Charleston, South Carolina Itinerary

I am so glad we decided to visit Charleston, SC! Our kids picked it from a list of places we wanted to visit and we couldn't have been happier! Our original trip was planned for 4 days (thanks to airline delays), but we ended up with an extra day.

Day 1: We flew into Charleston and rented a car for our trip. We immediately drove over the Cooper River Bridge to Sullivan's Island.

We stopped for lunch at Poe's Tavern, because you have to go to Poe's when in Charleston! We had a nice cold drink and I had the "catch of the day" fish tacos - they were amazing! From there, we just wanted to get a feel for the island, so we drove around and found this cute walkway to the beach. We sat on the beach for a bit - my daughter brought her book to read and my son just laid in the sand (his favorite beach activity!).

Once our rental was ready, we headed to Sullivan's Nest to settle in. Once we relaxed a bit, we drove back into downtown, walking around along the waterfront. And we settled on dinner at Poogan's Smokehouse. We love our BBQ!

We finished the evening by going on a local Ghost Tour. There were so many to choose from, but we settled on The Ghosts of Liberty Tour. It was family friendly, but also a bit spooky! It was a 90-minute walking tour through the city, so be prepared with good walking shoes.

Day 2: We started the day by grabbing a to-go order from Vicious Biscuit! It was amazing! In fact, we got enough to last for 3 days worth of breakfast! Once we were full, we drove to Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum and headed to our tour of the USS Yorkville. Be sure to buy your tickets ahead of time! We did a self-guided tour so we could explore on our own. We've visited the USS Midway in San Diego as well, and this was just as cool!

After that, we had a late lunch at Saltwater Cowboys on Shem Creek. We all got Mexican bowls, which were nice and light, and a quick and easy meal! After we ate, we explored the boardwalk for a bit before heading to our final stop of the night: a tour of the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. Tours were every half hour, but you also needed tickets to this ahead of time too.

Day 3: This was the day we planned to relax! We knew we wanted some beach time, but we also like to keep busy on our trips. We chose to spend the day on Isle of Palms. We did not want to pack beach chairs with us, so we found a chair rental service through IOP Beach Chair Co. Super easy! 4 Chairs and 1 Umbrella cost us only $50 - totally worth the price! The chairs were set up for us and RESERVED throughout the day. Of course, once we were settled, we grabbed a few drinks and lunch at The Windjammer. The bartender was the best! He filled us in on all the history of the area and tried talking us into buying a place on the island - I wish!!

After a solid day of just beachin', we headed back to Sullivan's Nest to freshen up. We had reservations at Well Hung Vineyard & Restaurant in downtown Charleston. We had seats on the upper level outside, with a great view of the Historical Charleston City Market. While were there...we happened to see friends of ours from home riding by on a horse & buggy!!

After dinner, we headed to our Haunted Ghost Tour and Sunset Cruise of Charleston Harbor. It was awesome! We saw dolphins during the cruise, heard tales of pirates and ghosts in the area, and enjoyed a beautiful evening together. I was glad we didn't opt for just a dolphin cruise, because we got to see them anyway!

Day 4: Another tour day for us! We love exploring, can you tell? We started with a trip to Fort Moultrie. We just did a self-guided tour of the grounds. Our son had just finished a unit on the Civil War, so he found this super interesting! We did not plan on going to Fort Sumter because it required a boat ride and we weren't sure we had enough time. (wait until later...).

After the tour, we went to Home Team BBQ back on Sullivan's Island because everyone we talked to about going to Charleston, said we HAD to eat there! It was worth it!!

Then we headed to Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens. There were several plantations to choose from for a visit, but this is the one I wanted to see so badly because of the trees...those iconic trees! We don't have anything like that at home. We did the house tour, the tractor tour through the property and the self-guided tour of the rest of the property. This was such a sight to see!

Our flight was planned for the evening of Day 4. When we finished the tour of Boone Hall, we got a notification that our flight was delayed. So, we still checked out of our rental and went to the airport. After, waiting for hours upon hours, watching one entire Final Four game and almost the rest of the 2nd, our flight was finally canceled. There were no options for flights out. We had already returned our car too. Hotel rooms were filling up fast, but we finally found one back in Mt. Pleasant. So we took it for the night.

Day 5: BONUS DAY! We woke up early and headed to the airport. My husband stood in the Southwest line for over an hour working with one ticketing agent. By some miracle we got a flight out later that night. Turns out...we had a bonus day! So, we decided to use the extra hours given to us and hopped aboard a boat to Fort Sumter! I can't believe we had come all the way to Charleston and didn't go there! But luckily, that's how our trip ended. It was a gorgeous boat ride, with dozens of dolphin sightings along the way. Even though our trip didn't turn out the way we expected...sometimes that is ok!