FAQs

Questions?  We have answers!

We hope you will find the answers to many of your questions in our “Frequently Asked Questions.” If you have additional questions, you can always contact us directly by telephone at (252) 648-1011 from 8 am – 7 pm. – seven days a week.

General

We ask that you arrive 15 minutes before all our scheduled tours. We like to make sure everyone is introduced to each other and we like go through the introductions to your tour. We ask that you respect our starting times for the other participants and the culinary staffs at our partner restaurants. For those taking a bike tour, we also want to make sure you are properly fitted for your bike. At that time, we also go through the “Rules of the Road” and talk about bicycle safety.

Unlike many tour companies, participants with Hungry Town Tours meet at an actual starting place, not on a street corner or parking lot. This way you can relax, meet and enjoy the other tour participants prior to the start of the tour.

Our Welcome Center is located at 406 Live Oak Street, Beaufort, North Carolina. Click here, for directions to our Welcome Center.

Our tours are casual. Participants should have some cardiovascular stamina and can exercise a moderate amount. On our bike tours, we ride at the pace of the slowest rider so no one gets left behind.

You’ll be riding a bicycle or walking, so wear whatever is comfortable for you. Our walking tours take place rain or shine. Depending on the forecast, please dress appropriately for the season and time of year. You are welcome to bring an umbrella if necessary.

Our single-speed, foot-brake cruiser bicycles are easy to ride. If you’ve ever ridden a bike (you haven’t forgotten, have you?), then you’ll love our tours! In fact, we’ve inspired more than one person to go out and get their own cruiser bike after riding through Beaufort with us. These are adult size bicycles.

Absolutely! In fact, 45-50% of our tour participants are residents. The non-residents are typically friends of Crystal Coast residents who are in town visiting with friends or relatives. The food tours are one more way to entertain out of town visitors and allow them to have a better understanding of the area. Our tours are a great way for you to enjoy time with your guests without being a tour guide.

Yes. Private tours can be made available for your group (maximum of eight people for bike tours and fifteen people for walking tours). There is no additional fee for a private tour. We can accommodate up to 30 people on walking tours, with two guides. Please contact us by telephone at (252) 648-1011 from 7 am – 7 pm, seven days a week or email us at info@hungrytowntours.com with your request. With enough lead time, we should be able to schedule a suitable date.

Yes. Cameras and filming are allowed all tours. We encourage participants to take photos during the tour if it does not hinder the tour schedule. If you see something you’d like to take a picture of we will stop.

Each bicycle is equipped with a basket allowing for a perfect place to hold your camera or phone. For safety reasons, we encourage you not to ride a bicycle and carry your camera.

Food Tours: All food and drink tastings, restaurant gratuity and taxes, a local guide, and a bicycle are included in the price of the tour. You may wish to purchase alcoholic beverages or items at restaurants or specialty shops along the way. Most shops will hold your purchases until after the tour.

​Non-Food Tours: We offer a complimentary bottle of water for each participant. Your local guide, and a bicycle are included in the price of the tour. Gratuity for your tour guide is not included in the price but is always greatly appreciated.

Yes! Please contact us to purchase a gift certificate that is redeemable for an entire year. Click here, to learn more about Gift Certificates.

Generally, the bike tours are less than 3 miles in duration. Except for our food tours, participants can expect to ride for at least half of the time. We ride at a moderate pace to keep up with the time schedule of the various stops.

On our walking tours, you will walk just over a mile. On the walking food tours, our partner restaurants are all close by and conveniently located.

The following tours run 1 to 1.25 hours:

•  Hidden Beaufort Tour
•  Historic Beaufort Walking Tour
•  A Ride to Remember inspired by Nicholas Sparks

Our food tours, except for one tour, typically run 3 to 3.25 hours:

•  Beaufort Culinary Bike Tour
•  Food by Foot Culinary Walking Tour
•  Bike, Brunch & Bubbles (3 hrs.)
•  Sunday Brunch Walkabout (3 hrs.)

Sure. You are welcome to bring your own bicycle. Please let us know in advance. Due to the small size of our tours, we are unable to offer a discount if you use your own bike.

Downtown & Front Street along the waterfront and throughout the historic district of Beaufort, North Carolina.

Reservations/Cancellations

For larger parties, a two-week advance booking is preferable, although we remain flexible and can usually get something together on a short notice. Our business is seasonal though and things get busy in the summer. For smaller parties, a few days to a week is preferable, but you can always inquire about tours that are going out today or tomorrow!

That’s a great question. We don’t like to ride in the rain either. For safety reasons, we don’t allow participants to ride bikes in the rain. So, we will offer a full refund or we will provide a gift certificate due to inclement weather. It’s entirely up to you. We normally make that decision 2 hrs. prior to the tour as sometimes the weather breaks. This refund policy applies to A Ride to Remember, Early Morning Risers Tour, Hidden Beaufort Tour and Legends & Lore of the Sea. This guideline would also apply to the Beaufort Lunchbox Tour because it is outside on the waterfront.

