Best way to get to the island - thanks to Colby for great customer service!…read moreBook early if you're there during a big event!

As a local, we LOVE LOVE LOVE the Daniel Island Ferry. It's one of Charleston's best kept secrets…read morein my opinion. The captain and staff are incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and go out of their way to help you in any way they can. When I first heard of the DI Ferry, I imagined a barge-like boat going 2mph carrying 50 cars on it. Wrong. Mega wrong. It's a private chartered boat that takes you to/from/around Charleston. Every single time we take the DI Ferry, we see dolphins. Every. Single. Time. It's so beautiful and relaxing to be on the water and really makes me miss my boating days. Also, for those who enjoy spirits, there is a nice bar on board as you're serenaded with beachy country and reggae music. 10/10 would recommend! You can't find a better (or less expensive) way to see Charleston as only a local could.

Friendly captain and crew; they were timely and relaxed; we even got to see some dolphins!…read more Well worth it! I wish the signs to find the spots were more prevalent so visitors can find them easily

This was a great impromptu edition to our family time in Charleston! The staff were polite and…read morecourteous. We found the ride to picturesque and relaxing. A definite must do when visiting Charleston!

Thornton was a terrific captain and guide through the rivers behind Hunting Island in search of…read moredolphins and other wildlife. He found pods of dolphins for us to observe, a few birds (it was high tide). A very capable pilot, Thornton was at his best as a wildlife interpreter of the tidal wetland ecology and its conservation. A fabulous tour!

My school came here today (May 21, 2026) and we had a great time! We went to Drum Island and before…read morethat, we went kayaking, both times I've had an amazing experience! 5 stars!

A history wonder but pricy to enjoy. Parking rip off! Entry tickets $23 for adults. $21 for kids…read more6-12. Boat ride $29. Tour allows 60 minutes on island but you only need 30.

The boat tour over to Fort Sumter was very informative, which made the time pass. I was…read moredisappointed we only got an hour on site, I would have liked about 15 more minutes. It was really cool to see the raising of the flag. There was part of the fort that was being worked on but most of it was open. Definitely worth seeing.

Ten out of ten experience with Emma and Caroline here! It was SO simple and quick to book a paddle…read moreboard excursion the day before, and everything went to smoothly. These girls also definitely know what they're doing! The paddle boards are clean and in good shape and you get such a good amount of time out on the water for a good price. Couldn't recommend this place more!

This company runs ferry services with tours of Bull's Island and St. Phillips Island, which I've…read morereviewed separately. Those are great. The company also run various canoe and kayak tours, which have been a bit of a nightmare for me. The Lowcountry wetlands are fantastic and demand to be experienced close up, and many of the tour options sound great. They run quite infrequently, and even when offered, have been unreliable in my experience. To some extent, this can be attributed to weather and varying demand, which is a hassle but is part of the business. Wisely, they don't actually charge you money until you are actually at your tour doing stuff. However, I haven't forgiven them for the one time I made an online reservation at the last minute only to drive to a site at 6 AM and find the tour was canceled, with no one around to answer the phone and an active listing still on their website. They were apologetic, but didn't really do much for me. When tours are unavailable, I keep getting calls asking me to reschedule for another day, which strikes me as tone-deaf. There may be a market of people who hang around waiting for a midweek spot to open up, but I would think that many of us are tourists who aren't there for very long (I'm rarely in Charleston for more than 48 hours, and it takes a lot for me to get there at all), and even the locals I assume must have jobs. If I scheduled for X day, I probably want to do something on X day. What's also irritating is that their website, while flashy, doesn't have a calendar. You have to search through a dozen infrequently offered niche tours to see if you can find something that's available when you're available rather than just seeing what is launching on the day that you're around and free. They really don't seem to get my needs in that regard. When I finally, after frankly a year of trying, found a kayak tour that actually fit my schedule, it was beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, and some hard work. Wildlife abounds, and my trip through the Kiawah River area yielded sightings - albeit sometimes fleeting ones - of everything from a roseate spoonbill to a dolphin trapping fish against an oyster bar. The people running the tours and the equipment are good enough, and while these things aren't cheap I still leave a tip. The scenery delivers, but this tour company hasn't always met my expectations. I'm just not aware of anyone else that gives you the same chance to see this particular environment.

The guided boat tour experience was wonderful. The tour guide's sense of humor was definitely a…read moreplus! I highly recommend Charleston Habor Tours .

We took visiting friends on a Charleston Historic Harbor Tour on a beautiful, sunny, calm Friday in…read moreMarch. Captain, crew & vessel all met and exceeded our expectations. Great, welcoming, friendly and informative. We highly recommend. Jim & Friends

I really enjoyed this tour. It was easy to book online and find the meeting spot at the visitor's…read morecenter. The guide was kind, knowledgeable and funny. I love that he used pictures and signs to demonstrate some of the people and information that he was talking about. The bus was clean and comfortable. I learned a lot on this tour and would recommend.

