About Beaufort Tours
It started as the Beaufort Movie Tour
Bill Reynolds started this company as the Beaufort Movie Tour. Guests came for Forrest Gump and The Big Chill, and then they asked about everything else. Beaufort has incredible history, so two years later the company became Beaufort Tours. Today the tours are about 90 percent history and 10 percent movies, and most guests tell us they came for the history.
For years Bill drove a Mercedes Sprinter van. In October 2020 he switched to golf carts. “The best thing I ever did was switch to golf cart tours,” he says. We now run three Yamaha golf carts from the Downtown Marina, plus walking tours, custom tours and step-on guides for visiting motor coaches.
We have no storefront. As Bill puts it: “You show up in my golf cart and take the tour.”
The people behind the tours
Bill Reynolds
Davis Folsom
Spain’s first capital, and how Beaufort got its name
Most people think St. Augustine was the first capital of the Spanish colony of La Florida. St. Augustine was founded in 1565. The following year Pedro Menéndez settled Parris Island, here in Beaufort, and for 21 years it was the capital of La Florida. Bill joins archaeological digs to keep up with what is being found about those early days.
Then there is the name. Beaufort, South Carolina and Beaufort, North Carolina are named after the same man: Henry Somerset, the second Duke of Beaufort. North Carolina says it the British way. Our pronunciation goes back to French Huguenots who came from Normandy in the late 1600s. Ask your guide to say both.
Why ride or walk with us
More than 2,300 guests have reviewed Beaufort Tours on Google and Tripadvisor. Here is what they come for.
A tour for every interest
Ride the golf cart for one easy hour, walk the historic district for two, follow Pat Conroy through the town he wrote about, or ask us for a custom day.
The real film locations
Hollywood made 18 films here. We show you the Forrest Gump bridge, the site of The Big Chill jogging scene and the homes where the stars stayed.
More than 300 years of history
Antebellum homes, live oaks draped in Spanish moss, and the stories of the people who shaped this town, told by guides who live here.
Find us at the Downtown Marina
Every tour starts at the Downtown Marina, 1006 Bay Street, Beaufort, SC 29902. Parking is available at the marina. From there you are minutes from the historic district, the waterfront and the film locations from Forrest Gump and The Big Chill.
Questions? Call 843-838-2746 or write to billr@beauforttours.com.
Frequently asked questions
Times, prices and where to meet us