CHARLESTON TOURPASS SELECT

• Select stories from 350 years of Charleston history
• Beautiful architecture in the historic district
• Drive through The Citadel, the South’s most famous military academy
• The Old City Market, lovely gardens, wrought iron art, and many of the city’s 210 churches are just some of the sights you will see!
• Tour around the Battery and stop for a photo opportunity with Fort Sumter in the background
• Many other historic sights of Charleston!

ATTRACTION ADDRESS:
375 Meeting Street
Charleston, SC 29401

Self-guided tours. Last tour begins at 4:15 p.m.

History of the House

Built in 1820 by merchant John Robinson, the Aiken-Rhett House is nationally significant as one of the best-preserved townhouse complexes in the nation. Vastly expanded by Governor and Mrs. William Aiken, Jr. in the 1830s and again in the 1850s, the house and its outbuildings include a kitchen, the original slave quarters, carriage block and back lot. The house and its surviving furnishings offer a compelling portrait of urban life in antebellum Charleston, as well as a Southern politician, slaveholder and industrialist. The house spent 142 years in the Aiken family’s hands before being sold to the Charleston Museum and opened as a museum house in 1975.

When the Foundation assumed ownership in 1995, we adopted a preserved-as-found preservation approach, meaning the structure and contents are left in an “as-found” state, including furniture, architecture and finishes that have not been altered since the mid 19th century. The only restored room in the house, the art gallery, showcases paintings and sculpture the Aiken family acquired on their European Grand Tour.

While many dependency buildings in Charleston have been demolished or adapted, the Aiken-Rhett slave quarters – with their original paint, floors and fixtures – survive virtually untouched since the 1850s, allowing visitors the unique chance to better comprehend the every-day realities of the enslaved Africans who lived on-site, maintained the household and catered to the needs of the Aiken family and their guests.

All-day rental of lightweight aluminum cruisers that can fit riders from 4' 10" to 6' 4". The bikes are single-speed cruisers that are perfect for exploring the historic streets of Charleston or crossing the Ravenel Bridge to Mount Pleasant. Business Hours: 

• Monday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

What's Included: 

• Same day all-day rental (up to 8 hours)
• Return by 6 p.m. Monday – Friday or by 5 p.m. weekdays.
• Custom maps with safe riding routes.
• Baskets with every bike
• Easy to use locks

Take a trip through history while exploring one of Americas oldest working, living plantations. Boone Hall Plantation was purchased by the McRae family in 1955 and opened to the public in 1956. Along the way, guests will enjoy learning about the history of Charleston and its legends.

On this half-day tour, guests can experience:

• House Tour: A 30-minute guided tour beginning on the front porch, led by a knowledgeable guide in historical dress. This tour highlights the history of Boone Hall Plantation and its evolution through several owners since 1681.
• Slave Cabin and History Presentation: Explore the living quarters, view historic relics, and learn about the lifestyle of the enslaved people who lived and worked at Boone Hall.
• Garden Tour: Visit beautiful gardens featuring antique roses that are over 100 years old.
• Exploring the Gullah Culture: Boone Hall Plantation is the only plantation in the South Carolina Lowcountry offering a live, seasonal presentation of the unique Gullah culture developed by African enslaved people.

Round-trip transportation in climate-controlled buses and all gate fees are included in the tour price.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is not included?
Food, souvenirs, and drinks purchased at Boone Hall Plantation are not included in the tour price. Gratuities are not included and not required, but they are always appreciated for a job well done.

Are children allowed?
Yes, children are welcome. Reduced-price tickets are available for children 11 years old and younger.

What type of ticket should be purchased for a very young child?
Children ages 4 to 11 qualify for reduced-price tickets. Children ages 3 and younger may join for free with an accompanying adult ticket. While children of all ages are welcome, the tour is not recommended for very young children.

Is parking available?
Yes, free parking is available at the Charleston Visitors Center.

Is the bus handicap accessible?
At this time, one bus in the fleet can accommodate a wheelchair. Guests needing handicap assistance must provide notice at least 24 hours in advance.

