Key takeaways
Updated 5 Oct 2026 · prices checked 5 Oct 2026
These are the two most reviewed walks in Salem, and the two most people choose between: the 1692 Witchcraft Trials Walk, 373 reviews, and Secrets of Salem Hidden History Walking Tour, 210. Both are guided walks in the center of town, both run rain or shine, and both offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. They differ by length, price, access and how much of 1692 the operator names.
If neither fits — you have only an hour — the Witch Trial History and Salem Haunts walk is the third option: one hour, $29, and the Witch Trials Memorial named on its route.
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Price: Secrets of Salem $35 per person, the 1692 walk $25 — a difference of $10. Length: two hours against 90 minutes. Stops: nine against eight to ten over a little more than a mile. Rating on GetYourGuide: 4.47 from 210 reviews against 4.18 from 373. Partner sub-scores at the 23 September 2026 check: guide 4.6 and value 4.5 for Secrets of Salem, guide 4.4 and value 4.2 for the 1692 walk.
Places of 1692: Secrets of Salem names the Old Burying Point on Charter Street, where Judge John Hathorne lies, along with Old Town Hall and the Salem Athenaeum. The 1692 walk describes its stops by type — the jails where the accused were held, the court house, the homes of the judges and the accused — without naming the five sites.
Access: the 1692 walk calls its route fairly flat and wheelchair accessible and uses an amplifier for large groups. Secrets of Salem is listed as not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments, and its partner warns it covers more than a mile.
This is your first visit and you want the longest story: nine stops in two hours, from a Puritan town to the Witch City, with the Charter Street burying point and the Bewitched and Hocus Pocus filming locations. Its sub-scores for the guide and for value are the higher of the two.
You are on a budget, use a wheelchair, or want the walk the most people have rated: 373 reviews at $25. At 90 minutes it also leaves more of the day for the Witch House or the Salem Witch Museum.
You have one hour: the Witch Trial History and Salem Haunts walk, $29, rated 4.53 from 162. Or you only want the Memorial and Charter Street: both are free and 135 m apart.
Secrets of Salem meets outside the Salem Five bank at 210 Essex Street, on the pedestrian part of Essex Street; its partner asks you to arrive 15 to 20 minutes early. The 1692 walk meets at 8 Central Street, the big brick 1805 Custom House at the corner of Essex and Central Streets, by the purple signs. Both are in the center of town and need no car; start times for both appear only on the partner calendar for your date.
The partner describes the walk as the story of how a Puritan town became the Witch City. It starts by Old Town Hall, passes the Salem Athenaeum and stops at the Old Burying Point on Charter Street, nine historic stops in all. Along the way the guide tells stories of betrayal, murder and mystery, explains how the trials shaped a 19th-century author — Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose ancestor John Hathorne was a trial judge — and gives time for photos at the Bewitched and Hocus Pocus filming locations. The scope runs past 1692, so expect some of the two hours to cover the later town.
The 1692 walk stays with the trials. The partner lists three themes: the events that led to the witch trials of 1692, the places linked to the judges and the accused, and the personal stories of the people who were accused. Its listing gives the toll as 25 innocent people dead, 20 executed and five who died in jail. The stops are described by type — the jails where suspects were held, the court house, the homes of judges and accused — over a little more than a mile and eight to ten stops. The guide uses an amplifier for large groups.
Neither listing names the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Proctor’s Ledge, where the executions took place, or a visit inside the Witch House. Neither includes a museum ticket: entries are bought separately — the Witch House at $17, the Salem Witch Museum at $19 for an adult — and the museum sells timed tickets online only in October. Neither walk goes to Danvers, the old Salem Village, where the accusations began.
The Memorial is free and stands next to the Charter Street burying point, 135 m away, so after either walk it takes a few minutes to see on your own. If the Memorial matters most, the one-hour Witch Trial History and Salem Haunts walk names it on its route; if Salem Village does, see the Salem Village walk on our trials page.
Secrets of Salem is rated 4.47 from 210 reviews and the 1692 walk 4.18 from 373. The quotes below are short extracts from GetYourGuide reviews with the reviewer’s first name and month; the full reviews are on the partner pages.
“No need for fancy costumes, just book this tour guide who has all the information you need.”
“Packed with tons of information and stories, this 90 minute tour satisfied the little girl history geek in me.”
Check the start time for your date on the partner calendar, and plan for the meeting point: 210 Essex Street for Secrets of Salem, 8 Central Street for the 1692 walk. Both offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and Secrets of Salem lets you reserve now and pay later.
The table puts the two side by side with the one-hour Haunts walk as a third column: $35, $25 and $29 per person; two hours, 90 minutes and one hour. The last row says who each one is for.
Secrets of Salem, for most first visits: nine stops in two hours give the fullest story, and its partner sub-scores for the guide and value are higher. Take the 1692 walk instead if budget, a wheelchair or a shorter walk matters more.
The 1692 Witchcraft Trials Walk: $25 per person against $35 for Secrets of Salem, a difference of $10. It is also 30 minutes shorter.
The 1692 Witchcraft Trials Walk: its partner says the tour is wheelchair accessible and the route fairly flat. Secrets of Salem is listed as not suitable for wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments.
No. Secrets of Salem meets outside the Salem Five bank at 210 Essex Street; the 1692 walk meets at 8 Central Street, the 1805 Custom House with purple signs. Both are in the center of Salem.
Secrets of Salem has the higher rating, 4.47 from 210 reviews; the 1692 walk has more reviews, 373 at 4.18. Both are among the most reviewed walks in Salem.
Secrets of Salem names the Old Burying Point on Charter Street, where Judge John Hathorne lies. The 1692 walk does not name the five sites; it describes its stops as jails, the court house and the homes of the judges and the accused.
Yes, if the start times on the partner calendar allow it: together they take three and a half hours. Most visitors pick one and spend the rest of the day at the Witch House ($17) or the Salem Witch Museum ($19).