Highlights

U S Tours Flexible Pricing:

• Customizable Comps
• Luxury or First Class Hotels & Meals
• Motorcoach Transportation & Professional Tour Managers are available

Whatever you want, U S Tours will be happy to structure tour prices to match your needs.  Just let us know!

Itinerary

Day 1 – Saturday – Beaufort, SC – Beaufort Shrimp Festival – Stop at Chocolate Tree – Dinner w/Forrest Gump

Arrive in Beaufort, SC this afternoon where you enjoy the Annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival.  Located at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park along the Intercoastal Waterway.  Savor the best fresh-caught shrimp in the world during the 31st Annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival, featuring unique shrimp dishes from the region’s foremost restaurants and chefs.  Spend the afternoon at the Festival, enjoy lunch on own, and visit the Arts & Crafts Market.

Then make a stop at the Chocolate Tree. As Forrest says, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get!”  The Chocolate Tree, a full-fledged chocolate and candy manufactory where customers are drawn inside by the luscious aroma which permeates the air. Windows into the production area allow visitors to see some of the more than 60 specialty chocolate delectables and other confections being made.

Check into your Beaufort hotel for a four night stay.  Tonight, enjoy dinner with Forrest Gump.  Paul Dengler, a Forrest Gump impersonator will entertain you this evening with an incredible performance. (D)

Day 2 – Sunday – Full Day Guided Beaufort Tour w/Forrest – Port Royal Maritime Center – Traditional Gullah Dinner

This morning, meet your local guide for a full day tour of Beaufort.  Forrest Gump will also join you today on your tour.  Start the morning in Lucy Creek which can be seen in several scenes in the film with Forrest’s shrimp boat, Jenny. While in Lucy Creek you will also see Bubba’s Mama’s House and Forrest’s Mama’s House.

Following lunch at a local restaurant, visit the Port Royal Maritime Center.  Located on the Chechessee River, the Maritime Center exhibits appeal to all ages, from a life-sized Megalodon jaw to a 3,000-gallon aquarium featuring local marine life.   The Maritime Center features work from local artists as well as photos and artifacts that help tell the story of how the Sound has influenced the area’s rich history and culture.

This evening, enjoy a Traditional Gullah Dinner. Tonight’s meal will highlight authentic Gullah cuisine including seafood gumbo, grits, and collard greens. (B,L,D)

Day 3 – Monday – Full Day Guided Tour – Saint Helena Island – Shrimping Lessons – Dolphin Eco Cruise – Lowcountry Boil Lunch

After breakfast, meet your local guide again for a full day guided tour. Start at Gay’s Seafood Market and Shrimp Docks on Saint Helena Island.  Here you will meet a direct descendant of John H Gay, Sr, founder of Gay Fish Company in business since 1948.  You will have an opportunity to view the receipts for shrimp purchased by Paramount Pictures for the filming. You will learn how shrimp are caught, sorted and readied for sell.”  *There is a possibility they will be able to see shrimp being headed and learn how to do it themselves but there is no guaranty shrimp will be caught that day.

Next, visit the Coastal Expeditions Campus where you will take a Dolphin Eco Cruise of the Harbor River and estuary.  As you cruise along the waterfront, the captain shares stories about local history, beginning with Native Americans and into Spanish exploration, French settlement and English colonization. Along the way, you’re likely to see playful bottlenose dolphins, nesting bald eagles and ospreys on the hunt.

Returning to shore, enjoy a Lowcountry Boil Lunch.

Bubba’s Thoughts on Shrimp, “Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich…”

Also included today are stops at MacDonald Market Place and Lowcountry Store to browse for local arts and crafts.

End the day with dinner at Fish Camp in Port Royal. (B,L,D)

Day 4 – Tuesday – Day Trip to Savannah, GA – Chippewa Square – Savannah History Museum – Love’s Seafood & Steaks

Today features a full day trip to Savannah, GA and more Forrest Gump related attractions.  See where Forrest waited for the bus, choose a box of chocolates, and more in Savannah.

Start at Chippewa Square known for the famous park bench scenes from Forrest Gump.  Here in the opening shot of the film, a feather floats high above the trees, then sweeps down past the Independent Presbyterian Church, the James Oglethorpe Statue and makes its way toward the park bench. Tom Hanks, who plays the role of Forrest, sat on this park bench for about 80% of the film telling his life story to anyone who will listen.   (Note: The bench was actually a movie prop and has been placed in the Savannah History Museum.)

Following a break for lunch on your own, visit the Savannah History Museum.  The museum, set in a former passenger rail station, has more than 10,000 artifacts from the last 300 years. Among the highlights in the museum are an antique cotton gin, one of Johnny Mercer’s Oscars and Juliette Gordon Low’s family carriage. But it’s Forrest Gump’s bench that the museum is best known for, left behind from the film production.

Enjoy dinner this evening at Love’s Seafood & Steaks.  Set on the Ogeechee River outside of downtown Savannah, Love’s Seafood & Steaks offers a rustic atmosphere and the best and freshest seafood around. Local beer, steaks and desserts are also on the menu at this eatery that has been a coastal Georgia favorite for more than 60 years. The restaurant was used as the setting for the scene with Jenny’s performance at the truck stop in “Forrest Gump.”

Return to your Beaufort hotel for the evening. (B,D)

Day 5 – Wednesday – Depart for Home

After breakfast, depart for home. (B)

Tour Map