Gullah Geechee Black History Tours — Local services in Charleston

Read all reviews, especially the one stars!

We booked this tour expecting an educational experience about Gullah Geechee culture. Instead, we were driven around in a dirty van with no walking and no cultural insight. The guide focused entirely on slavery, shared graphic history and images, and made inappropriate comments about other tour guides that felt out of place.

He stated, "Thank you for not reading my reviews. It's too late. I got you now. Ha Ha." He then locked the doors and speeded off. The experience felt more like a vendetta to uncover the true ugly of the perceived beautiful city of Charleston than a guided tour. It was unsettling, disheartening, and completely misrepresented.

We left feeling disappointed and misled—especially on my daughter’s birthday when we hoped for something meaningful. While some historical facts were shared, this was not the cultural tour we were promised.

Please read the low-star reviews—they’re accurate. This is not a Gullah Geechee tour. Now I understand why there were only four people on the tour. The big issue was the misrepresentation, which nearly ruined a special day. Choose wisely.

Response to owner: Let me be clear. I have no issues learning about slavery. You seem to think that about everyone who does not give you five stars. I am well-versed in the history of my community. And I enjoyed that part of the tour. However, your tours say GEECHEE TOURS, not slavery tours. You lied, plain and simple. You stated that people were yelling at me on the bus? There were four people on the bus—one who was with me and two others. Nobody yelled at me. You have me confused with someone else. It is woefully unfortunate how you attack customers who offer honest feedback. Just do better. That is how a true entrepreneur grows. You are not a bad tour guide, but you misled people about the type...

So I must say that I am born and raised in the Charleston area and have done Gullah tours before where we saw the city, got to understand the language, the history etc. However, since I had friends who had never been to Charleston coming to visit, I thought taking them on one would be a great way to get to know and have the Gullah/Geechie experience. Unfortunately, I picked the wrong tour!

It started off well with high energy. Then quickly went downhill. It was an hour tour, yet we spent 45 minutes on the block that we started. The tour was filled with conspiracy theories, mocking of the tourists on the street, and just plain falsehoods. At one point we backed the van/bus in the street nearly colliding with another vehicle, who was understandably upset and yelling. To this, Godfrey did not apologize but proceeded to get out of the van to yell at the driver. There were many questions asked about some of the claims Godfrey was making to which he never truly responded. It was mostly a stretching of truth. Ie, They traded slaves in this area (true)... many were hung for trying to run (also true)...see that chain on the porch? They aren't even trying to hide; they're still blatant to show they will hang black people (we were pretty sure the current chain was either for a swing or hanging planter). Throughout, everyone on the tour just looked at each other in disbelief and confusion.

In any event, I felt embarrassed for taking my friends on the tour and upset that it was an hour of my life (not to mention the fact that this tour was more expensive than the others) that I will NEVER get back. Again, I'm from the area but this was truly a poor representation of the Gullah/Geechie and downtown...

The positives: The vehicle was comfortable and our tour guide, Godfrey was warm and welcoming as we boarded the vehicle. He was beyond knowledgeable and passionate about his city and his Gullah heritage. He pointed out facts and pieces of history (sites of auction blocks and slave slaughter houses/jails, historical figures, etc) that are an undeniable part of the city's history. The not so positives: my friends and I did not experience the tour that was advertised. We sat for 20-30 minutes at the visitor center while Godfrey started off letting us know that this would be unlike any tour we'd experienced. That part was fine, but almost as if a switch was flipped, he began to make disparaging, offensive comments about a specific tour guide, which frankly was tacky & unprofessional. Our tour consisted of only a few blocks, a serious lack of organization, and hotep-style rants, with splashes of facts and history. In subsequent conversations with two other Charleston residents who were familiar with and recommended his tour, we learned that Godfrey has presented a completely different tour in the past. The two residents named a number of landmarks and parts of the city that are usually included on the tour, but we were not taken to any of those locations. Me and my friends would have loved to have learned more about Gullah traditions and how they've been sustained throughout history. But again, we did not experience that and it was extremely frustrating and disappointing. I read through a number of positive reviews before booking this and I truly wish we had experienced the tour that justified spending $40 and resulted in 5...