Charleston, South Carolina

This lovely southern city became our destination of choice for my brother’s thirtieth birthday celebration. The destination was a surprise for him, and we settled on this location for a number of reasons: the warm weather in November, surfing, southern food, and general new experiences it could offer.

We ended up staying at one of the coolest Airbnbs I have ever experienced, right on the beach on Folly Island. The listing appears to be removed, but it was called “Endless Summer on the Washout” and was the perfect location for a large group to stay. We looked into many beautiful homes in downtown Charleston, but the charm and beauty of being right across from the ocean was an opportunity we could not pass up. It was early November, but the water was still warm enough for me to lazily roll around in the waves and enjoy the unique experience of swimming in the Atlantic as the fall months are in full swing. I probably looked a little bit ridiculous, but I enjoyed myself! One of our highlights on Folly Island was Bert’s Market, a 24-hour convenience store that we fell in love with. They had a large assortment of freshly made food, junk food, and alcohol – which made them the perfect pit stop at the end or beginning of a night. My favorite restaurant on the island was Taco Boy – the waits and service were often not quite the best, but the food and drinks were absolutely delicious. A few people in our group also went surfing on Folly Beach, and rented their boards from McKevlin’s Surf Shop. The Folly Beach Pier offered beautiful views of the ocean, waves and surfers. We also went out to a few bars on the island one night, which was very fun. It was definitely offseason so they were quite empty, but it was still a fun experience!

In downtown Charleston, there are obviously a lot of options for things to do and places to eat! It is a beautiful historical town, but also has areas that have a college town vibe. It was only about a twenty-minute drive from Folly Island to Charleston, so I found it to be very nice to stay outside of the downtown area and visit more locations spread out around South Carolina! We did a historic tour of Charleston, which I highly recommend. It is the best way to learn about the history (obviously), but also the different neighborhoods and architecture and facts that you would never know otherwise. You can learn so much about the amazing buildings that you might normally pass right by. We used Oyster Point Walking Tours and took the Highlights of Charleston tour.

View of some classic Charleston homes from the water.

Some of the staples of downtown as far as things to see and do are: Charleston City Market (a large indoor market featuring food, tangible goods, and more), Rainbow Row (a row of thirteen pastel colored homes and a popular site for photos), The Battery and White Point Garden (a beautiful park on the coast, with the defensive seawall surrounding it) and Joe Riley Waterfront Park (where the famous pineapple fountain is located). Other places to visit are the South Carolina Aquarium, Fort Sumter (located out in the sound) and Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, which is located across the water from downtown. You would take the beautiful Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge across the Cooper River in order to visit the naval yard.

One of my absolute favorite activities to do when visiting any seaside or lakeside location is to take a boat cruise. Whether it is a large tourist boat or a more intimate sunset cruise, these experiences offer a very unique perspective on the location you are visiting, and you are often able to learn even more about the history and places to visit from the boat captains. We took a cruise with Charleston Yacht Tours, and despite the sunset not being quite as stunning as other nights, the experience was really quite spectacular. We brought our own snacks and alcohol on board, and there were plenty of amenities (cups, bottle openers, beer sleeves, etc.) to use with what we brought. The cruise brought us from the area of the Ripley Light Yacht Club on the Ashley River, around the point of Charleston and out towards Fort Sumter, towards the Ravenel Bridge, and then back around to the Yacht Club. We saw a sea turtle, a pod of dolphins and witnessed some sort of Coast Guard exercise involving dropping someone out of a helicopter on to a boat – it was a wild ride! We also learned so much about the history and the locations we were driving by. It was a very fun experience and I would highly recommend that you work with Charleston Yacht Tours. For a group our size, we decided to charter the Sweet Tea boat so that we would have a private group experience.

This Coast Guard exercise brought some excitement to our boat cruise!

There are so many excellent options for places to eat. We had a delicious dinner and drinks at Prohibition, followed by dessert at Jeni’s Ice Cream. Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit offers a variety of creative and tasty biscuits and butters to go along with them. We had breakfast at 82 Queen, which had a lovely outdoor patio/garden seating area and delicious food. The Charleston location of Husk offers local Southern cuisine and a menu that changes with what is in season. I did not visit, but those who did greatly enjoyed their meal. Other people in our group tried a ramen noodle restaurant, which they also enjoyed. The places I enjoyed are included here, but I have a feeling that many restaurants in the city will more than satisfy your hunger.

Outside of Charleston and Folly Island, there are even more things to do and places to eat! The Angel Oak tree on Johns Island is a popular tourist destination that is well worth the trip. The approximately 400-year old oak tree is impressive and beautiful, and I honestly could have wandered around admiring it for hours. We ate lunch at Blackbird Farms & Market on Johns Island, which offered fresh and very delicious food and snacks. For my brother’s birthday, we had Lewis Barbecue prepare an absolute feast for us and ate at our Airbnb. The catering came with delivery right to us, which was perfect for a group our size to all be able to eat and celebrate together! The food was so good and we had enough for leftovers the following day.

The only ‘plantation’ I would recommend in Charleston is the Charleston Tea Garden. The only place of its kind in North America, it is a beautiful and fun destination. It is now owned by the Bigelow family (I am sure you have seen their names on many a tea box/bag), but has maintained a charming atmosphere. We took the trolley tour of the grounds and learned so much about the history of this location and the process of growing and harvesting tea. As for other plantations in the Charleston area, I know there are a few and they do appear quite beautiful. But personally, I do not feel any urge to visit or give them any attention. I think it is mostly important to just acknowledge the history of this country and what these plantations represent, and think twice about celebrating them.

While in the South, we had to indulge in some other ‘restaurant’ experiences that we could not normally experience, mostly of the fast food variety. These included a late night Krispy Kreme run, a visit to Cookout right off of our flight, and Bojangles. I could take or leave our Cookout experience but I guess you can’t expect too much from fast food? But I was told that Bojangles was a surprisingly delicious fast food choice, with delicious biscuits, fried chicken and potatoes in various forms.

Overall, Charleston was such a lovely experience that offered a mix of history, good food, time in nature and fun activities. I enjoyed our trip and it is definitely an area of the country that I would love to go back to sometime in the future to explore even more!

Charleston, South Carolina

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