Traveling Buoy Boat Rentals offers pontoon boat rentals right at Sands Beach in Port Royal, South Carolina, where Battery Creek flows into the Beaufort River. The business is named for a genuine piece of local history: a navigational buoy that broke loose from its mooring during a 1970 storm, drifted nearly 6,000 miles to Scotland, and was recovered and returned to Port Royal in 1973.
Pontoon rentals accommodate 10-12 guests and include all safety equipment and on-board GPS for easy navigation of Beaufort’s waterways. Rates run $110/hour, or $350 for 4 hours, $475 for 6 hours, and $600 for 8 hours, with a $5/hour fuel fee added to the final charge. Hours run Monday-Thursday for 4, 6, or 8-hour bookings, with 6 or 8-hour options available Friday onward.
The location itself is a scenic spot at the southern tip of Port Royal, with sandy beaches offering views of the river and estuaries (guests can even look for shark’s teeth), a boat ramp for launching, the Henry Robinson Boardwalk for strolling, crabbing, or fishing, and an observation tower with sweeping views.
Guest reviews consistently praise the professional, knowledgeable, and genuinely friendly owners, well-maintained boats, on-board GPS, and helpful local recommendations for where to explore. One reviewer specifically noted that even when their group got beached on a sandbar due to a tide change, the owners promptly and cheerfully helped out with no frustration at all.
For visitors and locals in the Beaufort/Port Royal area looking to rent a spacious pontoon and explore the Lowcountry’s rivers and estuaries, Traveling Buoy Boat Rentals offers a highly reviewed, personable operation right at Sands Beach.
