Timeshare Information

If you are truly serious about wanting to check out real hauntings for your October timeshare rental vacation, the place you must go is, of course, Salem, Massachusetts. So we end our 4-part series of the most haunted cities in America with a look at this iconic witch-filled, ghost-filled town. Many Massachusetts timeshare rentals, in Boston or even on Cape Cod, will put you no more than an hour's drive of Salem.

Popularly known as the "Haunted Witch City," Salem's tragic history easily puts it on the map as a top "haunted destination," both for tourists and for professional paranormal investigators.

The most haunted spot in Salem is now known as Gallows Hill Park. This is the site where the majority of accused "witches" were hung during the witch hysteria that gripped the town in 1692. The original "hanging tree" is long gone, and the pit where the bodies were dumped has turned into itself with the spot now grown over. But many of the tortured souls who were unjustly killed here are still seen in ghostly apparition roaming across the ground and darting among the trees. On some nights screams and sobbing can be distinctly heard.

Salem has been forced to embrace its tragic past, and today has turned its history of witches into its main industry. Police cars are adorned with witch logos, a local public school is known as the Witchcraft Heights Elementary School, and the Salem High School football team is called The Witches.

Thus, Salem is definitely a hot spot for Halloween celebrations. From October 1 through November 1 you can join the Halloween festival in everything from parades to psychic fairs to tours of haunted houses.

Speaking of tours, you can choose from numerous tour companies for your official tour of haunted Salem, including candlelight walking tours, trolley tours, and even a haunted dinner cruise tour.

Don't miss the fascinating museums of Salem. One of the scariest is the Salem Wax Museum where you'll come face to face with eerily life-like figures representing some of Salem's most infamous citizens, including the merciless Witch Trials judge Colonel John Hawthorne, and Tituba, the accused "witch" who helped fuel the 1692 hysteria.

Salem is also known as a modern-day gathering spot for practitioners of Wicca, who comfortably call themselves witches. The Salem Witch Village is where you will "discover the truth and facts surrounding the subject of Witchcraft." Created in conjunction with modern day witches, this is touted as "the only tour in Salem to actually touch upon the true subject of Witchcraft - its history, beliefs, and practices, both ancient and modern."

Salem is the perfect spot to rent a timeshare for a spooky Halloween vacation.

Travel to the Most Haunted Cities in America – Part 1 New Orleans
Travel to the Most Haunted Cities in America – Part 2 San Francisco
Travel to the Most Haunted Cities in America – Part 3 Miami

(Photo credit hauntedsalem.com)

"We're here, now what?" Good question. You've planned a great destination for your family's vacation, selected the perfect budget timeshare rental in a terrific resort, and now want to get out and explore your surroundings. Here are some tips on how to get the most out of enjoying the discovery of a new place.

Maps
The first step is to supply yourself with maps and tour books. If you are a member of AAA you already know that both of these are available through your membership. At your vacation destination, a visit to the closest visitor's center will yield not only these items, but most likely coupons for local attractions and eating establishments. Your resort's concierge is another great resource for printed tour material as well as suggestions on activities and places to visit.

Tours
There are a couple of different ways to see the places of interest in your area - a self-guided tour and an escorted tour. A self-guided tour is self-explanatory - you navigate the route yourself. It's easy to do self-guided tours by obtaining walking tour and driving tour booklets and pamphlets.

For example, when you rent a Branson timeshare in the spring or fall the visitor's center will provide you with a self-guided driving tour booklet that lets find the perfect look-out spots for enjoying the Ozarks in their blossoming spring finery, and in their glorious autumn colors.

Another great place for a self-guided tour is the Freedom Trail in Boston. Rent a Boston timeshare and here you have the option of following the printed Freedom Trail walking guide material, or renting headsets for self-guided audio tours. Take a timeshare vacation on Cape Cod and plan a self-guided tour of the many lighthouses and State Park beaches. A southern California timeshare vacation will put you in the right place for either a self-guided walking tour, or driving tour, of many famous Hollywood attractions.

Many places offer escorted tours where a tour guide directs the route and times, and gives informative narration. Most large cities offer a sight-seeing tour by Greyline Tours, including New Orleans and Nashville. Several cities, such as New York City and San Francisco, have the popular "Hop On Hop Off" tours which are a combination of self-guided and escorted. Also, many smaller resort towns offer trolleys which not only give you a tour of the area, usually accompanied by a guided narration, but also provide easy public transportation.

