Cruise from Charleston SCCharleston Ghost Cruise: Narrated Haunted Harbor Cruise
The Charleston ghost cruise run by Sandlapper Water Tours is the harbor's after-dark answer to the city's many ghost walks. For $45 you get 90 minutes on a 45-foot catamaran called the Palmetto, with a guide mixing ghost stories and harbor history. It is a small-boat trip, capped at 49 passengers, which keeps the atmosphere closer to a story circle than a party boat. This page covers what the price includes, where to check in and park, what the evening is actually like, and who would do better on a different boat. Compare it with the other cruises from Charleston SC before you book.
About This Tour
Sandlapper Water Tours runs this narrated haunted cruise around Charleston Harbor after dark. The commentary blends ghost stories with harbor history, and the boat is a US Coast Guard certified 45-foot powered catamaran. The whole trip lasts 1.5 hours and carries up to 49 passengers.
Boarding is from the Charleston Maritime Center at 10 Wharfside Street. Check in at the blue and white ticket booth on the far left pier at least 30 minutes before departure. There is no parking at the Maritime Center itself, so plan the last few minutes on foot or by drop-off.
$45 per person, SC sales tax included. Children 4-12 and adults 13-99 are priced separately.
1.5 hours on the water, with check in at least 30 minutes before departure.
Charleston Maritime Center, 10 Wharfside Street. Paid parking at the SC Aquarium garage, a 5-minute walk, or Concord Street meters. No public parking at the dock, drop-offs allowed.
The Palmetto, a 45-foot US Coast Guard certified powered catamaran, up to 49 passengers.
Included: the haunted ghost cruise and SC sales tax. Extra: food and drinks, alcoholic drinks (available to purchase), gratuities. No hotel pickup.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund. Cancelled in full if the weather turns bad.
Check Dates and Availability
Departure times are not stated in the listing, so open the live calendar to see which evening sailings have seats left on your dates.
You'll confirm the exact date and time on the secure booking page.
Quick answer The short answer
The Charleston ghost cruise costs $45 for a 90-minute narrated haunted trip around Charleston Harbor on the 45-foot catamaran Palmetto. It leaves from the Charleston Maritime Center after dark and carries up to 49 passengers.
Key takeaways
- Check in at the blue and white booth on the far left pier 30 minutes early, and use the SC Aquarium garage for parking since the dock has none.
- Children under 3 are not permitted, and food and drinks are not included, so families with toddlers should check the dolphin watch cruise instead.
- Want the same harbor in daylight with a full history narration? The harbor history cruise runs morning to sunset.
- See how this trip sits against every other cruise from Charleston before you pay.
What the Price Actually Covers
The $45 ticket buys a seat on the Palmetto and the narration. That is genuinely all of it, so budget for the extras before you go.
What Is in the Ticket
The listing names two inclusions: the haunted ghost cruise itself and SC sales tax. The guide's storytelling is the product. There is no meal, no drink credit and no entry to any site, since the whole 90 minutes is spent on the water.
Hotel pickup is not offered either, so you make your own way to the Maritime Center.
What You Pay on the Day
Alcoholic drinks are available to purchase on board and food and drinks are listed as exclusions, so eat before you arrive. Gratuities are extra too. Parking is a real cost: the Maritime Center has no public parking, so drivers can use the SC Aquarium parking garage on Calhoun Street, listed by the city operator at $1 per 20 minutes up to a $24 daily maximum, or hunt for meters along Concord Street, which the listing warns can be hard to find. The cheapest move is a drop-off at the dock, which is allowed.
For context, the same dock sells the daylight harbor history cruise at $47.50 with a bigger boat, and the Fort Sumter ferry and fort entry is $43 for adults. The water taxi's all-day pass is $17, which covers a flexible day of hopping between harbor stops.
Data currency for every figure on this page:
Line by Line
Each row below comes from the operator's own listing, and anything the listing does not state is marked that way.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Haunted ghost cruise | Yes | 90 minutes, narrated, after dark on the Palmetto |
| SC sales tax | Yes | The only fee the listing names as covered |
| Alcoholic drinks | No | Available to purchase on board |
| Food and non-alcoholic drinks | No | Excluded, bring nothing perishable for a 1.5-hour trip |
| Gratuities | No | Excluded |
| Parking | No | Paid garage or meters nearby, none at the dock |
| Hotel pickup | No | Not offered by the listing |
A downtown Charleston street lit up after dark. Photo: Sergiy Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What the Day Is Really Like
The listing gives no clock time for departure, so the shape of the evening matters more than the hour. Here is how it runs.