Can food or beverages be brought onto the bus?
No, food and drinks are not allowed on the bus.

Do tours operate year-round?
Yes, tours are available seven days a week throughout the year, except on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. Seasonal hours apply, and guests are encouraged to check the calendar for current schedule information.

Is the bus air conditioned?
Yes, the bus is air conditioned.

Is the tour narrated?
Yes, the tour is narrated by a licensed, professional tour guide.

Is there a restroom on the bus?
No, but restrooms are available at the Visitors Center.

Is photography allowed at Boone Hall Plantation?
Photography is not allowed inside the house at Boone Hall Plantation. However, guests are welcome to take photos during other portions of the tour.

Can luggage or other large items be brought on the bus?
No, there is no space for large items such as luggage, wheelchairs, or strollers.

Are pets allowed?
No, pets are not permitted. Only service animals are allowed.

The birthplace of the Carolinas, Established in 1670!

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site sits on a marshy point, located off of the Ashley River, where a group of English settlers landed in 1670 and established what would become the birthplace of the Carolina colony. Charles Towne Landing introduces visitors to the earliest colonial history of Charleston. Interact with hands-on exhibits in the Visitor Center, talk to knowledgeable staff members, and take an audio tour on the self-guided history trail.

Highlights:

• Guests can step aboard and tour the Adventure, Charleston’s only 17th-century replica sailing ship.
• Natural habitat zoo (the only zoo in Charleston area): See otters, bears, big cats, bison and more at the Animal Forest natural habitat zoo.
• Fireable cannons that are fired on the 1st Saturday of each month.
• 80 acres of gardens, with an elegant live oak alley and the Legare-Waring House.
• Miles of trails for walking, biking and exploring.
• Bicycles welcome or you can rent them on-site.
• Pets welcome if leashed.

Park is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Address:
1500 Old Towne Road
Charleston, SC 29407

Included with Tour Pass: Receive 2 Premium Attraction Tickets per Person, a $20 per Person Value.

Charleston Fun Park is the go-to place for family and date-night fun! Located just 10 minutes from downtown Charleston in Mount Pleasant.

Premium Attractions Include:

• Go-Karts
• Two miniture golf courses – 36 holes
• Bumper cars
• Virtual Reality Coaster

They also have over 40 arcade games that give out tickets and prizes along mini-bowling, air hockey, skee-ball

Please visit their website to confirm hours of operation, they have summer and winter hours. We have summer hours listed below

Address:
3255 N Hwy 17
Charleston, SC 29464

The South Carolina Lowcountry has always been home to a cast of eclectic, unconventional characters – scholars, scientists, scribes, and socialites, revolutionaries and world travelers, collectors, curators. They have been lovers of the established and experimental, the rare, beautiful, odd and unusual. Our history is a blend of beauty and pain, grace and war, great storms and calm seas.

We are a melting pot of cultures and customs, remade with each changing tide. We are writers of a never-ending story that asks life’s most essential question: Who are we?

The search for the answer is our reason for being. So, we dig into attics and archives. We pore over ancient artifacts, journals, and albums. We study, document, preserve, interpret, and share.

We do it for the electric joy of discovery. The stories and humanity revealed. But perhaps even more, we do it for what it inspires within us. The thoughts that ask us to rethink our past and our place in the world. The thoughts that spark a conversation not just about who we were, but who we are – and who we can be.

We are all a story. And our story starts here.

Take a historic Charleston walking tour, where carriages and motor-coaches are not allowed. This fascinating tour is filled with stories and traditions revealing Charleston’s rich history and colorful past. This two-hour walking tour through America’s most charming historic district is sure to be the highlight of your visit to historic Charleston.

