Charleston Outdoor Adventures

My daughter and I had the best time on this incredible boat tour excursion and highly recommend it people of all ages. Our captain was extremely knowledgeable, funny, and went above and beyond during our tour. We were able to see and enjoy several dolphins throughout the entire day, as well as other marine life. My daughter especially enjoyed collecting sand dollars and seashells on the beach. This was truly a wonderful day! Thank you!

My son came to visit for a few days and we both wanted to get out on the water.Google is my adult go to and we found “Charleston Outdoor Adventure” kayaking in the Lowcountry. Our guide we were told at the front desk would be Mason. Mason’s enthusiasm for the local environment greatly enhance our tour with details about the ecosystem a plus. Whether looking for a great educational opportunity or to watch the sunsetting ,definitely a great experience. We found the pace of the tour to be relaxing ,fun for all ages and an enjoyable experience,accessible to both beginners and experienced kayakers.Definitely recommend. If looking for a bite to eat before or after your tour “Bowens Island restaurant” 11.00am-9.30pm right opposite COA closed on Sundays and Mondays.

We had an amazing sunset kayak trip, led by Jack, who was fun, knowledgeable and informative. We watched three pods of dolphins swim past and learned about the birds, the grasses, the history of the area and much more as we kayaked the waters around Bowen's Island. And we lucked out with a truly stunning sunset. Thank you for a wonderful experience!

We had a great time kayaking. Emily was so informative of the area and wildlife. She even got dirty with the fluff mud. Pretty easy kayaking, not very strenuous. No current to fight against. Nice and smooth there and back. Highly recommend.

What an incredible experience! We chose the Morris Island Lighthouse tour. Our tour guide, Tripp, was very knowledgeable and friendly. We really enjoyed not only seeing the beautiful scenery and wildlife, but also learning about it all. The boat ride was pleasant, and not too rough at all. The hour that we had for touring the island and seeing the lighthouse was sufficient. We found several sand dollars and saw a variety of different birds, including an Osprey with its prey! We definitely recommend this tour and hope to go back one day ourselves!

Loved this so much. My best experience of my whole Charleston Vacation! Saw dolphins swimming right next to the boat and many. Shore birds. The stop at Morris Island was awesome. I went a little overboard on the shell collecting, but so much fun. The guides were fun and knowledgeable about the area and pointed out many things of interest. 100% recommend this experience.

The oyster farm tour was incredible. Dan was the best guide, the sightseeing was great, the oysters were of course delicious, and I cannot recommend this experience enough. Very easy to book, very responsive to questions. Must-do in Charleston if you love oysters or ecology.

Had a great paddle out with Aidan. He’s very knowledgeable and kept our interest as he told us all about the wildlife and waterways. We saw a ton of dolphins who swam up close and looked us right in the eyes. Weather was perfect with the early start and cloudy skies. Really enjoyed it. Would do it again!

We had such an amazing time on the Lighthouse Tour. I wish we were able to do a longer adventure!!! Captain Dom was engaging, knowledgeable, professional, friendly and ensured we had a fantastic experience! Booking online was easy and we completed our waivers prior to our scheduled trip. Items I recommend to bring: bags for all your shells and a bottle for Shark teeth and water. I look forward to returning!

I decided to do something adventurous for my 47th birthday--I took an ecosystem kayak tour! Our tour guide was a nice young man named Josh, who was incredibly knowledgeable. He pointed out the different types of fish and birds we encountered, and we were even greeted by dolphins named Chandler and Joey (after the characters from Friends). I was a bit nervous getting on the kayak and initially asked to cut the tour down to an hour. But Josh was so personable that the two hours flew by! He even had to give me a tow at one point because I'm a little out of shape--but he didn't mind at all. This made my birthday one of the most enjoyable I've had. I'd definitely rate this company 11/10--from filling out the paperwork in the office to getting help on and off the boat. Absolutely wonderful company!

Came here as part of a bachelorette weekend activity! Our guide was KD and she was amazing! She was super encouraging and helpful for all levels of kayaking experience. The tour was pretty and not overly difficult. They also have SUP if that's more your style!

