Whydah Pirate Museum

The Pirate Museum and its gift shop are a must-see when visiting Cape Cod! 🏴‍☠️ I was fascinated by the stories of real pirates, the history of the slave trade, and the incredible artifacts recovered by divers from the lost ship. The exhibits are both educational and exciting — perfect for all ages. Before entering, there’s a short video that really sets the mood and gives great background on what you’re about to see. A fun, informative, and unforgettable stop, I highly recommend it! (By the way, no photography is allowed inside the museum, so be sure to take in the details while you’re there!)

Very neat museum which tells the history of pirates and specifically focuses on the Wydah which sank in a storm. This museum requires ALOT of reading, which was great for my husband and I. But not so great for little kids. I could see young kids getting bored quickly. It takes about a hour to go through. Very cool to learn about the history of pirates. There is a little gift shop where you can buy souvenirs too.

We decided to visit the museum on a rainy day, along with a multitude of other tourists. While the museum itself seems interesting and has a lot of potential, we were completely unable to enjoy it due to the overwhelming crowd. It was absurdly packed — there was barely room to move. Had we not already purchased tickets online, we would have turned around and left. It’s a shame we couldn’t appreciate what the museum had to offer. On top of that, it was unbearably stuffy inside. Staying there longer than ten minutes was almost impossible. This experience was absolutely not worth nearly $80 for a family of four (2 adults and 2 kids). It felt more like a tourist trap than an actual museum. In fact, I’d call it more of an overhyped exhibit than a true museum — everything felt forced and stretched thin. This was the worst “museum” I’ve visited on Cape Cod. There’s clearly a lot that could be improved — better crowd control, air ventilation, bigger facility, and overall organization — but judging by other reviews, nothing ever changes. Read the reviews, friends, before you go.

This indoor pirate museum is a fascinating look into the history of pirates with the focus being on Whydah pirate ship that sunk in 1717 just off the Cape Cod shore. The remains were found in 1984 and the excavating is still ongoing! The museum is great for kids, families, or adults and is the perfect way to spend an hour or two or more. It's a self guided tour. You will learn about concretions and the interesting history of how pirates came to be pirates and what life was like for them. The museum entrance for adults is $18 and you can book online or just stop in. There are clean restrooms, a gift shop and parking area. The museum is preparing to expand with further exhibits. Worth a visit!

The museum was really cool. Though it definitely requires a LOT of reading. It was super cool to learn the history of Bellamy and they had some very cool models. Also the science section with the concretements was very interesting. Definitely worth a visit if you're interested in pirates.

Great experience. The content and exhibits are interesting and the format is small enough that children stay engaged. One can visit for 45 minutes to an hour and come away satisfied, or even stay for 90-120 minutes for a deeper dive (no pun intended). Even though this museum is curated around a specific shipwreck off the Cape Cod coast, the information correlates to broader maritime and trade histories. Our group was mixed and all had a good time, coming away with some newfound knowledge and respect. For improvements I’d recommend the museum evaluates the lighting in some areas to try to illuminate more of the details of the exhibits. The ambiance definitely reflects the dark, dank vibes that pirates experienced below decks, but there are definitely ways to improve the visuals without degrading the overall feel. Around the cannons, for example, is an area that I would’ve liked to better identify some of the details the exhibit was describing. Overall, this museum is an excellent experience. It’s something fun and interesting to do on a cloudy day, or right before grabbing dinner in the neighborhood, or any time you want to engage with something that can fill a smaller window of time on your visit to the Cape.

Must see, chance of a life. This is as much someone's labor of love as it is a museum. I went with my wife, and being in a tourist area, I had no expectations, assumed it would be a bit kitsch. Anything but. Superb presentation of history and artifacts that they have made come alive, stunning level of intelligence and thought into the exhibits. Highest possible recommendation.

You're not supposed to take any pictures or videos but I found the bell very interesting. The tour is $18 per person and the start you off with a five minute video about how the divers found the stuff from the ship. It's a great place for all ages. It is very informative and interesting. They are still finding pieces from the ship today. One thing that I found super interesting was this piece on the wall that said that this museum is the only place that has pirate treasure.

