Sandlapper Water Tours

Everyone in our group had such a wonderful time, from pre-teens to grandparents we all loved it!! We did the ghost evening boat tour and it was so beautiful being out in the harbor seeing the gorgeously lit homes and skyline from the water and going under the bridge. The story-telling kept everyone on the edge of their seat and even laughing between being spooked. Great music and fun times the whole evening!

We just visited Charleston, South Carolina for the first time. Heard that this water tour is spectacular and the guys make it very fun. Victor and Captain Mike were outstanding tour guides and entertainment specialist during the two hour cruise. Definitely need to book with these guys. They’re absolutely awesome. The music is fantastic and they have a bar on the boat. Go prepared to have fun and if you’re a stick in the mud, they will help you find your way to having a blast.

We did the Sunset Tour with Captain Mike and we enjoyed every minute! This isn't a boring narrated tour, there is music and the captain tells entertaing stories throughout the trip. We were able to get beautiful pictures of the harbor at sunset as well! We HIGHLY recommend this tour company for a harbor boat tour while in Charleston. You won't be disappointed!

We booked this tour just a few days in advance without knowing what to expect, as we were visiting from Canada. It ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. The staff were excellent from the start. We arrived early and were welcomed and checked in right away. The group size was small, which made the experience more personal. Instead of using a speaker system, the crew spoke directly with us, which made it feel more like a conversation than a tour. The naturalist on board shared tons of interesting facts about the local wildlife and ecosystem, and the captain was both funny and informative. On the way to the island stop, we were lucky enough to see a pod of dolphins. The time on the island was relaxed, and we even found some beautiful shells and other ocean treasures. We’d absolutely recommend this tour to anyone visiting the Charleston harbor area. The location is close to other attractions, so it’s easy to fit into a full day out in the city.

We had such a great time on the Harbor Sunset Cruise! I actually didn’t want to go because I was worried about getting motion sickness, but I’m so glad we decided on going. It was a very smooth boat ride. Captain Mike and Victor were absolutely amazing!! They kept us entertained, as well as informed about Charleston’s history. I’d recommend this cruise, and added bonus if you get to ride with Captain Mike and Victor!

Loved our sunset cruise on the Palmetto! Staff was friendly and fun. The dolphins (and sky) put on a show, the boat was clean, the music playlist was fun and we enjoyed hearing all the factoids about the Charleston harbor and sites. The sky, which was gloomy and cloudy when we departed, gave us the most beautiful low country sunset I have seen in a while. Highly recommend this for a laid back, enjoyable evening with friends and family!

Our crew had the best time on the Carolina Blue with Captain Robbie! The private sunset cruise through the Charleston Harbor was absolutely beautiful. Kids, teens, and adults all had a great time — it was fun and relaxing for everyone. We couldn’t have asked for a better evening in the Holy City!

Captain Mike and Vic were awesome! My sister and I visited for fall break, and we attended the ghost/pirate tour. It was easily the best part of our trip, and I look forward to coming back! The boat was clean, safe, and easily accessible. Captain Mike and Vic were both southern charm and hospitality personified. They’re so knowledgeable and genuinely care about your trip! 10/10

We had Captain Mike and Victor as our tour guides for the ghost tour. They both were great!! Mike had fantastic stories and victor took great care of us. Would definitely recommend!!

We had a great time with Mike & Chase! We would definitely recommend! Loved seeing the dolphins and Charleston from the water!!

Great sunset cruise! Very low key but fun at the same time and informative too. Captain Mike was awesome. Highly recommend!

Last night we went on the haunted harbor tour. This is not a tour for children. Which was perfect for my group. We learned some cool stories about Charleston. The tour guide was knowledgeable but brought too many political jokes into the tour. He was funny but a lot of the jokes missed due to their political nature. I would go again. It was very relaxing on the water with a few ghost stories mixed in. Though this tour is not for children due to the gruesome nature of some of the stories, it was not scary.

