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Day Trips to Charleston
4.3
240 Ratings
Myrtle Beach
Experience an exclusive inside tour of Fort Sumter on a Charleston day trip from Myrtle Beach. Includes transportation, carriage tour, boat tour, lunch, and more!
Duration:
12 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
South Carolina - Our package includes:
Horse Drawn Carriage Tour of Charleston’s Historic District
Shopping Time at the City Market
A Boat Tour of Charleston Harbor
A Box Lunch on the Tour Boat
A live narrated Harbor History Tours
See up close views of Fort Sumter (where the Civil War began)
A Tour of Boone Hall Plantation
Round Trip Transportation aboard our Motorcoach - Old South Carriage Company - A Horse Drawn Carriage Tour of Charleston’s Historic District. You will see many mansions of the wealthy during the leisurely pace through the largest Historic District in America. Most building in Charleston predate the Civil War.
- Charleston City Market - You have some free time after your carriage tour to browse the City Market which is four blocks long. There are many vendors that sell local arts and crafts.
- Fort Sumter National Monument - Get up close views of Fort Sumter. Learn more about this historic fort, best known for the “First Shot of the Civil War” on the love narrated harbor history tour. You can enjoy your box lunch while on the tour boat, full bar service available onboard.
- Charleston Harbor Tours - Live narrated 90 Minute harbor history tour.
- Boone Hall Plantation - This is the Most Photographed Plantation in America. You get a guided house tour, a tour of the original slave cabins and much more.
What's Included
- Lunch included
- Air-conditioned transportation
Additional Information
We have packaged our tour in such a way that you will experience Charleston much better and less expensive than if you drove to Charleston from Myrtle Beach and attempted to tour Charleston on your own. This package includes everything below:
- Round trip transportation to Charleston from Myrtle Beach aboard our bus
- Horse drawn Carriage Tour of Charleston’s Historic District
- Shopping Time at the City Market
- Boat Tour of Charleston Harbor
- Lunch on the Boat Tour
- See stunning views of Fort Sumter
- Tour of Boone Hall Plantation
- Not recommended for travelers under age 4
Location
Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach
Celebrity Circle
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.3
(240 Ratings)
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Sai_s
Jun 28, 2024
Love the Boone Hall Plantation tour the most! - We really enjoyed the Boone Hall Plantation, very educational and all the tour guides were really good. But we didn’t care much for the boat tour. The carriage tour ride was nice but hard to hear the tour guide at the very back of the carriage, wish we had chosen to do the bus ride tour instead. Wish we would have been able to spend more time at the market place. Over all, we loved it.
Review provided by Viator
Keith_b
Jun 19, 2024
Day Trip to Charleston - We really enjoyed the carriage ride around Charleston, learning about the history of the city. Would have loved to have had a little more time to explore the market, but the boat ride out to Ft. Sumter was wonderful. Boone Hall Plantation was a great experience as well.
Review provided by Viator
Diane_f
Jun 14, 2024
Charleston day tour #7 - Fun tour. The day went by faster than I thought it would. Bus driver, Al, was very kind and patient despite a few people arriving late that pushed back the schedule. He remained professional and non-blaming. He gave clear instructions as to the bus location and time to board at each stop for activities. The carriage tour was great; informative and humorous. The plantation tour was great with informative posters and audios to learn about the ways of life in a bygone era. Harbor tour was informative. Lunch was so-so. Chips and cookie good, sandwich short on the meat slices (only one slice).
Review provided by Viator
Briannact1786vw
Jun 13, 2024
Definitely worth it! - This was an awesome experience. It was just a taste of Charleston and made us want to go back just to visit there. The ride was a little long. People in our group were late and caused us to lose out on market time which was disappointing. But not too bad. The market seemed pretty repetitive so if we went through one stall, it’s kind of the same thing over and over. A lot like the market in New Orleans. The carriage tour was fantastic. Although actually riding in a horse drawn carriage was a little uncomfortable, it was awesome to see everything up close. The history was marvelous! The boat tour was a little disappointing for me. It was longer than I would have liked and the lunch was nothing great. A sub sandwich, kettle chips, a cookie and a drink. Boone Hall was amazing and I could have spent a whole day there! Very special history with original slave quarters. That is extremely rare and I’m not sure if there is anywhere else that has those. Overall it was a lovely experience and we are already discussing a trip to Charleston in the future !
