A Tour Company
With a Mission
To Share And Nurture Charleston
Our love for Charleston – its history, people, places, food, and culture – inspires our desire to share it. Not just because we want you to love it, too, but because we believe that when we get to know and love a place, we’re exponentially more likely to nurture it – keep it healthy, unique, interesting, and vibrant.
This notion is what we’ve built our business – and our team – on. We designed a sustainable tour model that invests a portion of all ticket proceeds back into the properties we tour, ensuring that Charleston’s most historically significant – and often complex – landmarks, structures, sites, and stories, are preserved for future generations to see, hear, consider, and explore.
We believe walking through Charleston is the way to know and love her. To inhale the perfume of tea olive in bloom. To meet and delight in her people. To see the enslaved mason’s fingerprint in a single brick. To hear church bells marking time. To touch a name from the past etched in stone. Taste the ocean in her food. Feel the heavy gauze of her tropical air. And discover new things on streets we’ve walked before.
That’s why we offer a diverse mix of history, culinary, and ghost walking tours and exclusive access to Charleston’s most fascinating places. That’s why our licensed tour team are also endlessly curious, passionate storytellers. And, that’s why our true mission is more than entertaining, more than informing, it’s ultimately about creating meaningful and lasting connections between people and Charleston, and always, to one another.
OUR HISTORY
Our founder, John LaVerne, has a deep love for Charleston, history, and storytelling. While being a tour guide was initially just a hobby, about 60 seconds into giving his first tour, John was hooked – by his enthralled audience and the chance to share his love of Charleston with others. He founded Bulldog Tours to raise funds for the preservation of The Old Exchange Building. The rest, as the tour team says, is history.
Supporting The Community That Supports Us
We are practitioners of and believers in sustainable tourism. That means we invest a portion of all ticket proceeds back into the properties we tour. This ensures that the historically significant landmarks, structures, and sites, integral to Charleston’s charm and culture – these places we love and love to share – are preserved for future generations to enjoy. As of today, Bulldog Tours has raised $6,000,000 for the preservation of our historic site affiliates in Charleston.
- S.C. FAMILY CONNECTIONS
- RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE
- LOUIES KIDS
- SPECIAL OLYMPICS
- RACE FOR THE CURE
- WOUNDED WARRIORS
- THE FOOTLIGHTS PLAYERS
- AMERICAN COLLEGE OF THE BUILDING ARTS
- JOINT BASE CHARLESTON
- S.C. SEA GRANT CONSORTIUM BEACH / RIVER SWEEP
- HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
- GOODWILL
- AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
- AMERICAN RED CROSS
- CHARLESTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
- HISTORIC CHARLESTON FOUNDATION
- CHARLESTON PRESERVATION SOCIETY
- CHARLESTON LIBRARY SOCIETY
- THE CITADEL FOUNDATION
- COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON
Meet OurTeam
Keeping the tours engaging and on time, the customers wowed, the bills paid, and the cats herded takes a dedicated and talented team.
Adeline
Customer Service
More InfoAdelineCustomer Service
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Grace Church Cathedral
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Oysters
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- The taste of the seafood
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Boat day on the Charleston Harbor
Bella
Customer Service
More InfoBellaCustomer Service
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- The Provost Dungeon because it is one of the only place in Charleston that has a "basement"
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Any fried fish that is local
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Right before it rains with the thickness in the air
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Being on the water
Catherine
Director of Operations
More InfoCatherine Director of Operations
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- The Battery, hands down!
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Boiled peanuts and red rice
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- The smell of oysters cooking at an oyster roast!
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Taking a boat ride through the Charleston harbor at sunset!
Diane
Sales Coordinator
More InfoDiane Sales Coordinator
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- the Old Exchange Building
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Hoppin' John and Collard Greens
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Carriage Barns
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Strolling Waterfront Park
Erin
Operations Coordinator
More InfoErinOperations Coordinator
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- The Battery at sunrise
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Pimento Cheese
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- The smell of the ocean
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Catching my first shark on a fishing trip
Gentry
Customer Service
More InfoGentryCustomer Service
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Hibernian Hall
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Magnolia's fried green tomatoes
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Jasmine
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Trying different cocktails at hotel bars
Ginger
Front Desk Supervisor
More InfoGinger Front Desk Supervisor
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Magnolia Cemetery
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Benne Wafers
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Tea Olive
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Folly Beach around 1-2am
John L
Director of Maintenance
More InfoJohn LDirector of Maintenance
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Magnolia Cemetery
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Stone Ground Grits
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Pluff Mud
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Sunrise over the Battery and sunsets over the marsh
John Robert
Assistant Director of Maintenance
More InfoJohn RobertAssistant Director of Maintenance
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- The Battery
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Shrimp and grits
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Pluff mud
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- My experience at The Citadel
Keleigh
Customer Service
More InfoKeleigh Customer Service
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- East Bay Street and Wadmalaw Island
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Boiled peanuts, chicken bog, and oysters
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- The warm salty breeze
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Boat days and sunsets
Lacie
Customer Service
More InfoLacie Customer Service
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Chalmers Street
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- She-crab soup
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- The smell of the Magnolias blooming
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Drayton Hall at Christmas time
Melissa
Customer Service
More InfoMelissaCustomer Service
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Old City Jail
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Local oysters
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Carmella's desserts
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Dinner at Folly Beach with my love
Meredith
Front Desk Supervisor
More InfoMeredithFront Desk Supervisor
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Chapel Street or the Benton Rice Mill facade
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Huguenot Torte and boiled peanuts
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Tea Olive Bushes
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Better than Ezra shows at the Music Farm
Michael
Customer Service
More InfoMichaelCustomer Service
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Caribbean Food
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Jeni's Ice Cream on King St.
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Theatre 99
Stevie
Director of Security
More InfoStevieDirector of Security
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Anson Street, home of Bulldog Tours!
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Jersey Mikes and Taco Bell
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- The smell of grass where I play golf.
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Helping out the Bishop England basketball team!
Zach
Director of Sales
More InfoZach Director of Sales
Questions:
- 1.) What is your favorite Charleston street or historic site/building?
- Legare Street and the Joseph Manigault
- 2.) What is your favorite Charleston food?
- Stone Ground Grits
- 3.) What is your favorite Charleston smell or taste?
- Confederate Jasmine
- 4.) What is your favorite Charleston experience?
- Walking the Battery in the late afternoon.
Meet Our Tour Guides
Engaging, friendly, licensed and ready to regale you with fun facts, intriguing stories, and more.