Charleston trip

[stczt]

We are going to Charleston fro the weekend in a couple of weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions on things to do its with the kids and my inlaws.

 

[mskayjay]

Oh I love it there and my son lives there now! That is our retirement destination!

Take the kids on the horse drawn carriage ride. They'll love the horses, you'll enjoy the scenary. They leave from over near the "slave market". Old Town and I'll be frassed if I can remember the name of the other one......

There is an aquarium there that is supposed to be just amazing (never gone.....hate animals in captivity).

Right over the bridge you can go see the ships which always fascinates the kids.

If you go to the end of Vendue Range to the fountain and park, very often you will see the dolphins just rolling and jumping in the water. Just amazing.

I really consider it more of a place for a couples thing rather than kids but there is def enough to keep them occupied.

If you and your family like wings, there is a place called Wild Wing Cafe that does awesome wings! I"m not sure if they are still doing their lunch wing buffet but either way its good food, not overly expensive, etc.

If you're looking for traditional low country cooking, try Jestine's or Hominy Grill. In fact for food and fun things to do I highly recommend going to Tripadvisor.com and look at the recommendations on there. Its an amazing, beautiful area!!!!!

 

[disneyfreak33]

I can vouch for Jestine's. It's quaint. It's Gullah food so it's an acquired taste just an FYI. Also, I would highly recommend Hymans. They have great food. If your not into the dinner menu there you can always ask for the deli menu.

You can go downtown to the Market. Which is basically a strip flea market but there is alot of great things you can find in there. We have never done the horse drawn carriage ride. I just feel for the horses having to pull those carriages in the heat we have here. Downtown Charleston is beautiful, lots of stores to visit. Taking a walk and touring the Battery is beautiful this time of year.

The aquarium is so so. It's nice but nothing to brag about, we have seen better for the price they charge.

You can go to Patriots Point, they have a docked air craft carrier you can tour which is very interesting, kids love it as well since there are so many "nooks" you can explore. You can also take a nice boat ride to Fort Sumter. A little bit of history is always nice. There are plenty of plantation tours to take as well, they are beautiful.

And, if you actually have time and feel like taking a drive Myrtle Beach is only 2 hours from here. You can always visit the new Hard Rock Park. I personally have never been there yet myself but friends have said it's fun.

Have a great trip and enjoy your stay!

 

[staciepm]

What are the ages of the kids?

I can vouch of Jestines and Wild Wings is relaxed and fun, but any true local would never go to Hyams. The lines for Hyams are ridiculous. FYI Hyams gives all people who refer them major perks. You will be given "free appetizer" coupons that have the name of your referrer on the back.
http://www.wildwingcafe.com/charleston.html

Waterfront park has a fountain in which the kids love to play.

The Battery has the great cannons and if you walk their along East Bay you will see a cute little playground to stop at and play. You will also see Rainbow Row.

If you kids are teenagers you might be able to find some kind of ghost tours.

My kids(DS6 and DD 9) recently did the Old Exchange Building at the end of Broad Street. They talk about the Pirates of charleston. Really entertaining for the tween age.
http://www.oldexchange.com/

We have a cute children's museum. It is small, but my kids have always enjoyed the free play.
http://www.explorecml.org/

The aquarium is nice, but really only takes about 2 hours. All of the exhibits are SC animals.
http://www.scaquarium.org/

If you are into history a boat ride to Ft Sumter can be fun.
http://www.nps.gov/fosu

And someone already mentioned Patriots Point and the Yorktown.
http://www.patriotspoint.org/

Please feel free to ask any questions.
Stacie

 

[CarolinaBlue]

Take the kids on the horse drawn carriage ride. They'll love the horses, you'll enjoy the scenary. They leave from over near the "slave market".

I just wanted to make a correction here. The market area that you are referring to has always been the "City Market". It was never used as a "slave market". The slave market was located on Chalmers Street.

We just got back from a week in Charleston. We have been going every year for about 20 years now and have yet to do everything. Here are some of our favorites:

The City Market
Carriage Tour
The Battery
Aquarium
Fort Sumter
Fort Moultrie
Boone Hall Plantation (no, Gone With the Wind was not filmed here)
Magnolia Cemetery
The Confederate Museum

We just enjoy walking through the streets and admiring the beauty.

