Hello to the local experts of Charleston! My wife and I are planning a 5 day, 4 night vacation mid February with Charleston being at the top of the list of possible places. We have never been there so here is the dreaded ';Where to stay';, ';Where to eat';, and must do%26#39;s
questions. First I know Feb. is not the greatest time of year to visit especially if you are a beach goer, but is it still a good time to come? We are a mid 40%26#39;s age couple that likes to try and see and do everything a city has to offer. Shopping and museums are not high on the list. Anything else is fair game. We want to hear as many opinions, suggestions, personal favorites and the dont waste your time or money traps as possible. We will be driving over from Knoxville TN. Thanks in advance for your responses and Happy New Year!!
Robert
Need Help On Planning A Trip
The Charleston area has great places to stay on the beach, but I agree that February is not the best time for that activity.
Even though you are not into museums and shopping, you would probably like to stay downtown in the historic district - lots of ambience, beautiful homes and gardens, an excellent aquarium, fun market, harbor cruises, and many fabulous restaurants. Be sure to take time to tour one of the Ashley River Plantations, like Middleton Place. There really are no tourist traps in Charleston.
To get more informative responses, try posting some of your specific interests and preferences ... i.e. Would you like a romantic bed and breakfast in a historic home? or do you prefer a larger hotel? Do you want lowcountry home cooking? or haute cuisine? Charleston has it all.
Need Help On Planning A Trip
Just got on this forum to have help planning girls shopping trip to Charleston for March and saw your ';rpgovols';. Couldn%26#39;t help but butt in and tell you how exciting it was to see the ';go vols'; part...my son will be coming to play for UT as a 2008 recruit...he committed during the Marshall game...we live in North Carolina but I have a brother in Knoxville and we are bleeding orange here now!!
If you guys are looking for a luxury accommodations I would look into Wentworth Mansion, Market Pavilion Hotel, Charleston Place. There are really no bad restaurants in Charleston...if they are horrible, they don%26#39;t make it. Some good ones to check out are Coast, Magnolia%26#39;s, Peninsula Grill, FIG, Mercato, Tristan and Slightly North of Broad.
Good luck in your planning...Charleston is a great place to visit but shopping should be on your list. The Southern Wildlife Exposition is Feb. 16-18...maybe you could go there and she could go shop!!! If you don%26#39;t stay at Market Pavilion make sure you at least go to their rooftop bar for cocktails one night!!!
I live here in Charleston and just saw your post. Feb is not necessarily a bad time. The weather this winter has been particularly mild. Less bugs. South East Wildlife Expo is Feb 16-18. Check out the website sewe.com If this doesn%26#39;t interest you, don%26#39;t come that wknd. The town is overrun with tourists and locals for SEWE. It is a lot of fun if you like Wildlife Art.
The nicer hotels are Wentworth, Planters Inn, French Quarter, Market Pavillion, Charleston Place. All are convenient for walking although Wentworth is about 4 blocks from the main shopping area of Charleston. Nice less expensive hotels are Elliot House, Venue Inn, Kings Courtyard. These are more like Inns and less like Hotels. They%26#39;re great if you don%26#39;t care about having 4-5star service and room service, etc. Restaurants - you can%26#39;t really go wrong. I would avoid the tourist traps, Noisy Oyster, Gump Shrimp Co., Crab Houses, Hymans. These are just fried seafood places. You can eat fried popcorn shrimp in Ohio, TN, or anywhere else. I also don%26#39;t like Hanks. Its a little better, but still an overpriced Red Lobster. (some other locals may disagree). Great Pricey restaurants, McCrady%26#39;s, Carolinas, Cypress, Charleston Grill, Fulton Five. Unique off the beaten path restaurants that locals love (slightly less expensive) Cordavi (New and highly rated), La Forchette (fairly new French - great!), Fig (great menu), Cru Cafe (small, easy on wallet, great old building), Mustard Seed (3 locations, local secret, very low prices, but its not downtown, favorite with locals), Basils (best Thai food in Charleston), Garibaldi (italian, but famous for its crispy flounder, everyone has copied it now - make reservations), Lana (another local secret, downtown but in ';midtown'; area, you%26#39;ll have to drive - lower prices, great menu). All the places will have seafood. Waters Edge is your best bet for food on Shem Creek. Avoid the RB%26#39;s, another pricey Red Lobster.
