7 Day Charleston Itinerary & Questions

Here%26#39;s an itinerary that I put together for our 7 days in Charleston (3/21-3/29). My husband and I are staying on Folly Island. Am I missing anything major that I should see while in Charleston? Are there things that I should combine in order to save time traveling between sites?

Also, I%26#39;m thinking that for sure I want to see Middleton Place and Magnolia. Is it possible to fit in Drayton Hall in the same day?

If I have time to fit in another house what should it be? Rhett, Nathaniel, etc? Is Cybress Gardens worth seeing?

I%26#39;m also wondering what should I see outside of Charleston? I really enjoy being outdoors and nature. I%26#39;m going to see Folly obviously since I%26#39;m staying there, I%26#39;m thinking Edisto and John%26#39;s Island with Angel Oak sounds nice, what about Cape Romaine National Wildlife? Is this worth spending some time at?

Also, last question hopefully, is it safe to be out in some of these areas at night, for example folly beach at night or what about the state park at Edisto?

Day 1: Charleston - Sunday

Ed Grimball%26#39;s Walking Tour of Historic Charleston @ 9:30

Spend the day in town see:

King St for shopping

Old City Market from Meeting Street to East Bay Street

Candies – Lucas Belgian Chocolate

Cooper River – Waterfront Park

Rainbow Row

Visit dungeons (old exchange)

Visit waterfront gallery

Visit Mountain to the Sea Collection

Day 2: Charleston - Monday

Morning:

Drayton Hall???

Visit Middleton Place Plantation

Lunch @ Middleton

Afternoon:

Visit Magnolia

Day 3: Charleston - Tuesday

Morning:

Charleston or one of islands

Afternoon:

Home and Garden Tour 2-5pm (get tickets prior to 1:00)

Day 4: Charleston - Wednesday

Morning:

Visit Fort Sumter

Afternoon:

Visit Boone Hall or Aiken-Rhett House or Nathaniel Russell or Cypress Gardens

Day 5: Charleston - Thursday

Edisto Beach State Park

Isle of Palms

Folly Beach Lighthouse

Johns Island and see the Angel Oak

Day 6: Charleston – Friday

Morning:

Patriots Point

Afternoon:

Friday The Citadel 3:45 drill parade

Day 7: Charleston – Saturday

Hunley tour

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for all the help!

7 Day Charleston Itinerary %26amp; Questions

Questions: Where are you staying on Folly? Note that you are staying on folly, but the only Folly activity is walking to the lighthouse. Why go to Edisto State Park instead of the beach at Folly? You can easily spend one day at Folly: beach walking, lighthouse, pier, possibly kayaking, and street walking. Have breakfast at the Lost Dog, outside pizza at Woody%26#39;s for either lunch or dinner. Fine dining is suppose to be coming to Folly starting this weekend at the newly opened Holiday Inn. I am eating there this Sunday for my mother%26#39;s 84th birthday, so I can let you know how it is. Folly is bohemian; Isle of Palms is upscale. The Surf Bar also has very good food.

You can take the boat to Fort Sumnter from Patriot%26#39;s Point, so combine these two.

I would not try to see 3 plantations on 1 day; you can easily spend almost an entire day at 1 plantation. I would not do Boone Hall Plantation, if you are going to a couple of the other plantations.

A good flow for one day is Patriot%26#39;s Point with the Fort Sumnter tour, then Isle of Palms with beach time, and if you want a real nice dinner, The BoatHouse restaurant on Isle of Palms.

Even though you are doing a walking tour of downtown, I would also add a carriage tour.

7 Day Charleston Itinerary %26amp; Questions

I think you can probably cross visiting Mountains to the Sea off the list, I am pretty sure that they are gone. There are still plenty of galleries and antique stores to visit though.

When you arrive in Charleston, take the Meeting Street/Visitors Center exit. The VC is on the right on Meeting Street, and has loads of brochures, maps, and volunteers who can answer questions. It%26#39;s a good place to begin your visit.

You might also want to consider visiting Magnolia Cemetery on Saturday after you visit the Hunley. From the historic district, go north on Meeting Street. You%26#39;ll go outside the historic district for a little ways. Go across Morrison Drive. Then, look for a sign on the right for Magnolia Cemetery. The street goes by several other cemeteries, and Magnolia is at the end. Go thru the gate and follow the drive along the right side of the lake. Don%26#39;t miss the huge live oak on your left (you CAN%26#39;T miss it!) Keep on going and you%26#39;ll see the graves of the Hunley%26#39;s two crews. There%26#39;s also a nice view of the river and the I-17 bridge from there.

There is a lot to see at Patriots Point, and be prepared for a lot of walking and climbing up and down ladders in the ships and sub. If you%26#39;re going to cover all the spots you have planned for Sunday, it is indeed a lot of walking!

As long as you are in the main historic district of Charleston, you are safe. I would not advise that you wander too far north or west of Marion Square. Anything along Meeting Street from Society, Wentworth, or Hassel Streets down to the Battery is fine. When you%26#39;re in the area of the Citadel, just watch your surroundings and don%26#39;t leave anything visible in your car.

The Confederate Museum on Meeting at the front of the Market is well worth a visit. They%26#39;re closed Sundays and Mondays.

