A Witchy Bachelorette Getaway: 48 Hours in Salem, Massachusetts

Visiting Salem, Massachusetts for a Witchy Bachelorette Weekend

To celebrate my good friend’s upcoming wedding, we spent a weekend in Salem, Massachusetts, for a witchy bachelorette getaway with all of the bride’s closest friends! As lovers of all things witchy, we had always wanted to visit “Witch City,” as Salem is known, and this was the perfect opportunity. The bulk of the bridal party arrived Thursday afternoon and stayed through Sunday morning, giving us two full days to explore Salem. We had a robust itinerary planned, full of local haunts, great restaurants, and fun shopping to do, and we were eager to see the sights!

The Bewitched Statue, situated in the city center of Salem; print available here.

What This Salem, Massachusetts Travel Guide Covers:

Arrival in Salem & Where to Stay

As I mentioned above, most of us arrived Thursday afternoon. We landed at the Boston airport and took an Uber into Salem. The drive took us about an hour, since we landed right around rush hour. However, the drive itself wasn’t very far. This gave us a chance to see a bit of Boston on the way in, too, and some of the pretty waterfront on the way to Salem.

We stayed at the Salem Inn, a quaint little hotel conveniently located down the street from the main Salem city center. Originally built in 1834 and home to Capitan Nathaniel West, the Salem Inn was converted into a bed and breakfast about forty years ago. The rooms were spacious and comfortable, and the amenities suited for days out exploring the city. We were especially impressed with the showers, considering the building was almost two hundred years old!

Salem was a beautiful town to tour! I took so many photos throughout the city,
and have a few prints available for sale here.

Witchy Things to Do in Salem, Massachusetts

Everyone on the bachelorette trip was a big foodie, so we prioritized trying as many of the great restaurants and eateries Salem had to offer as we could. Once we got to Salem, we didn’t get into a car until we left for the airport. So, all of the restaurants and bars we tried were well within walking distance!

Restaurants to Try in Salem

First, we ate at Ledger Restaurant & Bar, which was about a five minute walk from the Salem Inn. It’s a bit pricy, but the food was worth the money. With delicious cocktails and a wide-ranging dinner menu, we, as weary travelers on the first evening in the city, were almost overwhelmed by the options. As a table, we split the Fried Brussels Sprouts (absolutely delicious!) and Spicy Pork Belly (I passed on the latter, as a pescatarian). The Pan Roasted Salmon was delicious, too, and just what I needed after a day of travel. As for cocktails, I highly recommend trying the Lavender Haze, which was tasty and had a pretty presentation.

We had our first brunch of the trip at Gulu-Gulu Cafe. The Gula-Gula Cafe is an artisan sandwich shop and craft beer bar with eclectic dog-themed art. This was a fun spot to people watch, and the food was great, too! They certainly did have an impressive craft beer list. I would normally have gone for a craft beer, had they not offered a lavender mimosa. A lover of all things lavender, I had to try it. I’m pleased to say it lived up to my expectations!

Our second brunch of the trip was at the Derby, a large restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating on Washington Street. The brunch drinks menu was overwhelming, in that I’ve never seen so many creative cocktails in one spot! There was a whole section of iced coffee cocktails, which I zeroed in on because, well, coffee. To be honest, I was worried these cocktails would be really heavy. I opted for the Irish Iced Coffee, which seemed like the safest bet. Somehow, though, this vodka and Irish cream based cocktail was just perfect! I resisted the urge to order a second, which was probably a good call, but definitely could have enjoyed a bit more. While we were there, we played some entertaining bachelorette party games, too, which I highly recommend!

Salem Bars to Visit

As for bars in Salem, Massachusetts, we visited a handful. The Roof was a group favorite. We stopped there a couple times for the beautiful city views and convenient location. The Roof is technically a rooftop restaurant, but you can definitely stop by for just drinks. Or drinks and churros, as we did the first night in town.

