Old South Carriage

What Old South Carriage does

Old South Carriage Company, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned carriage tour operator headquartered at 14 Anson Street in Charleston, South Carolina, one block from the Charleston City Market. Founded in 1983 by David Compton with three horses and a single carriage, the company has operated continuously for nearly 40 years and now runs a modern fleet of 16-passenger comfort-optimized carriages (foam-padded leather seats, backrests, rooftop coverage) led exclusively by Palmetto Guild certified guides.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer tourism model offering scheduled public tours, private carriage bookings, wedding transportation, combo packages with harbor cruises, gift certificates, and seasonal holiday experiences. Core tour products include the 1-hour Historic Charleston Carriage Tour ($50/adult, $40/child), the 40-minute Haunted Carriage Tour ($50/adult), the newly launched Charleston's Founding to Independence evening tour ($45/adult), and a private carriage offering at $700 per carriage (up to 16 passengers). Marketing and customer acquisition rely on the company website (oldsouthcarriage.com), a blog, and active profiles across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest, supplemented by 47,046+ reviews at 4.9/5 across third-party travel platforms.

Revenue mechanics are entirely transactional (per-ticket or per-carriage fees) with no subscription, licensing, or recurring B2B contracts disclosed. Customer segments span individual tourists, school groups, corporate events, and weddings, with no concentrated enterprise anchor accounts. The company maintains a single physical location in Charleston and has not pursued geographic expansion; growth is executed through product line extension, combo partnerships (notably Charleston Harbor Tours), and digital marketing rather than M&A or multi-city scale.

Name

Old South Carriage

Legal name

Old South Carriage Company, Inc.

Website

https://oldsouthcarriage.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Old South Carriage Company is a family-owned Charleston carriage tour operator, founded 1983, offering historic, haunted, and specialty guided horse-drawn tours to tourists, private groups, and wedding parties via direct-to-consumer bookings from its 14 Anson Street stable.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism & Sightseeing Services

NAICS

Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (48711), Tour Operators (561520), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Guided Tours & Personal Tour Guides (THAJALAA)

Keywords

• Horse-drawn carriage tours
• Historic city tours
• Guided tourism services
• Wedding carriage rides
• Group tour operator