Some historic highlights on the Charleston Stroll walking tour will include:

• Tour Duration: 2 hours.
• Rainbow Row
• Historic Waterfront Battery
• Antebellum Mansions
• A visual tour of Fort Sumter
• Hidden Gardens & Courtyards
• Historic Churches & Graveyards
• The Revolutionary and Civil War

Charleston Strolls Tour is offered 365 days a year, including Holidays! Tours Depart rain or shine from Mills House Hotel, 115 Meeting Street – Courtesy pickups available at Charleston Place and Days Inn prior to the tour

The only tea production facility in North America where you can see hundreds of thousands of tea bushes stretching out acre after acre for almost as far as the eye can see.

The Bigelow family, William Barclay Hall and the staff of the tea garden stand ready to bring you the tea experience of your life. They are located on picturesque Wadmalaw Island in the heart of the lowcountry just a few miles south of the historic city of Charleston.

In addition to their many acres of tea plants, they offer a very educational tour of our tea factory. You get to walk the entire length of our tea production building where you can see all the equipment it takes to make tea. Large TV screens along the glassed in gallery describe the entire process.

Included with Tour Pass is a 45 minute trolley ride, which makes a stop at their state of the art greenhouse.

Last but not least is the gift shop, stocked with more tea related items than you can possibly imagine. Last year some sixty five thousand people from all over the world came to visit. There are many hundreds of tea production facilities in the world. With the exception of the Charleston Tea Garden, they’re all located in Asia, Africa and South America, many thousands of miles from our shores.

Come explore the Holy City’s oldest streets, cemeteries, churches, and its pre-revolutionary dungeon along the dark edges of Charleston’s Haunted Historic District.

Our experienced guides will chill you with stories of:

• Lowcountry superstitions of night time spirits like Plateyes and Boo Hags. Find out how to protect yourself from being followed home or ridden in your sleep.
• Haunted houses and structures like the South End Brewery where a famous Charlestonian tippler committed suicide after watching his family fortune burn and sink to the bottom of the harbor. Learn what the owners of the brewery had to do for him to save their business…
• Criminals, pirates, and others, including Revolutionary hero Isaac Hayne played by Mel Gibson in The Patriot. After the British hanged him for treason, he haunted the home of his daughters until December 20, 1860. Find out why he stopped on that fateful day.
• Charleston’s ghosts, poltergeists, and spirits doomed to the realm of mortals.

Tour departs from:18 Anson Street, Charleston SC 29401

Come and walk with us when the sun goes down. The Charleston Ghost and Graveyard Tour gives you an exclusive opportunity to walk inside the gates of one of Charleston’s oldest graveyards after dark. When all the other walking tours are looking in through the wrought iron fence, you’ll be on the inside. Explore the graveyard’s dark corners, closely inspect the headstones to see what you might learn, and take a moment to step across the graves — if you dare.

Learn about the history of Charleston’s graveyards, and hear the stories of the famous individuals who found their final resting place in the Holy City. You’ve heard the spooky Charleston ghost stories, right? Well, now you can experience them on this up-close-and-personal tour that takes you where others won’t. Graveyards are endearing pockets of Charleston — so much so that they are often referred to here as simply “gardens.” We love them — they’re full of history, intrigue, and tales of love and loss.

Hear about Charleston’s spirits and gruesome tales:

• The ghost of Sue Howard, a grieving mother who prays at the grave of her dead child from the spirit world. We’ve got the picture to prove it!
• Tales of being buried alive! Doctors in old Charlestowne didn’t take chances with contagious diseases. Fall unconscious in a hospital, wake up in a grave!
• Learn why the terms saved by the bell and graveyard shift were coined. You’ll be glad you weren’t around when they were!

Don’t forget your flash cameras! You never know what phantom images you can capture.

The Ghosts of Liberty Tour is the only tour in town dedicated to the men and women who gave their lives in defense of freedom and America. Charleston has played an integral part in many of the events that led up to the founding of our Country. You will hear about those people, the events, and their ghosts on the Ghosts of Liberty Tour.

You’ll see some of the most historic buildings in Charleston and learn about the secrets that these locations hold.

