40th Anniversary Trip to Charleston, SC and Savannah
 

My husband and I will celebrate our 40th anniversary the second week in April with a trip to Charleston, SC and Savannah. We will arrive on a Sunday and depart on Saturday. We are interested in seeing gardens, historic sites, museums, beaches and eating good food, especially seafood. I thought we would stay in Charleston for 5 nights and then spend a day and a night in Savannah before our afternoon flight back home.

I would appreciate any ideas and thoughts on where to stay,where to eat, and must-see locations. We are interested in hotels around the $200-$250 range if that is possible this time of year. Is there public transportation, or do we need to rent a car? And will we need to rent a car to go to Savannah, or are there other options? If we do rent a car, how bad is traffic?

Thank you so much in advance! I have booked our flights, but nothing else.

I have no idea what the rates are for your time period, but we just stayed at the Dewberry over Thanksgiving and loved it.

Our favorite restaurants were Husk (and its next-door bar); High Cotton; Cru Cafe (for lunch, but would love to go back for dinner); and the restaurant at Middleton Place, a plantation a short drive from the city center that is well worth a visit.

You don't need a car in the historic center of Charleston, it's very walkable, but we rented a car for the day to go to Middleton Place and Drayton Hall.

I think the plantations are a must-see; taking the ferry to Fort Sumter is a must-see; and a walking tour of the historic part of the city, guided or self-guided, is a must. We booked a walking tour with Charleston Strolls and were very pleased.

Those are some scattershot thoughts, hope they help! We enjoyed Charleston so much that we are thinking of returning for Thanksgiving next year, and including Savannah this time, so I'll be following your thread with interest.

Thank you so much, NewbE. I will definitely check out the Dewberry as well as the rest of your suggestions!
Just curious, when you rented your car, how bad would you say the traffic is? We are from a rural area in Texas, and we aren't used to driving in big city traffic!

We encountered some rush hour slowdowns on our way back to the city center from Drayton Hall, around 5pm. Didn't seem bad at all, but we only had the car for that one day. As we walked all around that week, it did not seem like big city traffic to us.

And I can't say anything about the drive to Savannah...

Maybe someone local can weigh in. But I wouldn't worry about it.

When we visit Charleston we stay in Mt. Pleasant, it is a short drive to Historic Charleston, and the hotels are cheaper.

Traffic in Charleston is not a problem, neither is parking. During the day we usually use the car park near the City Market and walk everywhere. Dinner time we have always managed to find free parking right where we wanted.

Food wise we have trying new to us places. We especially enjoyed Butcher and Bee, my wife is trying to replicate their whipped feta, without success. Young crowd, relaxed and unpretentious.

In the same area is Rutledge Cap, a self described "Reinvented diner classics in hip digs"

Right across the City Market is Henry's House, we a had a great seafood mac and cheese.

If I could afford I would have breakfast, lunch and dinner at 167 Raw.

I have heard good things about Leons and their fried chicken.

My must see in Charleston are the H.L. Hunley and a visit to Francis Beidler forest.

Woodworking is my hobby, and I enjoy old English furniture so I always drop by Golden & Associates Antiques. Can't afford to buy anything but they are always gracious hosts.
David Skinner Antiques also has drool-worthy stuff.

Drop into Savannah Bee Company. My wife uses their honey on her whipped feta.

The drive to Savannah is an easy one, take Highway 17 instead of the Interstate. Visit the ruins of the Old Sheldon Church, a short detour off the 17.

Thank you so much, cdnyul. I appreciate the eating and sightseeing tips as well as the tips about traffic, parking and staying off of the interstate! I will also check out Mt. Pleasant.

Here's my trip report on Charleston:

https://www.fodors.com/community/uni...rleston-sc.cfm

No need for a car in either place, unless you're going to visit an attraction on the outskirts.

Charleston is not a big city--Mt. Pleasant may be!! Driving is not a problem. It's a great town and your visit time should be magical with azaleas and dogwood in bloom!!
I'd get a car for part of the time at least--a day trip up to Georgetown and Brookgreen Gardens. Georgetown is a Revolutionary War era town and nearby Pawley's Island where the rice planters spent summers to escape the malarial mosquitoes.
Near there is also Hobcaw Barony, now an ecology outreach of Clemson University but Bernard Baruch's duck hunting preserve in the 40s.
You might like to go down the coast to Beaufort and Edisto.

Thank you so much, Gretchen and vincenzo! Do you think spend one or two nights in Savannah? And how difficult to drive to Charleston airport from Savannah is it?
Hopefully I can get hotels booked soon as well as a basic itinerary formed!

April could be a pretty busy month so your idea of booking now may be good.
It's several hour drive I think--not difficult.