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Miguel_a
Jun 4, 2024
Charleston excursion - A beautiful day with a beautiful trip. Everything was great from the bus to the plantation. Definitely do it again.
Review provided by Viator
Charles_s
Jun 17, 2024
Charleston Tour #7 from Myrtle Beach - We enjoyed the horse-drawn carriage ride and the visit to the plantation but were disappointed that the boat did not stop at Fort Sumter.
Review provided by Viator
Mcharbonnea
Jun 18, 2024
Boone Hall was a Highlight - Boone Hall was the highlight, but the value for money wasn’t quite there for me. I’m not sure if the 3 hour bus ride to Charleston really increased the price, but it seemed overly expensive for what we got.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jane_w
May 18, 2024
Just okay - #7 Charleston day trip from Myrtle Beach - The #7 Charleston day trip from Myrtle Beach was just okay. If you want to get a taste of Charleston and aren't comfortable driving there yourself, this tour will give you that - a small, somewhat bland taste of it. But this tour doesn't touch on all the highlights (no Rainbow Row or Kings St., etc.) or give you a feel for the culture, shopping, & foodie scene in this beautiful town. For that, you'll have to travel there on your own, which I'd recommend if you can swing it. (Recommended itinerary is at the end of the review.)
We took this #7 tour from MB on a weekday in mid May. Unfortunately, our tour started off on the wrong foot, first with a late pick-up and then with a different type of bus than was promised. The tour company calls each party the day before your tour to confirm the pickup location and time. Instead of telling those with a hotel pickup to be ready no later than 6:30am, they were told 6:45am, so our scheduled 6:45am pickup at Ripley's Aquarium was 20min. late. Then, instead of a coach motorbus with a rest room, as advertised, we were picked up by a minibus with no rest room. Our very capable bus driver, Wendy, told us the coach was in Charleston for repairs but we may have it for the ride back to MB. We didn't. It appeared that we were put on the minibus because there were too few people booked for that day's tour - not quite even enough fill the minibus. We would have appreciated some notice of this substitution. They did call us to confirm travel the day before our trip, so that would've been a good time to tell us about the bus substitution. One member of our party has medical issues sometimes necessitating an urgent bathroom visit, which is why the motorcoach with a bathroom was appealing. Another in our group sometimes gets car sick, so the smoother ride of a coach is better for her. Our minibus did make a stop about halfway to Charleston (& on the way back) at very nice truck stop that had bleach-clean bathrooms and a large minimart, but it's not the same as having a bathroom on board a comfortable, roomy coach for the two-hour drive there and back, not to mention while traveling from one tour stop to the next.
Our first stop was just outside Charleston at a Visitor's Center to disembark those who were taking the bus tour of Charleston instead of the carriage ride (us) or enjoying City Market shopping time. The rest of us traveled on to our first real stop about a block behind City Market where we picked up our carriage tour of Charleston. While the morning ride was pleasant - the weather wasn't too hot or humid (common in Charleston) - our carriage driver & guide, Hunter, was lackluster. He was very friendly and affable, with good control of the horse, Ron, but he was not the most informative guide. Other driver/guides we passed seemed to be very animated, upbeat, and talkative, sharing the history of the town and the sights. Our driver apologetically yawned a lot throughout the trip, provided a little history, and mostly just entertained questions from the group, although he didn't always have answers. One person asked about the marker we had passed for the 1919 riots and he didn't know what it was about. A member of the group Googled it and then told us all the story. It was a Monday morning, so maybe we got him at bad time after a rough weekend or something.
After the carriage ride, we all disembarked at the carriage stables & were left to find our own way out of the place, past the horses & all the gear. (An escort through all of that would have been nice.) We had about 20 minutes left after the carriage ride to walk through City Market, which was about all we could do - walk through. Despite what the tour advertises, there really wasn't time to shop the several blocks of market buildings with hand-crafted items and specialty shops if you opted for the carriage ride. The Market's merchandise seemed rather unique and interesting but tourist-pricey.
