Horseback Riding
1 hour
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 95% of travelers
95% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$45
per adult
Old South Carriage Company
Old South Carriage Company
Old South Carriage Company
5
City ToursHistorical & Heritage ToursHorse-Drawn Carriage Tours
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Full view
About
See historic Charleston from the vantage point of an Old South Carriage. Family owned and operated since 1983, Old South Carriage Company offers narrated, hour-long carriage tours by licensed guides, day and night. Come to our stable at 14 Anson Street, just 2 blocks from The City Market and meet our friendly and professional staff. Reservations are not necessary but recommended as tours frequently sell out. We use French Percheron and Belgian Draft horses. These sturdy equine employees vacation at Sugah Cain, the owner's 65-acre plantation on John's Island. For 2-3 months annually, these beautiful horses are free to run in large pastures or graze under century-old live oak trees. Come visit Old South Carriage Company where history meets hospitality!
Charleston, South Carolina
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
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Improve this listingTours and Tickets by Old South Carriage Company
Private and Luxury
40 minutes
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Recommended by 90% of travelers
90% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
from
$45
per adult
Travelers talk about
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
11,384 reviews
Excellent
9,707
Very good
1,038
Average
353
Poor
167
Terrible
121
Carleen
Moore, OK131 contributions
Feb 2020 • Friends
Great carriage ride that begins near the market and meanders through much of the places South of Broad St. The slow pace is perfect for learning the history of the city while snapping some pictures. If you go there early you can watch a video that tells you what to expect as well as an explanation of the care of there horses. Rides are generally 40- 60 minutes long- The price for the ride is about $30 per person depending on the length. There is a tip jar at the counter but the tour guide basically asks for tips, which was unnecessary since the tour was entertaining and informative.
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sally D
Auburn, CA180 contributions
May 2021 • Couples
Making online reservations was an easy process and a discount was offered for tours before 10:00AM. Our tour guide was enjoyable to listen to, sharing many pieces of information about the city of Charleston that we found interesting. Ben, our horse, was well trained and made the journey comfortable. Riding in a horse drawn carriage was on my bucket list of things to do in Charleston so I am really happy that we were able to experience this. I'm happy to recommend this company for your carriage rides.
Written May 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for sharing your experience Sally- Our 1 hour historic residential tour explores the old historic district of downtown and is a great way to see the city. Glad you had a good time!
Written May 5, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kim S
2 contributions
Mar 2021
We had a family friend visiting this week and could think of no better thing to do than take a carriage tour to give her a feel for Charleston, its charm,and its history. We had a wonderful tour with Bri and Ben the horse. We all learned a lot and I’ve been on these tours at least 3 times before. The fun thing is each time, you might see a different part of the area - so it’s never old hat. We had a very exciting few moments when a fire truck made its way towards us from behind. The tour guide was very calm, but when it became clear the truck was still coming towards us - she kicked into serious mode and Ben followed her guidance perfectly moving us forward and to the side very quickly. I actually enjoyed seeing how well the guide was able to control the horse in a semi-emergency. I highly recommend taking a tour first thing if you’re visiting Charleston. Bri and Ben were great 😊
Written March 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you Kim! First, we are so glad that y'all had a great time! Second, what a great review of the competence of Bri as a driver and Ben as a horse!
Written March 15, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Molly D
Grand Rapids, MI24 contributions
Jul 2020 • Couples
I was extremely disappointed with how this went. At first.....the carriage had two couples in it, (us) and another couple. One couple sat in front, we sat in the back. I thought we were supposed to sit that way due to social distancing. We waited and waited past our departure time. THEN, they crammed in a family of six or seven!!! Into every possible open spot, it was ridiculous. There were then two screaming toddlers on the ride in between us and the guide, I could barely hear anything he said. I really feel like they were just cramming as many passengers in as possible to make money, versus caring about the comfort of their riders. I really should have asked for our money back at the end of the ride. There was one pc. Of plexiglass between the driver and all of the passengers. It was extremely difficult to hear him through the plexiglass. I strongly recommend picking another provider (there are many others) that uses microphones. Other tours have plexiglass in between riders and microphones/speakers. Our guide said to make a motion if we could not hear him. Then, when I did, (several times) he indicated that he saw me, then he never repeated anything I requested to be repeated. Also, I had hoped that the tour would hit the main points of the city to help us get our bearings. It does not. It sounds like every carriage (every carriage company?) goes to a booth on the way out, and a number is drawn like “bingo” and that carriage gets randomly assigned an area of the city to drive around. So, it is NOT a comprehensive tour of the entire historic area by any means. I should have done more research. It was a waste of our money. I never write negative reviews, so...know if I’m writing something critical, it was bad. I was on the 4:15 pm ride on Wed. July 1. I still may call & complain. I was so disgusted & disappointed.