Getting to the Dock
Aim to arrive 30 minutes before departure. The meeting point is the Charleston Maritime Center at 10 Wharfside Street, and check in is at the blue and white Sandlapper ticket booth on the far left pier when you are facing the water. Drivers park at the SC Aquarium garage about 5 minutes away or try the Concord Street meters.
If someone drops you at the dock, they can pull up to the water without paying for parking. The listing gives a phone number, (843) 849-8687, for questions or help.
Boarding the Palmetto
The boat is a 45-foot powered catamaran, US Coast Guard certified, with room for up to 49 passengers. That is a mid-sized crowd, far smaller than the Carolina Belle, which takes up to 185 people, used for the daytime history cruise. The operator rates the trip suitable for all physical fitness levels.
On the Water
Once the Palmetto pulls away from the pier, the guide starts mixing ghost stories with harbor history. The listing promises fascinating sights from the haunted Charleston harbor, but it does not name individual landmarks, so treat specific building claims as what the guide on the night delivers rather than a fixed route map. The trip lasts 1.5 hours.
Dress warm in the cooler months, since you are out on the water at night.
Coming Back
The listing does not state where or when the cruise ends, so confirm the return point when you book. If you drove, the SC Aquarium garage is a 5-minute walk from the Maritime Center. If severe weather is approaching, the operator asks you to call before you set out, and the trip is refunded in full when the operator cancels for weather.
Who This Tour Rules Out
The listing is clear about a few limits. Check them against your group before booking.
Families with Babies and Toddlers
Children under 3 are not permitted, full stop. Children 4-12 and adults 13-99 are priced separately, so it works for families with school-age kids. If you have an infant, ask about the age rule on the dolphin watch cruise, which leaves from Aquarium Wharf or Patriots Point and lets up to two children ride free per paying adult.
Anyone Needing a Guaranteed Daytime History Lesson
This is a story cruise, and the ghosts come mixed with history. It is narration, but it is not a landmarks lecture. Travellers who want the harbor's actual sights identified one by one should book the daytime history cruise on the Carolina Belle, which passes more than 75 sights in the same 90 minutes.
Sunset Hunters
This is an after-dark trip, not a sunset trip, and the listing gives no departure time to anchor it to golden hour. In winter, Charleston's earliest sunset is 5:14 p.m., so an evening sailing here may well begin in full darkness. If the point of the evening is the light rather than the stories, the same operator's sunset cruise is a 2-hour sailing under the Ravenel Bridge at $60.
Wheelchair Users and Stroller Pushers
No wheelchair access is stated in the listing, and a catamaran dock boarding is not a guaranteed flat transfer. Call the operator on (843) 849-8687 before booking if anyone in your party uses a chair or a stroller. Service animals are allowed, which is stated clearly.
The Old Exchange Building stands on East Bay Street with its Provost Dungeon below. Photo: Warren LeMay from Covington, KY, United States, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Could You See It Without This Cruise?
Yes, the harbor at night is free to look at from shore. What you cannot get for free is the water-level view and the stories.
The Free Shoreline Version
Waterfront Park on Concord Street is free and open daily from 6 a.m. to midnight, with sheltered swings on the Vendue Wharf pier and views across the harbor. You could stand on the pier and watch the same harbor for nothing. The Battery seawall and White Point Garden are also free, with no entrance gate, and about 45 minutes covers the whole promenade.
Neither spot gives you narration, and neither puts you out on the water.
The Cheap Water Version
The Charleston Water Taxi all-day pass is $17, with departures from the Aquarium and Maritime Center dock, the same stretch of water this ghost cruise leaves from. Every trip doubles as a dolphin cruise. It runs hourly from morning on, but the final departure of the day is not stated by the operator, so an after-dark ride is not something to count on.
All sales on the pass are final. The water taxi page has the stop list and fare detail.