Starting in the heart of the Haunted Historic District, your tour guide will lead you through the streets of Charleston as you uncover the unique ghost stories that make Charleston one of the most haunted city in America. Bloody battles? Check. Restless spirits? Check. Be prepared to see Charleston as you have never seen it before on this all ages Ghosts of Liberty Tour.

Additional Tour Details:

• Family friendly but geared towards all ages and adults will enjoy the stories as well.
• Visits 6 to 8 of the most haunted locations.
• Tour begins at the Waterfront Park fountain (Vendue & Concord Streets).
• Tour Duration: 90 minutes.

All Gray Line of Charleston tour vehicles are climate controlled. The comfortable 20 to 25-passenger minibuses are specially designed to traverse downtown Charleston’s narrow historic streets. Accessing cobblestone streets and alleyways provides close-up views of some of the citys most significant details that large buses often miss. Highlights Include:

• Charleston historic homes
• The Battery sea wall
• Historic churches
• Old Market area
• Four Corners of Law
• Rainbow Row and many more sites

Their fleet is carefully maintained and regularly updated for passenger comfort and safety and is the only tour bus company in Charleston that offers a handicap-accessible vehicle. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to tour departure time.

This Charleston Harbor Tour by SpiritLine Cruises offers visitors Live Narration by a Licensed City Tour Guide. What does that mean? You will learn fascinating historically accurate Charleston history while you cruise the gentle waves of her harbor. Our knowledgeable and entertaining tour guides are licensed by the City of Charleston and enjoy interacting with guests. You will see notable American landmarks, such as Fort Sumter, the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, The Battery, the Ravenel Bridge, Castle Pinckney and other sites from the past and present.

This relaxing and fun tour departs from two locations daily. You will hear enthralling tales of the city’s colorful past as well as scintillating facts about her most-interesting former citizens. Perfect for all ages, the whole family can enjoy cruising along the coastline of our beautiful “Holy City”. Do you know why we call it the “Holy City”? Find out on this 90-minute Charleston Harbor tour.

Tour departs from two locations:

What to Expect

On this tour you will explore some of the more sinister stories in Charleston dating back to the early 19th century. This 45-mintute tour covers parts of Downtown Charleston including the Circular Church graveyard, the Four Corners of Law, the Old Exchange building and Provost Dungeon, and more.

Key Points Regarding This Tour

• Tour Duration: 45 minutes
• Parking is limited in the area where our barn is located. Please give yourself ample time to find parking before your tour.
• Learn about the various hauntings in downtown Charleston and the history behind them. From one of the first female serial killers to figures seen roaming the various graveyards in town, it is no wonder Charleston is considered one of the most haunted places in the United States.
• This evening tour is a great option for history buffs who enjoy making connections between the supernatural and the rich history of Charleston. This haunted tour covers parts of the old walled city, historic churches and public buildings as well as the Cooper River Waterfront.

Charleston’s Revolutionary War House

On February 17th, 1864, the H. L. Hunley became the first successful combat submarine in world history with the sinking of the USS Housatonic. After completing her mission, she mysteriously vanished and remained lost at sea for over a century. For decades, adventurers searched for the legendary submarine. On February 17th, 1864, the H. L. Hunley became the first successful combat submarine in world history with the sinking of the USS Housatonic. After completing her mission, she mysteriously vanished and remained lost at sea for over a century. For decades, adventurers searched for the legendary submarine.

Over a century later, the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), led by New York Times-bestselling author Clive Cussler, finally found the Hunley in 1995. News of the discovery traveled quickly around the world. A ground breaking effort began to retrieve the fragile submarine from the sea. The Hunley Commission and Friends of the Hunley, a non-profit group charged with raising funds in support of the vessel, led an effort with the United States Navy that culminated on August 8th, 2000 with the Hunley’s safe recovery.

She was then delivered to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center, a high-tech lab specifically designed to conserve the vessel and unlock the mystery of her disappearance. The Hunley has since been excavated and proved to be a time capsule, holding a wide array of artifacts that can teach us about life during the American Civil War. The submarine and the hundreds of artifacts found onboard are currently undergoing preservation work while archaeologists use the historical clues they have found to piece together the final moments of the Hunley and her crew.

