We did the self guided tour of the mansion and slave quarters. The original building that had the…read morespace for the slaves was quite remarkable. It gave a glimpse into how life for them really was. Very eye opening. The mansion was large and had very unique elements. It was interesting to go in all the rooms and see the lifestyle. The children's floor was interesting too. The kids were given a lot of space to live and play. We also enjoyed walking through the gardens. If you are in the downtown area, take in a visit. We went in August, and the top floor of the mansion and the building for the slaves was very hot. We couldn't stay in there long. It is worth a tour, admission is a little high, but it keeps the museum going.

I stopped in for a tour last week and unfortunately they were only having self-guided tours where…read moreyou had to scan each QR code with your phone for the details. But the history of the home, the Bellamy family and enslaved workers were fascinating. The home is beautiful. I want to return around Christmas time for a guided tour.

My wife and I enjoyed our tour with Lori. We were the only people on the tour. The other family…read morewas a no-show. Since we were the only ones on the tour we asked a lot of questions and were impressed with her knowledge of Wilmington. Lori has served as a docent at two of the historical homes in the city which has given her in-depth knowledge not always found with tour guides. She shared many interesting stories about the buildings as well as the people of the city, She keeps the tour interesting!

Lori is great. My wife, daughter and I had her all to ourselves the day we met up with her which is…read moreunusual. She is incredibly knowledgable on Wilmington's history and a very good communicator. She keeps the tour interesting through insightful stories and animated delivery. Give her a good tip - she works hard!

After doing a "gaslighting" night tour which was interesting and informative we were instructed to…read moreexit by the front door. The long stairway was not well lit. I was not able to clearly see the last few steps and feel down them landing on my hands and knees. I suffered severe abrasions to my knees and hands. Beware if your tour is at night. The staff provided basic first aid. when I contacted the management they referred me to the board president. It took over a week for him to contact me back.

The Latimer House is located in Downtown Wilmington. Guided tours run on the hour and if you arrive…read moreearlier you can sit in the courtyard. This was my favorite of the three houses. It shows how the upper class lived with opulence. The house is not handicap accessible as the it was built in the 1852. The house was built by Zebulon Latimer and has three stories with a basement although not all areas are on the tour. The house is symmetrical as there are the same number of windows on each side. Three generations of the Latimers lived in the house before it became a museum and where the Cape Fear Historical Society is based. The iron water fountain in the garden used to be in a park in the middle of the road. The house has 14 rooms around 600 original items such as furniture, dishes, sculptures in fantastic shape as they had never been taken out of the shipping containers. The family tree was unique on the wall. You can even see where the original carpet was worn away. The house has a Victorian style decor with the marble fireplace, velvet curtains, and the intricate chandeliers. The walls in the foyer are painted to look like wallpaper. I enjoyed seeing all the photos. My docent was knowledgeable and friendly. She provided the stories of who lived in the house with empathy as some of the stories are sad. I highly recommend taking a tour of the Latimer House.

The Burgwin-Wright House offers guided tours on the hour although my tour lasted over an hour with…read moreall the history provided and fascinating stories about the property and the people who lived there. It is the oldest of the three houses. The house is not handicap accessible. It was built in 1770 in the Colonial Era on what once was a jail. It had ballast stone walls. Outside you can see the jail cells. The house is Georgian architecture. The house is furnished with items from the 18th and 19th century. The house was somewhere Burgwin did business and tried to impress those he entertained. The house shows how they lived in pre-revolutionary times. The paint colors were restored to what they were in 1770. Outside in another building is the kitchen with a hearth which was the jailer's quarters. I recommend taking a tour of the Burwin-Wright House if you are interested in history or architecture.

Really nice restoration of home and garden. Tour guide was excellent and very informative.read more

I highly recommend the walking tour of historic Wilmington with Amanda. She was knowledgeable of…read morethe city's architecture, history, industries and geography, and I learned so much that helped me to appreciate and enjoy the city during my first visit. The tour covered a broad time period from the eighteenth century until present but stayed within a reasonable walking area for the 1.5 hour tour. This is a great way to start your visit, to orient to the area and to learn something new about Wilmington and all of our history. Finally, I appreciated that Amanda was so welcoming of my dog to accompany us.

This is a FANTASTIC walking tour. Amanda is a great host. I joined this mainly because I am a wine…read morefan. I heard about this through meetup, which I do a lot of photography events with in Florida. I definitely recommend this tour for many reasons. First, Amanda is an absolutely great host, tour guide, historian, and also has a great selection of wine bars! She offers a variety of tours and I will be a repeat customer when I return to Wilmington. Second, the history is fascinating. I have been coming to Wilmington since the 80's and had no idea! And third, the bar selection, which could have easily been the top reason! The Dram Yard, The Vine, & Wine Knot. This tour is a must if in Wilmington!

We did the 'Dark History' tour which to be clear is NOT a Ghost tour. But if you have a penchant…read morefor the macabre, this may be just for you. It is a 1.5 hour walking tour of downtown to area locations where dark history, from actual historical articles, are discussed. As old as Wilmington is, it would be impossible to hit on every dark event, but Alex was our tour guide and was able to highlight plenty in our short tour.

