Barrier Islands Eco Tours, Isle of Palms

Our family had the best time on the Barrier Island Ecotours. Robert was amazing with our children who asked him about 800 questions on the boat and while exploring Caper's Island. Ella the boat dog was super cute and friendly too. Definitely a highlight of our trip to the Charleston area!

This was an incredible tour! The weather was iffy at first but the captain stayed hopeful and sure enough we ended up with a beautiful sunset sky! Capers island was so amazing, the shells and trees really blew us away. The captain was funny and informative and super nice. He felt like a good friend we’ve known for years. Highly recommended!! You’ll come away having learned so much.

We were able to go on a school field trip with Barrier Island Ecotours and it was amazing! Mike was our naturalist and Rutledge our pilot. Mike has a great sense of humor and showmanship while teaching kids of all ages. I texted my husband before we even made it to the island at the end of our stop that we all needed to come back (he was home with the other kiddos) because it was so cool.

Our family’s 3.5 hour boat ride with Captain Robert and his sweet dog Ella Belle was the highlight of our trip to Charleston! We brought our 4 young kids ages 1-8 and we had the best time. Robert was extremely engaging, knowledgeable, funny, and such a nice guy! He was a 4th grade teacher for 15 years and it shows how much he loves kids. There was an autistic girl on our boat who asked a lot of questions and he was amazing with her. This experience was way more than a simple dolphin tour you can do most places. This was an amazing educational experience where we got to see and touch sea-life and explore an island. We will remember this for a long time and will do it again next time we return.

We booked the Blue Crabbing excursion for our family of six (kids ages 3-9) and it was the highlight of our vacation. I cannot say enough wonderful things about our captain (Rutledge) and naturalist (Mike). Both made the experience unforgettable. Our kids were captivated by everything Mike taught them about the animals and ecosystem of the salt lake marsh. The kids loved seeing all of the dolphins and learning about prey and predator. Catching crabs on Capers Island was awesome and an experience I’m sure our kids will never forget. The crab and shrimp boil at the end was delicious and even our picky eaters tried and enjoyed everything. We are already talking about doing another tour with Barrier Island Ecotours the next time we come to Isle of Palms to vacation. This excursion was worth every penny. Thank you to Rutledge and Mike for such a wonderful afternoon!