Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and children 6 to 16, and free for children
under 6; check the meeting place when you call for reservations. The company also
offers special tours for Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Narrated cruises run from April through November from State Pier and Town
Wharf; check the departure point when you make reservations, which are always rec-
ommended.
Capt. John Boats
(
&
800/242-2469
or 508/746-2643; www.captjohn.
com) offers several entertaining options, including 75-minute narrated
harbor tours
on the
Pilgrim Belle
paddle wheeler ($14 adults, $12 seniors, $10 children 2-12) and
whale watches
($37 adults, $31 seniors, $25 children 4-12). Dining, entertainment,
and sunset cruises and seasonal service to Provincetown are also available. Tours with
Lobster Tales
(
&
508/746-5342;
www.lobstertalesinc.com) include
lobster excur-
sions
($15 adults, $13 seniors, $11 children under 12), which give passengers the
chance to haul up traps and handle the feisty crustaceans, and kid-friendly
pirate
cruises
($18 per person), with music, singing, and dancing by the crew and hats for
the young buccaneers.
Mayflower II
Berthed a few steps from Plymouth Rock, the
Mayflower II
is a full-scale reproduction of the type of ship that brought the Pilgrims from England
to America in 1620. Even though it's full-scale, the 106
1
⁄
2
-foot vessel, constructed in
England from 1955 to 1957, is remarkably small. Although little technical informa-
tion about the original
Mayflower
survives, William A. Baker, designer of the
Mayflower II,
incorporated the few references in Governor Bradford's account of the
voyage with other research to re-create it as authentically as possible.
Costumed guides provide interesting first-person narratives about the vessel and
voyage, and other interpreters provide a contemporary perspective. Displays describe
and illustrate the journey and the Pilgrims' experience, and include exhibits about
17th-century navigation techniques, stocking the ship with food and other provisions,
and the history of the
Mayflower II.
Plimoth Plantation (below) owns and maintains
the vessel and offers combined admission discounts. Alongside the ship are museum
shops that replicate early Pilgrim dwellings.
State Pier.
&
508/746-1622.
www.plimoth.org. Admission $10 adults, $9 seniors, $7 children 6-12. Plimoth Plan-
tation (good for 2 consecutive days) and Mayflower II admission $28 adults, $25 seniors and students, $18 children
6-12, $110 families (2 adults and up to 4 children 6-17; not available online). Free for children under 6. Apr-Nov
daily 9am-5pm. Closed Dec-Mar.
Pilgrim Hall Museum
This is a great place to get a sense of the day-to-day
lives of Plymouth's first European residents. Many original possessions of the early Pil-
grims and their descendants are on display, including one of Myles Standish's swords,
Governor Bradford's Bible, and an uncomfortable chair (you can sit in a replica) that
belonged to William Brewster. Regularly changing exhibits explore aspects of the set-
tlers' lives, such as home construction or maritime history, and hands-on activities
such as treasure hunts get kids interested. Built in 1824, the Pilgrim Hall Museum is
the oldest public museum in the United States. Check ahead for information about
exhibits that make use of the new wing completed in 2008.
75 Court St.
&
508/746-1620.
www.pilgrimhall.org. Admission $7 adults, $6 seniors and AAA members, $4 chil-
dren 5-17, $20 families. Feb-Dec daily 9:30am-4:30pm. Closed Jan, Dec 25. From Plymouth Rock, walk north on
Water St. and up the hill on Chilton St.
Kids
Kids
Plimoth Plantation
Allow at least half a day to explore this re-creation
of the 1627 English village, which children and adults find equally interesting. Enter
Kids
