Make Your Trip to Charleston Extraordinary with Harbor Boat Tours

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Welcome to Sandlapper Tours, voted #1 Charleston Harbor Tour company in Charleston, SC!

We operate out of the Charleston Maritime Center located near the S.C. Aquarium.

We are a locally owned and operated company offering History, Nature, Sunset, and Ghost Tours of the Charleston Harbor.

Upcoming Special Boat Tours

At Sandlapper Tours, we offer a variety of special Charleston Harbor tours throughout the year, which include:

• July 4th
• Madeira Wine Sunset Cruise

These tours should be booked in advance to avoid disappointment.

The Palmetto

We are very proud of our vessel, which is named ‘The Palmetto’ and is used for all of our Charleston Harbor tours. Come aboard, our 45-feet motorized USCG-certified catamaran called “The Palmetto” is ready to take you on an adventure. Whether you want to join our ghost tour or book a private sunset cruise, Palmetto has space and ambiance you need to have a magnificent experience on the sea. Our maximum capacity is 49 people to be exact. But when it comes to fun and adventure, there’s no limit to what Palmetto can offer.

Charleston Dinner Cruise

We offer a Charleston Dinner Cruise with an assortment of options available to entertain your guests and their specific interests. Imagine your group enjoying a dining experience including Frogmore Stew, an Oyster Roast, or a Lowcountry Crab Boil on the beautiful beach of a Barrier Island. Sandlapper Tours specializes in private boat charters and would love to entertain your guests with this unique and authentic Charleston harbor dinner cruise. This is definitely a special experience and is perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, engagements and any other celebratory and momentous occasions.

Charleston Nature Tours

Enjoy the natural beauty and breathtaking scenery of Charleston with our exquisite boat tours. Come aboard the Palmetto, see stunning sights, and have a delightful time with our tour guides. We have local naturalists and historians as guides, who are extremely knowledgeable, but they won’t bore you with details. Instead, they’ll make your trip even more fun and memorable with fascinating stories and interesting bits of Charleston’s rich history. Book our nature tour, and experience Charleston, its harbor, and Low country scenery like never before. You’ll definitely pick up some interesting facts about Charleston’s natural surroundings and hopefully spot some marine life.

Where we’re located

All boat tours and charters depart from the Charleston Maritime Center, located at 10 Wharfside Street, not far from the S.C. Aquarium. If you are unsure about anything, you are welcome to call us for more detailed directions.

Snacks, soft drinks, water, beer and wine are available for purchase so that you’ll never go hungry or thirsty on our boat tours. A restroom is available on the boat. Parking is available at the parking garage near the SC Aquarium and limited metered street parking along Concord Street.

Book Your Charleston Boat Tour

Space is limited on our Charleston Harbor tours, so book online today! Get ready for fun, history, and sights like you’ve never seen before. Join us to tour the Charleston Harbor. Booking is simple and easy, and you’re going to want to book a tour to ensure that you don’t miss out, especially if you’re only in the city for a limited amount of time.

Cruise the Charleston Harbor

The Charleston Harbor has long been the focal point of the city’s life and history. Come out for one of our Charleston Harbor tours, learn about Charleston and its surroundings and see the city from a different angle. The view is especially lovely during a Sunset Cruise, as the sun goes down behind the city, putting its famous church steeples in silhouette. There is something truly magnificent about viewing the city from this angle.

Charleston History

Charleston was originally located a few miles northwest and was established in 1670 by English colonists from Bermuda. By the late 1600s, the town had grown with settlers from England and Virginia, was moved to the present location, and had become a lively shipping port. From then until the Civil War, uncounted tons of rice, cotton, hides, lumber and ship stores left the wharves. Today, Charleston ranks among the top ten U.S. ports in the value of goods shipped.

Yet, Charleston is also known for its gracious beauty and Southern lifestyle, as evidenced by the lovely antebellum homes along Battery Row that you’ll learn about on our History tour. Also along the Battery is White Point Gardens, where many a pirate met the noose. Rumor has it that some of them still haunt the park…learn more during our Ghost Tour!

Charleston Harbor Sights

There are many natural areas around the harbor. The Ashley and Cooper Rivers merge right off the Peninsula and find their way out to sea through the harbor’s mouth. Near that mouth are barrier islands, marshlands and waterways just waiting to be explored. One of our favorites is Morris Island, only accessible by boat, with 840 uninhabited and untouched acres. We like it so much we take our Nature Tours out there for a visit, where you may see great blue herons and snowy egrets, learn about crabs and hopefully catch a glimpse of dolphins at play.

During the Civil War, Morris Island was a strategic point of defense for the Confederate Army. It saw heavy fighting when the Union Army attempted to take the city of Charleston, and the unsuccessful assault by the African-American regiment the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry resulted in casualties of more than half of their men. This event inspired the award-winning film Glory.

Also on our Harbor Boat Tour is the magnificent Ravenel Bridge, which is even more majestic when seen from the water. The towering cable-stayed suspension bridge over the Cooper River has two diamond-shaped towers that are over 500 feet high. The bridge is able to withstand shipping accidents, natural disasters, and wind gusts in excess of 300 mph — stronger than 1989’s Hurricane Hugo, the worst storm in Charleston’s history.

Other Charleston Harbor sights include Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, and Castle Pinckney, all of which played important roles in the city’s history. We can’t tell you about all of them here — you’ll have joined us to see them for yourself!

Make Memories For a Lifetime With Our Charleston Harbour Tours

The best way to truly get a feel for the city of Charleston is from the harbor. Whether you are a tourist or a long-term resident of the city, a Charleston Harbor tour will give you a new perspective on the USA’s most gorgeous and famous cities.

The Charleston Harbor Tour will allow you to make memories to last a lifetime. You’ll have the opportunity to spot ocean life and marine mammals, take incredible photographs from many interesting angles and perspectives, and even make friends while you’re at it! We guarantee you that you’ll learn something that you didn’t know before!

Spending money on experiences is far more rewarding than spending money on material items, and a Charleston Harbor tour is an experience that you don’t want to miss out on. That’s for sure. If you’re visiting Charleston, or you reside in Charleston, consider taking one of our harbor tours, for an experience never to be forgotten.

Join us for Charleston Harbor boat tour – Book online now!