My Trip to Charleston, South Carolina
And of course, since I am a writer at heart, I decided to share my trip experience on here as well! I will list my itinerary, prices and hours of the places we visited, and any comments or reviews about the places we went to.
Itinerary for Charleston, SC:
Tuesday:
1pm: arrive
1:30pm: McLeod plantation (9-4pm) ($15 each) (guided tour)
- relax from drive (we napped, 5-7ish)
1:30pm: McLeod plantation (9-4pm) ($15 each) (guided tour)
- relax from drive (we napped, 5-7ish)
7:30pm: visited the battery and rich neighborhood
9pm: Dinner (we opted for store bought fried chicken, and sides)
9pm: Dinner (we opted for store bought fried chicken, and sides)
Wednesday:
**we woke up too late which in turn caused a lot of rescheduling!!**
2:30pm: fort Sumter (open 24hrs) (ferry service @ certain times only) (2.25 hrs) (reservations needed) ($23 each)
7pm: Charleston Crab House ($100)
Thursday:
12pm: Angel Oak Tree
12ish?: kiawah beach *closed*
Thursday:
12pm: Angel Oak Tree
12ish?: kiawah beach *closed*
1pm: Folly beach
5pm: City market
9:30 Supernatural walking tour of Charleston ($25 each) - Tour by Geordie Buxton
Friday:
9:30 Supernatural walking tour of Charleston ($25 each) - Tour by Geordie Buxton
Friday:
11am: patriots point ($25 each)
3pm: Ice cream at SnoDASH ($12)
3pm: Ice cream at SnoDASH ($12)
We only spent two full days and two half days in Charleston. Originally, on Wednesday, we were supposed to knock out Fort Sumter AND Patriots Point. However, due to an alarm clock mishap, we woke up a little too late.
We ended up visiting Patriots Point on Friday. Before the rescheduling, we had planned to stop at a National Park on the way back home. So, we didn't get around to doing that. But everything worked out in the end so I’m not mad.
Alright, now that the schedule is all laid out for you, I’m going to jump right in and start explaining everything and putting in some much needed reviews!
Tuesday:
The McLeod Plantation
We opted for a guided tour at the McLeod Plantation as soon as we arrived in Charleston. I’m honestly impressed that we made it on time for the last tour of the day. It was $15 per person for the tour and I have to say, it was certainly worth it. The tour was very informational and professional. After the tour, we were able to walk around and explore the place on our own.
Some notable things about the tour include: the richness of the history behind the plantation, the 200 year old tree with the peculiar bell on it, and the ability to not only get a tour but to roam the plantation by ourselves.
After the McLeod plantation, Matt and I decided to take a nap (as we had just come off a twelve hour drive from Indiana). Once we woke up from our nap, we decided to check out the Battery. For those of you who don’t know, the Battery is a barrier between the harbor and the city intended as a fortified wall where heavy guns and equipment can be placed as a means of protection. As of now, the Battery sort of serves as an ordinary sea wall. However, there are a bunch of monuments and statues honoring its past purpose.
While near the Battery, we decided to take a stroll through the older neighborhood. Houses there were built around the mid-1800’s and are still standing today. A lot of them have been turned over to the city or other organizations that preserve the property. Though some can still be purchased as homes (given you preserve the building according to neighborhood and city rules) and range anywhere from two to nine million dollars!
It was beautiful and I’m glad we took the time to stroll through the neighborhood.
After that, we went to the grocery store to purchase dinner as it was cheaper than going out to eat.
Wednesday:
Wednesday was our rough day. The alarm didn’t go off properly and therefore, we were late to literally everything. Matt and I slept in until noon, so we missed out on a great portion of our day. We bought tickets for Fort Sumter, but got stuck in traffic and missed the ferry from Patriots Point. We were able to get the tickets rescheduled for 2:30pm from Liberty Square.
There was a small civil war museum at the ferry dock to Fort Sumter that Matt and I explored a bit before our ferry ride.
Fort Sumter was really cool. I wish I had an exceptional memory or had as much of an interest in American history as Matt does in order to relay all of the facts about each place we visited but...I’m not talented in that way.
