Pirate Escape Charleston Scavenger Hunt and Free Museum
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Charleston, USA
- 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Step back in time to the 1718 pirate siege of Charleston Harbor on this self-guided scavenger hunt that turns Charleston's colonial past into an interactive route through the Historic District. Solve a set of clues at the Powder Magazine, St. Philip's Church, Philadelphia Alley, the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, and White Point Gardens, and learn more about the city as you play.
- Forgo generic group tours and explore Charleston on this unique scavenger hunt
- Go at your own pace with no set start time and the flexibility to pause whenever you like
- Give kids ages 10 and up a way into Charleston's colonial history
- Discover parts of the city you might have otherwise missed
What's Included
- Free Admission to the Fireproof Building Museum
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 100 Meeting St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
The Fireproof Museum is at the corner of Chalmers Street and Meeting Street. The guest entrance is the one off Meeting Street (100 Meeting Street). Enter the Fireproof Building and show the booking voucher to the staff. The closest public parking garage is 2 blocks away at the "Cumberland Garage."
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
1
The Powder Magazine
2
St. Philip's Church
3
Philadelphia Alley
4
Pink House Gallery
5
Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon
6
Battery & White Point Gardens
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Most travelers can participate
- Not recommended for guests under 10 years old.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 55 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
Marcelle_S, Jul 2026
This adventure was fun and took us all over the historic district. I think we would have enjoyed more time to do the adventure, especially since some members of our group really wanted to take more photos along the way. We started at 1:45 and had to be back to the museum before 4 when they closed. We ended up with only a few minutes to spend at the museum after. That and the hot weather were the only downsides. The adults and our 12yo all loved it
Elizabeth_B, Jul 2026
We had a great time! Definitely agree with the over 10 crowd. We had two littles who loved the museum and lasted about an hour on the hunt. We knew this would be the case and planned on a condensed experience. It was a lot of fun and as a SC native who hasn’t lived in SC for many years, indes a few places I had never seen! Highly recommend.
Connie_G, Jul 2026
My husband and I had a great time with the Pirate Escape scavenger hunt. We learned a lot about historic Charleston and the scavenger hunt staff kept in contact with is through text as we did the hunt, even sending pirate jokes!! It was a great guided way to explore the area with purpose.
Theresa_B, Jun 2026
It was wonderful. Rain and all, saw a lot of Charleston that we would have missed. The only bad part was we stopped at a bar and grill and the kids got several bug bites.
Linda_B, May 2026
It is hard and takes a lot of time. I had trouble matching the directions with the questions. Perhaps a narrative explaining the relationship between the narration and the questions will help. It may be that I was too distracted with 2 grandchildren to concentrate. It was fun when the narration and questions aligned.
Sally_D, Apr 2026
This was an awesome experience. A great way to explore downtown Charleston on your own timeframe and get lots of information and history. We got some great photos and fun responses from our pirate guides. Be sure to pick your pirate names and bring your pirate energy with you! We had so much fun.
Julie_C, Mar 2026
Fun walk around the French quarters of Charleston while learning a little bit of history along the way. Beautiful sights and architecture.
Annick_J, Mar 2026
Thanks! That was fun. We got to see more of the city and it kept the kids motivated to keep going. Recommended
Amy_H, Mar 2026
Great instructions, never felt lost. Walked about 2 miles total. Make sure you know North, South, East and West! Kids enjoyed the story and getting to see the city!
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Thank y’all so much for the wonderful review of our Pirate Escape Scavenger Hunt! We hope to see y’all again in the future - Capt B
Amy_B, Feb 2026
It’s not really for children if you are not a history lover . If you are on a time schedule don’t do it .
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Arghhhh mateys, this review I think in pirate terms is telling us to walk the plank. In all fairness, Amy, we have in the description that this is recommended for guests 10+ in age. Y’all had a very young one join and it is hard to keep anyone that young occupied for long. Lastly I was the one who txtd asking if y’all were still going to join as y’all were running late to the pickup location so to claim we ruined your time schedule is a little disingenuous. Regardless I think y’all made it to one stop outside of the museum before quitting so thanks for the attempt. Part of your ticket also goes to supporting preservation efforts at the museum so thank y’all for that as well. Safe travels!
Alas, for future buccaneers: This self-guided scavenger hunt is not for everyone and that is ok. If you have never done a scavenger hunt before just call us and we will be glad to help find out if this is right for you. We receive photo updates as part of the escape to make sure guests are on the right track and while we give the tools for a fun time, when it comes to families with kids we have noticed based on the photos that the parents, grandparents, and guardians that make this engaging for the younger folks are having an absolute blast! This is only as immersive as you make it for younger folks and going around the heart of one of the most historical cities in the country can be an amazing adventure if you allow it to be.
