Classic Carriage Tours, Charleston

We love are tour of the Battery. It was beautiful with all the huge house's. Are guid was fantastic. He was funny and intelligent; you could tell he loves this city. Over all everyone should visit this beautiful city. It's amazing and this is a great way to see it in a charming way.

The "Lotto" system of drawing carriages for their proposed routes is ridiculous. Some folks get a wonderful ride down by the Battery, while others, like my wife and I got to see back alleys, less scenery and less traveled areas. Why must we pay top price for worn out mules, when other carriage companies use good equine stock? Not fair to the riders or the poor old mules either. Palmetto has a certain obnoxious driver that wants to talk about the last 1,500 years of the history of religion in the city, but we the paying customers wanted to hear about what we were looking at instead. I would take the Old South Tour, if I had it to do over again.

We took the Palmetto Carriage ride, as we have done in the past. The guide was extremely personable and knowledgable, however; the problem is the system that they are forced to use for what route you will take. There is a "lotto" system where the ball that comes up determines what route you take! We have seen beautiful sights before but, this time, we went through alleys and round and round the same area. We paid the same price as the others did, but this route was not representative of the beauty and history that we were hoping to see of Charleston! We were extremely disappointed in the adoption of this system that is required of the carriage company's to adhere to. Our guide did direct us to a wonderful place to eat so we were able to get "local" perspective on other than trendy spots. We will use this service again, but hope for a better route next time!!!

My wife and I purchased a carriage tour from Charleston Carriage Ride and Sightseeing for our son and daughter-in-law's 10th anniversary. Unfortunately, a bridge held them up 15 minutes and they missed the start. The company was rude - no refund, no rescheduling. They just plain stole our money. Avoid this company like the plague.

I was just getting over a foot injury and couldn't walk as much as I wanted to during my visit to Charleston. I went to the Visitor Center and found a combination Harbor Tour and Carriage tour, which I took. The carriage I went on held 16 people. All people are not the same size. I was alone, so got the last seat in a tour that was about to leave just as I got to the place. I was took an outside position in a row that had two very, very large people already in it. (I am a fairly large person myself.) I felt very sorry for the slender young man who was crammed between me and the woman on his other side. The guide was interesting and informative, but she had an annoying speech pattern punctuated with "Ohhh, boy..." which she kept repeating. That part became rather distracting. Still, it was enjoyable to sit and enjoy the sights on a hot October afternoon. I would do it again. Definitely worth the time, but like everything else in Charleston, it was expensive. They've got the tourists over a barrel and people seem willing to pay.

There is so much history in Charleston. You can walk around, but the tid bits on knowlege passed on by the friendly horse riders makes it so much more enjoyable.

I live in the Charleston area and have taken out of town guests on MANY carriage rides through town over the past few years. These guys & gals are the best - they know their history and they even gave us a great recommendation for lunch at a little cafe near the stables. This is the company to use!

I was really happy with the Palmetto Carriage Works ride. The staff was organized, friendly and helpful. The only thing that they should tell people is: more information about the GhostTour. They were selling the tickets and people assumed that it was another carriage ride, but it was a walking tour. Our husband I didn't mind, but for the older people they were upset. Our tour guide, Jim, was funny, smart and made sure we understood what we were looking at. The GhostTour was great too. I never believed in Spirits until Jim told us several great stories. A believer or not, you should go because it was neat to know some history. Way to go guys and keep up the work!

The thing one must understand about carriage tours is that they are a great source of revenue for the city. However, living on one of the most heavily trafficed routes is annoying and disruptive. Please tell your tour guides that they don't need to mentions the prices of the homes along the tour. People do actually live in these houses; they are not here simply for viewing pleasure. Take the tour and have a great time, just remind your guide if necessary that the value of people's homes doesn't need to be discussed. Thanks.

If you are somewhat pressed for time and don't have a few days this is a great way to see the area. Strongly recommend taking the carriage tour, and you can ask questions during the tour.