There are a few different ways to get to know the island you are vacationing on. You can drive every place you want to go, using your GPS to get you there without ever having to leave the car; you can explore by foot, getting to know the ins and outs of the island, befriending locals everywhere you go; or, you can explore by water, discovering secret coves of beauty and wildlife, getting to know the island from the outside in. You can also take the secret fourth option: combine all three and REALLY start feeling like a native. When it comes to exploration, touring the surrounding waters is one of our favorite downtime activities in Isle of Palms, SC, and we believe it’s soon to become yours as well. Here’s a list of companies and the boat tours they offer—have fun!
Barrier Island Eco-Tours - 50 41st Ave
Phone: (843) 886-5000
All tours are guided by experienced naturalists who have expert knowledge about the salt marshes and islands surrounding Charleston. They offer dolphin sunset cruises, island wildlife tours, and crabbing excursions. The two-and-a-half-hour dolphin cruise takes you right to where the dolphins live, play, and eat, allowing you to learn all about them while the sun sets in a blaze of glory. Their Caper Island Wildlife Exploration lasts three and a half hours and allows you the opportunity to explore this rare coastal barrier island that is completely people-free. On the crabbing tour, you can learn how to catch, clean, and eat delicious blue crabs, and it ends with an old-fashioned crab boil on the beach! You can also charter fishing trips in the creeks or go on a daring shark fishing trip deep in the salt marshes. Their family adventures and beachside cookouts promise to become the highlight of your Isle of Palms vacation. If it involves a boat, Barrier Island Eco-Tours is the way to go!
Sandlapper Water Tours - 10 Wharfside St, Charleston
Phone: (843) 849-8687
Sightseeing is so much more fun aboard a boat, especially when guided by experienced sea captains who know the history of the area—including all the spooky stuff! Sandlapper Water Tours offers a Haunted Harbor Ghost Tour destined to creep you out more than a little as you explore the tragedies of Charleston and the Isle of Palms! History buffs will thrill to be a part of their history tours; led by knowledgeable and licensed tour guides, the rich history of the city of Charleston’s maritime adventures comes alive as you skim across the waters, allowing for a unique perspective of this charming seaside city. Also offering sunset dolphin cruises, this boat touring company has something for everyone!
Adventure Harbor Tours - 56 Ashley Point Dr, Charleston
Phone: (843) 442-9455
Morris Island is another barrier island near Isle of Palms which is virtually uninhabited. Take a boat tour to Morris Island and spend a relaxing and refreshing couple of hours scouring the beach for shells and shark’s teeth. Your kids will have stories to tell for years to come. If you’re planning on joining one of Adventure Harbor Tours Weekend Sunset Cocktail Cruises, you may want to leave the children behind! Wild, raucous, and mildly out of control adults bring their own bottles and party happily to the sight of the setting sun as they watch for dolphins frolicking in the waters. This is a great activity in Isle of Palms, SC for bachelor or bachelorette parties!
Aqua Safaris – Charleston Harbor Marina at Patriot’s Point
Phone: (800) 524-3444
Romantic and exhilarating, the eco-tours of the waters around Charleston and Isle of Palms are led by knowledgeable and informed tour guides. The pirate adventures promise a “pirate’s treasure box” worth of fun for the entire family, and the sunset tours are guaranteed to bring back the romance to a relationship that may have been overrun by the hard realities of life! Take part in a beach barbecue and feel every inch of your body relax as you watch the flames dance to the music of the ocean waves hitting the beach; you’ll begin to wonder what’s so important about real life.
Isle of Palms Marina- 50 41st Ave
Phone: (843) 886-0209
The IOP Marina is where you want to go when it’s time to charter a fishing tour. Offering inshore, near shore, and waaay offshore deep-sea fishing, you can choose to take a 4, 6, 9, or even 12-hour tour with the guide of your choice. No one knows the places where the big fish like to congregate better than our captains, so you can almost guarantee to come back to your Isle of Palms luxury rental with a cooler full of fish; the catch of the day tastes so much better when you were the one catching it!
Exclusive Properties
After a day of activities in Isle of Palms, SC, exploring the waters surrounding the Isle of Palms, relaxing in comfortable chairs on the deck of your luxurious Exclusive Properties vacation home is the best way to get your land legs back. Book yours today and start planning your unforgettable South Carolina vacation!