I really wanted to book the haunted tour...when I called Lee?Leigh told me they had sold the boat out to a charter. I was sad. I only had the one available evening for the harbor cruise... She said the sunset tour would not disappoint. And she'd throw in a spooky story for me. So, I took a chance and booked it online and I showed up and soon enough they loaded us onto the pontoon. Captain Steve and Lee?Leigh were very nice, fun, energetic and throughout the tour, they were informative and told some amazing stories. All the other passengers were also friendly and we all had a great time! We had perfect weather, we saw dolphin, we had a beautiful sunset and it's always fun seeing things from the water, it's a different perspective. I'd recommend this, even if you just sit and enjoy the breeze, the sunset and the view.

We had an amazing time with Captain Bryan for a bachelorette party. He was incredibly accommodating since the weather forecast was not great for our originally scheduled time. He let me know the day before that we may have rain issues and that he would call me around 9am the morning of our tour to confirm the best time to avoid the weather. We moved our cruise to 10am and had a great time. He dropped us off to swim and look for shark teeth on a nearby beach. There were 7 of us on the cruise and we had a great time. We were able to play our own music and there was even a cooler provided for us. It was all-inclusive and felt like a very good price for a three hour tour!

Were had a great time last night on our sunset cruise. Our captain JP and bartender were fun and informative. Saw some lovely sights and had a great time

Wonderful sunset harbor cruise! Our tour guide Victor was welcoming, friendly, and enthusiastic and made it a fun trip. Drinks and snacks were available on board for purchase. I loved that it was a smaller catamaran boat instead of one of the big 2 story boats. Comfortable seating and great views, made for a fun and relaxing evening. Highly recommend!

We booked a sunset cruise for the last night of our honeymoon. They told us to arrive a FULL 30 minutes early (which we did) but they did not start boarding until the top of the hour so we sat in the heat for quite some time. They definitely book the boats SUPER full so there is nothing like social distancing. You are almost sitting on your neighbor which was a bit awkward. Thankfully the people next to us were great. The first mate started off immediately after departure by saying this was a "booze cruise". It was not marketed as that, and considering I am in recovery and my husband does not drink this was not appealing. We were turned off. He repeatedly encouraged drinking and had no issue serving multiple drunk people 4 or more rounds (I was sitting next to the First Mate which is why I noticed). I get it that it is hard to manage that in the middle of the harbor, but telling people it is a "booze cruise" only encouraged it. That said, he was funny and had a great personality. The Captain was good too and did a great job. We got to see a few different pods of bottle nosed dolphins which was awesome and unexpected (especially to see SO MANY, so close to the boat). The drunk people were very annoying and I wish I had known when we got on they were marketing it as a "booze cruise" (we would have picked another choice), but the Captain and First Mate ended up being quite a please and the cruise itself was beautiful. If you are a drinker (casual or otherwise) you will love this cruise. Sober people may want to consider one where drinking isn't so prevalent. Otherwise it was a great experience.

Went on this with a group of 10 last night. If you want an unprofessional staff, this is the boat for you. Captain JP physically assaulted me at the end of the tour, grabbing my arm and not letting go. Many other passengers outside our group came up to me to ask if I was okay after, confused about the absurdity of it all. I typically love experiences like this, but the people make the experience... and they fail miserably.

We went on the sunset tour w Robert and Crystal! Love, love, LOVED!!!! Learned a lot as we cruised through the harbor. We got super lucky and saw probably about 30 dolphins---AMAZING!!! They were funny and great teaching everyone about the bay. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!!!

victor & mike were very kind very knowledgeable good music, good money for 2 hours very pretty even before a hurricane

Really enjoyed the ghost tour - Lee was a great storyteller and she was very kind and personable. There's a bar on the ship where you can buy beer, wine, sodas, and snacks. It was a pretty comfortable boat and a route that took us all around the harbor, even under the Cooper River Bridge - it was cool to see it from that angle. The stories weren't too scary for older children, but interesting enough for adults.