Taking a family timeshare vacation to someplace new offers a fun opportunity to learn about history and culture, and to experience the sights, sounds and flavor of a place that can be wonderfully different from "home."

One of the most popular vacation spots in the country is Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It's like the songs says:

“If you're fond of sand dunes and salty air
Quaint little villages here and there
You're sure to fall in love with Old Cape Cod.”

Most people think of Cape Cod as the quintessential sun-splashed summer getaway. But how about in the autumn? Now is the time to enjoy this area, when the summer crowds have gone and it's just you among the sea grass and the dunes! October temperatures are still in the 60s during the day, but can get chilly at night - just make sure you have a good jacket with you. The temperate climate actually makes November quite moderate. You may not want to actually bask at the beach, but you'll still enjoy a good stroll along the shore.

Rent a timeshare and immerse yourself in the wild beauty of this unique “hook” of land. For the nature lover and the outdoor fan there are many ways of enjoying the peninsula.

Cape Cod National Seashore covers over 43,000 acres and is run by the National Park Service. Here you can enjoy six beaches, nature trails, and freshwater ponds, as well as historic lighthouses.

Provincetown is called the "Capital" of Cape Cod and is where the Pilgrims actually made their 1620 New World landing on the Mayflower. The historic Mayflower Compact, which developed their unique self-governing community, was signed here and put into effect when the Pilgrims settled across the bay in Plymouth.

Rent bicycles at Arnold's in Provincetown and ride the Provincetown Bike Trails. There are numerous well-marked entrances to these well-maintained trails which twist and curve across the windswept sand dunes and through surprising areas of dense woods.

The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster sponsors the Family Field Walk year round. Guided by a trained naturalist, your family will enjoy an easy walk along the John Wing Trail, while learning about salt marshes, the Cape's oak and pine forests, and beach habitats. In the village of South Wellfleet, The Wellfleet Wildlife Sanctuary also offers miles of beautiful walking trails.

Back at your timeshare enjoy having a kitchen and cook up a big pot of lobster stew - the delicious smells mingled with the salt air will create a memory that will always take you back to the days you spent on Cape Cod. See Cape Cod timeshares.

(Photo provided by capecodchamber.org)

There are many places to visit for a Thanksgiving trip, ranging from snowy mountains to sunny beaches. But, if you’re looking for an authentic Thanksgiving vacation, visit Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the Pilgrims first stepped foot on America's shores in 1620. Spending time with the Pilgrims will be a Thanksgiving your youngsters will never forget.

The modern town of Plymouth, the oldest continually inhabited settlement in the United States, has a population of almost 60,000, but there are plenty of places to explore in and around the town that will transport you back to the Mayflower, including the Mayflower II (a full-size replica of the original Mayflower). Located in Plymouth Harbor, this sea-worthy ship is a museum showcasing the pilgrim's arduous ocean crossing. You'll be surprised when you see how small a vessel the Mayflower really was.

Plymouth Rock itself, the traditional stone on which a pilgrim's foot is said to have first stepped in the New World, is housed in a granite canopy memorial, and is the centerpiece of the Pilgrim Memorial State Park. Another monument, on nearby Cole Hill, is a sarcophagus containing the remains of 51 of the pilgrims who died during the harsh winter of 1620.

Located at Plymouth Center, visit Pilgrim Hall Museum, the oldest public museum in the country. Nearby, the National Monument to the Forefathers, dedicated in 1889, is the tallest free-standing granite monument in the United States.

For an authentic taste of seventeenth century life, don't miss Plimoth Plantation (the historic spelling of "Plymouth") just south of Plymouth Center. With the help of role-playing tour guides your family will be immersed in the world of our country's forefathers. A fascinating living-history museum, it re-creates a 1627 fortified town and a Wampanoag homesite. A farm homestead complete with live animals is sure to delight the children.

To get the full impact of our historical ties to the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving, plan to take the time to explore not only Plymouth, but also the colonial history of the surrounding area, including Boston. Rent a timeshare which will give you a "home-base" and set out on these fascinating historic trails. Many budget-friendly Boston timeshares are available and are only an hour's drive from Plymouth, or stay at a Cape Cod timeshare, just 30-minutes away. This is truly a Thanksgiving vacation that will thrill the entire family.