We had to find our own way back to the bus drop-off point behind City Market by the allotted time, which wasn't too difficult, though it's a good thing we came prepared for walking on the uneven surfaces and old bricks that are in that part of town. The minibus then headed off for the harbor boat ride and lunch. When we were dropped off along the street, Wendy pointed us in the right direction to walk the block or so to the boat dock. Be aware that there is no escort to each of the activities and no narration on the bus rides. You only get transportation to each activity and are given a return time to be back on the bus. But you could leave items on the bus since the driver stayed with it the entire time, which was helpful.
The harbor tour was on the Carolina Belle, and she is certainly showing her age. Passengers could sit up top in the open air (on hard, uncomfortable seats), which most did since it was an overcast day. Or you could sit down below in the air-conditioned, somewhat musty smelling and very dated interior. Down there were tall surrounding windows to enjoy the views (except for one with several bullet holes that was covered in plastic). There also were several round tables with plastic table cloths and well-worn but padded chairs to sit on. This is where we sat to eat the bagged lunch we got when we embarked (included with our tour but not with standard Belle tickets). We were also given our choice of a fountain soft drink or a bottle of water. The 'boxed' lunch came in a bag and consisted of half a sub roll with a slice or two of turkey, lettuce (smelled of preservatives) & tomato, a bag of chips, and a package of two chocolate chip cookies. Don't take this tour for the food, bring your own if this 'boxed' lunch isn't appealing.
The harbor tour was rather uneventful. We sailed in a U-shape around Ft. Sumpter and back, but didn't get close enough to the fort to see much of anything except the island it was on and the flagpole. The captain narrated most of the trip, noting some points of interest, and relaying some history in an animated narrator voice. He pointed out the vintage aircraft carrier Yorktown across the harbor (tours available) and the island where some celebrities have homes.
The highlight of the trip was Boone Plantation, which was our final stop and about a half-hour drive from the harbor. We spent the most time here at over 2hrs. On our own, we toured the gardens, the small visitor's building that details the history of the plantation & its various owners, the slave quarters, each with its own different exhibits, and stopped for some ice cream in the little shop that also has prepared salads, sandwiches and snacks. The #7 trip includes the 25-min. guided tour of the plantation house, which was interesting for those who like history, culture, and architecture. Note that only the 1st floor of the house is open to tours because the upper floors are still occasionally in use.
Our favorite part of the plantation was the talk on Gullah culture given outdoors (under shade) by a descendant of one of the slaves. She sang traditional Gullah songs, spoke of their significance as a code for enslaved people, and how they laid the foundation for many later types of music and songs, which she also sang - and invited the audience to join in for those that were familiar. She shared lots of information about the Gullah history, culture, crafts and stories, painting a vibrant picture of the Gullah people and their survival. Definitely a highlight not to be missed! From the plantation, we headed back to MB for our drop-off, after another visit to the truck stop for a bathroom and snack break on the return trip.
If you do this tour, be prepared for a very long day. We left our resort in Grand Dunes at 6:15am and got back around 7pm. I'd suggest packing your own food and beverages and taking some cash - everyone expected a tip or donation, including the bus driver. If it's important to you, ask about the bus you're getting - wish we had done that. But, if you want to really experience Charleston, go there on your own, take a carriage ride, spend some time shopping at City Market and along Kings Street (but look for bargains elsewhere), check out Rainbow Row, maybe take the boat trip to Ft. Sumpter and do a tour of it and/or the Yorktown if you're into the history, and head out to Boone Plantation (allow 2-3hrs. there). Then, book reservations at one of the many great places to eat in this Southern foodie town before heading back to MB, or spending the night Charleston. There's more than enough to see and do for two days if you're into it.
Review provided by Viator
Nthabiseng_f
Aug 22, 2024
Disappointed - The tour was unorganized. There was a lot of meet me here and there . The driver seemed to be in such a rush. It was really annoying. I did this tour in New York with this company and I kind of expected the same professionalism but it was not here. Disappointed
Review provided by Viator
Gloria_a
Jun 28, 2024
Poor hospitality & disorganized. - Best part was the harbor tour. The rest we experienced poor hospitality. No communication with guide or driver after giving our name. Timing issues. Dropped at wrong site.
Review provided by Viator