We are planning on spending a week in Charleston (not until end of March/09) and would love to know what weather would be like then. Our hubbies will like to golf in and around the city but the two of us ladies would like to see a lot of historic sites, the ocean, shopping, dining in wonderful places, just everything that this city has to offer. Any ideas??? We would also like to know if Savannah would be a good day trip to do.
Thanks a lot!

Certainly visit at least one of the plantations. Take a carriage tour right off the bat. It will help you figure out what is where. Visit Ft. Sumter. Eat, a lot. Meandering around the historic district is one of my favorite things. Check out the Battery. Savannah would be doable as a daytrip but it is about 100 miles one way. May make for a long day. www.charlestoncvb.com or www.charleston.com

We were there in March 2008 and found it quite cold. We had one day of torrential rain, another day that was sunny but really cold. That day, we wore fleeces, scarf and gloves. Another day was sunny and cool. I think it was unseasonably cold when we were there but locals would know better than me. There are historical weather temperatures on www.wunderground.com

We really enjoyed a guided walking tour, there are brochures at the tourist office. Also the food was great in Charleston, try Cru Cafe, Fleet Landing and A.W.Shucks. Just wandering the streets down by the Battery was a pleasure, so many beautiful homes.

Kay

As Kay mentioned, the weather could be a total crapshoot.

Take a couple of minutes to read the great trip reports posted by GoTravel and escargot. There is a ton of information there to help you plan.
You will recieve lots of good tips on things to do. Here are some of my suggestions.
1. Take a Gullah Tour
2. Read "Mrs Whaley's Charleston Gardens" and prepare to enjoy the gorgeous gardens of Charleston
3. Eat! Magnolia's, Fig, Anson's, Charleston Place, Peninsula Grill, 39 Rue de Jean, Cypress, CruCafe, Hominy Grill, High Cotton and SNOB.
4. I am a shallow and silly woman so my list includes shopping on King St...bow and scrape near Bob Ellis the motherlode of shoe shopping...
5. Patriot's Point.
6. Walk across the bridge.
7. Cocktails on top of the Marketplace Pavilion
8. a short day trip over to IOP and lunch on Shem's Creek
9. tour the historic houses and smell the jasmine
10. And this is most important....start planning your NEXT trip to Charleston, because once is simply not enough.

My daughter just spent a week there with another family for spring break. They toured a Plantation, Fort Sumter and the USS Essex (I think), did ghost tour and pirate tour and also went to Aquarium. She actually really liked the Aquarium. She also loved shopping on King's Street. They stayed in a house on Folley beach and also spent some time on the beach. I think there is more than enough to keep you busy for a week!

The shopping on King Street and the eating will take up plenty of your time (and I'm not even much of a shopper, but I do love to poke around stores). We though the Fort Sumter trip was great. And we walked and walked (even in the July heat), all along the Battery and into the older neighborhoods -- the architecture is outstanding.

Our favorite thing was touring the plantations - Boone Hall, Drayton Hall, Magnolia Plantation, and Middleton Place. We also enjoyed a nice lunch at one of them, sorry I can't remember which, but they had lots of low country specialties. We also did a historic tour of homes and drove out to Kiawah Island. Magnolia's for dinner was great. Charleston has loads of good restaurants.

1) Take the self-guided walking tour. The guidebook for this is available at visitors' center. Take your time and combine it with lunch or dinner.

2) Go to Middleton Place plantation. Not sure when peak flower season is. Also, have lunch there. It is great.

3) Have dinner at Poogan's Porch.

I would do everything I did during my last trip to Charleston all over again -

here's the link to that trip report, which may give you some ideas - high on my list and in my report:
Gullah Tour and historic homes/ art and shopping!
and eating, eating, eating.......


http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=35085382

We will be making our seventh trip to Charleston this summer. It is a wonderful city! My top ten list would look something like this:

1. Walk the historic district. Take in the lovely homes, the secluded gardens, the views from the Battery. Spend some time in a swing at the Waterfront Park.

2. Visit some of the historic homes in the downtown area. We have been to nearly all of the ones that are open to the public, but my favorites include the Aiken-Rhett House and the Nathaniel Russell House.

3. Drive out to one of the plantations. My absolute favorite is Drayton Hall, but if you go that direction, you could also visit Middleton Place and/or Magnolia. They are all within just a few miles of each other.

4. Shop, shop, shop on King St.

5. Visit Fort Sumter. You will get a great view of the city from the water, plus the tour of the fort is fascinating.

6. and 7. If the weather is nice, drive out to Sullivan's Island and see the beach. You can also visit Fort Moultrie, which has a very important spot in American History. While you're on the island, stop in at Poe's Tavern for one of the best burgers ever.

8, 9, and 10. EAT!! There are tons of good to great restaurants in Charleston. Some of our favorites include: Peninsula Grill, SNOB, Magnolia's, Hominy Grill, G&M Fast and French, Boulevard Diner, Poe's Tavern, Old Village Post House, Hank's....I know I'm leaving some out, but that should give you a start!

Thanks everyone for their responses, I'll definitely be taking this with me! My brother and wife have a timeshare in Charleston and they love it - lots of golfing for him and lots of sightseeing for her. I can hardly wait to taste 'grits'(whatever they are!) We're Canadians so don't have a clue about what they are made of (maybe like our 'perogies')???? We are going on a week sail to the Caribbean first and would like to spend the last week of our trip in Charleston before we fly home to Western Canada (which will still have snow by then). In fact, as I'm posting this on April 18th, it is snowing where we live, isn't that crazy? Anyway, thank you once again for these great suggestions.

I am sure you will enjoy your visit to Charleston. Do try the grits (they are like cream of wheat with a bit more substance). My favorite way to enjoy them is in the seafood (lobster, shrimp and scallops) and grits served at Magnolia's restaurant in Charleston. And I think I am safe in promising you no snow there in March!

Lots of good recommendations here for a fabulous city. Love, love, love Jestine's Kitchen for great Southern cooking! Mashed potatoes, fried chicken, Coca-Cola cake...awesome!

Shrimp and grits at Magnolia's -- yum!