My wife and I were on our honeymoon, we have just started to get into shark tooth and fossil hunting. COA was a recommendation and WOW what an experience! The boat ride was pleasant, the guides pointing out resident dolphins and explaining the area in great detail. Cade was very informative and right to the point. He took off in search of teeth and fossils, and gave us some AWESOME tips and recommendations. I learned so much in a few hours, and he is a natural at finding fossils/teeth, but also identifying them. He also made sure that everyone on the boat found some cool stuff. Then on the way back, we saw sharks feeding (never saw that before) and even had a dolphin play in our wake. Truly memorable experience, and we are eager to go back again!

We are locals but this is our go to tour for out of town guest. We have taken this tour 4 times with different visitors and everyone loves it (and we learn something new each time as well)! The scenery is beautiful but it's the educational aspect that makes everyone walk away with an appreciation and respect for the lowcountry

This dolphin eco tour was amazing- we saw so many dolphins- learned about pelicans-oysters- the SC waters. Perfect length of tour for our 5&7yr old littles too- perfect mix of stopping and watching with going fast for my little guy. Captain Katie was lovely - very knowledgeable and personable. Highly recommended for a family outing. We did the 9:30 am excursion.

My partner and I took the Sunset eco tour in early April and we loved every second of it. The weather was perfect, and the boat was smooth, and we learned a lot about the local ecosystem and the marshes that are critical for the area. We saw plenty of dolphins, some even swam up to the boat. We had a chance to collect seashells and watch the sunset on the beach before returning to the dock. Overall, it was a wonderful experience and the best tour we went on in the area on our vacation. The price point was well worth the trip, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if visiting Charleston again.

Dallas took us out for the boat tour to Morris Island Lighthouse and had the whole boat laughing! We even learned the Latin names for a surprisingly wide array of birds and marine life. Love all the COA adventures I've been on; definitely a highlight of Charleston!

Family including a couple teenagers took the Outer Banks tour. Me never having seen the show could care less about the references to the show. The guy did a really good job of pointing out the history of the area and geography so it wasn't boring. The girls got to see things that they were interested in but it really wasn't the focus of the tour. Lots of dolphins. It was basically the same tour as the dolphin tour but we had the boat to ourself.

Did the fossil and shark tooth hunting tour and expectations were far exceeded. Cade was super knowledgeable and truly made us excited for each and every treasure we found. Dallas made the boat ride so much fun, educating us about the ecosystem, wildlife, and points of interest. Highly recommend this experience for anyone visiting or wanting to explore their own backyard

A COA kayaking tour is a MUST the next time you're staying in the Charleston area. We had an incredible experience from start to finish, and saw several dolphins during our tour!! There's nothing quite like being that close to wildlife ... and it's an experience we won't soon forget. These tours fill up quickly, especially on the weekends. We somehow managed to snag four reservations the day before for a Tuesday morning tour at 9 a.m. Although COA offers tours later on in the day, we think earlier is better, especially during the summer heat and humidity. The prices aren't bad either, in comparison to similar kayaking experiences around Charleston. While the COA folks will be the first to say that there's no guarantee that you'll see dolphins, we saw several during our tour! We ended up sitting in the middle of the channel for awhile as the dolphins fed on shrimp around us. We saw two separate mothers and babies -- and one even came right up to our kayaks! Our guide, Megan, was incredibly informative and helpful throughout our tour. Our group was a mix of beginners and more experienced kayakers, but Megan was encouraging and supportive from start to finish. She also eased our fears of alligators and sharks, saying gators don't typically venture out where we were on Folly Beach, and the sharks that do swim in those waters are smaller sharks who are more interested in eating crabs than eating you. COA offers both tandem and single kayaks -- and although we'd never used sea kayaks before, the pedals that control the rudder were easy enough to get the hang of once we got onto the water. It's safe to say this will become a tradition every time we visit Charleston, because even the possibility of seeing a dolphin in its natural habitat is exciting. COA is running an awesome operation for tourists and locals alike, and we can't wait to tour with them again soon!

I have used Charleston Outdoors for 5/6 times for redfish charters and always had good experiences. The Captains are friendly and do their best to get you on the fish. It's always a great outing for the family! Kid friendly too!

