Real Pirates Salem Museum: Authentic Pirate Treasure Display

Immerse yourself in the real-life stories of real pirates at the Real Pirates Salem Museum. Discover authentic pirate treasure, witness live archaeology, and become a pirate yourself through our interactive experiences.

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Real Pirates Salem - Visitors tour an interactive exhibit featuring the story of real-life pirate “Black Sam” Bellamy and his fabled beloved Maria Hallett. Visitors will be able to see and touch real pirate treasure from the wreck of Bellamy’s ship, the Whydah Gally. The Whydah was a slave ship-turned pirate ship which wrecked off of the Cape Cod…
What's Included
  • Digital Photo
  • Audio Track
  • Real Pirates - Interactive Historical Exhibit Ticket
Additional Information

Delve into the vivid tales of actual pirates, highlighted by the exploits of Black Sam Bellamy, one of the youngest and most successful sea bandits ever, and Maria Hallett, his beloved and the infamous ‘Witch of Wellfleet’. Get to know Sam’s adventurous squad, track their exploits across the vast oceans, watch their triumphant victories, and finally…

Location
Real Pirates Salem
Derby Street
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(219 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Christine
Mar 2, 2025
Treasure in Salem - The museum is a sister museum of the Whydah Pirate museum in West Yarmouth, MA. It contains real treasure and artifacts found in the Whydah shipwreck off the coast of Wellfleet in Cape Cod. The artifacts include cannons, silver coins, cannon balls, plates, spoons, tools, pieces of the ship itself, and more! The story of "Black Sam" Bellamy is a fantastic love story/pirate tale. It captures the imagination of all who hear it. The Pirate we met, who introduced us (and the other guests) to the museum and its tale was very informative and animated. The entire museum is a treasure in itself!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wendos156
Feb 28, 2025
REAL-ly great place to go in Salem! - Our second visit with our grandson, he loved it so much the first time, he begged to go back. The REAL items on display, the informative video, the exhibit showing the recovery of REAL pirate artifacts and how they are cleaned - fascinating. Clear connections to history which this history-buff really appreciated. Great gift shop too! A must see in Salem.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Y5538gukimberlym
Jan 18, 2025
Yes! Do it! - We loved this museum, although it's a bit smaller than the one in Yarmouth. We are both pretty fascinated by everything Whydah Gally, and just devour all the incredible artifacts and history. The knowledge of Carolyn, who led us into a discussion about the Whydah Gally, Captain Sam Bellamy, and Barry Clifford just added to the whole experience. As I told her, the only thing that could make this better would be to meet Barry. The excitement of his find must just radiate from him. Maybe someday I'll cross paths with him, (I wouldn't say "no" if he wanted to slip me a couple pieces of eight!)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Codypk5945qt
Dec 28, 2024
Everything is perfect 10/10 - We come back every year thank you so so much!!!!! My daughter is 6 and is obsessed. Me and my husband love it as well. Best museum ever !!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Eileeno180
Nov 17, 2024
WORTHWHILE MUSEUM FOR ENTIRE FAMILY - What an interesting museum. It's definitely worth the visit. It's about real pirates who died in a shipwreck off the coast of Cape Cod. There's all sorts of artifacts that have been found over the past twenty years more and still ongoing that are displayed in the museum. Adults and children would enjoy it. Definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kate11os
Nov 12, 2024
Great museum to visit in Salem- authentic, interesting, and well designed. - This is my second time visiting the Real Pirates Salem Museum and I can't recommend it enough! We were lucky to get a fantastic introduction by Bill, the director of the museum, who not only knows all of the history but has himself dived the wreck of the Whydah. The museum is great because it gives an authentic take on the lives of the pirates and their surprisingly democratic way of existing and welcoming a variety of backgrounds to their ranks. The real life events and artifacts that are on display make this museum a must see for history buffs and for all of those folks, like me, who didn't really know much about pirates except what has been shown in Hollywood. You can feel the passion of the museum creators in all parts of the exhibits.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ginny_b
Nov 9, 2024
Pirates are real - Interactive and informative. Staff was friendly. Surprised to see a connection to what I teach. Glad we went.
Review provided by Viator
B6264rmmichaelc
Nov 4, 2024
Amazing experience! - This place is awesome! The artifacts are all real, the treasure is real and the they do an excellent job of capturing the era and presenting it to the public. Best spot in all of Salem.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aundrea_b
Nov 2, 2024
Interesting - A very nice museum! Very interesting, and full of very cool artifacts! Learned a lot about the history of pirates around Cape Cod.
Review provided by Viator
History73f
Mar 16, 2025
This is the museum to do in Salem - There are 2 pirate museums practically across the street from each other. Even when you put this one into the GPS, it takes you to the other. They are that close. THIS IS THE ONE TO GO TO! This one is next to Lulu's. This is a real pirate story not a pirate stereotype museum. Great hands on exhibits. Loved raising the flags and knot tying. Read the stories about what happened on this ship. The story about the play on ship was favorite!!! Most of our group said this was their favorite part of the Salem visit. Bathrooms were large and clean but please know once you enter the museum you can't use it until you complete the museum exhibition.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Select Date and Tickets
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
March 2025
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Today