Beyond the Roof, we spent a number of fun hours at the Dire Wolf Tavern and their related speakeasy, Hallowed Ground. The former is a fun restaurant with a casual-yet-elevated vibe. The latter is a cozy basement lounge with great music and comfortable seating. All would be great options for fun themed Bachelorette party outfits, and are all have an all-around great atmospheres. I definitely recommend checking both of these out, especially if you are looking for a cool spot without super loud music. At Hallowed Ground, I enjoyed the Unintended, a gin cocktail with aperol, earl grey, and strawberry, among other great flavors.

Shopping in Salem, Massachusetts

First things first, I was immediately drawn to the Wicked Good Books independent bookstore on Essex Street. I love a good local bookstore! And this one reminded me so much of a favorite of mine in St. Pete. Again, this was only a five to seven minute walk from the hotel. Featuring a hearty selection of witchy literature, and a store logo of a cat with a book, I really struggled to restrain myself here. If I didn’t have to worry about fitting my things into a carryon and backpack, I would have definitely bought a handful of books. I managed to limit myself to one book — an anthology of Irish folklore — and a t-shirt with the cat logo on it.

Beyond the bookstore, we had a great time popping in and out of the many cute shops along Essex Street. Many of the shops are clearly geared towards tourists, playing up the Witch City theme on t-shirts and magnets. Others offered a more authentic witchy vibe, like the Coven’s Cottage and Crow Haven Corner, which were immersive experiences in themselves.

The Coven’s Cottage didn’t allow the use of cell phones inside the shop, but there are some pictures of it on their website. With a huge selection of dried herbs and resins for various magical purposes, complete with music reminiscent of The Last Kingdom soundtrack, we pretty much got swept up into it all. They had lots of cool Celtic and pagan wall art, as well, which I was tempted by, but for my limited suitcase space.

Where the Coven’s Cottage was almost more druid in nature, Crow Haven Corner is a more celestial vibe. It’s a smaller shop, but packed full of gemstones, tarot card decks, witch balls, candles, and more. The shop offers all kinds of readings, too, if you’re interested in trying something like that.

The Black Cat Curiosity Shoppe was another fun stop for both shopping and general witchy exploring. With a mix of contemporary and historical references, this is as much museum as shop. I picked up a few little trinkets here, and really enjoyed all the film and literary memorabilia on display!

Attractions in the Witch City

For the witchy bachelorette weekend, there was a lot we wanted to see when visiting Salem, Massachusetts. In all, over our two full days, we visited two museums and took one ghost tour. For museums, we visited the Salem Witch Museum and the Witch Dungeon Museum. For a ghost tour, we took the Salem Voodoo, Vampires, and Ghosts Guided Walking Tour.

The ghost tour we took was also rather historical, which I enjoyed. We took the tour after having visited both of the museums described above. This was good timing, since it showed us the exact locations in Salem that the museums had discussed. Much of Salem is rather theatrical, and the tours are no different, but they’re fun and interesting nonetheless. If you’re going to go into it with an open mind — or, at least, a good attitude — then I think this is a great way to learn about the city and it’s fascinating history!

P.S. Yes, the Town Hall building off of Essex Street is the same building from Hocus Pocus!

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Closing Thoughts on Our Time in Salem, Massachusetts

After almost 30,000 steps and a fair bit of money spent on cute witchy cat trinkets and magical herbs, I have to say that Salem really lived up to everything I hoped for and then some! It’s a fun city, and two days is a great amount of time for seeing the sights. Plus, there are so many fun ways to share about the city on social media, including with these witch quotes as captions!

If our schedule had allowed for another day or two, I would have enjoyed a bit more time to explore the craft beer scene in the area. Other than that, I think we managed to fit in most of the things we wanted to see while visiting the Witch City!

Additional Resources for Planning Your Witchy Bachelorette Getaway

If you’re looking to have a witchy bachelorette weekend in Salem, there are lots of fun (travel friendly) goodies you can order to accentuate the getaway! Here are some of the best themed finds for a witchy bachelorette party, including a few pieces we had for our weekend in Salem:

Shop Witchy Bachelorette Party Favors

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 *This post was originally published in September 2023. It was most recently updated on April 3, 2024.