New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park — Attraction in New Bedford

My friends and I were out for a drink before seeing a show nearby. We were carded by the bouncer at the door, and it was a very intense and unnecessarily uncomfortable process. We were all well over 21 and the bouncer acted like he was suspicious that we were using fake IDs.

Then we awkwardly chose somewhere to sit, as a group of waitors stood around with the bouncer, giving us no help.

We sat down for a bit and talked for a long while before the waitress came over. She asked us what we wanted to drink, and said that they were out of literally all 4 beers we asked for. Finally, we arrived at a choice, but 10 mins later the waitress was back saying that they only had less than one serving worth of the beer. She gave it to us and said it would be on the house-- she hurried off to serve the next table and we assumed she would bring us something else to drink or that she would be back shortly. The half-full pint she gave us was flat and warm, so we were expecting the waitress to bring us another beer. We didnt see her again until we were ready to pay.

Finally, the music was wayyyy too loud for a happy hour/ conversational setting, and it was a really random playlist (extremely sexual r&b throwbacks?! Lol)

Overall it was a strange experience and I dont think I'll be back...

We visited on a Sunday morning in mid-June 2025. At the time they were open Wed-Sun 9-5PM.

We had to find parking on the street because with our roof top carrier we would not fit into the parking garage.

The visitor itself is larger than it looks inside as the building goes further out back. The National Park Service Passport Cancellation Stamp is located to the right when you walk in. There is a large info desk with a number of rangers and volunteers to help answer any questions. My two younger kids asked to do the junior ranger which we completed on site.

Directly to the left when you walk in is the small park store they have there. There was a small selection of items there.

We went to the back of the building where they have a theater and a short film. The back of the building is also where the wheelchair entrance is and there are ramps inside the building. There is also a nice outdoor picnic looking area around the back of the building as well.

They also offered a couple ranger programs the day we were there but we only had a limited amount of time with other activities planned for the day and we really wanted to check out the New Bedford Whaling Museum across the street.

Overall I don't think we would visit again after our first visit but it was worth the...

A genuine, cultural treasure!!! If you go, be sure to get a guided tour by a docent, who will make history come to life with stories and explanations. There is a lot more to see than we thought and we ended up staying longer than we thought. The area surrounding the museum almost feels like quaint Newport RI with the historic buildings and cobble stone streets. Unfortunately, parking will be an issue (street parking). The two drunk bums we heard arguing with each other in a nearby square let us know it was New Bedford rather than Newport. I guess someone needed a Sat. AM nap to sleep off the Maddov 20/20 and got their jimmies rustled over their favorite bench being squatted on by someone else. We would have hung around, but not wanting to expose our young kids to the loud swearing and possible stabbing, we piled in the car and took off. There did appear to be some pubs and eateries, but maybe we'll check them out another time without kids. I'm sure after dark the area might start to feel sketchy, we just didn't stick around to find out. The museum though, was great and our docent totally made it awesome ++++ over us just having walked around on our own. Check out the Whaling Museum and learn about this areas heritage and...