This indoor pirate museum is a fascinating look into the history of pirates with the focus being on Whydah pirate ship that sunk in 1717 just off the Cape Cod shore. The remains were found in 1984 and the excavating is still ongoing! The museum is great for kids, families, or adults and is the perfect way to spend an hour or two or more. It's a self guided tour. You will learn about concretions and the interesting history of how pirates came to be pirates and what life was like for them. The museum entrance for adults is $18 and you can book online or just stop in. There are clean restrooms, a gift shop and parking area. The museum is preparing to expand with further exhibits. Worth a visit!

We were looking forward to coming here! My son was so excited to see the museum and learn more about pirates. Unfortunately our experience was less than mediocre. We went at 4PM with our pre-paid tickets. The line was obnoxiously long. Once we got in which was 10 minutes later we couldn't even walk around there was completely insane. Kids running everywhere without supervision, people pushing each other out of the way. We wanted to enjoy and the entire museum so much! Unfortunately we were left feeling extremely rushed, and upset. It really is a beautiful museum maybe we just went at the wrong time. I wish we were able to explore and see more. I can't justify paying another $70 to go back and hope for a better experience.

A really cool place with a great story. Spouse and I went with our 3 and 5 year old. It's definitely not for little kids but would think it would be interesting for tweens+. Amazing artifacts presented in a storyline that keeps you entertained. 1 hour is about right, we were a bit under because the kids were losing interest. Very nice staff!

West Yarmouth has a lot of great places to visit like this Pirate museum. I love to see places like this with a lot of cool stuff and stories. They have a cool display of things like coins guns and cannons. Also they have a videos with stories about the ship and the people. I took me about an hour and half to see everything. Also they have a store for souvenirs. Great place for kids and adults.

This is a VERY cool museum - having the only (?) recovered pirate treasure on display. If I had a complaint, it's quite minor, but this really isn't for very small children - I'd say it skews 4 or 5 years old and up. And there were a few spots where kids might get a smidge 'scared' with a few of the realistic pirates hanging out around (displays, not people). However, the story is really interesting and there's a scientific area at the end which shows how they're recovering some artifacts. Cute little gift shop at the end and if kids do a scavenger hunt through the museum (a few things were hard to find!) they will recover a piece of treasure from the gift shop staff! Fun thing to do on a rainy or hot day for something different and also interesting content for the adults in the group.

I've been here before but never get tired of it! Yesterday's visit was completely different from my first visit, as they found more artifacts. A fascinating story about the Whydah pirate ship that sank in 1717 and the excavations that Barry made in 1984--beyond amazing. Well worth several visits!

Great pirate museum in Yarmouth. Huge place that takes over an hour to tour. Lots of videos and hands on items for children. Tells the history of pirates and treasure. Well worth a trip. Nice gift shop. They even have a real life pirate dressed in pirate gear.

The guide was well-informed, funny, and great at answering questions. The exhibits and dioramas were well executed (especially the ship's carpenter). There was plenty of background and sensational stories about the pirate life and the Whydah in particular. A fine afternoon.

I consider myself somewhat of a pirate museum connoisseur, having been to 9 all over the US, Caribbean, and western England & Ireland. Whydah is HANDS DOWN the best I've ever been to. The amount of treasures that they have, and the fact that they allow you to touch authentic bullion, is insane. Also, as the Whydah is still being excavated, there will always be new items to look at. It's incredible! This isn't necessarily a place for small children because there is way too much mischief for them to get into if eyes aren't on them constantly.

This museum is awesome!! My husband and I are huge pirate nerds (and Sam Bellamy is my favorite historical pirate) so we drove out to the Cape just for this...and it did not disappoint! Very reasonably priced too.

