Fort Sumter Access and Self-Guided Tour with Roundtrip Ferry
Description
Visit historic Fort Sumter with the only operator in Charleston providing access to Fort Sumer National Historic Site and Round-Trip Ferry Transportation from Liberty Square or Patriots Point. Cruise by top Charleston sites from your ferry. For those departing from Patriots Point, experience views of the USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier from up-close. Explore the grounds of Fort Sumter and stand where America’s deadliest war began at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park. The first shots were fired here, igniting a conflict that saw more than 700,000 casualties. Experience the opening battle of the American Civil War and explore its origins with a National Park Ranger who will greet you upon arrival. Your approximate 1-hour visit to Fort Sumter allows ample time to explore well-preserved fort ruins and browse Museum Store souvenirs. Then enjoy the beautiful views of the city as you ride the ferry back to Charleston.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Visit historic Fort Sumter National Monument located in Charleston, SC with the only operator in the city offering access to Fort Sumter plus Round-Trip Ferry Service. Experience a relaxing 30minute Narrated Harbor Cruise to historic Fort Sumter, where America’s deadliest war began. You will learn about the events which led to the outbreak of America’s most bloody war. Upon arrival, you will be greeted by a National Park Service Ranger, who will provide further details about Fort Sumter and its pivotal role in the American Civil War. On the fort you will find a very informative museum (360 Video of Museum) with many historic artifacts and a souvenir shop. After your roughly one hour visit, you will enjoy a scenic cruise back to your departure point.
Fort Moultrie is a series of forts along Sullivan's Island. Enjoy views of the fort as you cruise by or while on Fort Sumter.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Arrive at least 30 minutes prior to departure time
- Boarding begins 15 minutes prior to departure time
- Accepted payment methods include all major credit and debit cards only
- The ferries are equipped with an elevator/lift and handicapped accessible restrooms. The Liberty Square boarding ramp can accommodate electric & manual wheelchairs and scooters except in extreme tide situations. Although restrooms on Fort Sumter are unavailable; the ferry remains at the Fort so that restrooms on the boat are available during your visit.
- There is currently no Elevator Service at Fort Sumter – the museum, bookstore, and top level of Fort Sumter are only accessible by climbing stairs.
- The Fort Sumter Tour is a boat excursion dependent on changing weather and tide conditions, Fort Sumter Tours cannot and does not guarantee accessibility. Ramps used to access the ferry can vary based on tides and adverse conditions.
- Tours run rain or shine. Only the Captain has the final say as to whether he feels it needs to be canceled due to weather. That decision is made at the time of departure and throughout the duration of the tour.
Reviews(3,832)
This was a fun tour. Boat was smooth. All instructions were clear. The bummer is that the boat ride over is NOT narrated like the description said. I would have liked to learn more history from the guide on the way over. I got to participate in lowering the American flag for the day which was an incredible experience.
This was a great little addition to our recent trip to Charleston. It is perfectly timed, comfortable, and informative. As someone who is not a history person, I was engaged learning about the events of the Civil War surrounding Fort Sumter.
This was an excellent tour. The boat ride out was beautiful and the ranger speaking was very knowledgeable regarding the history of the Fort. There was plenty of time to explore the small island and find out all about the history. Since we were the first tour group there, we were able to participate in the flag raising, which was nice.
Tour was great and very informative. I would recommend going to first tour when they raise the flag.
From all the tours across the world this would have to rank at the bottom, the ferry and its staff were lifeless except for the ranger and his knowledge of the island. The ferry is filled with plastic chairs and folding tables and parts of the boat looking worse for wear. Now to the Fort… !!! yep that’s about it. Nothing to say was just as exciting as the ferry ride. Wasted precious time on visiting nothing really
Enjoyed the trip, wish we could have stayed just a little longer. Enjoyed the ride both to and from Fort Sumter.
Boat ride was enjoyable. Parks guide on boat very informative. Parking expensive, by the hour. 25.+ right across the street.
Amazing chance at viewing history up close and learn more about Ft. Sumter and the people that fought there.
The boat ride was nice and Ft Sumpter is interesting and beautiful, but getting there is a headache. Parking is a pain because you cannot pay for more than 2 hours at one time. So you have to enter all your info twice (the trip lasts just over 2 hours). There’s very little signage pointing you in the right direction once you’ve parked. You have to ask multiple employees where to go since there’s other attractions there as well. I witnessed several people get in the wrong line, and after waiting for more than 15+ minutes, they had to leave that line and join another one. Fortunately all the employees were nice and courteous. Charleston harbor is really cool so the 30 minute boat ride is entertaining. Ft Sumpter is humbling and beautiful, but you only get about 60 minutes before it’s time to get back on the boat. There’s so much to see and explore there; it would take half a day to be able to take it all in. I get that they must be quick and efficient because of the very high volume of visitors they need to usher through, but there is no way you can experience everything in an hour. So if they ever get all the logistics figured out, it would be an amazing trip.
Fort Sumter from start to finish was such an interesting experience. Let me preface that I am NOT a history gal. My husband was the reason we went but I still thoroughly enjoyed the experience. What an interesting historical place. The ferry was so nice and easy. It was about 30 minutes. We saw dolphins in the harbor. Once we got to the fort they did the flag ceremony since we were the last tour of the day, which was beautiful. Then we walked around and read each plaque. My only issue was that you have 60 minutes to walk around the fort. That was enough time for me, but if my dad was with us he would’ve wanted to stay for about another hour (at least). It was probably not enough time if you really wanted to read and understand everything. Not is it that cheap so I do feel like that was pricey for not getting enough time there (but I do understand the price is mostly the ferry).
