Charleston Pirate Tours — Local services in Charleston

I'm an amateur pirate historian and let me this, this place gets its history as well as you could hope. Piracy is a truly complicated mish mash of unreliable secondary sources and vague primary sources, more myth then I know where to begin with. Charleston Pirate Tours does a better job then you could ever expect.

General discussion of the era from the 1690s with the Buccaneers to the 1690s with Henry Every in the Indian Ocean all the way to the 1730s, with a heavy emphasis on the 1710s and 20s on figures like Stede Bonnet, Charles Vane, Anne Bonny, and Blackbeard. Plus a lot of beautiful and fascinating local Charleston landmarks.

Eric looks the part and he is a fantastic storyteller, retelling broad stories in an understandable manner with a nice sense of humor to boot.

He doesn't just rely on books like the unreliable General History of the Pyrates, but solid recent material from respected historians like Kevin Duffes. Blackbeard and Bonnet in particular are a highlight of the tour with a strong mix of primary newspapers from the era and quotes from respectable books.

Of course I can quibble with certain details as any student of the era can when so much is disputable, but even a heavily mythologized figure like Anne Bonny is treated with a reasonable distance, for we truly know very little. I've studied her heavily and I can't even say I know her well.

Ironically out of all the tours in Charleston I think this one mentioned the history of slavery the most when it came to the introduction of rice to the city. Go figure.

I wholeheartedly recommend Charleston Pirate Tours to anyone interested in history, or even just a good story. Wonderful narration, beautiful sights and sounds, better researched then some books from PHD historians, you...

My husband and I were originally booked on the ghost pirate tour that goes at night, but were rescheduled because of severe weather. No problem, we got a call hours before the tour was supposed to start anyways and could reschedule/refund with 0 stress. Ended up just moving to the day Pirate history tour, and it was sooo good! Captain Eric was a fantastic tour guide and you can tell he's so passionate about pirate history and the city of Charleston. Would highly recommend this for any age group/family size if you want to hear some good pirate stories and see the city of Charleston at a leisurely pace. Definitely get the "combo" tickets for the Old Exchange building, saves you money and you have the opportunity to see another awesome historic site whenever you want.

The Powder Magazine museum is really cool too, takes you maybe 20 minutes to get through it and read the different displays. Free admission with the pirate tour tickets as well.

Did not get the chance to meet Captain Bob or Doozer, their little parrots. I guess one wasn't in the mood to come out, which is totally fine. It makes me happy they treat their birds with respect and don't force them to do anything they don't want to!

Great way to spend the day and doesn't cost too much for everything you get to see and learn about. We would like to come back in the future and do the ghost...

Our daytime pirate tour was AMAZING! Eric was super knowledgeable with all the facts and history without it all being a campy, cheesy touristy experience. It was way more than pirate folklore -- it's his true passion of research and FACTS backed by the long-standing history of the Charleston area. We had a leisurely stroll through the most beautiful parts of historic downtown with rest stops on benches (great if you're traveling with older or slower group) right in front of pertinent landmarks. I absolutely recommend this tour as an addition to your Charleston stay. Just based on the the smaller town crowd and non-events going on over the particular weekend, we were able to unintentionally score a private tour with Eric -- what a fantastic VIP experience! He shared what he does for tours with kiddos and larger families (it was just boyfriend and I on this trip), and I wouldn't hesitate to book the adventure for any ages. We received great "local" recommendations of other surefire things to do/see/go eat, and it truly was all a highlight of the trip. I'd do it again without hesitation! Thank you to Charleston...