The Hunley’s journey through time has been marked by innovation, courage and tragedy. Her against-all-odds tale has spanned the centuries and is one of the greatest maritime mysteries in recent history. This website follows the pioneering vessel from her inception during the American Civil War to the modern-day efforts surrounding her preservation and study.

Charleston’s Huguenot House

• Garden Admission tickets include parking
• Nature Train tour is included.
• From Slavery to Freedom tour (based on availability and must be scheduled onsite during arrival).
• Audubon Swamp Garden
• 66 acres of public gardens, hiking & biking trails, our Nature & Wildlife Center
• Advance reservations are not required. Simply show your pass at the gate when you arrive. Notice: You must have a Feature Tour available….if you do not then they will not allow entry.

• Can upgrade upon arrival to the house tour or boat tour (available in Spring and Summer). You would have to pay out-of-pocket, not included with TourPass.

For groups of 10 or more advance notification is required. Please call McLeod to schedule your group visit.

INTERPRETIVE TOURS

Included in your admission are 45 minute guided tours offered at 9:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm.

An amazing place to experience history in Charleston. Established in 1851, McLeod Plantation has witnessed some of the most significant periods of Charlestons and our nations history. Tour this 37 acre Gullah, Geechee heritage site that has been careful preserved and is recognized for its cultural and historic significance. McLeod Plantation was built on the riches of sea island cotton and on the backs of enslaved people whose work and culture and told and preserved through this site.

Established in 1851, McLeod Plantation has borne witness to some of the most significant periods of Charlestons – and our nations – history. Today McLeod Plantation is an important 37-acre Gullah/Geechee heritage site that has been carefully preserved in recognition of its cultural and historical significance. The grounds include a riverside outdoor pavilion, a sweeping oak alley, and the McLeod Oak, which is thought to be more than 600 years old.

It is a place like no other, not frozen in time but vibrant, dynamic, and constantly evolving, where the winds of change whisper through the oak trees and voices from the past speak to all who pause to listen. McLeod Plantation was built on the riches of sea island cotton and on the backs of enslaved people whose work and culture are embedded in the Lowcountrys very foundation. It is a living tribute to the men and women and their descendants that persevered in their efforts to achieve freedom, equality, and justice. McLeod Plantation Historic Site is a South Carolina National Heritage Corridor site

All of their stories, black and white, enslaved and free are given their due. After years of careful research and restoration, McLeod Plantation Historic Site invites visitors to embark upon an in-depth exploration of the lives of those people whose stories are essential to understanding Charlestons complex past and helped shape who we, as a nation, are today.

• Tour the homes and compare the McLeod family home with those built for enslaved families.
• Learn about daily life and the relationships among the men, women, and children who lived and worked here before and after slavery.
• Study the cultivation and importance of sea island cotton.
• Gain insight into the plantations strategic importance during the Civil War and the role of the free black Massachusetts 55th Volunteer Infantry in emancipating enslaved people.
• Examine the influence of the Freedmens Bureau at McLeod Plantation and throughout the South.
• Trace the emergence of Gullah Culture in the Lowcountry.
• Explore worship and spirituality in the lives of McLeod Plantations residents.
• Draw parallels between the changing relationships among McLeod Plantations residents and in American society during the 20th century.
• See how people dramatically changed the natural history of the plantations landscape through time.

The struggle for freedom…personal, cultural, and political enacted over the centuries at McLeod Plantation provides new insights to anyone interested in American history.

In the spring of 1861, thousands of young men were pouring into Charleston to become Confederate soldiers and defend the South. They were given supplies, weapons and their orders. It was here in this building where many of these young men had danced not long before they became soldiers.

