Best way to Charleston & Savannah day trips

Hello Fellow Tripadvisors:

I was going to post this on the Charleston and Savannah forums, but so many of you on the Hilton Head forum have taken day trips to these places, thought I%26#39;d just ask here.

We are coming back to our favourite place, HHI, from Mar 7-14. We were thinking of taking a day trip to either Charleston or Savannah. Which is the best routes to drive for each? Someone suggested through Beaufort on the way to Charleston. Is this longer? We went to Beaufort last March for the day and then to an Ashleigh McIsaac concert at the performing arts centre. Fantastic!

We are two families each with a 16 yr old son. Just don%26#39;t know which place would be the best. They are not into history/forts aka ruins/or ghosts. They are both into ';experiences'; and ';culture.'; They are well seasoned travellers. I guess that%26#39;s the price we are paying now for starting to travel with them at an early age. Short of jumping out of plane, what do you all suggest? My son will be checking out the parasailing to see if they are up and running this early in the year. My......

This is the first time our friends have been to HHI. They were not able to make it last Cdn March break with the other group of friends/teenagers we introduced to HHI.

What say you?

D in Muskoka.

Best way to Charleston %26amp; Savannah day trips

D,

I%26#39;ll just share the two things that immediately came to my mind.

First, I favor Charleston over Savannah as a destination. To me Savannah feels like a lot of Southern cities, just an old one. Charleston has more of a personality and to me is more visually appealing. The food scene is tremendous, the Battery area is gorgeous, you%26#39;ve got the market, shopping - it just has the whole package. Of course it is farther than Savannah from HHI, and I%26#39;ve never visited it from Hilton Head directly, so I don%26#39;t have a route to recommend.

The other suggestion I would make, if you do choose Savannah and the weather is nice, is to consider taking the intracoastal waterway on a day tour. It%26#39;s a great ride, you don%26#39;t have to worry about driving, and the view is outstanding.

Best way to Charleston %26amp; Savannah day trips

We would love to take the Intercoastal trip to Savannah when we come down in two weeks. My son %26amp; daughter-in-law have never been to the south, so it would be neat for them too.

Can anyone tell me whether the boat runs during March? Where could I find out more info?

As for which city, having visited both several times -- I vote for Charleston hands down!! A trip to Middleton Place or one of the other mansions would also be great. Middleton Place does a wonderful tour which examines the lives of the slaves and the less publicized elements of the South as well as the Reconstruction era. The 16 year olds would find that pretty cool.

Another %26#39;cool%26#39; venue is Fort Sumter in Charleston, well worth the effort and the trip. I teach teens, so my perspective is perhaps skewed towards their interests -- or at least some of them. Have fun!

Looks like they do for March, if you click on ';Schedules and Prices'; to the left on the Spirit of Harbour Town home page:

http://vagabondcruise.com/

This is the main one and it%26#39;s faster than driving to Savannah.

That cruise sounds awesome; we%26#39;ve got a trip planned for September (unless we get a great hotwire.com before then LOL). I was going to print out the info and share it with my hubby, but I must be blind ... I click on the schedules and prices link on the Spirit of Harbour Town page and open the .pdf file, but I don%26#39;t see any prices.

To drive to Charleston:

From the island take 278 to 170. Take 170 towards Beaufort. At route 21 take a left to Rte 17. Take 17 to Charleston. It%26#39;s an approximately 2 1/2 hour drive.

Both cities have their charms. Charleston has a fantastic aquarium and numerous historic sites. About 40% of the African Americans can trace their US Origins to charleston, as it was the center of the slave trade in colonial times.

If you can get in to see it, spend some time looking at the ';Hunley';. This civil war relic was the first submarine used in warfare. It sunk the ';Housatonic'; during the civil war. It was raised from Charleston Harbor in 2000.

Savannah has River Street and the squares. There was a fantastic book written about it and the people who live there. the book is ';Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil';.

Most trolley tours will take you to places highlighted in the book.

I%26#39;ve mentioned before about the Pirates House. This building was an inn that Robert Louis Stevenson stayed at, and was described as the Admiral Ben Bow in Treasure Island.

Both cities have great restaurants. My favorite is %26#39;Elizabeth on 37th'; in Savannah. It rates 3 stars in Michelin. Most gravitate to the %26#39;Lady and Sons'; at city market. This restaurant is owned by Paula Deen, who is a personality on the food channel. They serve typical southern cooking.

You will be here the week before St Patricks day. Savannah has the second largest celebration in the nation.

Stan (hhiguy)