Our Story

What’s in a name?

The words “Hungry Town” and “Hongry Town” were inscribed on the 1713 plat of Beaufort, NC.

So, it was a natural to use “Hungry Town” as part of the name of our business. This plat is the only documentation that the newly laid-out town may have been casually called “Hungry Town.” The words, “Plan of Hungry Town” were crossed out at the bottom of the plat and replaced with “Plan of Beaufort Towne.”

Architectural historian Tony P. Wrenn, who did the 1970 study for Beaufort’s nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, had his theory concerning “Hungry Town.” Wrenn believes that surveyor Richard Graves spilled ink but continued to use the sheet as he practiced with his ink and quill. Graves’ “Hungry Town” and “Hongry Town” scribbles may have referred to the new town full of lots “hungry” for buyers, or to a few struggling settlers in the area.

By using “Hungry Town” as part of our business name, Hungry Town Tours is preserving the official beginning of the town of Beaufort to come.

Many changes have taken place since that time in Beaufort’s history over 300 years ago. Today, the name “Hungry Town” is a natural tie-in with Beaufort’s history and bountiful culinary offerings.

“We invite you to pedal, walk, nosh, and sip your way through 300 years of Beaufort’s history with us.”

— David & Betsy Cartier


We live here, we love it here, and want to share Beaufort with you.

We’re passionate about sharing what makes Beaufort great and wanted to create a tour that even we would want to take.

While pirates and old homes are a part of Beaufort, there’s so much more to our little seaport destination. Learn where the locals go, what the locals eat, and hear some of the more unusual stories about Beaufort that you might not hear on a typical tour. Think of us as your insider connection to the best that Beaufort offers. If it’s your first visit to Beaufort, we guarantee it won’t be your last. That’s why we offer so many different tours.

Cruiser bicycles provide the perfect laid-back transportation to tour Beaufort. Every tour is a casual exploration.

It’s the South, we’re in no great hurry. See something you want to explore? We’ll try to stop and take a look. Want to snap a few pictures of a historic home, wild horse, or unusual landmark? We’ll pull over and stop whenever possible. We’ll keep our bicycle tour groups small (usually 2 to 8 guests) so that everyone can see and experience what they’d like as we cruise through town. Our walking tours accommodate up to 15 people. Group tours can be larger in size.

By bike or on foot, you’ll get an insider’s look at where locals go & what they do.

We offer historic Beaufort walking tours and bicycle tours throughout the year. Hungry Town Tours is the perfect way to see Beaufort, North Carolina. You can pedal through 300 years of history, or step back in history with our walking tours.

We’re in the hospitality business. So, we take fun seriously.

In May 2013, we started with three different bicycle tours. Today, the sightseeing tour company offers twelve different award-winning walking, bike, culinary, and history tours. Open year-round, we also offer private and group tours. Hungry Town Tours is owned and operated by hospitality and culinary professionals David and Betsy Cartier.

A hospitality veteran and Beaufort resident, Betsy will guide you through Beaufort like you have never seen it before. Her hotel and culinary background, combined with her hospitality skills, will provide you with a unique insight into the local scene.

David and Betsy’s journey to Beaufort, North Carolina and their creation of Hungry Town Tours was recently featured in Forbes.


Winner, 2020 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award.

Unique year-round experiences and award-winning guided tours of “America’s Favorite Town.”

We feel very fortunate that our customers have embraced what we are doing at Hungry Town Tours. We often hear that our tours are the highlight of their vacation. We find locals also use our tours when they have family and friends come to visit. It’s a great way for people to see why Beaufort has been named “America’s Favorite Town” by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine.

As a small business, providing outstanding customer service is the cornerstone of our success. We are proud to have received the 2020 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award. For five consecutive years, we received the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence award.

In addition, we were recognized in 2019 with the Tripadvisor Hall of Fame award. It is a true source of pride for us at Hungry Town Tours.

We are very proud of our ranking on Tripadvisor as the #1 Activity in Beaufort and on The Crystal Coast. We consistently rank in the “Top 3 Activities” on the North Carolina Coast. We do not take these honors lightly.

There is no greater seal of approval than being recognized by one’s customers. With the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award  based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to our business and our continued commitment to excellence.


Our Tours…

We love Beaufort, we love food and, of course, we love our local history.

Whether you take a walking tour or bike tour, you’ll discover that our tours are different. We have spent hours researching and working to provide you with the best tour of Beaufort. We also add a little folklore as well. We have invested the time to create a tour based on Beaufort’s rich history. To ensure our tours are accurate and historically correct, we work with several local researchers.


Behind the Coast with Hungry Town Tours

Take the tour before the tour.

Learn a little about Hungry Town Tours with our behind the scenes video. This candid interview with David and Betsy Cartier will take you on one of our bicycle tours through historic Beaufort. We’ll take you to couple of stops in the Beaufort historic district. We also make a restaurant stop along the way. We hope you enjoy our segment of “Behind the Coast” produced by the Crystal Coast Tourism Development Authority. Hungry Town Tours offers sixteen different walking, bike, culinary, and history tours. If you have any questions, please give us a call.

(Play video)


Discover what makes Beaufort such a delicious destination.

You won’t leave hungry. We guarantee you’ll be back for seconds.

Unlike many food tour companies, our focus is to bring you to a smaller number of restaurants rather than try to go to seven or eight. You get to really experience our local North Carolina cuisine. Our food tours are similar to a progressive meal with plenty of food. Our restaurant partners focus on providing higher quality local ingredients, food with integrity and fresh produce for both seafood and non-seafood diners. Our customers often go back to our partner restaurants for lunch, dinner or Sunday Brunch during their vacation. We rotate our restaurants depending on the day of week, time of year, and type of tour.


Promoting sustainability from ‘spoke to fork’…

Carteret County’s first green business.

Hungry Town Tours is the first business in Carteret County accepted into the NC GreenTravel Initiative. We have combined green from “spoke to fork” by creating a culinary tourism experience through working with local seafood restaurants – all while promoting nature-based travel.


Nationally known. Locally owned.

Hungry Town Tours has been featured in more than 60 regional and national publications.

We continue to be humbled by the amount of press coverage we have received in our first three years. Hungry Town Tours has been featured in more than 75 publications, regionally and nationally. We are amazed how the media and our customers have embraced our award-winning tours, especially our culinary tours.

Hungry Town Tours has been featured in Southern Living and Forbes.

Our State Magazine featured Hungry Town Tours and Historic Beaufort with 22-pages of stunning photography.

You can check out our complete list of media coverage by going to our Recent Press page. Here’s a few quotables…

“…one of my fave spring and summer activities is biking, and a stellar guide is Hungry Town (Bike) Tours.”
— Parade.com

“One of the most fun and unique activities on the Crystal Coast is in Beaufort. Hungry Town Tours offers food-and wine-focused bike and walking tours around town.”
— Cooking with Paula Deen

“Be sure not to miss the Hungry Town (Bike) Tours – guided pedals through Beaufort on retro-chic bikes.”
— USAToday.com