Hi! I'm not understanding how we didn't visit historical monuments when we went to the Witch House (built in the 1640s), First Church of Salem (built in 1629), the Old Salem Jail (built in the 1800s),and we walked right up to the Witch Trials monument which is right next to Old Burying Point, the second oldest cemetery in the United States. I can't control that Old Witch Gaol was torn down in the 1950s; that Bridget Bishop's home and orchards were also torn down and replaced by Lyceum Hall, originally built in 1831, which is now a restaurant; and that due to the crowds Halloween weekend I didn't want to risk the safety of our group to go into crowded Essex Street to look at the Gardner Pingree Mansion built in 1804 (but I did give a lot of information about it and suggested that groups should explore it individually). From what I gathered observing other tours, these are all popular stops on many tours in Salem. I can't control the history, but I strive to tell it accurately and sometimes that history is what was originally on the land.
As far as you getting lost, that is very unfortunate but I anticipated that that may have happened on Halloween weekend when we have hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city, which is why I gave directions to where we were heading before each stop, gave everyone small candles that stood out, and periodically stopped to allow the group to catch up. Regarding not being able to hear me, I can see why that would be frustrating. That's why I deliberately moved the group to places that were quieter, encouraged everyone to move close and stand in front of me and wandered in front of everyone as I spoke. If you would have communicated with me that you were unable to hear, I would have made sure that there was space for you in the front. But, alas, unfortunately I am not a mind reader.
And to address your last statement concerning my tour being the least expensive tour on the Salem agenda, I create my own prices, not tripadvisor or the city of Salem. It was less expensive than some other tours because I had a sale going on for Halloween weekend. Knowing that so many people were choosing to spend most likely thousands of dollars on their trip, I wanted to offer an affordable tour that would give a good sense of the history of the town.
Thank you for your feedback.
Krystina