Charlston Day Trip Tips while staying at HH?

[lat]

Any recommendation at Charleston for a day trip? We will have 5 kids and 5 adults ranging from 72 to 4-year-old, going in mid August!!

Never been to Charleston but since this time I will be taking my parents and my brother and his family with us, we figured we should do a little more sightseeing. If it were just the 4 of us, we never have any desire to leave HH once we get there .

Any recommendation for restaurants, driving or sightseeing tips? I did a search and saw some tips but just want to get more.

Thanks!!

 

[goofy4dvc]

It's been a few years since we went there, but several things do stand out. I love lighthouses and we drove out to see the Morris Island lighthouse (it's no longer functioning, but is picturesque). It is located on an island and you have to walk about half a block to see it, but it's worth it.

We also took a bus tour of the old antebellum homes around the Battery. The tour bus was worth it because the guide told us alot about the area and the homes that we would not have discovered otherwise. Then after the bus tour, we did our own walking tour and went through a couple of homes.

We toured a plantation where they filmed The North and The South mini-series. The long drive off the main road reminded me of Twelve Oaks Plantation in Gone With The Wind, as it was lined with many large old oak trees with Spanish Moss hanging from them. There were old slave quarters, a church, school, etc. It is located on the James River which they used to transport their crops. I can't remember the name of the plantation, but if you pick up any brochures you'll find it. We didn't tour Middleton Plantation, but if you like gardens, I'm sure you'll like it.

We also went to the marketplace which isn't far from the Battery.

My guidebooks indicated that Folly Beach is great for finding Sand Dollars.

We also went to Huntington Island to tour the lighthouse there. It was a really neat area. Lots of swampy land surrounding it with alligators. Real spooky.

We enjoyed Charleston and hope to go back some day.

 

[WolfpackFan]

We basically just did our own walking tour of the historic district. Alot of the shops carry a $5 walking tour guide and we basically just walked down Meeting St., then over to waterfront, down to battery and then back up Meeting St. There is a Visitors Center, but we didn't find it until we were ready to leave.

 

[disnygoof]

I just moved to Charleston about a year ago. I'd definitely recommend taking a carraige tour of Charleston. Also, visiting the Market is a must. Hmm...restaurants...Hyman's Seafood - YUMMY. Henry's is also good. Not really local, but we love Bubba Gumps. If you like wings, Wild Wing Cafe is good. We haven't got to take any plantation tours yet, but I hear the Magnolia Plantation tour is the best. Oh! Yes, the boat tour is great, too! Plus there's a lot of "haunted" tours of Charleston. We took the jail tour so far, it was really fun.

That's all I can think of for now, but there's tons to do. We're still discovering things about the place we now call home

Have fun!!

 

[dis-happy]

If you're going in mid-August with that age range, I would take the bus tour over the carriage tour, simply because the bus is airconditioned. From the bus it's also nice to look down into the beautiful gardens.

Some great places to eat there! My personal favorite for dinner is Carolina's.

There's also the Charleston Aquarium and IMAX.

 

[twinklebug]

My sister lives in the area and she's taken me on a stroll through the historic downtown each time I've visited (very small and easy to do) down along rainbow road to the park, I recommend it! (if taking a tour, ask about the church held up by cannonballs)

There's also the Charleston Aquarium and IMAX.

Oh if your into the newer attractions - don't miss the NEWEST thing... the BRIDGE!!!
You think I'm kidding? No lie - the thing's about 10 times bigger than Boston's (with almost the same design) at a cost of like 1/10th the price They're doing something right down there us yankees have yet to figure out!

 

[ccw]

I would go EARLY in the morning if you are planning an August trip...I actually do not think of Charleston as a day trip from HH (Savannah, maybe, but not Charleston, especially with little ones). Summer is usually very hot and humid and the historic beauty and shopping that adults love in Charleston will probably be lost on young children (and the walking might be tough on the senior adults). The aquarium and Fort Sumter via boat are fun but, I agree with you that staying at HH would be enough for me without dragging lots of people to Charleston! (and I LOVE Charleston!!!)