The "Holy City" skyline is on full display with this scenic Charleston Harbor Sightseeing Cruise. Sail past 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. You will hear enthralling tales of the city’s colorful past as well as scintillating facts about her most-interesting former citizens. Sit back and relax while a Licensed Charleston City Guide shares stories from Charleston’s historical sights, including some listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Great photo opportunities and a fresh sea breeze round out this pleasant and informative Charleston Harbor Sightseeing Cruise.

What's Included

1.5-Hour Sightseeing Cruise of Charleston Harbor
Live Narration by Licensed City of Charleston Tour Guides
Hear enthralling tales of Charleston's colorful past
Learn scintillating facts about the city's most interesting former residents
Select between two convenient departure locations: Patriot's Point or Aquarium Wharf
Pass by Fort Sumter, USS Yorktown, High Battery, Ravenel Bridge, Castle Pinckney, and more
Possibility of seeing dolphins from the boat

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting points

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End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Fort Sumter National Monument (Pass By)

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge (Pass By)

Battery & White Point Gardens (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Most travelers can participate
Accesibility: Charleston Harbor Tour is not handicap accessible as we have steps that must be climbed in order to board.
90-Minute Daytime Harbor Cruises depart from either Aquarium Wharf or Patriots Point (option available at checkout)
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 100 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Adrianna_S

Wow! Although, I've never really kayaked before, I had a fabulous time. My husband and I were celebrating our 15th Wedding Anniversary and we wanted to do something different. Our tour guide Daniel was amazing. We kayaked out about an 1.5 hour and were lucky enough to see dolphins. He was very knowledgeable about the ecosystem. I highly recommend.

Reviews

4.0

62 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 62 reviews

The harbor cruise was...

Dawn_M, Sep 2023

The harbor cruise was great. The guide Stephen was very knowledgeable and funny. Learned a lot about Charleston.

Exercise with Excitement

Adrianna_S, Aug 2023

Trip around the harbor at Charleston

Sue_B, Jul 2023

The tour guide was very knowledgeable about the area. It Was had to find where to board the boat. Overall a four star

Despite the rainy...

Brian_T, Jul 2023

Despite the rainy morning, we had a fantastic time. Luckily, the weather improved once we got on the boat. Our tour guide was both informative and amusing, with a wealth of knowledge about the history of Charleston.

Highly recommend

Paul_R, Jul 2023

Tour guide was awesome. We'll informed and very personable.. Perhaps taking boat closer to land along the city would be better

Wonderful boat tour

Timothy_B, Jul 2023

We had a great tour guide, he was very informative and entertaining, Charleston is full of rich history and beautiful views.

Charleston harbor tour

Yvonne_H, Jun 2023

Learning the history connected to the sites. Loved docking by and seeing outside of naval vessel! Tour guide Stephen was informative, entertaining and gracious.

Lewis Sisters Juneteenth 2023

Talisha_L, Jun 2023

The tour guide Vicki was amazing👏🏽 the weather was great and we really felt like we were on vacation, not just a 48 hr getaway

An average site seeing tour

Vickie_M, Jun 2023

The narration about the area was sort of boring. Too much about the fighting and all of Charleston. Would have been nice hear alittle bit more about the charm of the city and pointing out more points of interest on the shore line. Don't think the mention of the sighting of dolphins should be made in the advertisement if it doesn't happen on a regular basis. It becomes a disappointment when you don't see any. Our family seemed to enjoy it.

Really enjoyed the cruise and we got lucky with the weather.

Scott_M, Jun 2023

We took our Grandson and he really enjoyed it. The cruise narrator was really good at blending the historical Civil War facts with the modern day Charleston. Great hearing about Fort Sumter!

Just an okay tour

Ashley_H, Apr 2023

It was fine. It was a nice day for a boat tour. We booked on the smaller tour boat but they called that AM to reschedule us to a different time. Once there, we realized it was now on a boat twice the size. The narrator was okay but all the chairs were facing the opposite way as the coastline, so it was hard to see the referenced items. It was "just an okay" tour. No big complaints, just not worth the money, in our opinions.

So informative

Becky_W, Apr 2023

Dennis was wonderful!! We enjoyed our tour immensely. I may have missed some of the scenery because I was intensely listening to Dennis. We loved his personality and how knowledgeable he is.

Didn’t hapoen

Barbara_P, Apr 2023

We never got. We were cancelled. Because of weather. Waiting for refund. Took horse drawn carriage ride which luckily had an opening

Spring Fun

Dennis_B, Mar 2023

Narrator was great! We liked seeing Fort Sumpter and the aircraft carrier. Saw some dolphins. Mt. Pleasant history was great.

History

Patricia_S, Mar 2023

Very fun tour narrator. She was knowledgeable and boat was very smooth. Easy on and off and the view from the boat was amazing

Biased

Robert_H, Nov 2022

Confusing presentation. Very defensive on the impact to the south. One sided story, began to drone on.

Anniversary trip!

Angela_S, Oct 2022

The food was very good. And also the ride was romantic. We are on this trip for our third year anniversary.

Loved being on the water! Beautiful scenery!

Donita_M, Oct 2022

Narrator did a great job telling history, and pointing out points of interest along the way. Some negatives were: 1) people talked while narrator was speaking, we couldn’t hear what was being said. 2) boat was dirty, including seats. 3) Staff never told us there was a snack bar available…we were downstairs due to cool weather. Nothing was said over the loud speaker.

Good tour

Ardeth_D, Oct 2022

Ft Sumter, saw dolphins, good narrative, enjoyed it all. Beautiful day. Would recommend. Left on time. Beautiful battery shots. Ravenel bridge was awesome.

Beautiful harbor tour ruined by offensive narration

Lorraine_C, Oct 2022

The boat and the crew were great. There were interesting things to see in the harbor. It was very easy to book and punctual. However, the sarcastic and condescending tone and words of the narrator nearly ruined the experience for our group. The narrator took liberties with his representation of historical facts. As a group of northern women, we found his presentation very offensive.

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Overview

What's Included

Meeting And Pickup

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What To Expect

Additional Info

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Traveler Photos

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