Beaufort History Movie Tour by Golf Cart: 300 Years

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/9

Duration1h

GroupUp to 5

LanguagesEN · FR +1

Mobile ticketAccepted

Ride past antebellum homes and movie sets while a guide walks you through three centuries of Beaufort's past

This 1-hour guided tour of Beaufort travels by 8-passenger Yamaha golf cart through the town's historic neighborhoods, stopping at or passing sites tied to 300 years of history—from Spanish and French exploration through the Civil War to the Hollywood films shot here. A live guide narrates the story while you ride past antebellum homes, plantations, and the specific locations where Forrest Gump, The Big Chill, and The Great Santini were filmed. The tour includes transport and a guide speaking English, Spanish, or French; maximum group size is five people per cart.

Step-by-step itinerary

Beaufort history and movie tour

Ride in 8 passenger golf cart
Listen to guide narrate 300 years history
Drive past antebellum homes and plantations
See sites where movie stars stayed
Visit Gump Medical Center from Forrest Gump
See Beaufort National Cemetery
View bridge from Forrest Gump run
Pass Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
Pass Pat Conroy Literary Center
Pass Center for the Arts filming locations
Pass bookstore from Julia Roberts movie scene
Pass St. Helena’s Anglican Church
Pass John Mark Verdier House
Stop for free chocolate sample at Chocolate Tree
Pass National Park Service Reconstruction headquarters
Pass Beaufort History Museum
Pass shopping and restaurants
Learn about Santa Elena Spanish capital history

The Experience

You board the golf cart and spend the next hour moving through Beaufort's tree-lined streets at a pace that lets you see the architecture and listen without straining. The guide narrates the town's arc—Spanish and French exploration, English settlement, the Civil War, and the Reconstruction Era that followed—while pointing out the antebellum homes and plantations that line the route. The golf cart itself is the vehicle; you're not walking, so the hour covers ground without physical demand.

The tour weaves together two threads: the actual history and the Hollywood history. You pass the John Mark Verdier House, built in 1804, where French General Marquis de Lafayette gave his farewell speech from the top-floor balcony in 1825. You see St. Helena's Anglican Church, built as a Church of England starting in 1712. You drive past the Beaufort History Museum and the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park headquarters, where the guide explains why Beaufort became central to understanding the post-Civil War period—including the story of Robert Smalls, a slave born in Beaufort who made a daring escape with the steamship The Planter. Then the guide points out the filming locations: the bridge where Forrest Gump ran across the country, the Gump Medical Center (funded by Forrest's shrimp company profits in the film's logic), the National Cemetery where The Great Santini was buried, and the bookstore that was used in Something to Talk About with Julia Roberts. The Pat Conroy Literary Center gets a mention too, with stories about the author woven in.

After the tour ends, you have the option to explore some sites on your own time. St. Helena's Anglican Church offers docent-led tours, and the John Mark Verdier House is open to the public Monday through Saturday. The Chocolate Tree, which supplied the chocolates inside the Russell Stover box Forrest Gump held on the park bench in Savannah, offers a free chocolate Sand Dollar sample to tour participants. The whole experience is built around the idea that you stay seated and listen while the guide does the navigating and the storytelling.

What’s included

Transport by 8-passenger Yamaha golf cart.
a live guide narrating Beaufort's 300-year history in English, Spanish, or French.
stops or pass-bys at the Beaufort History Museum, John Mark Verdier House, St. Helena's Anglican Church, Pat Conroy Literary Center, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, Beaufort National Cemetery, and the filming locations from Forrest Gump, The Big Chill, and The Great Santini.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePets welcome

Operated by Beaufort Tours LLC

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to cover Beaufort's history and movie sites in one hour while seated—choose the self-guided walk instead if you prefer to stop and linger at individual locations.