I will admit - I did not want to go here. I went as my significant other wanted to go. but it was really cool. Take some time and really read the information provided. It was fascinating! The amount of artifacts at the museum is unbelievable. I was happy we went off season so it wasn't crowded. I would imagine during the summer it would be really really hard to see the exhibits. IMO not suitable for younger kids. They seemed really kinda bored

So I ... and every other family on Cape Cod, it seems ... decided to take advantage of a rainy day to do something non-beach related. I had read an article in a National Geographic Magazine about this story and thought it would be cool to see it in person, despite a relatively steep (for what it is) admissions fee. Two takeaways ... 1. This (on a rainy summer day) is NOT for the Covid faint of heart. Yes,masks are technically required (most wore them below their noses, where Covid lives and is spread) From the first minute you walk in, you are crammed into a a small theater-style room with others to watch a 5 minute video. From that point, you are turned loose to wander narrow corridors of displays where people bunch up next to you and behind you, basically making a perfect way to spread. If you are at all concerned about Covid, know this is not a comfortable place on a crowded (rainy) day as there are no markers for distancing nor monitoring. (There is even one display where you are encouraged to touch a display of pirate coins ... incredibly tone deaf in this day and age!) 2. I really felt that the magazine article I read provided all of the same info. I learned in the museum. The text took many liberties to exaggerate ... and a lot of it repeated itself. It was cool to see some of the artifacts such as guns, cannons, etc. but the bunching up in front of display cases made it hard to see a lot of stuff. I think reading the article would suffice but for those looking for something to do who don't know the story, it might have been more interesting. One of the creepiest displays contained the leg bone, shoe and silk sock of an 11 year old 'pirate' who died on the ship. I felt it somewhat disrespectful to display human remains in this method but it was weird to see a preserved shoe and sock from this time period knowing it was worn during the disaster. We didn't see any staff other than the high school girl who told us to sit and watch the movie after taking our money. There was supposed to be a 'historian' there to introduce the museum but it was so crowded, they were pretty much cranking people through. A little kid would not love this experience ... it was more for adults. The kids were either crying ... or running through the crowds shouting. Overall, I hate to be so negative because it does foster exploration and research somewhat but for the money and for the crowds, I wouldn't endorse.

Adorable museum, very informative but also entertaining. The exhibits were well produced and felt authentic. It's not a massive museum so you won't spend all day there, but a nice addition to start with when you have more activities planned that day.Everyone really enjoyed this stop on our trip to the Cape.

Our family of 5 - 3 generations - greatly enjoyed the museum. We got a pass from the library which got 4 adults in for $12 each. Kids 4 & under are free. It's a museum you can easily spend an hour in - and I would like to come back and read more closely. (I was following around the 4 year old) You start with a 5 minute video explaining the Whydah ship - with the bell recovered from the ship display. The ship name sounds like "wid-ah" when you pronounce it. There's no photography allowed in the museum so you'll have to trust me that the exhibits are great. Starts out explaining the slave trade history of the ship. Then it gets into the pirate legacy of the ship and it feels like you're walking through a pirate ship. There are real artifacts throughout. The end has treasures recently brought from the Whydah wreck. I was brought to happy tears by Barry Clifford's thoughtfulness. (He's the one who found the Whydah wreck.) My daughter was getting bored and was looking in the exhibit cannons. I was trying to get her to come see the real piece of 8. Barry hid 2 plastic coins for my daughter to find in each cannon. So meaningful to me and my daughter was happy too. The gift shop has some nice and unique stuff - very good for gifting. Signed books by authors, Melissa & Doug pirate chest sets, and much much more. I highly recommend the Whydah Pirate Museum!

The whole experience was nice. It kept my 6 year old entertained. So that is a huge plus in my book.

Initially I was off put by the higher price tag of $18/adult and the ubiquitous signs saying "NO PHOTOS" in the museum, however I think the overall experience was enjoyable. Everything also looked much nicer than a certain other "Museum" I've visited before that was $15/person where they had sad letter size print outs for displays. I'm also happy to report that they appear to be taking the necessary precautions unlike some other businesses to ensure that you can still visit and feel safe during the pandemic. The exhibits are well organized, appealing and informative. I liked the décor they arranged throughout to create the ambiance of the pirate experience. They even have some actors' voice recordings of some dialogue between crew and captain. There were a few interactive exhibits as well and hand sanitizer next to it for you to use immediately after touching. After going through the main areas along with the replica pirate ship quarters the end is a restoration room where you can see where they are working on freeing additional artifacts from the wreckage. They also had several displays about the whole process along with someone working on the process live. The Whydah Pirate Museum is a great indoor activity to spend a couple hours to explore and learn about pirate life. They also tout themselves as the only actual location of "pirate treasure" and you can touch some of the coins they recovered.

