NPS photo

The 1675 Narbonne House, one of the historic homes at Salem Maritime.

All tours are guided by National Park Service Rangers, and last approximately one hour.

Click here for tour fees

In addition to our regularly scheduled tours, Salem Maritime also offers special events.  Click here to check our events calendar

January 1 through February 28, 2009

(Note: Tour times and ship availability may be subject to change. Please call 978-740-1650 to confirm tour times.)

Monday through Friday:

There are no ranger-guided tours available during these two months. Free audio-tour devices for self-guided tours of Salem Maritime will be available at the Visitor Center, or can be downloaded onto a personal listening device from our web site.

Saturdays and Sundays:

Note:

During February school vacation week, Feb. 16-20, we will operate on the weekend schedule, offering four tours offered each day.

Ranger-guided tours for groups of 30 or less will be offered by reservation Thursday-Sunday between 9:30 a.m. and noon. Please call 978-740-1662 at least three days in advance to make reservations.

March 1 through June 13, 2009

(Note: Tour times and ship availability may be subject to change. Please call 978-740-1650 to confirm tour times.)

Monday through Friday:

Saturdays and Sundays:

Note:

Free audio-tour devices for self-guided tours of Salem Maritime will be available at the Visitor Center, or can be downloaded onto a personal listening device from our web site.

Ranger-guided tours for groups of 30 or less will be offered by reservation Thursday-Sunday between 9:30 a.m. and noon. Please call 978-740-1662 at least three days in advance to make reservations.

Guided Tour Descriptions:

The Custom House
Limit: 20 people
Duration: ½ hour

This tour visits the U.S. Custom House, built in 1819 to house the offices of the U.S. Customs Service. During the height of Salem’s East Indies trade, the Customs Service in Salem collected millions of dollars of taxes on incoming cargo, providing vital financial support for the new United States government. For three years, this building was the workplace of the famous author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne’s experiences during his stint in the Custom House inspired his most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter.

The Custom House and Friendship
Limit: 20 people
Duration: 1 hour

Weather permitting, during the fall, winter, and spring the Custom House tour also visits Friendship of Salem, Salem Maritime's replica of a cargo vessel built in Salem in 1797. The tour visits the main deck and 'tween deck of the vessel to learn about the men who sailed all over the world to bring exotic goods back to Salem during the height of the East Indies trade.

The Narbonne and Derby Houses
Limit: 8 people
Duration: 1 hour

This tour visits the two domestic homes at Salem Maritime. The Narbonne House, built in 1675, was for almost 300 years the home of successful businessmen and their families. The Narbonne House is unfurnished, and contains displays of some of the nearly 150,000 archeological artifacts that were excavated out of the yard. The 1762 Derby House was the first home of Elias Hasket and Elizabeth Crowninshield Derby. It is a beautiful example of a merchant’s Georgian home, and is furnished to reflect the Derbys’ 20 year-long residence in the house.