my husband and i visited the seaport on a tuesday in the morning. there is a lot to see in the village. you will find yourself reading a lot of info sheets in each building. they have special talks so look at the welcome book you get when you enter. we heard about the whaling ships and the harpoon.

you can go on the steamboat for a 30 minute ride which costs about 5 bucks a person. it was fun to go on.

if you aren't into history you may find yourself bored. we like history and were there for about 3 hours.

the staff is friendly and know their stuff.

We visited in December and were pleased to find it uncrowded so we could really take our time to look around. The boat building area, blacksmith shop and whaling boat were particularly interesting.

If you like historical reinactments, such as Williamsburgh, VA or Plymouth Plantation in MA; Mystic Seaport is the ship building and sailing equivilant.

The volunteers, stationed throughout the villiage were well informed and happy to share their weath of information with us. One such volunteer, who was in his 80's had been involved in the restoration process of the whaling ship and told stories about his many years of service at Mystic. He added a whole new layer of history to the trip. Each volunteer spoke to us one-on-one which was better than a tour. We learned about smithing, rope making, and daily life in the village. Notably, I enjoyed seeing the Victorian Greenman house.

The history may be a little bit much for young children, but they certainly have something there for everyone, including a children's museum and a "How does it work?" hands-on display which explains the science aspects.

we liked mystic seaport so much we went back twice! this "olde" time village is extremely quaint and fun for the whole family. the guest lectures were really great. all of the olden shops were in good condition despite their old age. the map was a lifesaver- a colorful, numbered guide helped us along the way. (m.s. is 17 acres)
we went to the planetarium show and took a boat ride on the "SABINO" - both extremely informative and well worth the xtra $$. me, the Grandma, took my husband and our grandchildren on this unforgettable adventure. some places to defenitaly see are:
the sailors reading room
the tavern
all the old shops
the sabino
the charels w. morgan
the shipyard
the discovery barn
we loved all the daily activities mystic seaport had to offer. all the staff were really nice and helpful. since everything in it is HISTORICAL, some people may be bored (like little children). we had truly an experiance to remeber.