Had a great experience kayaking - Jack was extremely knowledgeable and an awesome guide

We had a great time with our guide Max. Weather was perfect! Max had a lot of knowledge to share and we enjoyed learning about our surrounding ecosystem and how valuable it is.

Captain Craig was amazing - Extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and funny! We truly had the best time. Took the 3:30-5:00 pm eco dolphin tour during sunset and saw SO so so many dolphins. I would recommend this to anyone visiting Charleston as a must do. This is a late December review (weather in the low 60s) and it wasn't too cold for us - just need a jacket. (My pictures don't do this experience justice btw)

Captain Craig took us on a dolphin tour, and it was excellent! We didn't see lots of dolphins (but enough!), and it was also interesting to learn about the flourishing ecosystem - something positive happening, for a change We had good views of Morrison Island Lighthouse too, and the water, the sky, and the surroundings were gorgeous. Book the tour, especially if you're visiting in October.

My family did the evening (5:30pm) kayak tour with Max as our guide, and it was fantastic. The weather was great, Max was extremely knowledgeable about the marsh, and we were able to see several dolphins during our time on the water. The tour was WELL worth the cost and certainly one of the high points of our Charleston vacation. I would definitely recommend COA and look forward to touring with them on my next trip to Charleston!

This was 100% worth the price. We did a dolphin sunset tour! One of the best days of my life . We saw lots and lots of mama dolphins and their babies!! So much fun! It was $44 a person!

We've been in the area for 12 years and often rent a tour for guests and while we've always had good luck, but this exceeded our expectations. Our grandson is 4 and isn't always open to 'adventures' but we'd seen some excitement in him to explore lately and thought it was time to give it a try. This 1.5 hr. tour of views and dolphins was a perfect trip. Meeting on Bowen Island, near the restaurant of some fame, is their office. Plenty of parking, very pleasant employees, and a decent price for a quick trip on the water. Capt. Josh was engaged with the guests, always pausing the trip every time we saw dolphins or anything of interest. (an island, a lighthouse, a shipwreck that is now a coral reef). This really was the perfect trip for a little one to enjoy their time on the water!!

Our family of 4 took the Outer Banks Tour with Captain Katie. We visited many filming locations of the Netflix show Outer Banks. Katie knew all the best spots to visit and was very familiar with the show. This was a great hour and a half for Outer Banks fans! Beyond the filming locations, Katie also took her time to show many pods of dolphins. She is very knowledgeable about the area and local wildlife which made this trip even better.

Positives: professional staff Why the trip wasn't right for me: Was primarily a 3 hour kayak in the marsh with limited wildlife sighting. For me it wasn't enough pausing for when we did see wildlife. Just a 3 hour kayak around the 7 mile loop.

We realize weather is unpredictable, however I feel the outfit could have been more prepared and organized. Winds were 30+ mph, choppy water and tide coming in. Our group of 7 had 5 very experienced kayakers and 2 with no experience. A total of 3 groups (each with their own guide) were departing at the same time. It was chaotic and instructions were given by 2 helpers onshore. Five of us were told by a helper to paddle to the right. Our guide ended up being 10 minutes behind us due to helping two inexperienced of the group. The 5 of us were battling wind, waves and current trying to wait for others. The guide finally arrived and snarked at us for not waiting even though we were waiting as best we could in the area instructed by the helper. It set a bad tone for the tour. We kayaked a few more minutes and were told to go a different way to try to get out of the wind so we backtracked. We saw the osprey nest and not much else. We couldn't hear the guide's comments since he was in front and it was so windy. We started late and ended early and didn't really go that far. If the conditions weren't favorable for going out, the tour should have been canceled.

