Charleston would be my choice. I would fly SW so I would have extra luggage to bring my shopping home. I don't know what your budget is but Wild Dunes has the beach and golf. Eat at the Boathouse near by. There are stores at Mt. Pleasant less than ten minutes away. Charleston is just over the river another five minutes.

Hilton Head has golf and shopping but it is harder to get around. The airport is further (Most fly into Savannah.) The different neighborhoods in Hilton Head are in gated communities so it is hard to get around and you can't just ramble.

I like Myrtle Beach for what it is...a commercialized sandbox with neon lights. (Dear Fodor's editors - don't quote me on that.) When I go to MB I prefer to go off season to avoid the traffic, but it seems like you will be OK. It does have cheap golf.

I agree. If you're flying, pick Charleston. I love that description of MB, princess! So true.

The closest golf courses to Charleston are on James Island, in Mt. Pleasant and Wild Dunes on IOP. If you google them you can see the proximity.

Charleston! Downtown Charleston, obviously, will not have golf courses, but my husband loves to play golf and there is plenty of golf within an easy drive of town. You don't say when you're going, but I love, love, love Charleston in early October. We usually have Fall Break the second week of October and there is nothing I love better than renting a house on Isle of Palms or Sullivan's Island, spending my days on the very pleasant beaches and then spending the afternoons and/or evenings downtown. There is plenty of great shopping and tons of amazing food to be had in Charleston and her immediate environs. I love Charleston because you can find lots of amazing specialty shops with unique items you don't see everywhere, but you can also hit all of your favorite mall stores. There is a Tanger outlet near the airport, as well. If it were my trip, I would rent a house on IOP or Sullivans Island, let my husband play golf in the mornings while I was at the beach, go shop myself silly in the afternoons, and then save the evenings for those romantic dinners you mentioned!

To the OP, you have two identical threads going. Click on your name to see your threads.

If you are leaning towards Charleston then you should also lean towards Savannah, IMO.

And when you say "shopping" exactly what kind of shopping are you interested in?

Wow!! Thanks for all the great information. Gretchen, I apologize for the duplicate post. My laptop wasn't being nice and it seemed that the original didn't post so my impatient self reposted. We plan to go to Charleston the third week of October. As for shopping, Tanger works and I would also like to find a mall with a Macys or Belk. Wild Dunes looks great. Any other recs. for lodging and romantic dinner options along with good places for lunch and maybe a casual dinner? We love steak, seafood, Italian, burgers, and Mexican. Also, how far is IOP and Sullivan's Island from shopping and restaurants? I am assuming that we will need a car? Thanks for your help!!!

Dukey1, Please elaborate more on Savannah. We will only have 4 days to play, relax, and take in the sites. Are you thinking we should choose Savannah over Charleston?

I think that Tanger mall is awful. I like shopping in the Historic District much better.

The Mt Pleasant Towne Center, just over the IOP connector has a Belk. No Macy's.

There are many world class restaurants in Charleston and some outside.IOP and Sullivans both have restaurants, not much shopping. My favorites include, in no order, FIG, Anson, High Cotton, SNOB, Cypress, McCrady's , Jestine's, the Grocery, and Butcher and Bee, all in the HD; Huck's, Boathouse, and Sea Biscuit on IOP; Atlanticville, Poe's, and Station 22 on Sullivans.

Wild Dunes has many lodging options but you'll want to book quickly. It's a popular time to visit.

Charleston over Savannah in a walk. You will have more to do than you can say grace over--and more shopping than I can possibly ever imagine. I picked our kids up in charleston a week or so ago and I had just not "registered" the number of shops and things to do--it is mind boggling. Sue is right--just stay in the area of the slave market for all kinds of cute shops (the slave market shops are a little "kitschy").
Sue, the kids ate at Amen Street and loved it. Any thought on that one?

Oh yeah, I love Amen Street. They serve great oyster, fried greens and these cute little shrimp corn dogs. It's a great place for lunch and there's rarely a wait.

