Salem Witch Trials Self-Guided Audio Tour

1. Salem Witch Trials Self-Guided Audio Tour

Join a spooky self-guided tour that will help you to explore Salem's past and learn about the events that took place there. Explore some of the town's most notable landmarks and places connected to the famous witch trials. Along the way, there are plenty of optional detours available for those looking for a little more. The experience begins at the Salem Armory. From there, walk to the 1692 Memorial, where the victims of the witch panic are memorialized. Get to know many of the key figures who found themselves swept up by the plague of fear and paid the ultimate price. Next, you’ll see the Old Burying Point, where many of the trials’ victims and aggressors were laid to rest. Listen to the tragically heroic tale of Giles Corey as you walk through the gravestones, a man who refused to bow to the nightmare overtaking his town and was immortalized in The Crucible. After that, you’ll pass by some of Salem’s spookiest architecture, including the Joshua Ward House and the Old Town Hall. You’ll also hear of the secret tunnels which run beneath some of these buildings, many of which still exist to this day. Continue on past the old jailhouse, where innocent people were subjected to cruelty so terrible that some suggest their spirits never really left. You'll hear about Hollywood’s many forays into Salem, including hits like Hocus Pocus and Bewitched. Pass by the Witch Museum on your way back and hear about how all the madness finally came to an end. The final stop brings you to the Salem Common, where the tour wraps up with some things you probably didn’t know about the aftermath of the trials.

Salem: Self-Guided Ghost Tour

2. Salem: Self-Guided Ghost Tour

Walk Salem's spooky streets on a smartphone-guided ghost tour. Listen to professionally narrated stories and discover unnerving legends as you make your way to some of Salem's most haunted locations. Charged smartphone in hand, set out on a ghoulish tour that takes you to eerie sites like the Witch House, the Salem Inn, the Salem Witch Trial Memorial, and many more. Hear stories about the lady in blue, the underground tunnels, the ghost of the strangler, and others. This tour is app-based and uses GPS navigation, guiding you turn by turn to the most haunted locations in Salem. Go at your own pace and take the tour at any time, even exploring the city during the witching hour if you like.

Salem: Witch Trials Self-Guided Walking Tour and Quiz

3. Salem: Witch Trials Self-Guided Walking Tour and Quiz

Learn about the sobering history of Salem at your own pace on a self-guided walking tour. Hear the history of the Salem Witch Trials, visit the Old Burying Point, and find Salem's haunted buildings. Before beginning your tour, download the Action Tour Guide app on your phone to allow easy offline access. Head to the Salem Armory to get started. From there, walk to the 1692 Memorial, which honors the victims of the witch panic. Next, head to the Old Burying Point, the final resting place not only for many of the trials’ victims but also for their persecutors. Walk among the graves and hear the tragic, heroic tale of Giles Corey and others who paid the ultimate price when they refused to go along with the madness. Continue your tour with some of Salem’s spookiest architecture, the Joshua Ward House and the Old Town Hall. Learn about the Old Town Hall's secret tunnels, which still exist today. Head to the old jailhouse, where some say the spirits of the confined and tortured innocents remain. Continue through town and spot landmarks featured in Hollywood hits like Hocus Pocus and Bewitched. Next, pass the Witch Museum and learn how the witch trials ended. Finish your tour at the Salem Common and discover the aftermath of the trials and how the town of Salem recovered. As you follow the tour, there are plenty of optional detours available, from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s house to a tavern infamous for 18th-century kidnappings.

Boston History and Highlights: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

4. Boston History and Highlights: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

Wander along Boston's Freedom Trail with this audio guide. Walk from Copp’s Hill Burying Ground to the George Washington Statue in the Boston Public Garden and unlock the story behind the nation’s beginnings as you listen to the voice of Gregg Squeglia, a local history fanatic. Start your walk in one of Boston’s oldest neighborhoods, the North End, and learn about the Colonial and Revolutionary history of the area. Travel as far back as 1692 with a visit to the grave of Cotton Mather, the minister at the heart of the Salem Witch Trials. Next, journey to the Old North Church and the pre-Revolution years, when Paul Revere organized the midnight riders so they could alert the Minutemen that the British were coming. Waft past the aromas of Little Italy’s restaurants and bakeries to get to the Paul Revere House, before enjoying a stroll along the Rose Kennedy Greenway while you learn about Boston’s ”Big Dig.” Afterward, take a moment to shop around Quincy Market or catch some of the area’s regular street performers as you learn about Faneuil Hall and one of America’s fiercest proponents of liberty, Samuel Adams. Stop by the Old State House to hear how president John Adams magnanimously defended perpetrators of the Boston Massacre. Learn about the two choices that Irish families faced in the 1800s as you pass by the Boston Irish Famine Memorial en route to visit Adams’ grave in the Granary Burying Ground. Feel free to start, pause, or restart at any time and complete your visit at your own pace. If your travel plans change, you can use the audio guide on any date of your choice  or use the virtual in-app option for an at-home experience.

Massachusetts Self-Guided Driving and Walking Tours Bundle

5. Massachusetts Self-Guided Driving and Walking Tours Bundle

Get to know the most famous Massachusetts attractions using this self-guided tour, which comes with a guide, an audio tour, a map as well as animated videos at some of the stops. In your own time and at your own pace, visit attractions such as Harvard Square, Plymouth, Martha’s Vineyard, and more. Begin your action-packed day by downloading the self-guided tour, and familiarize yourself with your digital guide. Make your first stop Harvard’s storied campus. Hear how the school got its start and how it evolved from a tiny college into one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. Then, head to the Freedom Trail to walk in the shoes of the United States' Founding Fathers. Hear how the first sparks of revolution flew in Boston and how those sparks became an inferno. Feel the revolution come alive as you pass sights like the church where Paul Revere’s famous lanterns once hung. Next, immerse yourself in the ship-rigging, ale-drinking, shanty-singing days of Colonial Boston on Boston’s Harborwalk and revisit the fiery lead-up to the American Declaration of Independence. Admire harbor views and visit the site of the Boston Tea Party. Continue by following your app to the most haunted spots of the city and hear popular ghost stories. Walk through graveyards, execution sites, and more while hearing hair-raising tales of the unquiet dead. After, head to Salem, and learn the truth behind the infamous Witch Trials. Turn the clock back even further in Plymouth, the town founded by Pilgrims fresh off the Mayflower. See where they first landed, hear how they organized their system of government, and revisit the complicated dynamic between those newcomers and the Wampanoag tribe. Drive out to Cape Cod, where colonial history collides with the present. Cruise past historic villages and continue along the coastline to explore towns like Gloucester and trace their seafaring history. Ride along a rocky shore dotted by beaches, and catch some sun and surf. Head to Lexington and Concord and follow the route of a battle between an American militia and the British army. Find out how the Americans turned the tide, and what it meant in the fight for independence. Finally, retreat to Martha’s Vineyard. Visit cute towns and learn some surprising history.

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What people are saying about Salem

Detailed and easy to follow guide to Boston. Best thing is that you can pause and restart as you wish, no need to do the whole tour in one go

Great self guided tour! We followed along and stopped to the side to listen to the descriptions. Even had people asking us about our tour.

Audio guía que funciona sin internet. Me ha encantado visitar Salem a mi ritmo utilizando esta actividad. recomendable

We actually did tour via our car. It worked great and highly recommend it.

It was a great adventure! Listened in spanish an it was awesome