Lastly, we pride ourselves on making this price point affordable to everyone. Guided Walking tours are climbing to $40 + now and we are a quarter of that price point and include free access to the Museum. We pride ourselves on not using any AI, but rather three historians came up with what we believe to be one of the best routes in Charleston for this escape and tested it out for months before releasing. Any questions about our experience or if it is right for your group, don’t hesitate to reach out and we will be glad to assist and I’m sure we will avoid some of the issues the above crew faced. - Captain Bryan with Pirate Escape
Melissa_C, Jan 2026
We had fun scavenging around town learning about the history of the city, just make sure you have on comfy shoes for all the walking!
Lorene_S, Nov 2025
Fun adventure. Lots of walking, the kids stayed engaged. Not sure why you would need to pay for each person in the group. This should be a group rate.
Response from Host, Mar 2026
Hi Lorene,
First off thanks so much for your positive review and taking our Pirate escape! To answer your question we have to report the exact number of guests to the museum as a portion of proceeds goes to supporting preservation efforts at the museum. Therefore for bookkeeping, we have to keep tickets on a per person basis. Lastly, some booking platforms will not integrate a group rate option. However, if y’all are back in town and you have a larger group say 6+ just reach out directly and I will be glad to provide a discounted group rate for y’all for one of our other Escapes ! In fact anyone with a larger group please reach out directly Charleston Historic Tours LLC before booking and we can apply a group discount :). Safe travels and thanks again for joining mateys! -capt B
Cynthia_B, Oct 2025
It's a nice walk and you see some cool parts of the city. Read all the directing as you go, dont skip to far ahead though!
Stanley_R, Sept 2024
It was so much fun learning the history and stories of landmarks. Be ready to walk A LOT! But worth it!
Randall_O, Aug 2024
Fun way to see some of the amazing history and beautiful architecture of Charleston! Messages were humorous and encouraging!
Amy_B, Jul 2024
This was a great family adventure tour. The clues help you navigate around Charleston’s historic district plus learn its history. A bonus was that you text photos of you finds along the way to the tour company so it helps you to document tour trip as well, which I loved. I highly recommend this tour.
Madeline_M, Jun 2024
I wish we had received a certificate or sticker to advertise we completed the tasks. An acknowledgement would have been nice.
Ashley_L, Jun 2024
Fantastic experience. Interactive & fun, would highly recommend. Wouldn't hesitate to go on another one of Captain Bryan's tours (even though he's got Dad Jokes!)
Laura_A, May 2024
The Powder Magazine is full of interesting history and my kids had fun playing some of the games. Though we were unable to finish the Scavenger Hunt Scavenger, the parts we did were fun and interesting.
I was especially impressed with how supportive and accessible the organizers are. They made the experience more enjoyable.
Sally_H, Mar 2024
Tour was fun and you learn history along the way. Beautiful streets that you don't see on most other tours.
Corey_B, Dec 2023
Definitely a fun way to wander around historic downtown Charleston. I definitely would not have seen as much walking around on my own without the scavenger hunt to lead me all around the interesting spots, so it was definitely worth it.
Elizabeth_V, Nov 2023
The scavenger hunt brought us to streets and places we never would have never probably wandered to. I think we would have liked maybe a tour guide with us or someone from the pirate scavenger hunt to meet us and maybe explain a little bit more as to what was expected.
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Thank you for the overall positive review! Per your groups updates ya'll found every site without issue and completed the experience just fine and did not send any questions so I'm not sure what the issues were. For future guests please remember this is advertised as "self guided". You get to walk at your own pace and time to visit some awesome sites but it is also a "scavenger hunt" so you will have to search out a few historic items and areas as part of the experience. Please note since this is self guided it is reflected in the low price and this is one of the most affordable tours in Charleston and includes free access to a Museum (an $8 fee if you were to go separately). We have one of the scavenger hunt creators on standby for guest questions during the experience via a number you send photo updates too. With those updates we can track progress and answer questions within minutes! Guests also receive meeting location instructions via txt an hour before the tour start so please leave a valid phone number when you book! An instruction packet is provided at the start location. Over 50 individuals took this experience before launch without issue and we believe we have a one of a kind experience in Charleston that also supports preservation efforts!
Elizabeth, thanks for booking with us and helping to support the Powder Magazine Museum and preservation efforts in Charleston, we hope to see ya'll again in the future! Congrats on your successful Pirate Escape- Capt Bryan
Michael_T, Nov 2023
Good history, self guided walk through French quarter, which pointed out things that you would have walked right by without noticing.
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