My husband and I loved the fossil tour! The tour is 4 hours and consists of a half an hour boat ride to Morris island, 3 hours of hiking and a half hour boat ride back. During the boat ride we enjoyed views of the marsh, seeing dolphins and listening to the guide talk about the different fossils we could find! Once we got to the island the guides led the hike and taught us tips for spotting shark teeth! My husband and I quickly learned and were able to find many fossilized teeth! We both had so much fun! The group was about 20 people and everyone seemed to really enjoy it! There were kids, an elderly couple and young couples as well! The hike itself is long but different groups went at different paces. I would definitely recommend bringing good walking shoes, plenty of water, bug spray and a hat. I would also recommend doing the tour in the spring so that it isn't too hot! We enjoyed a nice 70 degree day but there is not a lot of shade on the island and could get very hot in the summer! The tour was about $80 which I found to be a reasonable price considering the length, boat ride and expertise of the guides. I was really impressed by naturalists Cade and Tripp's knowledge! Overall I would definitely recommend this hike! It seemed like all age groups really enjoyed it, the guides were knowledgeable and it would be good for both tourists and locals looking to learn more about the area, enjoy a nice boat ride and find incredible fossils!

Rented Tandem Kayak for a date day. Really nice knowledgeable staff. We explore the creeks, tidal flats, and estuaries of the Lowcountry at our own pace. It was really relaxing and unwinding as you paddle through the quiet waterways behind Folly Beach. The staff was really nice and helped get ready for our excursion. He gave us some pointers and a safety briefing on how to paddle. Looking to go there again for some guided tour in the future heard about the fossil tours and my husband is a fan of shark tooth collecting, so I think he would like it a lot.

We took the Morris Island trip and it was wonderful! We saw several dolphins and picked up some amazing seashells. Captain George was so knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly! I made the mistake of not reading the reviews so I missed the part that our feet would get wet and we should bring something to carry the shells in. Most people would probably consider that common sense though

We had Capt. Dallas, and he was awesome! He was very friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating. He did a great job of slowing down anytime a dolphin was spotted and maneuvering the boat around so everyone could see. My 76 year old mother was with us, and she used a wheelchair. Dallas had no problem helping get her on and off the boat. He even pushed her back up to the parking lot because there was a large party going on, so he said he was loud enough to get everyone out of the way.

Highly recommend the Morris Island Lighthouse Tour! Captain George was amazing! Our bachelorette group had a wonderful time, we saw over 10 dolphins even on a cold February morning, enjoyed learning about the ecology of the area and found so many sand dollars and shells walking the island! Captain George was incredibly knowledgeable and made sure we all had the chance to find sand dollars and shark teeth to bring home with us, he was very thoughtful!

Excellent dolphin tour. Exactly as advertised and then some. We saw entire pods of 10-12 dolphins, with some pods having 5 dolphins come up at a time! The captain, Josh, was very knowledgable about the Folly River and its animal inhabitants. This was one of the best dolphin tours I have ever been on.

Definitely recommend! It was beautiful and we had a blast. We saw a ton of dolphins since it was high tide, and learned about the wildlife. It was an easy trip, and great for beginners!

We did the fossil hunting tour with Cade and Jason and had an incredible time. Josh was great and extremely knowledgeable on the not only the area and also the local wildlife. Cade was our fossil guide and made the experience great. Would totally recommend this tour, we had a blast and will definitely be bringing more visitors on this tour!

Fabulous tour from a very knowledgeable and friendly guide. Clean boat with a smooth ride and helpful staff.

Highly recommended tour while in South Carolina. Cade was an amazing guide full of knowledge!

An unnecessarily good, friendly, helpful place. Full of people who love the water and want you to love it too (even if you make a mistake on it).

Great kayak tour near Charleston. Tour guide was knowledgeable and fun to be with. Well run and organized company.

Joe is an excellent tour guide, teacher, nature enthusiast, boat captain and advocate for Charleston. Our family of 6 thoroughly enjoyed our eco tour to the Morris Island and the lighthouse with Joe. He is entertaining, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, kind and quite safety conscious. What more could we ask from this experience? We saw dozens and dozens of dolphins, lots of Great Blue Herons and egrets. We were delighted with our experience and highly recommend it!! Best of all, it was a blast!!

Captain Bo was incredible. He was funny, knew all the things, and was excellent at maneuvering the boat around. I cannot rate this experience highly enough.

Awesome trip out to see the dolphins, and there were many, along with other wildlife. Our guide, Craig was both friendly and knowledgable. I totally recommend this event.