Our guide, Dr.Chris was WONDERFUL. Very informative and passionate about Wilmington and its…read morehistory. Our only complaint is that we didn't have enough time!

READ for TIPS INCLUDED - Fun and educational tour. Great family thing to do. Driver was engaging…read morefunny knowledgeable about the history and houses. Kid friendly, family oriented activity. The company use horses they have rescued & save from abuse or from situation where they'll be sold for processing. So you're supporting a horse rescue organization as well. TIPS: -It is $16 per adult CASH only or VENMO as of 12/2023. Pay driver at the end of the tour. If you grab a brochure/flyer advertisement at the hotels it has a $1 off per Adult fare COUPON. Be sure to TIP the driver (before the discount) & the company so they can save more horses. -Get there 15mins before posted return time because there's a seating capacity 20-25 people. -When the horses get back they need a 15min break so you have to wait for that, but be sure to get onboard & pick your seat while waiting out the 15mins after the horses get back and wait on the carriage. Driver does take lunch so be aware of that (not sure when that is 12pm or 1pm) -Really the tours start 15mins after what the clock sign says -Tour is about 1/2hr. There's only one carriage. There are blankets if it's cold that day as the trolly/carriage is open air. -You can get ice cream /chocolate/candy at Kilwins while waiting

Someone save these horses!!! Saw one today who could barely stand up in the heat. Exploiting these…read moresentient animals for a carriage ride is sick!

The USS Battleship in North Carolina is one of the largest & iconic attractions of Wilmington,…read moreNorth Carolina. It went beyond my greatest expectations and was quite a workout in the middle of July. We chose to go on the self guided tour, so we could explore at our own pace. History of the battleship: The Battleship NORTH CAROLINA participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific theater of operations during World War II, earning 15 battle stars. This authentically restored National Historic Landmark proudly serves as her State's World War II Memorial to the 11,000+ North Carolinians who made the ultimate sacrifice.- (Source: https://battleshipnc.com) One of the highlights of visiting this battleship is that your ticket for the self guided tour allows you to leave and re-enter the battleship on the day you bought it (from 8 AM to 5 PM). Military discount is $10 an adult person - must have military ID. We spent about 3 or more hours exploring the ship and it was quite an exercise workout going up and down the stairs in the ship on a hot day. There are 9 levels to explore on the battleship. We were not able to finish exploring all the levels due to being exhausted by the heat and getting dehydrated. There are areas you can sit and take a break in the ship fortunately. We took a few breaks but not enough. There are some fans inside the ship yet not many. The battleship has a wealth of information to read at the entrance area and inside the ship at every area. It felt like going inside narrow passage ways in a labyrinth walking through the ship. They displayed information of life inside the ship - a floating home away from for thousands of men living there. If you love military naval history or have a curious mind open to seeing & learning a wide variety of information & history, you will find this battleship fascinating. The shops inside the ship, post office, dining & recreational areas, officer living quarters, pharmacy , and kitchens were fascinating to me. The view of the battleship is very impressive as well. I can only imagine what this battleship was like many years ago especially when the only communication people on the battleship could receive from loved ones was through mail coming into the post office on the ship. I should have brought water and take more rest & hydration breaks at the battleship. It gets really hot during summer and very cold in the winter. It was too exhausting to keep going past three hours on the ship in one day . Overall, I loved visiting the battleship and a little shocked at how difficult it must be living on that ship with thousands of people on it. Looking forward to visiting this battleship again in the future.

Come see the history and beauty while walking on, around, and within the halls of the USS North…read moreCarolina. These ships have typical tight spaces and steep ladders for those who have difficulties involving such movements. Plenty to see. Nice gift shop on grounds and friendly greeters at the door to welcome you on board. All photography shown were uploaded also to Instagram: @3spade7star_photography and Facebook ThreeSpade SevenStar

Wilmington Water Tours offers cruises on the Cape Fear River. You can either buy your ticket ahead…read moreof time on the website or at the ticket office. Only the Eagle Island Cruise was being offered when I was in town but a sunset tour is available during part of the year. On even hours, the cruise goes north and you get to see more nature and scenery. This is what I did for my first tour with the company. We did look for alligators but did not spot any. I enjoyed the commentary along the way and the peaceful ride. I enjoyed the tour so much, I returned the next afternoon to take the south tour on odd hours. This one goes under the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge and you see more industrial things with the container ships and cranes. We did see the wood chipping in progress so that was interesting. Then seeing all the international cargo ships loading and unloading containers. Again, there was commentary along the way. The boat was clean and has a large restroom and sells drinks and snacks. I'd take more tours with the company as both were enjoyable and I learned about the area.

While I was with my family on the Wilmington River Walk, we decided to take a tour on Wilmington…read moreWater Tours. We were going down Cape Fear, which I thought was pretty cool. Our captain was really great; he stopped at different areas and gave us information about that area. My favorite was the blue and yellow Panamax container ship to shore gantry cranes. Very unique and complex system. The tour itself isn't very expensive and is worth it!