Visiting Salem, MA in November

This topic comes up quite a bit in my Facebook group and today I wanted to offer some information on visiting Salem, MA in November. This post also contains info from Kayak.com regarding travel over the Thanksgiving holiday. I am an affiliate of Kayak and they emailed out some of their stats which I thought might be helpful. Please note this blog post contains affiliate links.

November is more quiet

It’s like someone flips a switch after the craziness of October and November quiets down hard. There are still more people in the city than normal however the chaos level goes from about a twelve down to like a five. If you aren’t a fan of crowds, this might be better.

Some businesses take a break

In November some businesses take a small break or close briefly. This is to give their employees a break, restock, clean, etc. Some attractions do keep only seasonal hours as well, so if you have your heart set on visiting a certain place, I strongly suggest calling ahead to ask about their November hours.

Is it still spooky?

Are there still Halloween vibes in November? Yes and no. Less so than October for sure however there are still some fall vibes in the air. You may still catch some people in costume around the beginning of the month.

The weather is still variable

It might be cold, it might be windy. It might not. Who knows? Bring layers and be prepared. New England weather generally does whatever it likes.

There are still some events happening

Check out my calendar and guide for some November inspo.

Traveling into Salem for Thanksgiving

The following are some stats from Kayak.com regarding travel over the holiday.

“It’s everyone’s favorite time of year again – the annual rite of passage that is booking holiday travel. Our data analysts have been getting into the holiday spirit by examining the millions of search queries performed on KAYAK to find you the best times to book and travel for each of your favorite holidays this season. We’re starting with a deep dive into the dos and don’ts of Thanksgiving travel.

When to Book

For domestic travel, we recommend booking 2-4 weeks in advance. Based on our 2013 data, the lowest average fares for domestic travel were found in early November (as low as $415, which is 24% less than the highest average fare, $548).

When to Travel

Travel on Thanksgiving. Travelers departing and returning on Thanksgiving Day found fares as low as 30% below the average. You can also save by departing the Monday prior and returning on Thanksgiving.

Prefer not to travel in a turkey-induced coma? Last year, travelers who stayed through the weekend and returned on Tuesday saved about 20%, compared to the average. In general, avoid weekend departure/return dates, as those yielded the highest fares. Fun fact: Search share for the Tuesday following Thanksgiving also saw a 31% decrease. That means higher chances of snagging an empty airplane while also avoiding an empty wallet.

For international travelers, same rule applies: Travelers departing on Thanksgiving Day found fares that were more than 15% below average holiday fares. In general, it’s best to leave as close to the holiday as possible and return the following week for up to 19% savings.”

Thanksgiving events in Salem, MA

I started a round-up style post a little bit ago to collect info on Thanksgiving events in Salem. That can be found HERE and be sure to check back because I’ll be updating it as info becomes available.

I hope this helped. Enjoy!! <3