Charleston Harbor Tours

Had a friend visiting from Arizona. We took the Blues & BBQ cruise to show her the Charleston harbor and city from the water. Great food, great music and all around great cruise. I would recommend it for anyone who has out of area or out of state friends or family visiting Charleston and looking for something to do.

We enjoyed our entertaining guide who described the sights and their history as we cruised through the harbor.

Knowledgeable and cordial guide. Smooth ride. Well priced, especially in combination with Harbor Cruise tour. (Just wish those carriages had air conditioning! Record temps on afternoon of 6-12-13 :) )

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the Harbor Boat Tour! Our tour guide and his crew were so friendly and did a great job of explaining the sights. We would definitely recommend this attraction!

We took the tour with a niece and her husband and 2 kids. It was very interesting to know some of the history. The kids got a big kick out of seeing the dolphins swim near the ship. The Captain was very knowledgeable about the area and its rich history while presenting it with a good sense of humor to keep everyone entertained.

great

You get to enjoy history, beautiful scenery and dolphin sightings--all done while relaxing and hearing a wonderful narration of everything surrounding you. My family and friends would recommend this tour for everyone visiting Charleston!!

Would have been nice to get closer to plantations along the river to see them in more detail. Did not get close to much except bridge and fort.

Excellent cruise

The music and food were great, the beer selection could have been better (need to get more with the craft beer movement). But the weather....we had a great time in spite of it. When they say, rain or shine, they mean it. Even if it is a tropical depression. We unfortunately waited a bit to go get food and tossed around a bit at a point when the boat was away from the protection of the jetty. Frankly, I would pay for it again just to go in better weather the next time we are in town.

We were vacationing in Charleston for a few days and after walking the city we decided that we should take the harbor and carriage tour so we could learn about all of the beautiful things that we had already seen, and we are so very glad that we did! The harbor tour was amazing due to our captain being very informative, funny, and charming. (I did not catch his name, but he had white hair and a white mustache) We arrived early and got to sit in the front row and had the best views of everything, including the dolphins that traveled with us! I had read some reviews online that said that some captains avoid discussion of slavery and the less attractive side of history, but this was not the case on this trip. He discussed slavery and the Gullah culture and how this terrible part of history continues to provide some of the most important aspects of the culture of Charleston to this day. He gave recommendations on places to see on surrounding islands, places to eat, and ways to truly learn about the culture like talking to locals and the Gullah women in the market. It was an amazing experience that I would highly suggest to all travelers to the area! The only problem we encountered was the small child that screamed almost the entire trip and caused obvious problems with the captain communicating his knowledge due to the extreme volume that this child had and the fact that the father decided to stand right next to the captain's door, which eventually had to be closed so that he could talk without there being feedback. Luckily the captain and crew did not allow this child to ruin the trip for everyone as they found the father somewhere to stand that shielded most of us from the child's screams. The next day we took the carriage tour and had an amazing experience learning about the sites and history of the city from Forrest, our tour guide. He was extremely knowledgable, witty, and interacted with the riders well. I have to admit he was also rather attractive, so that made it even more enjoyable for all of us ladies on the trip also! We were sent on the tour that goes by the Battery, Rainbow Row, etc. and he explained all of history and importance of these areas. He also shared amusing stories of people canoeing through the market area when it floods. He was so funny, and it was obvious that he cared about the horses, which was very important to me! I loved every minute of this experience as well. Also, because I was lucky enough to sit on the right, outside seat I got to take amazing pictures. I would highly suggest these tours to anyone vacationing here as there are extremely informative and helps you truly form a connection with the whole area. Besides you can't beat the price when you buy these together!

I was at a three day Lutheran Church Conference at the Charleston Marriott and decided to treat myself to a harbor boat tour at the conclusion of the event. The tour was a delight in every respect and the commentary was very informed and balanced giving enough time without commentary to enjoy the sounds of the ocean. I highly recommend the tour.

I would highly recommend the boat and carriage tours. Both were enjoyable and educational. The tour guides on both were very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and articulate. The guide for our carriage tour was a history student who seemed to know nearly everything about Charleston's history, buildings, homes, and churches. She was exceptional. Both tours were great values.

With only a one day to visit, getting a quick overview of everything Charleston has, was tough to do. The Harbor tour with the plantation tour, worked well for us. It whetted our appetite for a return visit to spend more time.

All three tours gave us great information. We enjoyed each of our tour guides they were informative and very friendly. Doing the combo gave us the opportunity to cover a lot of area in a short amount of time. It is convient that were able to decide the order of which tour we did first and also being able to take them on multiple days.