Talk to your hotel about a walking tour, this is the best way to see Charleston. The carriage tours are nice, but the walking tours let you see more and choose which area you tour. If you like to fish, hire a guide. The trout are still biting really well right now. Its a great way to see the inland waterways. It might also be worthwhile to ride out to Kiawah and have lunch at the Sanctuary one day. Its a new 5star hotel and really worth seeing. Its a neat 20-30 min drive. All the plantations and gardens up hwy61 are neat (middleton, Drayton Hall, etc.) Seing Fort Sumter is nice if you%26#39;re up for a little history. You%26#39;ll also get to see Charleston from the water on the boat ride out. Ride out to Sullivans Island and eat lunch at Poe%26#39;s. Best fish tacos in Charleston. Fort Moultrie is out there, and you can always walk on the beach if its not too cold. Nightlife - Rue de Jean has a nice bar scene for 30-40%26#39;s, Raval is a great wine bar just up from Rue, hit the rooftop bars Market Pavillion (nicest), Vendue, and Terrace. Blind Tiger on Broad St. has a great bar and really neat outdoor patio in the back (used to be a local secret spot). Red%26#39;s on Shem Creek is a little wilder, but if you want a bucket of beer and a bucket of oysters its a great place to go.
I hope this helps you out. Have a great trip.
We went in early March last year and had a wonderful time. We stayed at the Harbour View Inn on Vendue (?) and loved it. I highly reccomend it. Perfect location, great rooms, great breakfast, wine %26amp; cheese and cookies and milk at night, etc. We love Magnolia%26#39;s, Cypress, Blossom, Fish, and S.N.O.B. for dinners. We did a ghost tour from The Original Walking Company (or something along those lines) and it was a lot of fun. We got to walk of dinner and get a lot of history plus some funny tales. We also did a private horse carriage tour for about $100 from Charleston Classic Carriage Tours. It was about an hour and brought us past some marvelous houses and also was full of great facts and interesting tidbits. We brought our 2 girls, so went to the Auquarium which was nice (maybe not for you, though). Ft. Sumpter is a cool and quick trip. We liked the trip so much, we are going again in May.
If you drive out to Isle of Plams or Sullivans Island, stop at The Boulevard in Mt. Pleasant to eat. It looks very ';down home'; but the food is excellent - ';down home'; in quality and price! you%26#39;ll get great food and save enough to spend on the pricier places in Charleston!
Hi everyone,
We, too, are planning to visit Charleston for a day the first week in Feb. We are flying into MB for 5 days and would like to drive down to Charleston for a day. My husband and I have been there before so have done some tours but our friends have not been before.
I have been looking at info on Charleston websites and have found some nice tours (at least they look nice). I would like a bit of feedback as to what tours to select.
My husband and I did the horse and buggy tour when we visited b4 so kind of looking for a different take on Charleston.
1) Tour 1: Magnolia Plantation %26amp; Gardens (says there is a nature train ride through the Swamp Gardens. What would we see? 4 1/2 hour tour. Does it get boring?
2) All day tour of city and Magnolia Planatation w/ lunch at the plantation.
3) 4 1/2 hour tour of Magnolia or Middleton Plantation. Is one mansion better than another to see? Do they take you inside?
Are the tours dependent upon the weather as to whether or not they are offered?
Are there better tours than the above ones that would be suggested? I would appreciate any input.
the website I found was: www.historictoursofcharleston.com
Many thanks for your help. I love Charleston and am so looking forward to visiting there again.
May
May, to reply to your questions:
Each plantation has its own personality and character. Middleton is my personal favorite, especially if you are planning to eat there. There is a wonderful restaurant for a relaxing lunch and dinner. There is also a picnic style place to grab a sandwich or salad.
All the plantations have house tours and museum shops. Middleton - the main house was burned during the Civil War and one of the out buildings was made into a house where the family lived until the Middleton Foundation was founded in 1974. It is beautifully furnished with family pieces which have been donated to the foundation. The tour includes family history. There are garden walks and stableyard exhibits. Magnolia - the main house was burned during the Civil War and the house was built in the 1930s. It is furnished with family pieces, some of which are 20th century and reproductions. There is a petting zoo on the property, gardens and an alligator walk. Drayton Hall - The house was never burned for unknown reasons. It is more of an architectural tour than the others because it is unfurnished and is the original building. The gardens are not as ornate as the others.
As far as museums are concerned, the Gibbes Museum of Art is considered one of the best-it was voted Best Museum by the readers of the Charleston City Paper last year. You can call ahead to find out what special exhibits are showing.
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