Tour Duration: 2-Hours
Love History and want to learn all you can while experiencing it at the same time? Then this 2-hour historical Charleston walking tour is for you! Stroll through the French Quarter, down to Rainbow Row and the High Battery. See and learn about mansions and who lived there along with historical churches and beautiful gardens.
Your licensed tour guide will share stores of the founding of the “Holy City”, slavery, revolts, revolutions, wars, monumental achievements and everything in-between.
About This Tour:
Our tour guides are not only licensed with the City of Charleston and versed in Charleston and American History. They also are showmen. Backgrounds in theater, directing, writing, and entertaining. No drab lectures on our tours. Your tour guide will greet you excited to not only educated but also entertain you! 1 in 6 Children in the Low Country are left fighting hunger daily. We believe in giving back to the community as much as we do in sharing our rich history and culture with our visitors. A portion of all sales go toward the fight against child hunger.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $28 without TourPass
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.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $52 without TourPass
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.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $29.68 without TourPass
Pounce Cat Cafe + Wine Bar is a place where you can come to enjoy freshly brewed coffee or tea, 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 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 $3 we have alcoholic beverage. 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.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $15 without TourPass
Reservations ARE required. Please click the “View Available Times” button to reserve your tour time. No shows will not be refunded.
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.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $34 without TourPass
Includes a 2-hour rental in single person kayak. If you would prefer a tandem kayak, simply ask when you arrive (dependent on availability). Children under the age of 14 are not allowed. Lifejackets and basic instruction is included.
One of the most wonderful ways to discover the secrets of Shem Creek’s tidal marsh or any number of other waterways in Charleston is from the seat of a single or tandem kayak. Renting a kayak will give you ample opportunity for exploring almost all of Shem Creek, Bayview Creek, and possibly (with the tide’s cooperation) also Crab Bank Island’s surroundings just outside of Shem Creek. Kayaking offers good times for Mount Pleasant groups large or small. Drift away on the tides and breeze, or make an athletic excursion of your paddle to cover as much area as you can- the experience is what you make it. Either way, we recommend closely following the advice of your experienced ramp guides to determine the best routes based on current conditions.
Historic Shem Creek With its rich history, it’s no wonder that Shem Creek is considered a landmark locale in the Charleston area. A long-time commercial fishing and shrimping lane, Shem Creek has plenty of “big fish” stories to tell. The sights you see along your adventure will be uniquely crafted to accommodate tides, weather conditions, and the paddling preferences of your group. Calmly swaying alongside the upper creek are majestic Live Oak trees. Gliding by, you may see American Oystercatchers, Great Blue Herons, and Great Egrets, and depending on the timing of the low tides, even remnants of rice mills can be seen. Witness the varied wildlife in the pluff mud along the creek’s edges hunting for a meal among the oyster beds. Making your way down the creek toward the Charleston Harbor will guide you to the iconic Red’s Ice House, which in the height of Shem Creek’s commercial days provided ice for roughly 120 fishing and shrimp boats daily. Another iconic scene you won’t want to miss is Crab Bank Island, a protected band of sand falling under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources. Migratory birds mate on this island from mid-March to mid-October annually, and accordingly, no human foot traffic is allowed during this season. On the shallow side of the island near Mount Pleasant, you can often find jumping mullet, playing dolphins, and even manatees meandering about in the warm water. From this very spot, you can also enjoy the landscape with such sights as the Ravenel bridge, the downtown Charleston peninsula, Mount Pleasant Old Village, and historic Fort Sumter, Fort Johnson, and Castle Pinckney.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $28 without TourPass
Included with Tour Pass: Half off Tour & Tasting and Souvenir Shot Glass. Reservations are NOT required, go when they are open. Simply present your Mobile Pass to redeem.
During Prohibition, bootleggers made their own booze by burying grapes underground or catching moonbeams in a jar of water. Taste booze made professionally with Firefly Distilleries.
Proud of its southern roots and famous for its sweet tea vodka, Firefly Distillery delivers quality spirits, most of which are distilled four times and sweetened exclusively with Louisiana sugar cane. At the Distillery, Visitors can learn more about the hands-on distilling process and the scores of industrious tea-swilling worker elves behind it. All ages are welcome to the property, but only those 21 and over are eligible for the tasting.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $10 without TourPass
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.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $10 without TourPass
Visit Charleston’s only winery on picturesque Wadmalaw Island where you can explore their vineyard and receive a free five-wine tasting and souvenir stemless wine glass by presenting Charleston Tour Pass! Tastings offered Wednesdays-Saturdays from 10 am – 5 pm.
Highlights:
- Tour Pass: Receive a free wine tasting & souvenir wine glass which includes nine wines.
- They grow four types of muscadine grape – carlos, ison, noble and tara. From the grapes, they make five different wines – Low Tide, Magnolia, Deep Water Blend and High Tide. They also have chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon from California that they vint and bottle onsite and blend with their muscadines, for a total of nine wines available.
- Every Saturday from 12 – 4 pm they host a Weekend Wine Down event where food and music are present. Enjoy the tranquil surroundings, bring family, friends and have a great time.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $7 without TourPass
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.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $8 without TourPass
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 RoadCharleston, SC 29407
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $10 without TourPass
Featured by the Food Network, Cooking with Paula Dean, BuzzFeed (33 Doughnuts You Have to Try Before You Die), Traveler of Charleston Magazine, Zagat, Delish, USA Today and countless others….Glazed Gourmet Doughnuts is recognized as a leader in this tasty pastry worldwide
Their ingredients are natural, the glaze, filling and pastries are homemade. Their dough is made in house. They don’t use any frozen or premade dough. There are no preservatives or additives whatsoever. Espresso drinks are also offered.
- Number of featured allowed is determined by pass duration purchased more info
- Reservations are typically required for Featured Attractions.
- You can make reservations in advance of arriving which are easily made from within the Mobile Pass you’ll receive after purchase.
- View tour availability before purchasing TourPass
- No reservation required, just show up and present your pass for entry.
- Visit as many as you wish 1x for pass duration purchased.
- $5 without TourPass
