Bringing your personal boat to Daufuskie Island? Excellent! Tour Daufuskie does pair a number of our tours and rentals with water transportation, but we can also coordinate rentals and tours with personal boaters. Click here to book rentals without water transportation. (Look for the “Rentals Without Water Transportation” tab in blue.)
First, let us help you figure out how to get here via waterways.
Coming from Beaufort/Bluffton/Hilton Head? You’ll head south in the Intracoastal Waterway. Most likely after passing through Calibogue Sound, head south into the Copper River. You’ll enter the Cooper River at Red Marker 32, where you will see Haig Point. Follow the Cooper River south to reach Daufuskie’s public dock locations at Melrose Landing, Freeport Marina or Daufuskie’s County Dock Landing.
Coming from the Savannah area? You’ll want to head through Feild’s Cut, which will take you into the New River. Follow the New River north. You’ll approach the southern tip of Daufuskie, and continue north to the public docks on the south end of Daufuskie Island.
Tour Daufuskie has Check-In locations on both the north and south end.
One location we recommend is the Public Dock. This dock is free, and open to boaters for short term tie-ups. Coming from the south, look for the larger concrete pier and dock next to Daufuskie’s public boat ramp. It is in the New River, just after Red Marker 40. If you are coming from the north, follow the Copper River south around Daufuskie Island. You’ll go through Ramhorn’s cut and enter the New River. Look for that same larger concrete pier, dock and boat ramp just past Green Marker 39. We have carts right at the Public Dock!
Another option for docking is at Melrose Landing. This is where the Daufuskie Island Ferry comes into Daufuskie. Look for the larger wood pier with the dock house at the end, just past Freeport Marina. Be sure to tie up on the inside docks, as the outer one is made for the ferry. You will have to call Haig Point to pay for docking, which runs around $25 for day dockage.
Otherwise you can pull up to Freeport Marina, just north of Melrose Landing. This is your largest set of docks, but can become quite busy in the warmer months. Tie up here and you’ll be right at Daufuskie Island Crab Company. Although we don’t have carts at Freeport, we are just a short walk away at Melrose Landing. (Since we take all payments ahead of time, we recommend just the driver comes to pick up the cart and fill out the paperwork.) It’s a quick 5 minute walk from Freeport.
So why choose Tour Daufuskie carts? Other than the fact that we offer excellent products and service? We reserve the cart for you, so you know you’re guaranteed a cart for your day over here. We rent carts as early as 8:30 and you can keep them as late as 6:30. Do a part day rental for 4 hours, or rent then for the full day!
We also are boaters ourselves; we get it. Logistics can be tricky. So we text you the morning of the rental to verify your arrival time and to touch base. With ample notice, we do our best to move around your start time so you’re not locked into the reserved hours.
So for our local friends, call us for cart rentals and guided tours! We know the waterways and appreciate your visit to Daufuskie.
Here is link to the waterways around Daufuskie Island, just in case! NOAA Chart – Daufuskie Waterways