In 1894 the Charleston Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy was founded. They immediately began to collect relics and the collection grew quickly. By 1898 this group of ladies became Charleston Chapter #4, United Daughters of the Confederacy. In 1899 the reunion of the United Confederate Veterans was to be held in Charleston. The men decided to help these ladies form a permanent Confederate Museum in Charleston. A call was sent out asking former soldiers to bring their war-time possessions to the reunion for donation to the new museum. The enthusiastic response showed that a large building would be needed to house the collection. Since the Mayor and the city councilmen were all former Confederate soldiers, it was only natural that they selected Market Hall for this purpose. The same building where they had gone to become young soldiers became the place they brought their relics to be preserved for the future. The museum opened here is 1899

Completed in 1771, the Old Exchange Building is a Charleston landmark and the site of some of the most important events in South Carolina history. Over the last two and a half centuries, the building has been a commercial exchange, custom house, post office, city hall, military headquarters, and museum. Previously the property of the British, United States, Confederate, and Charleston city governments, the Old Exchange Building is today owned by the South Carolina State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and operated by the City of Charleston.

Admission to the Old Exchange includes a self-guided exhibition on the top two floors of the building and a 25 minute guided tour of the bottom floor cellar, otherwise known as the Provost Dungeon. Docents and other staff members are available throughout the building to share more of the site’s history with visitors of all ages and answer guest questions.

Most visitors spend between 45 minutes and 1 hour on site, though guests are welcome to take as much or as little time as they like exploring the self-guided exhibition.

The Old Exchange is handicap accessible, with an elevator providing access to all three floors of the building. If someone in your party needs to use the elevator to enter the building, please feel free to call us at 843-727-2165 or speak to a cashier, and one of our docents will be glad to assist you.

The Old Slave Mart Museum, located at 6 Chalmers St., recounts the story of Charleston’s role in this inter-state slave trade by focusing on the history of this particular building and site and the slave sales that occurred here.

History of The Old Slave Mart

The 1808 ban on the United States’ participation in the international slave trade led to a renewed demand for slave labor, which was satisfied, in part, by the creation of a domestic slave-trading system in which Charleston functioned as a major slave collecting and reselling center. The Old Slave Mart Museum, located at 6 Chalmers St., recounts the story of Charleston’s role in this inter-state slave trade by focusing on the history of this particular building and site and the slave sales that occurred here. In the seven decades between the drafting of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil War, more than one million American-born slaves were sold away from plantations in the upper South to work the rapidly expanding cotton and sugar plantations in the lower South.

In Charleston, enslaved African Americans were customarily sold on the north side of the Old Exchange Building. An 1856 city ordinance prohibited this practice of public sales, resulting in the opening of the Old Slave Mart and a number of other sales rooms, yards, or marts along Chalmers, State and Queen Streets. Other Uses Possibly the only known building used as a slave auction gallery in South Carolina still in existence, the Old Slave Mart was once part of a complex of buildings known as Ryan’s Mart that occupied the land between Chalmers and Queen Streets. The complex consisted of a yard enclosed by a brick wall and contained three additional buildings: a four-story brick building partially containing a “barracoon,” or slave jail, a kitchen, and a “dead house,” or morgue. More Recently

Slave auctions at the Old Slave Mart ended in November 1863. The property changed hands many times after the Civil War, and between 1878 and 1937 the building was used as a Negro tenement and as an auto repair shop. In 1938 Miriam B. Wilson purchased the building, which by then, had come to be known locally as the Old Slave Mart, and established a museum featuring African and African-American arts and crafts.

Judith Wragg Chase and Louise Wragg Graves took over the Old Slave Mart in 1964, placed it on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and operated it until its closure in 1987. Recognizing the significant importance the institution of slavery has had in Charleston’s history, the City of Charleston acquired the property in 1988.

Children under the age of 12 are not allowed. If your group has 8 or more people please call ahead.

What you receive: 1 hour at the Cat Cafe along with one non-alcoholic beverage per person.