Very interested to hear the story of the pirates and the ship and how it sank. Lots of items that were recovered from the ship off of the shore of Cape Cod. A few interactive exhibits for the kids.

The pirate museum was worth the trip! There are tons of interesting tools and artifacts to peruse with background on each item. The museum includes pieces of pirate items and the original 300 y/o ship pulled from the shores not so long ago. It should not take more than an hour but there is a cute, unique gift shop with quality items.

It was $60 for a family of 4. I was hoping it would be a little bigger and longer. But it had tons of awesome artifacts and information. For us it was a one and done, we wouldn't come back. But I am glad we checked it out while we were in the area!

Cool museum but very unorganized. Not sure what the point of having time slots is if they let everyone in. It was way too crowded, could not enjoy all of the items and of you have kids, they have to wait in a long line to get through. Would be much more enjoyable if the amount of people allowed in at once was monitored.

We have now been to Whydah 3 times, each time sharing the experience with a new family member. It is a bit pricey but for people who enjoy learning it is worth the spend! Our children did not appreciate it as much when they were younger bc there are very few interactive elements, no pictures allowed and tons of reading, but each time we've gone since they have gained more from the experience.

Cute for little kids. My older kid was bored but my younger ones really enjoined this

Very cool and interesting. Not a piraty play place for kids or anything but rather a real life pirate story. I was enthralled by the local aspect and learning about true pirate culture.

excellent museum. i spent two hours in this museum i learned a lot. i saw a chest filled with pirate gold. i even got to touch pirate gold. when i first got here i was looking around at the exhibits, but after about a hour they gave a guided tour which was fascinating. one of the things the tour guide said was pirates didnt make you walk the plank. they just threw you in the ocean. walking the plank was an invention of hollywood. they have a replica of a pirate ship. well worth a trip, if you are in the area.

This was a fun afternoon activity with our 10 year old twins. The exhibits are interactive and the kids were raving about actually touching pirate treasure! The museum is well done and informative and takes about an hour to get through at a leisurely pace.

This museum is incredible for everyone and for your children who show an engaged interest in learning of the past of this really amazing story. A really fascinating true story in which you'll learn of a real pirate, Sam Bellamy who sailed the Whydah Gally ship, capturing other ships as he and his crew sailed up Americas coast. Sam Bellamy, his crew and ship met an unfortunate fate in April of 1717 when the Whydah was caught in a nor'easter storm and wrecked off the coast of Cape Cod, MA. Then in 1984; incredibly the wreck was found by underwater archaeological explorer Barry Clifford in which he uncovered about 400 Million dollars worth of treasure. Some of the treasure, ship, and other artifacts are displayed in the museum making for a really exciting trip. This is our third trip of many more here with the kids; they absolutely love it, and have been really excited to learn about this story, pirate adventures, and pick up more and more each time we go. I highly recommend the visit.

This was a great little museum to spend an hour or two in and out of the sun. I went with my husband, father in law and 2 year old... surprisingly my daughter did really well and liked looking in the glass cases and seeing the big "boat" decor. Lots of information and very neat pirate artifacts to look at. Would recommend if you want something else to do besides hitting up beaches!

I have driven by this so many times and just never thought it would be something we would like. My son was interested in seeing what it was all about so we went and I'm glad we did! I really enjoyed myself. Reading all the interesting artifacts and seeing "treasures" that were found. It takes about an hour to go through if you're going to do the reading. Take your time and enjoy!

Fun and educational. More to know about pirates and pirating than you can imagine. Nice, well-maintained facility. Fascinating side story about the discovery and recovery of the Wydah wreck, and the science of safely unveiling the artifacts. A great stop, not just for kids!

Very cool if you're into this sort of thing. My wife took me and the kids here on Father's Day and we had a lot of fun. Learned a lot regarding real pirates and got to see a lot of actual artifacts. I definitely will go again and I would recommend plus there's a lot of cool places nearby you can go to afterwards

Awesome time, my two boys 11 and 6 enjoyed all the cool artifacts/treasure from chest full of silver pieces of 8 to the gold and silver bars, cannons, especially silver doubloons you can touch to name a few. Layout is nicely done, well organized tour with lots of info for all items. Impressed last room had actual concretions of treasure being slowly washed, you can walk around see outline pieces of musket or coins sticking out. All in all impressed and kids we're into it from start to finish....right into gift shop of course!