We went on the sunset dolphin tour last night and had the most amazing time! Highly recommend everyone enjoying this experience! Captain Luke made it all the more memorable, with his excellent customer service and knowledge. He was very engaging and made the experience so much more fun. The dolphins were very active and we got some amazing pictures, video and memories to last a lifetime. Book your dolphin tour and don't forget to ask for Captain Luke. He was the best!

My sister was in town with her two boys (9 & 12) and wanted a fun fishing trip. I had just gone on a kayaking tour with COA in July with my in-laws, so we decided to try out their fishing charters. Our Kayaking trip was a blast! We were not disappointed! We went to three different fishing holes and the fish were biting in each hole. We all caught fish and our biggest one was a 29 inch Red fish. The boys had a blast and even both caught one at the same time! Tripp was our Captain and he was very knowledgeable about the area and worked great with the boys. He taught them how to cast and gave great tips about fishing. It was a cold day, but we still had a blast! Best part was we got to keep three of our fish and enjoyed them the next night for dinner. Captain Tripp and Captain Joe gave us tips on how to cook our fish! COA was very fast and responsive when we were booking this. I will be booking with them again for all my friends and family visiting from out of town.

Our guide was great! He was knowledgeable and charismatic, ensuring a fun experience.

On a vu PLEIN de dauphins!!! C'était très sympa. Les bateaux sont petits et proches de l'eau ce qui est un point positif pour voir les dauphins!

Our tour guide was Dallas, and he was excellent! He was animated, took the time to remember all of our names, and knew a lot about the area. We saw dolphins and many birds including the bald eagle. The island is covered in shells so I would bet no matter which tour you chose, the morning or sunset you would find lots of shells. We went on the morning tour, it was cool and windy. I wore jeans and had a jacket on. You do not get into the water at all, but the sand on the island can be wet if you are concerned about your shoes. They do have a bathroom on site, it was clean and easily accessible. Definitely recommend this tour. BTW part of the road to the check-in area is gravel and covered in potholes.

This kayak tour was so fun! Our tour guide , Christopher, was super informative and passionate about his job! I learned many new things about South Carolinas salt marshes! Highly recommend this kayak tour!

The 2 hour marsh kayak tour was super cool on its own, but Dallas aka Captain sallaD was truly the highlight! He was absolutely hilarious, shared his knowledge of birds and the marsh, and just kept us entertained the whole time with his jokes and kayak tricks. He learned our names right away and was incredibly personable and helpful throughout the tour. On our tour we received word of some dolphin sightings so we deviated from the plan and got to see dolphins flipping around in the water. Throughout the tour we saw at least 5-6 dolphins, and were surprised to learn that they can be seen all year round. COA was very easy to work with and we had a blast on our tour. Special thanks to Captain sallaD and the team for making everything run smoothly while having fun!

I have used Charleston outdoor adventures a few times for various excursions. I have rented paddleboard's a handful of times, and took the excursion boat ride to Morris Island lighthouse. Both experiences have been very pleasant, the staff is always very helpful and professional. I had a lot of fun on both; the paddle boarding is more of an independent adventure whereas guided tours are more of a group activity. I loved exploring Morris island and found plenty of shells!

We had such a wonderful time on this boat cruise. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and we learned so much about the Charleston marsh. He was also so fun and made the cruise even more enjoyable. There was so much wildlife. We saw dolphins numerous times during the cruise. We had a 5 and 7 year-old with us and they had a great time on the cruise and during the stop at Morris Island Lighthouse. Highly recommend!!!

We recently went on another boat tour to Morris Island. This time we used Charleston Outdoor Adventures (COA). We were lucky enough to have Captain Luke. His knowledge of the land and eco systems were amazing. Among taking us to Morris Island, he also showed us a once in a lifetime view of fresh water dolphins strand feeding. Where dolphins push fish up on land then breach themselves to eat the fish. We also got an interesting lesson on marsh grass and mud and how it involves Charleston.i was definatly not expecting this caliber of tour and will most definitely be using them again. Your the best Captain Luke!

Great tour to see the dolphind. Josh was a great captain and helped us with my 85 year old mom. Sherry Elliott

We had so much fun on our sunset kayak tour! Our guide had so much valuable information about the marsh and we saw lots of amazing wildlife (yes... including dolphins). This tour is well worth the price and I feel so lucky to have stumbled across their website.