For dining, you might want to consider Mistral, Anson, and Garibaldi, all near the Market. Mistral is reasonably priced and has excellent lunch and dinner menus. Hyman%26#39;s is decent, but caters to the tourist crowd, and there is better food to be found. A good, small cafe is Gaulart %26amp; Maliclet on Broad Street west of Meeting. I%26#39;ve heard good things about Jestine%26#39;s Kitchen but haven%26#39;t eaten there.

Have a wonderful time!

Others may say no, but I honestly think that if you plan to spend your whole day at the plantations, you can see Middleton, Magnolia, and Drayton Hall in one day. We%26#39;ve done Drayton Hall and Middleton Place and been finished by 1:30-2ish. If you start at Drayton Hall, the first house tour is at 9am. The tours last about an hour. It doesn%26#39;t take much more than an hour to explore the grounds on the self guided walking tour. That puts you leaving Drayton Hall by 11ish. It takes maybe 5 minutes to drive to Middleton Place. You can then spend some time exploring the grounds, eat, and explore some more. If you add the house tour to your ticket (an additional $10), you can see pretty much everything in about 2 hours of exploring. Leaving Middleton between 2 and 2:30, you could then go to Magnolia. Now, if you decide to do everything that Magnolia offers, you might not have enough time, but you could see a lot in the 3-4 hours before dinner.

I really think it all depends on how thoroughly you want to explore the plantations and how much history you can handle in one day! :)

Oops! I meant to say that if you add the house museum tour at Middleton, it might take you longer than 2 hours to see everything.

Day 5: Charleston - Thursday

Edisto Beach State Park

Isle of Palms

Folly Beach Lighthouse

Johns Island and see the Angel Oak

Sorry to say, but this is day is nuts! You%26#39;d do nothing but drive and see nothing!!! Forget the drive to Edisto, that%26#39;s an all day trip in itself (at the very least, half a day, nothing you can%26#39;t see in the Charleston area)

I%26#39;d suggest doing IOP along w/Patriots Point, etc., when you%26#39;re in town.

Folly Beach Lighthouse??? Do you mean the Morris Island Lighthouse??? If I%26#39;m correct, you%26#39;ll need a kayak to get there, don%26#39;t think you can walk it even at low tide.

Okay, now down to what%26#39;s left and I%26#39;ll give you a whole day of activities...

Here%26#39;s a source for a wonderful kayak trip, he takes no more than 6 people at a time. If you call Ralph, tell him you heard about him from Beth...

www.kayakcharleston.net

You can spend a day exploring the area south of Charleston (John%26#39;s Island, Wadmawlaw Island)...

Take a dolphin tour in the marshes, call them to arrange ahead of time. They depart from the Cherry Point Landing...

http://www.bohicketboat.com/

You can hit the Angel Oak on the way...

http://www.angeloaktree.org/

The only tea plantation in the United States...

http://www.bigelowtea.com/act/

And the winery...

http://www.charlestonwine.com/

All this is very doable and you will see an entirely different side of the Lowcountry than from what you will see in town. You can take a picnic (there is a park area at Cherry Point w/tables, there are tables at the winery and I think at Angel Oak) or stop at one of the local restaurants...

http://www.jbssmokeshack.com/

http://www.thefathen.com/

Take a left off of Folly Rd. on to Hwy 700 and just keep going!

Could add up to a great day!

I have to agree with K.B. on the Folly/Edisto day. Edisto is a long drive and there is much to see closer to Charleston anyway. IOP doesn%26#39;t belong on that list - try to sneak over to IOP on the day you%26#39;re at Patriot%26#39;s Point.

And I didn%26#39;t see Shem Creek anywhere on that list...might I suggest on Wednesday after a morning visit to Ft. Sumter you head across the Ravenel, go to Sullivan%26#39;s Island for lunch (go to Poe%26#39;s Tavern), visit Ft. Moultrie, drive up the Island to IOP, go for a nice beach walk, and head to Red%26#39;s Ice House on Shem Creek for oysters or shrimp or crab on the creek. If it is possible to be there at sunset you will not regret that! (if you have time to fill, you could visit Andrew Pinckney site which is across from Boone Hall Plantation or walk the Ravenel Bridge)

And I didn%26#39;t see a ';Carriage Ride'; on the list - did I miss it?

I should probably clarify, on Day 5 when I listed all of the different islands I wasn%26#39;t actually planning to be able to see them all. I was thinking that I%26#39;d have to pick and choose and looking for advice on which to pick and choose from. I%26#39;m getting that feedback from most of you so thank you. I think that I%26#39;ll add in some more time on Folly doing some of the things suggested there. I%26#39;ll plan to make some adjustments based on the feedback from people and repost an update yet today. Thanks for all of the great suggestions!

I didn%26#39;t have a carriage tour on the agenda because I thought that the walking tour might be more informative and more detailed. Should I switch this out for a carriage tour instead? I don%26#39;t think that I would want to do both. I%26#39;ve heard good about both though. I was debating on making the switch because the walking tour I was looking at is limited on the days that it goes but the carriage tour is not.

The carriage tour is a good first-day event...gives you a good ';lay of the land';...

The walking tour is a time to ask lots of questions, look in a detailed way at architecture, read plaques, etc. Both are on the ';top 5'; to-do%26#39;s.

Do the carriage tours only usually run right away in the morning? Most of them I see are at 9:30 but I%26#39;m not sure if we%26#39;ll make it that early in the morning on our first day of vacation after traveling. Wondering if there are any in the afternoon?