Charleston Speed Boat Adventures | Charleston Boat Tours — Local services in Charleston

Pros: Very easy watercraft to operate for a first-timer. Fast, fun experience that I got to enjoy with my six-year-old. Glad we did it.

Cons: Called ahead of time to ask about conditions to be sure that it wouldn't be too rough for my son. The woman on the phone said that conditions are usually fine, but the guide would redirect us if the water was too choppy. Upon arrival at 10:30am, the guide immediately said "The harbor is way too rough today. We can do this another day or go up the river. I just did that with the couple at 9am and it was fine." I chose the river because it was our last day, but was disappointed that the weather/conditions weren't communicated before I booked and paid $200. It seemed like an obvious decision that they had to make. That makes sense to me. But missing out on the best views of Charleston would have impacted my decision to book.

The guide was fine, though seemed somewhat annoyed to be at work that day. I believe he is the owner based upon other reviews and his responses. Anyway, like he has noted in his responses, he emphasizes safety. That is excellent. I wouldn't want it any other way. But, like other reviewers have said, he snaps fast if you've estimated 200 yards incorrectly (in his opinion). I apparently made this mistake once and he scolded me like I was his child. So, from there on, I kept about 500-1000 distance between us and had fun.

Lastly, while the 2-hour tour is supposed to include 1.5 hours on the water, we got just about 2/3 of that time, and only about 40 minutes of time when we could really drive. The river route is shorter, I presume. When it seemed we got back sooner than the guide expected, he had us follow him around no-wake marina area to "look at some cool yachts." So we floated around for the last 15 minutes of our tour.

We had fun. I love doing new things. And these mini speedboats are great. They are easy to use, fast, and accessible for a parent and young kid. It's just disappointing that the...

I have done this tour before with a different Guide and totally different experience. This time around was horrible. Our guide was Gram. If you get this guy, I would def reschedule. Not a people person and seemed very uptight and condescending when talking to people. It made it for a not so fun tour. Our radio was cutting out and didn’t work properly got separated from the group and intern got yelled at before understanding what even happened. It’s not much of a tour as Much as it was playing follow the leader for two hours. My last experience which was about four years ago, included an actual tour and history lesson of the Charleston Harbor, which was awesome. Gram didn’t know much about history nor did we even get to stop long enough to check anything out! This time we missed out on The Yorktown carrier, Fort Sumter and free time in the harbor because he thought it was too choppy. So we just followed each other up and down the river for half an hour, which was very lame and disappointing. Also seemed in a hurry to get back as we got back in an hour and a half out of a two hour tour. Don’t think I will ever do this again did not seem worth the money. Especially with a grumpy and...

Whenever I travel, I like to choose one activity that gets the adrenaline pumping and I am very glad I came across Charleston Speed Boat Adventures. Graham was a great tour guide who ensured that safety was of the utmost importance the entire trip. He is not afraid to call someone out if they are doing something unsafe on the water.

It was my first time ever driving a speed boat, and my friends and I had a blast! Our only suggestion is that the boat line up for the tour is aligned based on people’s experience/preference. During our tour, we had a guy in front of us who liked to create waves and weave in and out of a straight line. While this was fun to do, it prevented my boat from reaching full speed because he rarely reached full speed. Having the tricksters in the back and the speed lovers in the front would keep everyone happy! Other than that, it was a super fun adventure and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to get out...