OUR FAMILY IS TRYING TO PLAN A TRIP TO SALEM BOSTON AND SURROUNDING AREAS THIS OCTOBER-WE REALLY DO NOT WANT TO PAY THE HIGH RATES TO STAY IN THE CITY AND WOULD LIKE SOMETHING MORE RELAXING-SHOULD WE STAY IN PEABODY OR SALEM AREA?SALEM SOUNDS FUN THAT TIME OF YEAR HOWEVER,WE DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE AREA.IS THERE STILL A FERRY THAT GOES FROM SALEM TO BOSTON?THAT WOULD BE GREAT-AND HAS ANYBODY STAYED AT THE SALEM INN?IS IT WORTH THE MONEY FOR THE ATMOSPHERE?WE ARE BRINGING OUR SON AND MY SISTER SO THERE WILL BE 2 CHILDREN ALSO-ANY RESPONSES WELCOME

If the choices are Peabody or Salem area - definitely Salem - hands down. For a New England flair especially in that beautiful time of year Salem is a no brainer. There are some great happenings in Salem in October so check the web for festivals. I've never been to the Salem Inn but the location is great. The ferry might be a problem - I believe it goes to a limited schedule in the fall. I'm sure you can find the schedule on the web - good luck and have fun

Just returned from trip to Salem/ Boston and cape cod area. Liked Salem and went into the Salem Inn and asked for rates/availability. They wanted 139 dollars a night for room with bathroom in the hall. I must say the reception looked dingy, the receptionist was eating fries and there were large ants crawling over the steps. To be fair, it looks great on the web and I have heard good things from other posters. perhaps I hit a bad day! We eventually stayed in Danvers, outside Boston, there are lots of hotels on the freeway even if they lacked character.

There you go . . . The last poster said it in a nutshell. Salem has the charm, but really nothing for nice family accomodations. The Peabody Marriott and the the Quality Inn Kings Grant in Danvers are right next door to Salem and offer convenient access to other tourist areas, yet are modern, clean, and have indoor pools. The ferry to Boston would be a long cold ride. You'd be better off to drive; 20 minutes from Peabody/Danvers. I'd suggest making a reservation for a Duck Tour, and perhaps visiting the Aquarium, considering you'll have kids. You'd also all love the Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester, which is about a 20 minute ride from Peabody & Danvers. Yes, Salem has many fun Halloween events, mostly scary haunted houses and psychics. Have fun!

Last year on our trip to Cape Cod we also spent 3 nights in Boston and 1 in Danvers (which is very close to Salem).
Some recommendations:
If you decide to stay in Danvers...
Do NOT stay at the Days Inn.
DO stay at the Courtyard by Marriott (it
was very nice).

"Thumbs up" for the trolley tour in Salem; it was very informative and you could ride it as many times as you liked.

Re: Boston, we stayed at the Holiday Inn in Somerville. It is only 2 miles from downtown Boston (but across the St. Charles River)so the prices were more reasonable. It's kind of isolated but they had a free shuttle which would take us downtown and pick us up. We also took the "T" back from the 4th of July fireworks with no problems (which really amazed me). Something to think about...
Hope this helps, Diane

Diane is right for the hotel choices. October is a great time to be in New England...my favorite tome of year. Some of the Salem tourist attractions seem campy, but still give good, accurate info of the time and they are close together. The Salem Witch Museum is the best in my opinion. The Hammond Castle is a good one to go see in Gloucester (my home town). Boston is a short drive away and is a "walking" city.

how old r the kids? might be afraid of some salem attractions. There is a play of the witch trials which is decent but nay scare a child younger than 12. South of there, Plimouth plantation is wonderful; whale watching in oct possibly--out of salem. wkend rates in boston proper might not be so bad by the way--try hotelbook or a discounter. I bet you can get a 100 dollars or less then. I stronly suggest you do a little prep with the kids for this area by reading historical fiction or stuff from cobblestone magazine on the places you are going to. Kids are pleased to be up on the stuff. Helps a lot with this type of trip.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn in Peabody two summers ago. It was a good location for us, since we traveled as far north as Maine and as far south as Cape Cod. It seemed to be a convenient location to hop on the freeway and get where we were going. Also, Boston was no problem; we parked the car at a subway station and took the train into town.

Traveled to those areas last August...you will spend less time in Salem than you think...much of it is a rip-off...be sure to walk through the graveyard--see pilgrim graves... We stayed at the Peabody Marriott...decent place and not that far.... Try to go to Concord and take a walk around Walden's Pond...great place for the soul...