They went with friends who live in Charleston so it was a local rec. Good to hear.

Yes, you will need a car.

The Tanger outlet is OK. Not great but I like their Banana Republic outlet. The Mount Pleasant Town Center is nice but it probably has the same shops that you could find at home. Downtown Charleston (King St.) is where you need to go.

I see you also like burgers. Try Poes on Sullivan's Island.

Last year we visited all 3 - well, to be honest we just passed through Myrtle Beach after seeing what is was. IMO palmettop is spot on in her description of the place and passing through was the thing to do. Her description of Hilton Head was spot on too although one could have a good time there and we did.

Charleston on the other hand could become an addiction - we were there 2X last year and would go again in a heartbeat. There are so many top restaurants there that eating in a different one for every meal in a long weekend would just give you a sampling. Suewoo knows about restaurants there. Follow her advice and you can't go wrong. Restaurants we enjoyed were Magnolia, Blossom and on an earlier trip, Husk. We tried to get reservations for SNOB but they were booked, it seemed into the next century. One of the times there we stayed at the Mills House which is right in the historic district and a beautiful up class and romantic hotel - an easy walk to everything. They often have some very good weekend rates I understand.

BTW, I just looked at the Fodor's description of Mills House and do not agree with the cons. Our room was not small - quite the opposite and although the street is a busy one, it has no effect on you as a guest. The word "hectic" used in the description is IMO editorial hyperbole.

Based on our kids' experience VERY recently (upscale foodies, they are) I would pass on Husk, in spite of its very great hype. Too many other reliably good places in Charleston.

Dukey1 likes to attention-seek. Doinks in on a thread, starts stuff,and runs off. I love Savannah, and I always will, but the OP didn't mention Savannah.

You can't make me go to either Myrtle or HH on a bet. Myrtle is what palmettoprincess said and HH is a resort. And I can't imagine anybody calling Meeting Street "hectic" .

Mills House is a nice place in a great location. You'd never know it's owned by Holiday Inn. Thanks to Husk, all of Queen Street smells like bacon. I'd stay in the HD unless you just want to stay on the beach. If you do, Wild Dunes is very nice. You'll want to go outside the resort to enjoy great Charleston food.

japw82, are you Brits? I know Brits love outlet malls. I'll never understand the draw. It's probably because I actually remember when factory outlets were at actual factories. Back when we had actual factories.

No we are not Brits. I am not a huge fan of outlet malls but would like to do some shopping for clothes, shoes, purses, and accessories but don't want to go broke in the process. All of the posts have been wonderful!! We hope to firm up our lodging this weekend and do some research on all the restaurant recommendations.

That outlet mall is not worth the trip, in my opinion. The stores in town are better and the Town Center in Mt P is nice. The Mt P TJ Maxx is famour for good stuff, but Highway 17 is a migraine right now-construction, augh.

I appear to be in the minority, but the outlet mall is not a bad outlet mall, if you like outlets. Some people do and some don't, but it has the better outlet stores (Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Gap, J Crew, Nike, etc.) I am not advocating outlet mall shopping as a substitute for the charms of downtown shopping, but honestly, if I'm going to shop at JCrew, I would just as soon shop at the outlet store, where you find the same basic styles in different colors at a price 30% lower than the JCrew on King St. If japw82 is trying to do serious clothes shopping on a budget, then I would send her to the outlets, as well as the TJ Maxx and Marshall's in Wando Crossing shopping center on 17.

That being said, there IS a ton of great shopping downtown. We go to Charleston at least twice a year, usually for a week at a time, and I always find new "favorite" stores each trip!

There's a discount shoe place - Rack Room Shoes - right on King Street in Charleston. My DH and DS found some nice deals there in July. Many quality name brands at better prices than the mall at home. Oops! Clothing is another bargain store on King as an alternative to the outlet mall.