 

[Claroquesi]

Charleston also boasts some lovely kayak tours and beaches just off the peninsula. I agree about the fountain, kids are always playing in it and swinging on the porch swings that line the dock. There are also some water parks off the peninsula as well on James Island, Mt. Pleasant and North Charleston. The Provost dungeon on E Bay street can be fun if your kids are into pirates etc.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Family Fun Magazine says: (this is from 2005)

Turns out that this pretty southern city is equally enthralling when traveling en famille. There are forts and dungeons to explore, Civil War cannons to climb, pirates to chase, fish to catch, horse-and-buggy rides to take and sand castles to make. Of course, that doesn't diminish its adult appeal: while the kids are happily romping, stop for a moment to take in the sweet scent of magnolias and, perhaps, steal a kiss.

WHO KNEW? The first Revolutionary War victory was won at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island. Today, make your way through the fort's maze-like tunnels--a sure-fire hit with kids ($2 for adults, $1 for children ages 15 and under; $5 maximum per family; call 843-883-3123).

DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT... beach blankets and castle-making toys. Miles of wide barrier beaches are minutes from downtown. Head to popular Folly Beach for warm waters, snack bars and lifeguards or to lovely Isle of Palms for fewer crowds and great shelling.

DON'T LEAVE TOWN WITHOUT... a face-to-face meeting with stingrays and sharks at the newly opened South Carolina Aquarium. There are more than 60 exhibits and 10,000 creatures, but make a beeline to the three-story Great Ocean Tank. (Aquarium admission is $15 for adults, $8 for kids ages three to 11; call 843-720-1990 or click here.)

CLEAN-PLATE CLUB Munch on boiled peanuts and share plates of freshly caught shrimp at Hyman's Seafood (843-723-6000). This come-as-you-are eatery has been the locals' choice since 1890. It's worth the wait.

LOCAL DIGS We like the central location and outdoor pool at the Best Western King Charles Inn. It offers free parking, too. Off-season rates are $79-$149; peak season rates are $89-$249. Look for winter specials beginning November through March, when rooms drop to around $89 (call 843-723-7451 for updated rates).

HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN Climb aboard the gigantic U.S.S. Yorktown aircraft carrier at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum ($14 for adults, $7 for kids ages 6 to 11; call 843-884-2727). The kids will also enjoy squeezing into tight quarters and checking out the torpedo tubes on the submarine U.S.S. Clamagore. From here, take a tour boat to historic Fort Sumter, where the first shot of the Civil War was fired ($13 for adults, $7 for kids under age 12; call 843-883-3123).

BEST LOCAL COLOR The lively fishing docks at Shem Creek, where you can watch shrimpers bring in their daily catch.

BEST SOUVENIR THE PIRATE SCAVENGER HUNT book at the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon gift shop. Pick it up early on in your trip; it's brimming with activities to entertain the kids while families explore the city. The spooky Dungeon tour is a kid's delight too, full of stories of Indians, pirates and patriots (call 843-727-2165 for current rates).

F.Y.I. Call 843-853-8000 or click here.

 

[mskayjay]

The downtown area where the open market is may now be referred to as "City Market" to be PC but it was called the Slave Market forever and a day. No, it was never used as such but here is the history behind the name:

"There's a very old public market in Charleston, S. C., that's often called the slave market although locals will be quick to tell you that slaves were never sold there. Nobody seems to know how the place, now a slick tourist trap, ever got the name of slave market.

I came upon the answer to this while reading scholarly book which extracted heavily from records of that time. It turns out that the market was run by slaves.

From what I could gather from this author, Charleston was a city pretty much run by slaves. White owners would hire their slaves out for various types of work. A highly skilled slave could and sometimes did support an entire white family with his labor. The city issued slave license tags which allowed the wearers to circulate freely within the city. Many slaves were able to make money for themselves on the side, and there were saloons which were frequented by slaves.

In this economy, women slaves were placed in the market where they bought and sold goods for their owners.

