Port Royal Island highlight of one-week coastal cruise through Southeast U.S.
The Arizona Republic — April 13, 2025
BEAUFORT, S.C. – Regardless of whether you’ve actually been here or even know how to pronounce the name, chances are you’ve already experienced some of the southern charm of this historic coastal town 35 miles north of Hilton Head Island.
Beaufort, a town of about 14,000 residents on Port Royal, one of South Carolina’s 35 sea islands on the Atlantic coast, has played a leading role in several popular movies. “Forrest Gump,” “The Prince of Tides,” “The Big Chill,” and “The Great Santini” are just a few of the more than 15 movies filmed here.
Beaufort is one of only a handful of towns in the United States that has had its entire downtown designated a historic district by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Mispronounce it – as I initially did – BOH-fert and the locals will politely correct you. They call their town BEW-fert, with a sound they proudly note is similar to the first syllable in the word “beautiful.”
Adding to the confusion, there is a port town in neighboring North Carolina with the exact same spelling (both towns were even named after the same person – an English duke) that’s pronounced BOH-fert.
Beaufort is pronounced BEW-fert, with a sound the locals proudly note is similar to the first syllable in the word “beautiful.”
Enunciation challenges aside, Beaufort was one of the most captivating stops on a recent one-week coastal cruise of the Southeast United States on the 100-passenger American Liberty, part of the growing fleet of Connecticut-based American Cruise Lines. While the cruise line is best known for its itineraries on the Mississippi, Columbia and other U.S. rivers, it is rapidly expanding into the coastal-cruising market.
Christened last August, the American Liberty is one of four ships that American Cruise Lines classifies as “coastal cats,” catamaran-inspired ships with shallow drafts designed for inland exploration on itineraries along the East coast – from New England to Florida. The cruise line also offers coastal itineraries on small ships in Alaska and the Puget Sound in Washington.
The 100-passenger American Liberty, part of the fleet of American Cruise Lines, docked in Amelia Island, Florida, the final stop on a one-week cruise through the Intracoastal Waterway in the Southeast U.S.
With 94 passengers and 42 crew members, we started the cruise in Charleston, South Carolina, then slowly meandered 250 miles south through a section of the Intracoastal Waterway, a tranquil blend of bays, rivers, tidal creeks and golden-brown marshes. The cruise ended with a full day in Amelia Island, Florida; a 45-minute bus ride the following morning took us to the airport in Jacksonville for our flights home.
In addition to Beaufort, we stopped in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; and Jekyll and St. Simons islands in Georgia.
Sunset over the Intracoastal Waterway in South Carolina as seen from the American Liberty during a one-week cruise in the Southeast U.S.
With its connection to some of my favorite movies, it was Beaufort that earned top billing in my cruise playbill. I took a two-hour walking tour called “Beaufort History and Movie Walking Excursion,” led by Bill Reynolds, owners of Beaufort Tours. Even a steady rain with temperatures in the low 50s didn’t dampen our group’s enthusiasm for seeing so many sites we remembered from the big screen.
“It’s really a beautiful town with lots of antebellum homes, live oak trees and Spanish moss,” says Reynolds about Beaufort’s popularity with Hollywood producers. “It’s just a wonderful place to film a movie.”
The mid-19th century mansion on Bay Street in downtown Beaufort was a filming location in “The Prince of Tides.” The 7,616-square-foot home is now on the market for $2.85 million.
Perhaps Beaufort’s most notable landmark is the Woods Memorial Bridge, which connects its beautifully preserved downtown to the surrounding sea islands. It’s one of only a handful of swing bridges in South Carolina still in use.
Forrest Gump was filmed running over the bridge while being interviewed by reporters near the end of his cross-country run. In the movie, the bridge supposedly spanned the Mississippi River. In reality, it took Forrest over the Beaufort River.
The Woods Memorial Bridge in downtown Beaufort was used as a filming location in the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump.”
The town stages a popular “Run Forrest Run 5K” race every fall over the bridge, complete with a contest for the best Forrest Gump lookalike. The Vietnam scenes in the movie were filmed on nearby Fripp Island and Hunting Island State Park.