Pounce Cat Cafe is a place where you can come to enjoy freshly brewed coffee or tea, sip on wine or craft beer, snack on delicious pastries, and cuddle with adorable (and adoptable!) cats. We’ve teamed up with our local shelter, Charleston Animal Society, to provide our cats, so if at the end of your visit you’ve fallen in love with your new feline friend, you can take them home with you!

Visits to the cafe are $15 per person and include 1 hour in the cat lounge as well as 1 non-alcoholic beverage of your choice to enjoy while you hang out with the kitties. Beverages included with the reservation fee: bottomless non-alcoholic beverages such as coffee, tea, lemonade, and soda. For an additional fee we have wine and beer available. Fresh, local pastries are also available for purchase at the cafe if you would like a snack. Additional time can be purchased at the cafe if the cat lounge is not fully booked for the next hour.

AGE RESTRICTIONS// The minimum age for visiting Pounce Cat Cafe + Wine Bar is 12 years old. A parent or guardian will need to sign a minor waiver for anyone visiting the cafe between the ages of 12 and 17.

CHANGES/CANCELLATIONS: You can alter your reservation date/time by clicking on “Modify Reservation” link in your confirmation email up to 24 hours prior to your visit. You can cancel your reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.

MAXIMUM GROUP SIZE: Parties larger than 8 people are required to reserve the space as a private event. Not only can large groups be loud and distressing for our cats, they can also be disturbing for other guests who are visiting the cafe during the same hour.

Immerse yourself in the history of South Carolina!

Although founded in 1855 as an archive and private manuscript repository, the South Carolina Historical Society opened its first museum open to the public in September 2018. The new space pairs personal manuscripts, maps, and artifacts with innovative technology as visitors experience illuminating moments in our past.

The newly remodeled, repurposed Fireproof Building is the home of the Historical Society headquarters. The National Historic Landmark houses a new, state-of-the art museum with interactive exhibits that showcase South Carolina history, culture, and arts. Designed by Robert Mills and constructed between 1822 and 1827, the Fireproof Building is believed to be the first of its kind constructed in the United States.

Highlights:

• Informational exhibits.
• Self guided tours.
• Wheelchair accessible.

The museum is closed Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Notice: DEPARTING LOCATION CHANGE. This tour does not operate for the months of December – January. Available for booking starting in February.

Experience the wonder of sailing Charleston Harbor on a classic 84 foot tall ship. As you depart, help the Crew hoist the sails if you wish, and then sit back and watch the wind fill them, moving the Schooner Pride through the waters and past some of the most historic sites in the country such as Ft. Sumter where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.

Discover the tranquility of cruising the historic Charleston Harbor on a genuine tall ship, powered only by the wind in our sails.

While this is not a narrated cruise, the Crew is happy to answer questions and point out landmarks and you’re welcome to help raise and trim the sails or you may sit back and enjoy the ride!

Sail through waters that Blackbeard once anchored in, relax on deck and imagine a time when the harbor was filled with these majestic ships. There is no set route; the boat just follow the winds wherever they take us.

The Schooner Pride, is an 84-foot, three-mast schooner modeled after the classic coastal trading schooners. She is an authentic tall ship and possesses all the character and class of a ship designed during the great days of sail. She is USCG certified to hold up to 49 passengers.

Key Points About This Tour:

• Often observe dolphins playing and racing across the bow and frolicking in the harbor.
• Pass Patriots Point and see the USS Yorktown, an Essex class aircraft carrier which played an important role during WWII.
• See the beautiful homes that line the Battery.
• See Ft. Sumter and one of the forts that fired upon it during the first battle of the Civil War, Ft. Johnson.
• Watch pelicans perform diving acts.
• See the impressive Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge, one of the longest cable stayed bridges in the Western hemisphere.
• Soft drinks, beer, wine, champagne and water will all be available for purchase while we explore the harbor. Although we do not serve food on board, we welcome you to bring your own snacks. You will arrive back at the dock two hours later feeling refreshed and relaxed, with a new perspective on this historic harbor.

This tour operates seasonally and reduces the schedule in the late fall and winter seasons.