Salem Trolley

This trolley ride was great! First, it got us to all of the sites that we wouldn’t have necessarily made it to if we were walking. We were traveling with our five kids and they enjoyed the ride as a break from the old houses and they learned a lot from the great guides that were funny and super informative. We were able to get on and off the trolley to go in and see sites. The waits for the trolley get long, especially when some Trollies were full and u had to wait for the next one. They gave us so much more history than just that from the witches museum etc. We didn’t want our kids to just learn about the witch trials and they did Learn so much more including the rich history of Salem! The price did feel steep for our whole family, but honestly, I think it was some of the best money we spent during that day.

I’ve seen the trolley go around Salem since I moved here 5 years ago and finally this summer did some of the more touristy things. The main reason I got out and tried it was because it was free for Salem residents for a month! One reason I really enjoyed it both times was that it gave a lot of history that many tourist rush past as they go to the hokey witch things in town. Salem was THE major seaport of the early 1800s and so much of that era still exists around town. I don’t want to spoil the ride but as a Salem resident you will be able to appreciate your town so much more having heard some of the non-​witch history. Its a great option to use in order to get from the Willows back to the parking garage and allows you to get on and off all day. I found the tour guides very informative and the 2 different ones we had told different stories. Keep in mind there isn’t a lot of room for strollers and you will have to hold infants but they enjoyed it as well! Great option for tourists and great option for Salem residents that want to play tourist for the day!

We thought this would be a nice way to see the city of Salem and learn a bit of history but came away very disappointed.
Their was some confusion about where you can get the trolley, the literature basically said you can get on anywhere — well in October most of the trolleys are full so you have to go the stop near the welcome center. No problem we bought our tickets and walked to the welcome center.
We saw that a few people had gathered waiting for the trolley to arrive and we ended up talking to some of them and some of the trolley staff also who started talking to us asking us where we all were from and making polite conversation. Little did we know you were supposed to line-​up and because no one told us that — we ended up not getting on the trolley. When we complained to the staff. They were incredibly rude and insulting. We decided to wait for the next trolley but despite the fact that they advertise the trolleys come every 15 minutes — THEY DON’T. When we did get on about 40 minutes later we had to stand and the tour guide was terrible. A retired school teacher she spent most of the time giving us gossip about the town people who she apparently taught. Then our trolley got into an accident. Again — mass confusion. No one seemed to know what to do. When we made out way back to the welcome center and asked if we could be given priority because our tour had been cut short (because of the accident) we were told that couldn’t happen and when we complained were told. «What do you expect it’s Salem in October».
Although a nice way to see the city there is limited seating and the seats are not comfortable. Save your money and take a walking tour. I highly recommend sinister stories of Salem. I won’t be doing this again.

Loved this tour! Lasted about an hour give or take. GREAT way to learn more about the city than just the witches. Historical and very relaxing ride around town and the shore. You can walk to get around to most of the attractions and don’t need the hop on and off option likely, but this trolley ride is a great way to really learn about the area and worthy of the $ 15 ticket. It also provided for some great photo opportunities on the tour.

The Salem Trolley is a great tourist attraction! In fact, it’s even mentioned in the song «Spirit of Salem» by the rock band Majungas.
Listen to a free stream of it here:

We love taking the Salem Trolley to Salem Willows on Saturday or Sunday.
The Tour guides are all interesting. Some of them focusing on the same things, some of them adding more detailed information.
It is a pleasant ride starting on Essex Street in front of the Visitors Center. The ride costs $ 15 per person, $ 14 for senior citizens.
As Salem residents, we ride for free. We go to the Salem Depot close by to get resident tickets prior to the ride. Beginning in October the ride is not free for Salem residents.
As Salem residents we are always told to go on last, after the paying customers get on. We almost didn’t get on just once, but luckily there were 2 seats left, but not side by side. Eventually people got off at House of Seven Gables, and we were able to sit side by side. No biggie any way!
The most pleasant parts of the trip for us are the ocean views at Pickering Wharf, Winter Island and Salem Willows. We just love the fresh smell of ocean air, and the sights of the Friendship vessel, boats, ocean and lovely houses along the way!
Also, Kudos to all the Tour guides who are very pleasant and knowledgable! I could listen over and over again to the history of Salem through their stories.
We are always happy to tip the well-​deserved guides.

The salem trolley has the potential to be something more but it falls short. The idea that you can purchase a ticket and do the approximate 1hour guided tour and then hop on and off all day is great, the rest not so much.
The price is $ 15 per person. They have a childrens under 10 price and seniors but no student price. Students live on a budget too. Am I right?!?
The drivers dont say much so there is a guide who sits and narrates and the 2 guides I encountered were a bit boring and didnt keep my attention. The beginning of the tour is good as it is in the historical area of the town but then it goes off to the island and there is less to a we there.
All in all i would skip it

Probably a great way to see the city but the Welcome City workers out front were NOT welcoming. Actually he was very rude and quite belittling as we were very confused as to where everything was. Not a great first impression for this tour company.

A quick way to see the whole city & determine where you want to go to next. There are 2 parts of the tour which starts at the visitors center. When you return to the center the first time stay on the trolley. It allows for hop on hop off but can be full from the first stop & very few get off during the tour. Its a pretty easy city to walk around though, once you have your bearings get off and take a closer look at some sights.