Been on two of the sunset cruises. Victor was out guide both times and he is awesome!

Amazing! Lee was so entertaining! The stories were a wonderful mix of history and paranormal. My only request is I wish they wouldn't do so many bar breaks so there was more time for stories. All in all a really fun experience!

The night ghost water tour was fantastic! The narrator was funny, entertaining and a great story teller!

Had a great experience with Captain Robert & his funny first mate Victor! Our first time to Charleston & very glad we chose this harbor tour! Victor made sure to check in with everyone on board to make sure they were comfortable & having a good time.

This was an amazing experience! Our tour was guided by Captain JP and Victor, they were the perfect combination to make the ideal experience. The tour itself was beautiful and our guides told us about the history while also just communicating and having a good time with everyone! We got lucky enough to see some dolphins up close. They also made sure that everyone got a picture with there group. Highly recommend!

My husband and I decided on this as our date night activity and they did not disappoint. Not only we saw a beautiful sunset but got a little education as well. Definitely will be back and is a recommendation from a charleston local.

Absolutely enjoyed this! The guys (Nick & Captain Bob) were great and super friendly. Definitely made sure to make conversation with everyone on the boat. Very informative of the harbor and the history. I'd 100% come back. It was beautiful.

We went on the Nature Tour with Nick and Joe. Joe was a great captain and thank you Joe for your service on the USS Yorktown. Nick was a great guide in showing us different types of crabs on board, Castle Pinckney and Fort Sumter, other Charleston landmarks, and showing us how to find shark teeth over on Morris Island. On our way back to the dock we saw dolphins. Overall we really enjoyed our experience and want to come back and do the ghost tour and sunset tour.

Awesome tour. Our tour guide Nick was very informative and helped us find shark teeth. Super friendly. Definitely recommend

The Carolina Skiff charter boat rental is a great value. Large enough to accommodate moderately sized groups. Captain Murph is a legend. He knows about every inch of the Charleston Harbor. Couldn't have asked for a better guide. 10/10 would rent again.

Highly recommend the 2 hour sunset cruise. The crew is helpful and knowledgeable but also very fun. They even offered to take pictures of guests with the beautiful sunset. This is a must do when visiting and I would be happy to go again and again with visiting family and friends.

We had a great time on this cruise! Victor was a cheerful delight!! PJ was very informative and we enjoyed hearing about Charleston history. Would definitely recommend this tour!!

Victor and Captain JP were the best! The tour was a great balance between interesting history and background on Mount Pleasant, Sullivans Island, Fort Sumter and more, and fun vibes! We saw a few dolphins and got great photos at sunset. Highly recommend Sandlapper Water Tours' sunset cruise.

Nice evening tour around Charleston Harbor but that's about all I can say. Haunted tour - hardly. Scary - not in the least. Considering the tour was all adults and no little kids, not scary at all. I was expecting some real good ghost stories. ehhhh Bottom line - if you want a nice cruise at night, this is good. If you want ghost and haunting stories - go somewhere else. This would be a waste of time and money.

Victor and Captain JP gave us a really great time on this evening cruise. Victor was an awesome host and kept everyone on board engaged and entertained, as he also served as the bartender. My wife and I will definitely do this again when we're back in Charleston.

We chose the Dolphin/Nature ride. It did not disappoint. Captain JP was funny and our naturalist Jordan was knowledgeable and friendly. It was a crowd pleaser for everyone of us.

My family and I went on the guided nature tour with Captain Joe and Crystal. Crystal was very knowledgeable about sea life as well as history and what goes on around Charleston. She always made sure that she engaged with all of the guests on the boat and let everyone see/touch different sea life (like a crab!! I held one for the first time ). We only were on the beach for about ~40 min and the rest of the time was on the boat while she talked. She pulled up a crab trap and showed us some of the crabs found within. Also, we were lucky enough to see dolphins! Captain Joe was a nice guy and he also allowed some of the kids to "drive" the boat. I recommend this tour to anyone visiting Charleston as it focuses on a few important aspects to the city (sea life/battle history/beach).