The restaurants on our food tours are all within walking distance. We will continue to do the food tour in the rain but not the bicycle portion of the tour. We will issue a gift certificate for the Hidden Beaufort Tour that you can do at a later date. This guideline pertains to the Beaufort Culinary Bike Tour, North Carolina Shrimp Tour, North Carolina Oyster Tour, and Bike, Brunch & Bubbles.

The following walking tours are offered rain or shine: Historic Beaufort Walking Tour, Food by Foot Culinary Walking Tour, and the Sunday Brunch Walkabout.

We understand that things come up. Cancellations must be received 48 hours in advance for a 100% refund. If you want to reschedule a tour, please let us know 48 hours ahead.

Tours can only be purchased in advance using Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express. You can pay cash for your tour as well. Our bicycle tours are limited to eight (8) participants and often sell out so we ask for a credit card payment to secure your reservation.

No, we only take telephone reservations in advance. For your convenience, you can call us at (252) 648-1011 for reservations or questions from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. EST.

It gives us the opportunity to make sure you are coming to Beaufort, North Carolina and not Beaufort, South Carolina. Oftentimes, we would wait for a party to arrive for their tour only to discover they were in Beaufort, South Carolina – 6 hours away. So, telephone reservations allow us to prevent this from happening.

We also like to know about your group, if it’s your first time to Beaufort and/or if you are celebrating an event – birthday, anniversary, or reunion. It allows us to create a personal experience for you. Therefore, we do not offer online reservations.

When you call for reservations, you will not speak with someone at a call center. You’ll talk directly with one of the owners or maybe a staff member.

If you see a tour that you would like to book but our times don’t quite fit your schedule, we offer the opportunity for you to create your own tour. You pick the day and time. We are open year-round, so we do have flexibility in our scheduling. As a small business, we pride ourselves on accommodating your needs. We’ll work with you to ensure you have an enjoyable schedule. So, give us a call at (252) 648-1011 for reservations or questions from 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. EST. We look forward to creating an experience for you to remember.

Food Tours

There is enough food served that most participants will not find it necessary to eat afterwards. Keep in mind, our food tours are a little different than most. There’re similar to a progressive meal – appetizer, entrée and dessert. With the combination of drink and food offerings combined, most participants are comfortably full after the tour.

If you have a food allergy or an aversion to certain dishes, (for example, shrimp, etc.), then certain food tours may not be for you. Let us know by phone at (252) 648-1011 or by email at info@hungrytowntours.com if you (or anyone in your group) has a dietary restriction (e.g. vegetarian, diabetic, allergy, etc.) before you make your reservation. If we know in advance, it may be possible to accommodate your needs, but there are no guarantees. We request that if you have concerns, please ask the appropriate questions to protect yourself.

Non-alcoholic beverages including water, coffee, hot or iced tea, and soda are available.

​The tours are on a schedule to arrive at each location at a specified timeframe. It is important to stay on schedule so the food is freshly prepared for the tour participants and waiting time is minimized. Purchases can be made as long as the time involved does not slow or disrupt the tour timing and flow. Most shops will hold your purchase for you until after the tour.

On the culinary bike tours, Hungry Town Tours promotes restaurants with locally-sourced food that allow for an enhanced guest experience for those visiting Beaufort. We pride ourselves in working with restaurants offering fresh, local products that supporting our local fishermen and farmers.

Hungry Town Tours promotes three Beaufort-based organizations:

Carteret Catch – Their mission is to sustain the livelihood and heritage of the Carteret County fishing industry through public marketing and education. Hungry Town Tours is proud to be a member of Carteret Catch.

Walking Fish – An award-winning community supported fishery (CSF) that links fishermen on the coast of North Carolina to consumers in the Triangle.

Olde Beaufort Farmers’ Market – They provide high quality local food to Beaufort and the surrounding area, show support for small farmers, grow the local economy, and provide an enjoyable open space for the community to gather weekly, April thru November.

Also, Hungry Town Tours works with North Carolina Sea Grant to promote seafood availability to consumers looking for fresh fish. Utilizing collateral materials provided by NC Sea Grant, Hungry Town Tours offers seasonal availability guides to participants on the food tours. You’ll learn more about these organizations on our food tours. ​

​There is no waiting list because cancellations are rare. You can email us at info@hungrytowntours.com to let us know what date you are interested in. If you have a large enough group (at least 6), we may be able to schedule a tour on the desired date. ​

If you’ll be taking one of our food tours, you must bring your valid ID if you plan to purchase alcoholic beverages. Wine tastings are a regular part of the food tours! You must be 21 or older to take these tours.