Joyce … That should say enough. The trolley ride took total 60 minutes but you can get off at multi pal locations, Joyce’s friendly cheerful personality is the bonus of the ride. She was very knowledgeable, and kept everyone attention. For my family this was money well spent

I dont know why people is giving the trolley tour a hard time, I went on it, my tour guy a really nice old man was very funny, I had no idea salem had more to offer than the witches story so I had a lot of fun! Payed 15 dollars and it was worth it.

An excellent convenient friendly fun experience! For just fifteen dollars you can enjoy two tours that go into the city of Salem with designated stops outside many stores and attractions! Tour guides are very nice and friendly and you can literally ride on here all day until the last tour. Great fun!

One of our favorite, kitschy things to do on vacations is to go on tours. This tour, however, was really, really terrible. I wish we had picked another tour company. The tour guide was clearly reading from a script, and couldn’t answer any specific questions that people had. The information that was provided was also suspect from what I was able to learn prior to arriving in Salem. We went on Halloween. I can understand that tours are probably sold out well in advance and that most people are there to get very (very) drunk. We were there to experience Salem. It was something I had always wanted to do, and we thought this might have been a fun way to get some history. It was a big olé waste of money.

I went on their Christmas Carol trolley tour and had a wonderful time! The actors and staff were excellent! Riding in the trolley you also were able to see the city of Salem all decorated for the holidays which was really pretty. Overall a fun night and activity to do during the holidays. Tip: Good for kids, adults and families.

Absolutely horrible tour guide. The ye old woman shared fictitious stories but wouldn’t share details or point out where the buildings were that are actually pertinent to Salem history, «it is told» «it is said» «you have to know» «I have to tell you» «guess what» are repeatedly said. Beer makes it more entertaining.

Just went on trolly today with my newly wedded wife and it was disappointing. Would highly recommend doing a walking tour if you have the chance.
Pros
–see different aspects of salem
–all day jumping on and off of trolly, so could be used as makeshift bus
–jump off the bus at almost any where in the city and you can wave one over to you just like a taxi
–learn the locations off potential photo opportunities
Cons
-$ 15 a person is to high for this, $ 10 might even be pushing
–Narrow seats on bus
–speaker systems are horrible (nearly impossible to hear unless your in the front 3 rows
–speaker would begin rambling on and he even seemed to get bored of what he was talking about
— driver would speed past the sites and park at the end of the block until speaker finishes talking. So getting pictures are nearly impossible
Again, better off doing walking tour.

My boyfriend and I attended a wedding in Salem and had time to do one thing. At the suggestion of the front desk, we took the trolley ride. In theory this is a good idea so you can get on and off where you want to do something and get back on when you finish. It’s nice that they give you the whole day to use your pass. However, when we decided to get off no one warned us that the next trolley might not have enough room for us to get on. My boyfriend had to stand for a few stops and couldn’t see anything for that time. We were finally able to get a sea together and by that time we had seen the entire tour between the two rides. It felt like you came in on the middle of a tour when we first got on and it was cry difficult to hear what the guide was saying and understand where the places were located that they were telling you about. It was also difficult to see some of the sites because they pulled up right in front and didn’t give you enough time to snap a few pictures.
All in all the tour guides were very knowledgable and we definitely learned a lot about Salem’s history and about all of the attractions we could do. But for $ 15 a person, I wish it was a little more organized.
If you are looking for something to sum up Salem or educate you on other attractions, definitely take advantage of the tour and the tour guides.

A few weeks ago I went to Salem with some friends and family. We went the Saturday before Halloween. We purchased tickets for the Daily Tour. It was pretty informative. The gentleman that was our tour guide did a decent job. He knew what he was talking about. I would rate the Daily Tour 3 stars on its own.
We also purchased tickets for the Tales & Tombstones that night. We didn’t realize that it was basically the same tour but with some added «ghost» facts thrown in. The Tales & Tombstones was more expensive and the «tour guide» was dressed up for the occasion. We were thoroughly disappointed with the Tales & Tombstones tour. Basically — it sucked. The «tour guide» was meh. She didn’t seem to know what she was talking about some of the time and when she was asked a question she basically just said «I don’t know». We were expecting to go a graveyard tour (after all it did have tombstones in the title of the tour). NOPE! It wasn’t remotely scary. My husband fell asleep, my teenagers looked bored out of their minds and a couple of the people we were with asked to get off the trolley in the middle of it.
Zero stars for the Tales & Tombstones tour.

I am hovering between 2 and 3 stars. I feel as though the trolley could perhaps have a better schedule. We only got off and on twice as once we came out of the witch museum we never did see the trolley again. They never came back to the museum, we waited quite awhile. We then walked over to the starting point to hop on again, and the trolley was full. When we asked when the next one would be they said 40 minutes.
Salem is easy to get around on foot. We continued our day walking.
My advice is you can walk and like walking, do so, skip the trolley save the money and have a nice meal or buy a T-​shirt.

Excellent trolley service! Hop on and off all day for $ 15? Great deal!
The trolley tour is broken into two loops and takes about an hour total. Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and funny. We had a great ride! I would do this again anytime and recommend to anyone — locals and tourists alike.