Great place! It looks odd from the outside but the exhibit is incredibly good. Don't miss this side stop.

Let me start by explaining the four-star: you can't take pictures and while I understand why, it's not my only reasoning; the spacing/number of people allotted during COVID is a bit much. We ended up piling up in a few places, which I wished we hadn't. Otherwise, this was an awesome experience and worth little little bit of a drive it took from P-Town. I had no idea we had pirate history like this on the east coast! I absolutely loved learning about all this history, as well as seeing the unbelievably cool sea lab. My friend who took me has been more than once, and still finds something new each time. If you're up on the Cape with family or friends, make this a stop!

Cool place, lots to see, great exhibits, but my kids (12, 10, 7) were pretty bored and not interested in reading all of the plaques...understandably. Not very interactive, so hard to keep their attention. At $17 for adults and $13 for kids 5-15, I thought it was very reasonable (kids 4 and under are free), but would not recommend it for young families.

really cool little museum with a lot of artifacts! family had a great time and would definitely go back again.

Actually super interesting for adults. I have no kids and generally no interest in pirates. Just came with my partner since we were in the area and thought it was a really interesting history.

The presentation and contextual details of the exhibition is excellent. The entrance fee is a bit steep, but this isn't unusual for Cape Cod. As a family, with friends we received a $3 discount per person, which was nice. This is definitely a better place to visit than the associated Pirate exploration exhibition in Provincetown.

We were very impressed with this museum. Great artifacts from a real pirate ship that sunk off the coast of Cape Cod! Nicely setup, interactive and educational. They have a great scavenger hunt for kids to participate in. Enjoyed by adults and kids. A real "hidden gem" down on the Cape. We highly recommend you visit this museum. Real pirate booty!

This museum provided so much information. We took the guided tour with Fred and I would recommend the guided tour if you have a group. The items in the museum from the Whydah wreck are incredible to see. I could also see visiting the museum by myself and reading up on all the information.

Went here yesterday. I'm a local and brought some people. Very helpful, friendly staff. Loved the guy that explained, in detail, about stuff I had asked about.. even went as far to explain things I didn't think to question. Very informative place. Def ask questions! 10/10 would recommend

Came here after purchasing timed tickets online. I will say I was surprised still at how many people were at the museum walking through at the same time. There is lots of great storytelling around the historical artifacts on display and I think my favorite part was the lab type environment at the end that explained how they recover the items once brought up from the bottom of the sea. I'm not much into pirates but still enjoyed this museum. Great not just for kids, but people of all ages.

Wonderful for children and adults. I recommend a guided tour. Our guide was excellent. The artifacts recovered are astounding, as is the story of their discovery. Thank you to the guy whose dedicated efforts found the wreck. Reading or hearing a bit about the various tales before hand adds even more to the experience.

Great place for a rainy day for kids and adults alike. Learned so much in a fun atmosphere

Way more impressive than I thought it was going to be. Interesting for everyone young and old. Prices in the gift shop are super reasonable too. Friendly staff, and an all around good time. Well worth a trip on a sunny or rainy day.

A little lackluster from the outside, the inside of this museum makes up for it! My boyfriend and I went (both adults) and had a great time, even though this is clearly a family museum. They have so many cool pirate artifacts, and do a very interesting job explaining the history of pirates in the U.S. and beyond! They also touch briefly on the conservationist aspect of finding a shipwreck, which was very fascinating as well.

This is an extremely well done museum. They designed it so you feel like you are walking in that era and boarding the ship. The volume of artifacts they have recovered is remarkable. I highly recommend this museum!!

Nice little museum. It was raining outside so we figured why not check it out. Takes a little over an hour to cover everything the museum has to offer. Interesting story and plenty of salvaged pirate gear and treasures to gaze at. No video and photography allowed in the museum.

A great, informative museum on pirates and a shipwreck that was a slave ship turned pirate ship. A must-see if you are in the area and you like pirates! ‍

This museum is wonderful. It was informative and a fascinating true story of piracy. All the wonderful artifacts were retrieved off of Cape Cod from the sunken pirate ship. A great trip for all ages