We snagged a few last minute seats on a harbor tour with my father in law in early October on what turned out to be the most beautiful and perfect Charleston day. The tour lasted about two hours and we enjoyed every minute. I have been on a few harbor tours with other companies and I will say I think this one was my favorite. The tour guide gave us tidbits about the city that I didn't know and hadn't heard on other tours. We even went under the bridge. We got to see dolphins and enjoyed a rare sighting of a sea turtle! That was pretty exciting for my kids (and me, too). Our tour guide was great with the girls and even had a treasure box full of ocean things like a skate, seashells, coral, etc. for them to look at. I don't want to spoil all the neat things we learned, you'll have to go yourself and find out!

We took a sunset/ghost story tour on a gorgeous late September evening, and had a fabulous time! Captain Robert and Victor, who served as story teller, guide and bartender, gave us a great tour of the harbor. Some of the stories were pretty scary and one in particular had me sitting with my feet up the rest of the trip! We will definitely take one of their other tours the next time we're in Charleston.

Kevin was an amazing tour guide. He was able to make people feel at ease and also shared interesting facts. We plan to recommend the tour to friends and family.

We took a sunset cruise with Captain Bob and Vic and it was AMAZING! They were hilarious and informative all at once; they read the vibe of the group on the boat and knew we were there more for a fun ride around the harbor, than a historical tour. Vic has some talented camera skills and is more than happy to snap photos for any and all. Bob gave us some history of the houses and downtown Charleston, while throwing in jokes along the way. The ride was smooth and comfortable, the boat can roll over even the larger waves with ease and Bob was great at navigating around the harbor. The views of Charleston, Mt Pleasant, Sullivans Island and James Island were magnificent and gave us a great chance to see a lot of the area in 2 hours.

Highly recommend! Captain Bryan was very knowledgeable and wonderful host with our big group. Really appreciate the effort he put in to ensure that we had a great time.

Captain Bob and Storyteller Lee were some of the rudest people in Charleston!! Huge waste of money going on this tour. There are plenty of other ghost/boat tours that have much nicer, friendlier, hosts. Trust me find another tour.

Would highly recommend! Captain Bryan is so nice and shared many interesting facts about Charleston. We did a private boat tour during the day for a bachelorette with nine girls. He accommodated our group perfectly and we all had a blast! We were able to cruise as well as get off the boat for a swim and island stop. He prepared a cooler with ice for us in advance and even helped play photographer for us! Thank you, Bryan!

We decided to book this tour for watching nature aboard a nice boat. We did indeed see bottlenose dolphins, a very large turtle in the water in the way to an island to collect shells. Captain joe and naturalist Carolyn were gracious and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend this tour.

We really enjoyed the sunset cruise we took with this company. The boat was nice and well kept. There's a bar and bathroom on board. The captain was very informative during the cruise and took us all over the harbor (battery park, fort Sumter, battleship, under the bridge, to shems creek). Lasted about 2 hours. Would definitely recommend this company for boat tours.

It was a good tour, short and sweet. Ben was very informative of the history and kept our interest. Thank you Captain Murray it was pretty smooth sailing. It would have been a five if we saw some Dolphins.

Great tour! Would do it again. Beautiful sunset cruise on the water. Occasional commentary from the First Mate was light hearted, humorous, and full of info. Boat wasn't over crowded like some of the others we passed on the water. Highly recommend this cruise!