When the Free Option Is Enough
If you just want to be near the harbor after dark, take the free waterfront. If you want the water-level, boats-around-you experience on a budget, the water taxi is the honest cheap answer. What only this $45 cruise gives you is 90 minutes out on the harbor with a guide telling the ghost stories attached to it.
There is no free equivalent of that. If your evening is short, see what else fits on a 3 days in Charleston plan, or browse the free things to do in Charleston list for daytime.
Shore and transit figures: Charleston Water Taxi, City of Charleston parks
The Evening, Step by Step
The listing gives no departure clock time, so the steps below are phases rather than hours.
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Before boarding
Check in at the far left pier
Arrive at the Charleston Maritime Center, 10 Wharfside Street, at least 30 minutes before departure. The blue and white Sandlapper ticket booth sits on the far left pier when facing the water. The staffed phone for help is (843) 849-8687.
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Before boarding
Sort parking or get dropped off
Paid parking is in the SC Aquarium garage, a 5-minute walk, or at the Concord Street meters, which the listing warns can be difficult to find. The Maritime Center itself offers no public parking, but drop-offs at the dock are allowed.
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Departure
Board the Palmetto
The 45-foot US Coast Guard certified powered catamaran takes up to 49 passengers for the 1.5-hour trip. Bring a layer for the evening on the water.
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On the water
Ghost stories and harbor history
The narration mixes haunted tales with the harbor's history while the boat circles Charleston Harbor after dark. The listing promises fascinating sights from the water but does not name a fixed list of landmarks.
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On the water
Drinks if you want them
Alcoholic drinks are available to purchase on board. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are not included, and gratuities are extra.
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Back at the dock
Disembark and head back
The listing does not name a return point, so confirm it when you book. Walk back to the Aquarium garage or your drop-off point, or carry on along the waterfront, where the free Waterfront Park stays open until midnight.
Honest Pros and Cons
A quick accounting of what works and what does not, based only on the listing.
What we genuinely like
- A small boat, capped at 49 passengers against up to 185 on the Carolina Belle history cruise
- Narration is included, mixing ghost stories with real harbor history
- A reasonable $45 for 90 minutes with SC sales tax covered
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure, and a full refund if the operator cancels for weather
- Suitable for all fitness levels, with service animals allowed
The honest downsides
- No departure time is stated in the listing, so you commit before you know the hour
- The Maritime Center has no public parking, and the Concord Street meters can be hard to find
- Children under 3 are not permitted, which rules out young families
- No food, no drinks and no gratuities are included, so the night costs more than $45
- No wheelchair access is stated anywhere in the listing
Who it's NOT for: Not for families with toddlers, wheelchair users who need guaranteed access, or travellers who want a named list of daytime landmarks rather than stories.
Charleston Ghost Cruise Questions
How much does the Charleston ghost cruise cost?
The fare is $45 per person, and SC sales tax is included in that figure. Children 4-12 and adults 13-99 are priced separately on the ghost cruise listing.
How long is the haunted harbor cruise?
The trip lasts 1.5 hours on the water, with check in required at least 30 minutes before departure at the Maritime Center. For a longer sailing, the sunset cruise from the same operator runs 2 hours.
Where do I park for the Charleston ghost cruise?
The Maritime Center has no public parking. Use the paid SC Aquarium garage, a 5-minute walk away, or the Concord Street meters, and drop-offs at the dock are allowed. Parking downtown generally runs $1 per 20 minutes in city garages up to a $24 daily max.
Can children come on the ghost cruise?
Children under 3 are not permitted, and children 4-12 pay a separate child rate. Families with young children can look at the dolphin watch cruise, where up to two children ride free per paying adult.
Are drinks included on the Palmetto?
No, food and drinks are excluded, and alcoholic drinks are available to purchase on board. Gratuities are extra too, so read the full what the price covers breakdown before you go.
What happens if the weather is bad?
If severe weather approaches, the operator asks you to call (843) 849-8687 before arrival, and the trip is refunded in full if the operator cancels. You can also cancel yourself up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund, the same window as the history cruise at this dock.
Is this the only way to see Charleston Harbor at night?
It is the narrated after-dark option on this site, but the free Waterfront Park pier is open until midnight if you only want the view, and the water taxi's $17 all-day pass covers a cheaper loop with four stops.
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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