This tour wasn't what I thought it would be. I thought we would be going around to various Gullah…read moresites, getting off periodically, and snapping photos. But guide Alphonso Brown had other plans. And that's okay. The two hour tour is totally on the bus. There is no getting off and you're driving around town. It's not all Gullah based. You learn more about Black/African American history overall. But Alphonso is the real gem/lesson here. Alphonso speaks Gullah and he will teach you some too. And even when he is speaking "normally," or in "English," he still has a dialect that is musical and enthralling. For all those complaining about having to work so hard to follow him--get over it! It's LITERALLY the BEST part of this tour! You toddle around town in an air conditioned bus, listening to history, fun stories, and seeing a ton of Charleston architecture (including numbers Philip Simmons gates). Alphonso will tell you where to go, where not to go, what to do, what not to do. He does not mince words. I asked about renowned hero Robert Smalls and he told me Robert Smalls was no hero! He also said George Washington had children (and I've been taught the opposite of that my whole life, so I'm off go down rabbit holes). I loved listening to Mr. Brown's lyrical dialect. Learning about his culture. Learning about Charleston. It was like having a chauffeur take you around to parts of town you wouldn't have thought about visiting. He was fun, energetic. And yes, I bought his book at the gift shop (all bus tours leave from the visitors center), and I had him sign it! This is a unique experience you won't get anywhere else. Thank you to the amazing Alphonso Brown.

We had a delightful cruise around Charleston harbor. Saw dolphins and learned so much. Our tour…read moreguide was a treasure - retired Air Force pilot who is extremely knowledgeable and delivers a very informative tour. Other staff were friendly and professional. Highly recommend!

Had an amazing time on the 2-hr harbor cruise. They do well accommodating large groups…read more The food was pretty good and the service was awesome. Short rib was so tender, only needed a little salt. She crab soup was full of flavor, with crab pieces in every bite. Desserts were just okay. The cheesecake was better than the chocolate. Carolyn had the best attitude and was very attentive! I'd definitely do this again.

The IOP marina is and has been a staple of the island forever…read more Need to drop a boat? IOP Marina Need a quick bite? IOP Marina Need some gas before running out? IOP Marina. Need a dock to watch the sunset? You got it, IOP Marina. Tommy and the gang have been keeping it real on the island for as long as any islander can remember. Thank you guys, and keep it up!

When you must insist on some discount when they do not have power…read more.... Poorly managed marina. Arrived as a transient for two days over Christmas. to no electricity - ok we have a generator so that's fine but that also means no perimeter security gates, no Wifi, no lights on piers. Not clean. Animal waste on grass (blame the dog owners but can't site maintenance also help?) hubby says mens bathhouse smells of dead animal and is so filthy he can't use. Layout of marina provides no sight lines from dock office to transient slips, thus no security. Nickel and dime you to on everything- washer, dryer, parking, meters are on the water so soon they will charge for that as well etc. Loud ongoing construction. Slips on the ICW so a passing fishing skiffs and the local ferry rocks and rolls you- all day, all night. Worst marina along entire Intracoastal Waterway. IMHO

When deciding on what night to enjoy a boat rides opted for Weds as the extra ticket cost seemed…read morejustified to cover the cost of a few adult beverages. Sadly, they were unprepared and my friend and I could only enjoy 1 beverage because they ran out within 35 minutes of pulling away from the dock and 15 of this minutes were spent under cover due to heavy rain. Perhaps in the future you allocate 3 tickets per person and you bring in enough seltzer and beer to accommodate for that. Not like it cannot be used the next night

We took a Sunset Cruise on a Friday evening and it was a lot better than I thought it would be. I…read morethought it would be a ferry type of boat but instead it was a catamaran with some chairs on the floor. Judging from the group of Ke$has sitting on one side of the boat and the obscene amount of selfies they have taken before the boat has even launched and the very loud group of men at the back of the boat who all have the same buzzcut, Sperrys, khaki shorts, and pastel polos, I was afraid this would become a booze cruise that I probably should've experienced 15 years ago. Instead, here we were, a group of late 30-somethings looking to have a relaxing sunset cruise. Well, as we headed out to the harbor, the speakers were playing reggae and the drinks were flowing (there's a bar on the boat). Well, this 2-hour-ish cruise ended up being perfect! Yes, the college kids on vacation were loud. However, they were very respectful and weren't too rowdy. With this cruise you definitely see the sunset, Fort Sumter, and the entire harbor. Eventually, the boat started playing country music (which isn't my favorite). However, being in the South and being on a boat in the middle of the Charleston Harbor; I couldn't think of a better soundtrack actually. However, this cruise was the only time in the South where I've ever felt like "the other". One of the Ke$has kept on referring to my friend and I as the Asians. I know she meant no harm but gosh does being called the Asians really make you feel like sticking out like a sore thumb. Rather than being "those people over there" or simply "that guy and girl over there"......we were the Asians on the boat. Nevermind the fact that both my friend and I probably had about 10 years on them on being American. Well, anyway, not really related to the boat so I don't dock (ha!) them any points for that encounter. I guess that actually just adds to the "Southern Experience". Still, I recommend it! Red's also has great food so there's that.