I am not one to leave reviews, much less negative ones, but unfortunately, we're leaving a 1 star review as I was treated with the worst customer service imaginable. On the night of our sunset cruise (8/17/19), we noticed thunder and lightning over the harbor ~30 mins prior to our cruise. Our hotel sits on the harbor so we knew the weather would be unsafe to go out in. I called and dealt with Leigh who told me I would not be refunded as she "did not see any unsafe weather" regardless of my safety concerns. She then offered to switch us to another night and I explained we're out of town visitors and would not benefit from that. In the booking agreement, it clearly states that if dangerous weather occurs (i.e. thunder/lightning) all guests would be refunded and the tour would be canceled. When I reminded Leigh of this, she began to raise her voice at me and accuse me of berating her. She said, "I've worked in customer service for 30 years and let me tell you, sweetheart, the customer is not always right." After a few minutes of her continuing to yell at me and patronize me by calling me "hun" and "sweetheart," I told her I would like to speak to the owner. She told me no. After FINALLY saying she would contact the owner to ask if I can be refunded (as it continued to thunder and lightning) she said she would call me back. My boyfriend called at 6:25pm, 5 mins before they're scheduled to get underway, and asked if the tour would still be going out despite the dangerous conditions and if we could please receive further information about our refund. Leigh hung up the phone on us without as much as a response. Some customer service. Again, I'm not a reviewer and I especially am not a negative reviewer as I respect the fact that businesses rely on reviews, and I respect the weight they carry. But I am so offended and unimpressed with the way we were both spoken to and feel that it should be recognized. I'm sure their water tours are excellent as they have many positive reviews! We would have loved to go on the tour had the weather allowed. Unfortunately, Leigh turned what could've been an easy and painless experience into one that reflects badly on the company she works for. Dear Owner, if you're reading this, you may want to talk to your employee about proper customer service and hopefully she doesn't cost you any more customers, because she cost you us.

Went on the history boat tour with the ladies and scoped the waters. Showed us historical sites along the peninsula. Great views from the waters, chances to see dolphins swimming near by. The captain and historian were very friendly. And made the ride pleasant. They also served alcohol on board (con:cash only) it ain't fun without alcohol in your hand! ;) It gets pretty windy on board, so if you wear a hat I suggest you take it off so you won't lose it.

Great time out on the water around Charleston! Crazy rain storm but fortunately it all cleared up right before our boat ride. My lady and I had literally just gotten engaged an hour earlier and got to do it again in front of the Battery and Rainbow Row. The captain took pics of us (me down on one knee)! Such a nice guy and his first mate as well. Both super great guys! Would def recommend them and will be sailing again. Great tunes and great folks at Sandlapper! Very memorable :-)

Went on the sunset cruise with tour guide Nick and captain Joe. They were very knowledgeable with excellent customer service. Highly recommend the cruise.

5 stars is too low of a score! They deserve 10 stars! We did the sunset ghost tour and it was amazing! Lee the tour guide was so knowledgeable, funny, friendly and all around awesome! I would recommend this tour to everyone. So much fun!! Great views of Charleston and great history/ ghost stories.

When I booked this, I was told it was $22, it wasn't but I was already there and not turning back (at night this area is pretty deserted and I had to take a pedi-cab from my hotel and back). This is truly a boat ride and not much of a guided tour, which was fine because I was able to sit back and relax. I took the sunset tour and when we got on the boat it was still sunny, so I sat in the back to avoid getting burned, which was a bad choice since the best view of the sunset is in the front of the boat and all seats were taken. They offer a few beers and wine, but none that I cared for, so I didn't purchase any. One suggestion would be to add a champaigne option, something about a cruise made me crave a glass of bubbly. We saw at least a dozen dolphins on our tour which was a welcome addition.

Went on this boat tour this past Saturday Ben and Captain Murray are great. Ben knows a lot about the history of this area. Great story teller!!! Kept me entertained the whole trip. I highly recommend this boat tour.

The tour guide was very knowledgable, Donna. Such nice people and the cruise itself was very relaxing. We did the sunset cruise and loved it. Cheap beer and soda on board. Two thumbs up