Parts of “Forrest Gump” also were filmed in Savannah, which we visited two days later. I walked through the city’s historic downtown to see Chippewa Square, where Forrest recounted his life story to anyone who would listen while sitting on a park bench. The bench is now at the Paramount lot in Los Angeles but a replica is on display at the Savannah History Museum.
Chippewa Square in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia. The park is known for the famous park bench scenes in the movie “Forrest Gump.”
Hollywood was initially drawn to Beaufort largely due to the work of acclaimed writer Pat Conroy, who lived most of his life in Beaufort until his death in 2016.
Four of Conroy’s novels were turned into movies, two of which – 1979’s “The Great Santini” and 1991’s “The Prince of Tides,” were filmed in Beaufort. Both movies were loosely based on Conroy’s life.
Acclaimed novelist Pat Conroy lived much of his life in Beaufort. Two of Conroy’s books, “The Prince of Tides” and “The Great Santini” were made into movies that were filmed in the town.
On Beaufort’s historic Bay Street one block from the river, we walked past a mid-19th century mansion that appeared in “The Prince of Tides.” It was the house where the social-climbing mother of Nick Nolte’s character lived.
If you’re interested in buying a piece of movie history, the 7,616-square-foot home is now on the market for $2.85 million.
The neoclassical mansion known as Tidalholm in Beaufort that was the centerpiece in the 1983 movie “The Big Chill.” Built in 1853, it is now a private residence. The house also appeared in 1979’s “The Great Santini.”
Three blocks away we struck movie gold when visiting the 19th-century mansion known as Tidalholm. The house first appeared in the movie that marked Beaufort’s big-screen debut, “The Great Santini.” It was the home of character Bull Meechum, a Marine fighter pilot played by Robert Duvall.
Four years later, Tidalholm made an encore performance as the centerpiece of “The Big Chill.” With an ensemble cast, the movie focused on a group of college friends who reunited 12 years later when a friend committed suicide. The house was used for both exterior and interior scenes.
Tidalholm is a private residence so we weren’t allowed to walk past the front gate. Nevertheless, I imagined hearing the voices of Kevin Kline, Meg Tilly and Jeff Goldblum playing a spirited touch-football game on the spacious lawn.
Chartered in 1711, Beaufort is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston.
Explored by the Spanish, French and English, Beaufort was chartered in 1711, making it the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. It’s one of only a handful of towns in the country that has had its entire downtown designated a historic district by National Trust for Historic Preservation. Last year, it was named the “#1 Best Small Town” in South Carolina by Southern Living magazine.
In addition to its move-related sites, Beaufort offers visitors sites related to the Revolutionary and Civil wars, and a glimpse into the culture of the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of Africans who were enslaved on the rice, indigo, and Sea Island cotton plantations of the lower Atlantic coast.
The tiny Coffin Point Community Praise House on St. Helena Island near Beaufort. Praise houses were used by the Gullah people — descendants of African slaves — as meeting places and houses of worship.
We toured St. Helena Island, a 20-minute drive from Beaufort, which is a major center of Gullah culture. That evening, Natasha Robinson, a Gullah native of St. Helena and Army veteran, came onboard the American Liberty to present an engrossing lecture on Gullah history and traditions.
Natasha Robinson, a Gullah native of St. Helena Island in South Carolina, discusses Gullah history and traditions during a performance on the American Liberty.
Robinson also told us the story of the Combahee River Raid near Beaufort in 1863, which freed over 700 enslaved people. Working with Union officers and African-American soldiers, abolitionist Harriet Tubman helped lead the raid; she is honored with a monument in downtown Beaufort.
The American Liberty will continue sailing the Southeast Sea Islands itinerary until late May, when it heads north for cruises along the Eastern Seaboard up to New England.
A monument in downtown Beaufort honors abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Working with Union officers, Tubman helped lead the Combahee River Raid near Beaufort in 1863, which freed over 700 enslaved people.
With its newest ship – American Legend, christened in February in Key West, Florida, American Cruise Lines now has 21 small ships and riverboats traversing U.S. waterways on more than 50 itineraries. Its vessels accommodate 90-180 passengers.
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© 2025 Dan Fellner