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Public Carriage Tours: Standard shared carriage tours where individual tickets are sold for the Historic Charleston Carriage Tour, Haunted Carriage Tour, and Founding to Independence Tour. Tour prices vary by type and passenger age.
2. Group and Private Tours: Private carriage bookings for groups, corporate events, school field trips, and special occasions. Up to 16 passengers per 16-seat carriage, with pricing per carriage or row upgrades available.
3. Wedding Carriage Services: Elegant horse-drawn carriage transportation for wedding ceremonies and receptions, including decorated black or white vis-à-vis carriages with tuxedoed drivers.
4. Combo Tour Packages: Bundled tour packages combining multiple tours such as Historic + Haunted carriage tours or carriage tours with Charleston Harbor cruises at discounted package pricing.
5. Gift Certificates: Gift certificates sold for carriage tours, providing flexible gifting options for tourists and special occasions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Old South Carriage Company operates guided horse-drawn carriage tours through historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. It sells public shared tours (daytime historic, twilight haunted, and evening Founding to Independence), private carriage bookings, wedding transportation, group tours for schools and corporate events, seasonal sleigh rides, combo packages with harbor cruises, and gift certificates. Tours are narrated by Palmetto Guild certified guides using modern 16-passenger carriages with foam-padded leather seats and rooftop coverage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Historic Charleston Carriage Tour A 1-hour daytime narrated horse-drawn carriage tour through downtown Charleston covering 2.5 miles and 30 blocks, priced at $50/adult and $40/child with free infants. Available as both shared public tours and private bookings; offered to tourists and visitors seeking an overview of the city's history.
• Haunted Carriage Tour A 40-minute twilight horse-drawn carriage tour featuring stories of ghosts, pirates, and patriots that make Charleston one of America's most haunted cities, available most nights starting early evening. Priced at $50/adult and $40/child.
• Charleston's Founding to Independence Tour An evening public horse-drawn carriage tour covering colonial beginnings, Revolutionary War stories, and the people and places that helped launch a nation. Available 5:30-7:30pm daily, priced at $45/adult and $40/child.
• Private Carriage Booking An exclusive private horse-drawn carriage tour for up to 16 passengers at $700 per carriage, intended for group events, family reunions, corporate outings, school field trips, and other private gatherings.
• Private Vis-à-Vis Carriage An intimate private horse-drawn carriage ride for 1-4 passengers, starting at $325, often provided for wedding ceremonies and receptions with decorated black or white carriages and tuxedoed drivers.
• Wedding Carriage Services Elegant horse-drawn carriage transportation for wedding ceremonies and receptions, providing a romantic grand entrance or exit using decorated black or white vis-à-vis carriages with tuxedoed drivers.
• Combo Tour Packages Bundled tour packages that combine Old South Carriage tours with partner experiences at discounted pricing, such as the Historic + Haunted Combo ($90 adult / $72 child, saving up to $26 per guest) and the Haunted Carriage + Charleston Harbor Cruise ($82 adult / $66 child, saving up to $23 per person).
• Holiday Sleigh Ride A 30-minute seasonal Christmas horse-drawn ride priced at $35 for adults and children ages 3 and up, including hot chocolate, cookies, and Santa photos. Free for infants ages 0-2 on a parent's lap.
• Gift Certificates Gift certificates sold for carriage tours, providing flexible gifting options for tourists and special occasions.
• Private Row Upgrade An upgrade option priced at $25 per empty seat that allows a guest to secure a private row for themselves on a shared public carriage tour.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.9/5 average rating from 47,046+ reviews
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Charleston Harbor Tours (Carolina Belle)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharleston Harbor Tours provides 90-minute harbor boat cruises on the 80-foot Carolina Belle vessel as part of combo tour packages with Old South Carriage. The partnership allows customers to experience Charleston by both land and sea, combining historic carriage tours with harbor cruises highlighting Fort Sumter and 75+ landmarks.
• H.O.P.E. Rescue CharlestonminorOthersOld South Carriage partnered with H.O.P.E. Rescue Charleston along with Charleston Carriage Works and Palmetto Carriage Works for a 'Charleston Carriage Horses Help Horses in Need' fundraising event in August 2017 to support horse rescue efforts.
• Charleston Carriage WorksminorOthersCollaborated with Charleston Carriage Works on the 'Charleston Carriage Horses Help Horses in Need' community event to support equine welfare.
• Palmetto Carriage WorksminorOthersCollaborated with Palmetto Carriage Works on the 'Charleston Carriage Horses Help Horses in Need' community event to support equine welfare.
• American College of Building ArtsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOld South Carriage was a proud sponsor of the American College of Building Arts 2014 Red Party, providing horse-drawn vis-à-vis carriages as a backdrop for photographs at the event.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Charleston Carriage Works: Direct competitor offering horse-drawn carriage tours in Charleston, SC. Referenced as a peer in Old South Carriage's 2017 H.O.P.E. Rescue event, operating the same product line for the same tourist segment at comparable price points.
• Charleston Walking Tours (Two Rivers & others): Operates guided walking tours of historic Charleston as an alternative format for the same heritage-tourist customer. Competes directly for the tourist's tour spend and time in the same destination.
• Savannah Carriage Tours: Offers horse-drawn carriage tours in Savannah's historic district. Same heritage-tourism use case, similar target demographic, and similar regulatory environment to Old South Carriage — a strong geographic-analogue peer for benchmarking operations.
• Central Park Carriage Rides: Operates horse-drawn carriage tours in Central Park, NYC. Same core product (horse-drawn sightseeing carriage tours), similar tourist demographic, and similar regulatory exposure to animal welfare debates — making it one of the closest analogues to Old South outside Charleston.
• Old Town Trolley Tours (Charleston): Operates narrated trolley sightseeing tours in Charleston as part of a national heritage-tour brand. Competes for the same sightseeing tourist in Charleston with a different but adjacent vehicle-based tour format.
• Palmetto Carriage Works: Direct competitor operating horse-drawn carriage tours in Charleston, SC. Mentioned explicitly as a peer in Old South Carriage's own partnerships and community events, and competes for the same tourist pool, tour routes, and stable locations near the Charleston City Market.
• Carolina Belle / Charleston Harbor Tours: Strategic partner and partial peer — provides the 90-minute harbor boat cruise on the 80-foot Carolina Belle used in Old South Carriage's combo packages. Operates in adjacent sightseeing/experiential category within Charleston tourism, targeting the same tourist with bundled land-and-sea experiences.

Broad incumbents

• Viator: Global online travel agency and tour marketplace where Old South Carriage's tours are listed and reviewed. Indirect distribution channel and broad competitor in tour discovery and booking, though it does not operate carriages itself.
• Airbnb Experiences: Global marketplace for local tours and experiences, including some horse/carriage tours. Competes for tourist mindshare in experiential booking and could divert demand away from Charleston-based operators if supply on the platform grows.
• Historic Tours of America: Larger heritage-tourism operator offering walking, carriage, and trolley tours across multiple U.S. historic cities including Charleston. Wider portfolio but overlapping product categories and similar customer base, making it a relevant broader-incumbent comparison.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/OldSouthCarriage
• Facebookfacebook.com/Oldsouthcarriage
• Instagraminstagram.com/oldsouthchs
• TikToktiktok.com/@oldsouthcarriage
• Pinterestpinterest.com/oldsouthchs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/old-south-carriage-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Old South Carriage