Charleston Tea Garden Trolley Tour
Explore tea fields with guided narration and a greenhouse stop
Duration
45 Minutes
Includes
Trolley ticket, Guided narration
Highlights
Ride through lush tea fields on a guided trolley tour at the Charleston Tea Garden. Learn about tea cultivation as stories play through the onboard audio and from your guide.
- Cruise through gardens and tea bushes on a trolley ride
- Hear narration from founder Bill Hall via onboard audio
- Stop at the greenhouse to see new tea bushes
- Learn how tea is grown and harvested at the garden
- Enjoy a scenic tour led by a knowledgeable guide
What's Included
- Trolley tour ticket
Things to know
Rideshare services may be difficult to secure for return trips; arrange transportation in advance. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
Cancellation Policy
Free cancellation with at least 24 hours’ notice. Refunds are also issued if the operator cancels due to weather or unforeseen circumstances. If you arrive late without notifying in advance, no refund is issued.
FAQs
Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
You can, but rideshare return trips can be difficult to arrange once you’re there. Confirm your return transportation plans before you visit.
No. Gratuities are not included.
Meeting details
6617 Maybank Highway Wadmalaw Island SC
More about the Charleston Tea Garden
The Charleston Tea Garden sits on Wadmalaw Island, just a short drive from downtown Charleston, and it remains one of the only working tea farms in North America. Stretching across 127 acres of sandy soil, sea breeze, and subtropical sunshine, the Charleston Tea Garden is where Camellia sinensis plants thrive in neat green rows that seem to roll on toward the marsh. This trolley tour brings you right into the heart of the plantation, offering an up-close look at how American Classic Tea is grown, harvested, and processed in a corner of the Lowcountry that feels worlds away from the historic peninsula.
Once you arrive at the Charleston Tea Garden, you will climb aboard an open-air trolley that winds slowly between the tea fields, with a knowledgeable guide explaining how the plants are cultivated and how the unique Greenleaf machine, a hybrid of a tobacco harvester and a cotton picker, gathers the tender top leaves. The breeze carries the soft, grassy scent of the bushes, and you will spot the greenhouse where new cuttings are propagated. After the trolley ride, the factory tour walks you through the withering, oxidizing, and drying steps that turn fresh leaves into the black and green teas you can sip, freshly brewed and complimentary, inside the gift shop.
This tour is a perfect fit for tea lovers, curious travelers, families with children, and anyone looking to slow down and see a side of Charleston beyond the cobblestone streets and antebellum mansions. History buffs will appreciate the agricultural story behind the Charleston Tea Garden, while gardeners and foodies will enjoy learning about the only large-scale tea operation of its kind in the country. If you want a relaxed half-day experience that pairs beautiful Sea Island scenery with a genuinely unique taste of South Carolina, a trolley tour through the Charleston Tea Garden delivers a memory, and a cup, you will not soon forget.