mrb2040

Hi All,
I want to plan a trip to see Charleston and Savannah. Hopefully the end of August. Some help from you wonderful travelers…how hot will it be? Hotels? Sites not to miss? Southern food to try?
thanks

Gretchen

Have you looked through the myriad threads about this here.

Michael

If interested in reading a trip report, you can find mine on Charleston and Savannah by clicking on my name a browsing through the trip reports.

Daniel_Williams

Hi mrb2040!

It's been a few years since I've been to Charleston and Savannah, so my advice may be dated and I have no idea how Covid affected businesses.

The highlights for Charleston for me were three-fold.

1. The water. Taking the ferry out to Fort Sumter was quite a beautiful ride, quite educational and made magical by dolphins doing hoops in the water as we pulled out of Charleston. The Waterfront Park and the Battery also have some lovely views of the Ashley & Cooper Rivers, and the Rainbow Row of historic homes is a lovely sight to behold.
2. The historic homes. The Aiken-Rhett House (preserved) and the Nathaniel Russell House (restored) were interesting, with well-done tours. Even just randomly wandering around the Downtown Peninsula offers some rewards.
3. The food. Low Country cuisine is great and that's both Savannah and Charleston. I discovered Brunswick Stew and boiled peanuts at Hominy Grill in Charleston. What a pleasure that was!

The highlights of Savannah for me were:

1. The squares, Forsyth Park and houses in-between. A nice free activity is just walking from square to square; the squares, often draped with Spanish moss, give the city a unique feel. I visited two historic home tours, the Owens-Thomas House and the Isaiah Davenport House--both were interesting. At the time I went, visiting the Owens-Thomas House also gave one entry into the Telfair Museum and Jepson Center for the Arts, if that is something that appeals.
2. Food. I loved my Bouillabaisse at Boar's Head on Historic River Street and Belford's for shrimp and grits in Savannah's pedestrian City Market area.
3. Fort Pulaski nearby has an interesting history.

The restaurants I mention still seem to get good reviews. I really liked the Vendue Inn in Charleston and the 1790 Inn in Savannah, charming and well-situated, best suited for someone who wants to say in a historic hotel rather than a chain hotel--they too still seem to get mostly good reviews.

Have a great trip and hope you enjoy Charleston and Savannah as much I did!

Best wishes,

Daniel

Gretchen

Unfortunately the Hominy Grill has closed in spite of its iconic dishes.

Daniel_Williams

Oh no! That is sad news indeed...

Gretchen

It REALLY was sad. We had gone a couple of years ago and then read that. I can't remember "why" it happened. Certainly not for lackk of buisness!! Or thankfully quality of the offerings.

k_marie

For an excellent introduction to the city plan, history, and architecture of Savannah, begin your visit with a walk with Savannah Rambles. My husband and I, daughter and son-in-law consider those few hours among the highlights of our days there.

https://savannahrambles.com

If you happen to be in Savannah on a Friday or Saturday, if you are a fan of barbecue, make Wall’s BBQ a destination. My family would assure you it’s worth the effort to find.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/walls-bbq-savannah

HappyTrvlr

Both are beautiful and historic cities.
You asked about the heat. You need to add the humidity too. I would not visit in the summer.

Gretchen

It is what it is. It could get a breeze and be great. It could be stifling. It's a great reason to duck inside and have a drink somewhere.

mrb2040

Hi..
thanks for the help. Michael… you have so many threads I couldn’t find it. Any suggestions for a moderate hotel or more importantly which part of the city to look. So far I am definitely doing Boone Hall plantation and the carriage ride tour.

Gretchen

You might look on hotels.com for your hotel. What is "moderate" to you. You might look in Mt. Pleasant for a less expensive hotel or rates may be less Monday to Thursday. Ideally you would like to be as close to the historic district as possible of course.
Don't overlook other plantations, Middleton is our favorite. Boone Hall is nice for proximity.
HOpe you can find Michael's tR by browsing through them. It is very clearly labelled "Charleston" about 3/4 of the way down the impressive list. There are MANY others if you take a look and search for them.

Here is a link to my suggestion of looking at Garden and Gun articles about Charleston (where it is published)
https://www.google.com/search?q=gard...client=gws-wiz

J62

We have stayed at a Holiday Inn express just west of Charleston (in Ashley) - not more than a 10min drive into the town and a lot cheaper than staying in the city. Parking garages are easy to get to and not expensive.

Comparing Savannah to Charleston, Daniel did a good job. Both are great places to visit. Personally we preferred Savannah. It is less polished, people seem to live there year round, it's perhaps a bit grittier, which to us often equates to more real. Charleston has a lot of beautiful historic homes.

Outside Charleston you could also visit a tea plantation - I don't recall the name of any.

The_D_Dawg

1. Read 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' BEFORE you go to Savannah - it's a true story.
2. Take a short historical tour,
3. Rent bikes and ride around all the squares in Savannah,

Sassafrass

The movie of “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” is also good.

Gretchen

1. Read 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' BEFORE you go to Savannah - it's a true story.

It's a really good read besides being "true" arents of friends had a house in Beaufort and were always invited to the soirees!!

Macross

We have stayed in several Savannah downtown hotels and stayed at the newly remodelled Hilton Garden Inn for 120.00. My tip, don't valet park, 39 plus tip. Behind the hotel is a parking lot where you can park for 25 for 24 hours. It was actually nice and not much humidity last night. We sat outside on the Electric moon patio overlooking the river and it was not even hot.

virginiafish

We have stayed at a lovely BnB - Forysyth Park Inn right across from the fountain, free parking and on the free trolley route in Savannah. Recently, ate at the museum cafe which was delicious. Joe's at the Jepson.

rivermama

in Charleston we love to go to Husk.

mrb2040

Hi All… just came back from a great trip to Charleston and Savannah. In Charleston we stayed at the Fulton Inn. This place was amazing. A full breakfast was delivered to our hotel room at a time we picked. The room was beautifully decorated and the bed was comfortable. The hotel was located near everything. We ate at 18 Venue range, The Griffon, burgers were delicious we did the pineapple fountain and the rainbow houses. We went to the market at night. The next day we went on a carriage tour. That was a lot of fun. We ate at Aw shucks seafood, their she crab soup was delicious. At night we went to John King - dueling pianos. This was the only place we were not happy with. We bought tickets on everbrite for $20 each. We ate downstairs then went upstairs for the show when you sit at a table there is a $50 DOLLAR per 2 hour cover charge! We were not happy and spoke to manager with no response.
the next day we went to Boone Hall Plantation. This was a great place to see life at that time.
We stopped in Seabrook Island to visit family and then was on our way to Savannah.
we stayed at the Planter Inn. Which was a great hotel, with a perfect location near the free trolly. We ate at Huey’s which had great food and delicious beignets! We took the trolly tour and saw all the sites. We ate at the Duck Diner. The milk shakes were outrageous . We hit up Jones street and Forsyth park the next day. We ate at Spankys on the river and the food was great . Try their spanky spuds.. delicious. We were going to go to Rocks on the roof but it was just too hot. We walked around the new plant riverside to see the metal dinosaur.
this trip was great, the food was delicious, the sites were beautiful. Can’t wait to plan to go again.