Out on the rice plantations, slaves were assigned tasks associated with rice production. After a slave completed his task for the day, he was free to, and expected to, work a small plot to produce food for himself and his family. Usually if they had surplus produce they would either take it to town or sell it to a trader, likely a slave, who would take it to the market and resell it to women set up there.

Until fairly recently, one building in the market was reserved for black women to sell produce, most of which came from commercial wholesalers. But hunger for the tourist dollar drove them out, to be replaced by vendors of tacky tourist goods. Today the tradition is carried out mainly by makers of sweetgrass baskets. I used to know a family who made sweetgrass baskets. The youngest of this group was a college graduate medical technician who was learning the ancient craft. "

The land was donated to the city like this:
"Charles Cotsworth Pinckney ceded the land on which the Market is built to the City of Charleston in 1788. He stipulated that a public market be built on the site and that it remain in use as a public market into perpetuity."

It truly is an amazing bit of history that the city has actually continued to honor this tradition and the buys I have gotten there!!!! The sweetgrass baskets are very, very expensive items but when you realize the work that has gone into them. I now have three that I just treasure. ******Please OP keep in mind that if you go and are in the Market, don't try to take photos of the ladies selling the baskets without their permission. The older ones in particular believe that taking their photo "steals their soul" and they will be very upset*****

Going back to another poster who recommended Hyman's, may I suggest that you try Hank's instead. Better prices, MUCH better food, and just a wonderful dining experience. If you have someone with you who doesn't like seafood, the chicken breast is absolutely the best I have ever had......they brine it! Drooling just thinking about it!

I just wanted to make a correction here. The market area that you are referring to has always been the "City Market". It was never used as a "slave market". The slave market was located on Chalmers Street.

We just got back from a week in Charleston. We have been going every year for about 20 years now and have yet to do everything. Here are some of our favorites:

The City Market
Carriage Tour
The Battery
Aquarium
Fort Sumter
Fort Moultrie
Boone Hall Plantation (no, Gone With the Wind was not filmed here)
Magnolia Cemetery
The Confederate Museum

We just enjoy walking through the streets and admiring the beauty.

 

[stczt]

Thank you everyone. It was supposed to bet just the two of us. but since Dh sees his dad so seldom I suggested they come. I couldn't have him come down and babysit and Dh not spend time with him. Ohwell, we are getting away and I like my inlaws tons better than my family.

 

[mskayjay]

"Ohwell, we are getting away and I like my inlaws tons better than my family."

I figure if I could combine the ones in my family I like with the ones in his family I like, we might actually end up with a semi-functional versus two dysfunctional families and those of us who are functional would be very happy! The dys's are so dys that they would never know the difference!!!!!!

Hope you have a great time. Just remember it is very hot and humid there now so drink lots of fluids!

 

[disneyfreak33]

any true local would never go to Hyams. The lines for Hyams are ridiculous. FYI Hyams gives all people who refer them major perks. You will be given "free appetizer" coupons that have the name of your referrer on the back.

I guess we aren't "true locals" as you call it then and that sets us apart from the rest, even though we do live here . We go to Hymans often when we want to take a ride downtown. We have never had a problem with lines, even at dinner in the summer season. As for "major perks" I really wouldn't call them that....

But it's all opinion and we each have one. I would still recommend it, they still have good food with or without the so called "perks".

 

[minniebeth]

Bumping this thread as spring approaches...
Family Fun website also talks about eathing at Queen Anne's Revenge, BulldogTours for ghost and graveyard tours and the Wild Dunes Resort. Anyone know anything about these places? Any feedback? How good/expensive and family friendly?

Any other Charleston tips or experiences for families would be so greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[Tickla]

A couple years ago we did a private boat tour to Morris Island--one of the BEST things we've ever done! Captain Gresh took my DH, myself & 3 sons on his boat & dropped us off for about an hour to roam & find seashells--we also found the biggest sandollars ever! And the lighthouse is beautiful--we couldn't go up it as it is surrounded by water, but I got great pictures! We also saw dolphins next to the boat on the way out & back. I think his company is called Absolute Reel Screamer Charters.