Heritage Tour

Gullah people are known for preserving more of their African linguistic and cultural heritage than any other African-American community in the United States.

Duration

2.5 hours

About

Learn about the culture of Gullah people during a two-hour narrated bus tour, and other Hilton Head activities. The tours are narrated by native Gullah folks who are descendants of former slaves dating back to years immediately after the Civil War. You will travel through the Gullah communities on Hilton Head Island when the island’s landscape was only farmlands, trees, dirt roads, wildlife and natural waterways throughout and around the island. The distinctive Gullah language, traditional foods, and recipes, music, religion, social structure, and folktales will all be woven into an interactive educational and entertaining experience. You will come away with an understanding of how the descendants of former enslaved people developed and maintained these communities on the then-isolated island.

At the halfway point, you will have a 15-20 minute rest stop at one of the Public Beach accesses, allowing for a casual stroll over a boardwalk to view the Atlantic Ocean and refresh.

Tour Highlights

• Gullah Family Compounds
• Old Debarkation Point (used before the island’s connection to the mainland)
• Old One-room School House
• Plantation Tabby Ruins
• Historic Marker of First Freedom Village