Pardon my ignorance, but I am northeasterner, and not familiar with Charleston at all.

Is this a beach town being a peninsula, or should we explore one of the sea islands? We are looking to spend a week after labor day, and would like a to get a beach house for the week, but weren't sure if Charleston is right.

I hear all the time that it's a gorgeous town, but didn't know if it was a beach place (even if its on the water).

We have done the Outerbanks, and are looking to experience another part of the great South.

Yes it is a "beach" town. Folly beach to the SW (West Ashley), Sullivans Island and Isle of Palms to the NE (East Cooper). Isle of Palms is our favorite. Plenty of rental options. All have relatively easy access into Charleston.

Charleston itself is not on the beach. It is surrounded by water with the Cooper River on one side and the Ashley River on the other. However, there are very nice beaches within a 15-20 minute drive of the historic downtown area. On the West Ashley side, there is Folly Beach, and across the Cooper River there is Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island. The beauty of this is that you have nice beaches and a great city with historic buildings, wonderful shopping, and fabulous dining all within a short drive of each other.

It is as Betsy says. Take a look at Wild Dunes.

Thank you all for the information, as we are looking to rent a house. I am going to look at rental houses on vrbo.com.

Just in case VRBO doesn't work out, or you don't find anything you like, we have used Island Realty multiple times to rent houses on Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms. Carroll Realty also handles properties on both islands.