We visited Baltimore during our year-long tour of America and Canada – mainly because we had our had to pick up a camper at the port of Baltimore. In this article we will tell you more about what to do in Baltimore and the various sights.
Are you thinking of following our footsteps and renting a camper(van) with friends, your partner or with your whole family? Then ask free of charge and without obligation submit a quote to Travelhome from ANWB. They have both campervans and full-fledged family campers on offer.
- Large selection, low prices
- Independent or Customized
- Expert advice from specialists
- Full quote with no hidden costs
This article is part of a large one-year tour the United States en Canada, with a Dutch 4×4 camper that we shipped ourselves… It is a bucket list worthy and an once in a lifetime experience that will never be forgotten.
We wrote almost 100 articles about this ultimate tour. Visit our North America page for more information.
About Baltimore
With 600.000 inhabitants, Baltimore is the largest city in the American state of Maryland on the American east coast, located on the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay. In principle it is Washington D.C. slightly larger with 700.000 inhabitants, but this city does not officially belong to the state of Maryland. You can read how exactly that works this article.
Great Port of Baltimore
Baltimore is especially important because of its large port. This port is the most chosen destination from The Netherlands, Belgium en Germany when it comes to it shipping vehicles to the United States. Every week gigantic ships depart from Hamburg (Germany), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Antwerp (Belgium) via Halifax (Canada) to Baltimore (USA). Anyone who has Baltimore as the final destination of his or her vehicle will have to deal with this city. We also shipped our camper to Baltimore.
Baltimore is not known as a beautiful city
Unfortunately, Baltimore is not exactly known for its beautiful attractions or nice, safe environment. On the contrary, Baltimore is a city that ranks high when it comes to crime and homicides. In 2021 Baltimore held the 5th most dangerous city in the US by as much 337 murders in one year, that's almost one murder a day in a city of only 600.000 inhabitants! For comparison: In Utrecht there were only 5 in the same year.
Don't be put off
Still, we try to make the best of it, because of course Baltimore also has good sides. The inner harbor in particular is seen as beautiful and safe. In addition, we are not simply put off by some figures. I mean, we've been to much more dangerous places in the world and we survived. So we just went out like always, to Baltimore!
What to see and do in Baltimore
Anyway, what are you going to do or see in Baltimore? Malou and I opened our phones in good spirits and started Googling. What should we not miss in Baltimore? Less than 10 minutes and 20 searches later, we both quickly came to the conclusion that there really isn't much to do in Baltimore... At least, not for tourists. You can read what there is to do below.
1. National Aquarium
The National Aquarium in Baltimore is heavily promoted on every website and travel guide, but to be honest, we just really don't like that. We prefer to see these beautiful animals in the sea, where we believe they belong. We will therefore skip this activity...
2. Baltimore Sightseeing Cruise
What is really fun to do is to take a Sightseeing Cruise through Baltimore. Cruise around the Baltimore Inner Harbor and relax as you admire the sights from the water. Enjoy a narration about Baltimore's history as you admire the waterfront and impressive architecture.
3. Helicopter tour over Baltimore
Maybe not so spectacular one helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon of New York City, but a great way to see the city. During this helicopter tour you will fly through downtown Baltimore while enjoying breathtaking views of the Inner Harbor, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and other iconic sights. The helicopter tour over Baltimore is here to book.
4. Hard rock cafe
According to the internet, everything is possible here. We walked along the boulevard Inner Harbor along it Hard Rock Cafe which is located in the beautiful old power plant. I must honestly say I was impressed. It was old-fashioned cozy inside. We spent a wonderful afternoon and evening here with old-school hard rock and comfort food as you expect from Hard Rock Café.
5. Inner Harbour
This is where the hotels in Baltimore always provide shuttles to. We were dropped off and went for a nice walk here. It was sunny, but very cold with only 5 to 6 degrees and a strong wind. Still, we enjoyed walking around here for a while – it all felt quite peaceful and pleasant.
6. The Inner Harbor Mall
Because it was quite chilly, we decided to visit the large mall after an hour of walking inner harbour to visit. We walked in and unfortunately had to find that it was almost completely empty. The signs and murals of well-known chains such as H&M, Bubba Shrimp and Starbucks were still there, but the shopping center was messy and deserted. Only one shop and about 5 restaurants were still open, while there is room for up to 50 shops. The impact of Covid is clearly noticeable here - many companies have gone bankrupt in the past two years.
It was strange to see these abandoned stores in the place where everything should happen in Baltimore. The entire area, which was supposed to be the hotspot of Baltimore, felt deserted. We decided to return to the Hotel after a walk through the Inner Harbor.
7. Hotel near the harbour
Since we had to pick up the camper at the port, it was convenient to choose a hotel close to the Port of Baltimore. We ended up staying at two hotels – Best Western Plus Hotel & Conference Center and with Hampton Inn Baltimore Bayview Campus.
I actually didn't like the former, the latter even more so. If you want to know more about it, read our article about it shipping the camper to baltimore. The hotels we stayed in are extensively covered.
Conclusion
We didn't have high expectations for Baltimore beforehand. The city is not known for its leading sights. And although we only saw a small part of the city – mainly the center and the inner harbor – we actually liked it. During our visit it was late winter / early spring, so the city seemed quiet. However, we can very well imagine that things are completely different in the summer months. Actually just like in the Netherlands. During the warm months of the year, the wharf, inner harbor and downtown Baltimore will be a bustling place. Don't let that stop you from visiting downtown Baltimore.
Are you thinking of following our footsteps and renting a camper(van) with friends, your partner or with your whole family? Then ask free of charge and without obligation submit a quote to Travelhome from ANWB. They have both campervans and full-fledged family campers on offer.
- Large selection, low prices
- Independent or Customized
- Expert advice from specialists
- Full quote with no hidden costs
Plan your vacation to America here
- Camper rental You can book this in combination with a tour Travelhome.
- Tours and Fly & drives compare to TUI, Americaplus, sawadee en Djoser.
- Flight tickets for America you book with TUI, KLM en Skyscanner.
- Rental cars : Sunnycars, Alamo en rental cars.
- Tours and Activities in America you book via GetYourGuide.
- Campsites in National Parks you book on RECREATION.gov.
- Travel insurance for America you will find at Allianz.
- Hotels & Resorts in America you can book with a discount Booking.com.
- SIM cards : USAsim en International sim.
- Parking at the airport you can arrange via Parkos, park care of iParking.
- travel items (suitcases, bags, world plugs, etc. can be ordered at Bol.com.