Written July 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James P
1 contribution
May 2021 • Friends
We had an amazing tour given by Carol. She was incredibly engaging and funny and obviously very knowledgeable about the history of Charleston and gave us a ton of great experiences throughout the ride. Would highly recommend one of these daytime tours to get to know the city better
Written May 16, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you James, glad to hear you had such a good time on your carriage tour! Welcome to Charleston!
Written May 17, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Melissa Hook
7 contributions
Feb 2021 • Couples
We enjoyed this tour! Our guide knew so much about Charleston and also made us laugh throughout. Our horse was Eli and we fell in love with him. We definitely recommend this for a rainy day when you aren’t sure what else to do- it was great to tour the city under cover. Keep in mind that this is a historical tour, so you won’t see rainbow row or anything more modern. The focus is on history, which we think helped us better understand everything about Charleston!
Written February 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thanks for sharing your experience- Our 1 hour historic residential tour explores the old historic district of downtown and is a great way to see the city. Glad you had a good time!
Written February 8, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Nan D
10 contributions
Nov 2020 • Couples
My husband and I took this tour in Nov 2020. We are in our seventies and are very cognizant of being safe due to Covid-19. Our tour guide never wore his mask on his face, only around his neck. I saw other operators with guides wearing masks. I would recommend contacting the tour operator before booking a tour. The tour itself was fine but I was too uncomfortable to enjoy it.
Written November 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pierce96
71 contributions
Jul 2020 • Friends
I have no complaints regarding the carriage ride aside from it was too short for the cost. For $35 each person, we thought the tour should have lasted longer than 45 minutes. The horses are gorgeous and it is impressive how well organized they are with caring for them. I may consider going again but not sure.
Written July 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello,
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, glad you had a good time on your tour! Our 1 hour historic tours are 1 hour long and our evening tours are 45 minutes based on the routes and areas we are able to explore. If you would like to book a longer tour, they are available from 9am till 5pm and after that, the residential district of downtown is closed down for tourism. Thanks again for riding and we hope to see you again soon!
Written August 12, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
mark07871
Sparta, NJ73 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
It was chilly today and we noticed some carriage rides offered blankets. It would have been nice if we had them.
We learned that each ride is randomly sent to one of five sections of the city. We were sent to area five. The guide is was informative but very repetitive. We seem to back track through part of our route, maybe because we were confined to just one area. Less repetition and visiting another section of the city would have made for a better experience.
We learned that each ride is randomly sent to one of five sections of the city. We were sent to area five. The guide is was informative but very repetitive. We seem to back track through part of our route, maybe because we were confined to just one area. Less repetition and visiting another section of the city would have made for a better experience.
Written January 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JAGGM78
Jacksonville, FL96 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
Just know that you can’t choose where your horse carriage will take you. It’s on sort or a lottery system. This tour took us toward the battery and back. The guide was knowledgeable and we learned a lot about certain history of the city. I recommend taking
This tour as a newcomer to the city.
This tour as a newcomer to the city.
Written January 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
If we are doing a combo tour, Carriage and harbor cruise, can we do them on separate days or must both be done on same day
Thank you
Written September 20, 2021
Sorry about the delay but I just got your question. Yes you can bring them, I saw people with small children.
Written July 23, 2019
Easy peasy to nominate your horse to receive our “Equine Employee of the Month” award. Just do a trip Advisor review and mention the horses’ name. At the end of the month, we count all the votes and the horse with the most mentions wins! For their reward they receive a horse “Spa Day”. We schedule an equine therapy specialist to perform body rubs and treatments, provide special Horse food treats and post a photo of the winner in a place of honor on the front of our barn! Not to mention a lot of love and praise for our winner and all of our Old South Horses. Please Vote for your favorite!
Written June 22, 2019
ShawnDMatticks
Charleston, South Carolina
Kids under 4 ride free so long as they ride on your lap.
Written April 14, 2019
Our tour is scheduled for one hour and we do our best to achieve that pace. Specific tour times vary based on traffic, speed of the horse, duration of stops along the way and the specific route (there are five possible neighborhoods). There can be a 5-10 minute variation based on the above factors.
Written March 16, 2019
Will the tour be on in case of rain?
Written May 29, 2018
Our Carriages are covered with a hard roof. The sides are open. Continuing a tour during a rain is really a judgement call. We make every effort to fulfill a scheduled departure or finish a tour in progress. But we experience a wide range of weather conditions, some of which are unsafe and unsuitable for carriage tours. Best bet is to check with us for current information and updates. We hope to see you soon.
Written August 19, 2018
Do you all offer the evening ghost tours in March or April?
Written January 26, 2018
Hello,
Thank you for the question. We offer the only Haunted Carriage tour in Charleston. During the periods you mention, our Haunted Carriage Tour (40 minutes $25.00/pp) is offered on Friday and Saturday evenings. We hope to see you soon!
Written January 26, 2018
Yes. We are very pet friendly. Many customers will bring a dog that sits in their lap or under the seat. We look forward to your visit.
Written January 14, 2018
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