I can tell you, however, that Fort Sumter was a really interesting place. A big concrete building was built in the middle of the fort during the Spanish American war which now houses the museum aspect of the fort. If you go to Charleston, I highly recommend visiting a fort or two, they are enriched with history and are pretty neat to look at. I mean, the bricks date back to the Civil War era. When I touch them, I’m touching something that has seen over 150 years of history.
We finished the Fort Sumter tour around five o’clock. We had intended to try to squeeze Patriot’s Point in before it closed, but decided not to (which was a good idea). Around 7:30pm we salvaged the night by going to the Charleston Crab House for dinner.
We had come to the agreement before our arrival in Charleston that we would only go out to eat once (to save money). I chose the Charleston Crab House.
Oh. My. Gosh. It was amazing! The food was delicious, the staff was friendly, it was right on the water–I honestly can’t describe how much I loved it. It was also my first time eating crab to be honest. I know. I’m way behind on my culinary explorations. But it was just amazing. Five stars from me.
Thursday:
On Thursday, we planned to do the following:
- Visit the Angel Oak Tree (a really old tree recommended as an activity by the people from the McLeod plantation)
- Visit Kiawah Beach for a few hours
- Go to Patriots Point
That is NOT what we did.
We drove to the Angel Oak around noon or a little before. It was nice. The tree reminded me of fantasy movies and stories. It’s branches were all twisted and whimsical. It was really pretty actually. The tree is estimated to be somewhere between 300 and 400 years old.
After that, we headed over to Kiawah beach. And the beach was closed for construction. This was annoying seeing as there was no online indication that it had been closed, and it was a forty-five minute drive to another beach or Patriot’s Point. We ended up sucking it up and heading over to Folly Beach.
Folly Beach was decent and we stayed there relaxing, wading in the ocean, people watching, sandwich eating, and shell collecting. It was nice. We got a beach day and we cut out Patriots Point in order to have more time. I’m glad we did. It was a much needed activity.
After the beach, we went to the City Market that we had heard good things about. However, it was nearing close so most stands were packing up for the night. We originally wanted to visit in the morning but, as you can see from our result itinerary, we are not morning people. The market was pretty touristy and pricey anyway. So we didn’t miss much. It wasn’t really my cup of tea.
We went back to the AirBnb after that where I took a nap and Matt did his homework. We signed up for a ghost tour of Charleston at 9:30pm which was something I was looking forward to.
And as much as I loved the Crab House, that's how much I loved the Supernatural Charleston Walking Tour with Geordie Buxton. He was the perfect guide. He was funny. He knew his stuff. The tour was informational and enjoyable. This is a BIG recommend from me. He also wrote a book title Haunted Charleston that I had picked up earlier that day (I didn’t end up buying it, but it certainly caught my attention).
Overall, Thursday ended up being a good recovery day. So I was pleased.
Friday:
Friday was the day we had to leave Charleston, but we had a bit of time before we had to do so. We left the AirBnb by 10:30am and went straight to Patriots Point. FINALLY!
I don’t know what I expected from Patriots Point. Another boring and common museum? But whatever it was, I certainly did NOT expect an Aircraft Carrier. Yes, THAT is what Patriots Point is!
I was excited. The tours were all self-guided so we had ample time to stop and look at the things we wanted to. Now, this was probably one of the most, if not THE most exciting part of our trip. If you visit Patriots Point, give yourself at least three hours. I say this because the main part of the museum is on an Aircraft Carrier (which is massive) and that doesn’t include the submarine or the destroyer. We spent a solid four to four and a half hours there. It was incredible!
Patriots Point had a lot to offer. I mostly took videos, and if you’re interested you can follow this link to my vlog to see more.
After that, we went to a small ice cream shop called SnoDash before heading back on the road. SnoDash is unique in that the ice cream is served in little rolled up shapes. It was delicious and very cute! A perfect wrap up to our vacation, I think.
All in all, the trip was pretty spectacular. I enjoyed our trip to Charleston. I didn’t know there was so much to do there! And still, we didn’t see all that Charleston had to offer! It’s a fascinating historical city with just the right amount of tourism not to be overwhelming.
I hope this post was inspirational or at least opened a new door for a trip idea. If you have anymore questions feel free to comment below and let me know what you think!
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