Charleston Self Guided Walking Tour

Badge of Excellence

Charleston, USA

High interest

Booked 4 times today.

1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.5

· Carol_P ·

Mar 2026

It’s fun, self paced. As with many, it took us a few stops to get used to the navigation.. my suggestion is to TRUST the compass!! It was fun and we made our tour last about 2 hours because we stopped and took in several of the sights. Especially along the waterway.

· Diana_T ·

Mar 2026

Had such a wonderful time strolling the streets of Charleston! That information was great and well paced. Loved the option to stop the tour so I could explore more. Would definitely recommend. Just know - this will drain your battery so have a back up!

Overview

See Charleston's most celebrated streets on your own schedule, without waiting for a group or keeping pace with a guide. This smartphone GPS walking tour leads you through the heart of historic downtown—past the grand antebellum homes of the Battery, the pastel facades of Rainbow Row, and along the waterfront—with location-triggered audio commentary that plays automatically as you walk.

Explore Charleston at your own pace with no fixed start time or group schedule
Skip the cost of a live guide while still getting an informative, structured experience
Revisit or linger at any stop without feeling rushed
Travel light, with everything you need delivered to your smartphone

What's Included

Tour on our walking Tour app for one tour
Go at your own pace and schedule, 24/7/365
The tour never expires, go anytime.

No food, admission, drinks or in person guide, this is all navigated by the walking tour app

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

163 King St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
The tour starts at the gate of gateway walk just to the left of 163 King St, Charleston, SC 29401. There you will see a gate. Once you get there please open your walking tour app and press start tour. You'll be guided around the city.

End point

Rainbow Row
79-107 E Bay St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
The tour ends at the iconic Rainbow row where you'll hear about how it came to be and get a chance to get a photo of the famous buildings.

Operating hours

14/05/2024 - 23/05/2027
Monday - Sunday : 12:00 am - 11:30 pm

Itinerary

Gateway Walk

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Poogan's Porch

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Gibbes Museum of Art (Pass By)

Washington Square

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Rainbow Row

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Battery

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

King Street

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.5

based on 54 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

excellent self-guided tour

Jim_B, May 2026

The GPS guidance was really good and easy to follow. The narrative provided in the audio was very good as well. It gave my wife and I and very good overview of the historic area. Would recommend to anyone.

Okay for the price

Jayme_M, Apr 2026

It was just okay. For the price I’m not disappointed but there were many bits that could have been left out - not as interesting. The app works well and the GPS tracking/directions is a cool feature.

It was great to be able...

Dawn_O, Apr 2026

It was great to be able to walk the tour route at our own pace and dive deeper into some of the areas along the way.

Self guided, Self paced is the best

Stephanie_H, Apr 2026

Once you get adjusted to the map not auto rotating like a Google map, it goes well. Just pay attention, as he says “facing the gate, turn left” which I only heard at gate, turn left. It was great moving at our own pace, pausing and stopping where we wanted.

Worth it!!

Carol_P, Mar 2026

Exploring Charleston

Diana_T, Mar 2026

We didn't know that this...

Gary_G, Mar 2026

We didn't know that this was subcontracted to another tour operator...requiring another app download. It took nearly 30 minutes and a call to the tour operator (who was helpful) to get the app to work. The app provided good information but was balky to operate.

Enjoyed this tour!

Karen_R, Mar 2026

Great info in this walking tour. Took us a minute to figure out how to operate it. More techy folks may get it faster! Wish we had more time to linger at the different locations where we had opportunity to click your Dig Deeper button. We would recommend for sure!

Flexible walking tour

Brenda_L, Mar 2026

Nice to go at your own pace. Was able to pause and look around on own and get back to tour after. Having a live guide is definitely more interactive but this is a good option when timing doesn’t work for other tours.

A good morning tour

Elaine_H, Feb 2026

It's best to do this tour in the early morning hours before the rest of the city wakes up. We started the tour at 9:00 and it was perfect. Had we waited until the afternoon, it would've been too crowded to take the time to enjoy the sights and information.

Interesting but a bit challenging.

Chelsea_F, Nov 2025

It was hard to navigate the tour within the app. We got lost multiple times and had to restart. But once we got the hang of it, it was much smoother. The music was a nice touch and we learned a LOT. I would do another tour like this in the future now that I know how to use it better.

Once I figured out the...

Kathi_M, Nov 2025

Once I figured out the app (around stop #3), it was an easy to use program. It was really nice to go at my own speed.

Great Charleston experienced

Karine_V, Oct 2025

Enjoyed being able to go at my own pace. Narration and information was excellent and easy to follow.

The beginning was...

Dawn, Aug 2025

The beginning was confusing but after figuring out the directions for the first couple of stops the rest of the tour went smoothly

Great tour.

Joseph_S, Jun 2025

Loved being able to go at my own pace. It was informative and educational. It was a great experience!

Best self-guided tour for historical Charleston! Can’t beat the value you get.

Robert_G, Jun 2025

Great history of Charleston. Even better that it was a leisurely, self-guided tour where I could stop for lunch and then continue on. Also, appreciated the feature where I could go back and forth in the narration.

Not what I paid for

DOUGLAS_P, May 2025

Bought a tour that was supposed to be 6/10 of a mile, lasting about an hour, and ended up being a two hour tour that was covering far more mileage than what I originally purchased.

Response from Host, May 2025

I'm sorry the tour was a bit more than you expected. The Audio is a bit over an hour. And it's 1 mile long :). I did refund this for you. Have a great day!

Good tour of Charleston at your speed with time to enter and pay museums along the way.

Elaine_J, May 2025

Well thought out app leads you on this informative tour which includes pictures to help you identify landmarks. Great tour. I just wonder why they left off the customs house since it was on the way back to the start and you had to pass by it on the way back.

The initial website and...

Joseph_M, Apr 2025

The initial website and ordering was confusing. We had to use phone number provided to walk us through it.

Great way to get your...

Marla_T, Feb 2025

Great way to get your first glimpse of the historic downtown walking and listening at our own pace. Downloaded app for 3 of us easily.

Great intro to Charleston...

Amanda_C, Jan 2025

Great intro to Charleston for someone who has never visited before. I am sure this would also be useful for a returning visitor who wants to know more about the history of the area.

Excellent self-guided tour

Laurie_G, Jan 2025

This tour was exceptionally well-priced, clear, and informative. Directions were clear and we both enjoyed it thoroughly. Highly recommended.

Great tour

Adriane_B, Oct 2024

Great self guided tour! Pretty easy to follow the different stops. Wonderful sights and scenery. Great tour info

Great way to experience a new place

Darryl_M, Oct 2024

Learn at your own pace as you experience a new city. Although it took a while for each of our group of six adults to download the app and then the narration, once we got to walking, each individual was able th gain a quick overview of what we were seeing. Then anyone who had a further interest could listen to in-depth details .

Think you have seen it all… guess again

Nancy_K, Oct 2024

This was so great bc it was self paced. I am from Columbia SC and almost 51 and had never seen or heard some of these things. It was very informative and the scenery speaks for itself.