Nicholas Sparks Foundation

We created a tour called, ‘A Ride to Remember’, that features places in Beaufort that were inspired by Nicholas Sparks and referenced in his books, “The Choice” and “A Walk to Remember.” We thought the tour would serve as a memorable way for people to get to know Beaufort, as visitors take in the unique setting for the story of each novel. After approaching the Nicholas Sparks Foundation, they agreed with our idea. Hungry Town Tours is pleased to work in partnership with the Nicholas Sparks Foundation.

In addition to the tour, you can take one of our tour packages that includes your $52 donation for a signed book by Nicholas Sparks for either “The Choice” or “A Walk to Remember.” We also offer Nicholas Sparks Foundation apparel including tee shirts. Please note that 100% of the proceeds from the books and tee shirts go directly to the Nicholas Sparks Foundation. Click here, to learn more about ‘A Ride to Remember.’

The Nicholas Sparks Foundation is a non-profit educational organization that increases access to innovative global learning for young people around the country. Dedicated to increasing access for all students, the Foundation particularly supports programs for underserved youth, providing a globally-focused college preparatory education that empowers them to flourish in our 21st century world. Click here, to learn more about how you can support the Nicholas Sparks Foundation through Hungry Town Tours or visit nsparksfoundation.org.

Discounts

Unfortunately, we do not. Since our groups are small in nature, we can only accommodate groups of eight (8). Therefore, we don’t have discounted tickets for seniors, active military personnel or large groups. Hungry Town Tours are limited to a maximum of eight (8) participants for bicycle tours and fifteen (15) people on walking tours, allowing for a more intimate and manageable group that offers you maximum enjoyment.

Parking

​Yes. We offer free parking at our Welcome Center.

Gratuities

Although it is never expected, if you would like to tip your tour guide it is always appreciated. Standard gratuity in the service industry is 18%. Gratuities are not necessary for the restaurants & their staff because it is all included in the price of your tour.

​Yes, we love reviews! You may review your experience on TripAdvisor, Yelp, or Google. Click here, to leave a review on TripAdvisor.com. You can also like us on Facebook or follow-us on Twitter. We love photos! If you would like to share photos with your family and friends, please tag Hungry Town Tours on Facebook or Instagram. Tag us at #HungryTownTours.

Children

We offer only adult tickets and prices. The food tours are not an appropriate event to bring children. These tours are designed for those over 21 years old. Other tours accommodate children 15 years and over.

For younger children, we will do a private tour at no additional cost. Please call for details. For our bike tours, teenagers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult and they must be able to ride our adult-size bikes.

Unfortunately, we do not have any kids’ bikes now.

Bike Rentals, Repairs & Sales

We do not offer bicycle rentals.

No. However, we’ve teamed up with Beaufort Bicycle. Owner Stephen Cambron has been repairing bicycles for over 25 years. So, it was a natural for us to team up to be able to offer his services to visitors, boaters, and locals alike.

No, not now.

Weddings

Hungry Town Tours is perfect for wedding parties or bachelorette parties. The “Ride with the Bride” Tour offers the bridal party an opportunity to enjoy time with the bride and enjoy an afternoon on retro cruiser bikes. These tours can be customized to include lunch or a wine tasting. Email us at info@hungrytowntours.com or give us a call at (252) 648-1011 to discuss your event.

NC TravelGreen Program

In August 2013, Hungry Town Tours became the first business in Carteret County to be accepted into the NC GreenTravel Initiative. Hungry Town Tours has combined green from “spoke to fork” by combining nature-based travel with culinary tourism through bicycle tours. Click here, to learn more.

Regional & National Press

Hungry Town Tours has been featured in over seventy (70) regional and national publications about the Crystal Coast. These include Our State, Southern Living, Forbes, Cooking with Paula Deen, Private Air Luxury Homes, Lake Norman Magazine, Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles, Southern Journal, AAA GO Magazine, Grand Strand magazine, and Carolina Salt magazine. Online, we have appeared on USAToday.com, Parade.com, Examiner.com, StarNews Online and The Carteret County News-Times.

In June 2017, Our State Magazine featured Hungry Town Tours with a 22-page pictorial article. In addition, Hungry Town Tours has been featured on North Carolina Weekend, UNC-TV.

Click here, to see our recent press.

Contact Us

“Call Us” at (252) 648-1011

“Email Us” at info@hungrytowntours.com

“See Us” at our Welcome Center location on the Beaufort waterfront at 400 Front Street, Beaufort, NC.

“Visit Us” online at hungrytowntours.com

“Like Us” on Facebook at facebook.com/hungrytowntours

“Follow Us” on Twitter at twitter.com/hungrytownnc

“Pin Us” on Pinterest at pinterest.com/hungrytownnc

“Capture Us” on Instagram at instagram.com/hungrytowntours