Pondering a trip to Charleston with a 5 & 9 year old during the first week of April. I know my wife and I would love it, but wondering if I can keep my kids entertained. Any thoughts/opinions on this from locals or travelers that know the city and area attractions well. How's the beach near Charleston? FYI, We've been to Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach already. Thanks!!

We were in Charleston 2 years ago for 3 days with our kids. First of all, don't count on it being beach weather in April. It could be, but we hit a cold week the last week of April. Unless your kids are really into history and sight seeing, they may be a little bored, especially for one week. I think Charleston is more enjoyable for adults without kids. We were only there once and there may be some attractions that we don't know about so maybe some others can help you out here.

Check out Kiawah Island. It's a wonderful resort community about 35-40 minutes away from Charleston with a wide range of lodging options -- we usually get a 2 bedroom villa on the beach. You can go to the beach, bike all over the island, fly kites, do some of the programs offered by the resort, head to Charleston...a really great family vacation. We've rented from both Pam Harrington Exclusives (www.kiawahexclusives.com) and Great Beach Vacations (www.kiawah.com) and have had great villas with both.

I would look into renting on The Isle of Palms(at Wild Dunes in particular). Here, you are only a 15-20 min. drive into Charleston. You have the best of both worlds, a family resort and proximity to the city. In the city, there is the new aquarium, carriage rides, and some things that children will find interesting(especially if your nine year old is into Civil War history). We have been vacationing there for 9 years and have 3 children 10, 8, and 5.

The first week of April will be way too cold for swimming in the ocean. It that's important to your family, head to Florida.

I guess that I missed that you're going the FIRST week of April. I agree with the previous poster that it will be too cold to swim and the temperatures could even be in the 50's and 60's. If you're looking for warm weather you should head south. We thought we'd be safe with the weather 2 years ago when we went the LAST week of April and wished we had driven the extra hours to Florida.

I guess when I replied earlier I missed that you were travelling the FIRST week of April. I agree with the previous poster that it will be too cold to swim and the temperatures at that time of the year could even be in the 50's and 60's. We stayed at the Wild Dunes Resort and the pools were not heated. We thought we would be safe with the weather when we went the LAST week of April 2 years ago but it was cold. I agree to head south if you're looking for warm weather.

xxx-which of the villas would you recommend? We just want a 1-bedroom place for a week in late April, preferably ocean front. The descriptions on those sites are kind of confusing. For example, what in the world does "Ocean front, but no ocean views" mean? Is this phyiscally possible??

We took our 5 and 10 1/2 year old children to Charleston in June. We stayed at Charleston Place which was fabulous. The rooftop pool will probably be closed in April but it was a very beautiful hotel and within walking distance of many things. we spent almost a full day at Patriots Point where we enjoyed touring the big war boats. We also spent a day at Magnolia Plantation and took the grounds tour. The kids liked taking a carriage ride and the night walking ghost tour in the evening. We had a great meal at the Hominy Grill which was very accomodating to the children. All in all, we had a wonderful 4 days and I would return again with children. They even made it through 1 house tour! I think a week would be a little much with kids because you would run out of things to do.

Statistical weather data shows the average high temperature in Charleston to be a comfortable 73 degrees during the first week of April. I'm not interested in "swimming" in the ocean, jsut hanging out. Previous trips to the South Carolina coast were in th summer heat and it was intolerable. It seemed to me like a wonderful springtime destination. Thanks for the feedback!

Ann, we've had great luck with Windswept Villas (on the ocean) and also Parkside Villas (on the lagoon and about 5 minutes on foot to the ocean). Both were 2 bedrooms, however, and I'm not sure if they have 1 BR units. I've heard good things about Shipwatch Villas, which are on the ocean and have 1 bedroom units. I've heard that East Beach villas are a little nicer since the villas are a bit newer than West Beach villas.

As for the "no ocean view" terminology, this refers to buildings that are right on the ocean but that have some units within the building that don't really have views of the ocean. We've stayed in a partial ocean view villa that was much cheaper that true oceanfront and was just great as far as I was concerned. I would suggest calling the 800 number for the rental agency you're interested in and talking to the reps - they're usually very knowledgeable and can paint a better picture for you of what you'd be getting. Both Pam Harrington and Great Beach (both of whom we've rented from as have many of our friends) have very high standards and we've never known anyone to be disappointed. Great Beach also rates their units (3 star, 4 star...) to give you an even better feel for how nice the villas will be.

Definitely take the kids to the aquarium! We went last summer and the 2,3 and 4 year olds in the group loved it. We always stay on Kiawahand have used both Great Beach and Beachwalker Rentals. You could do a boat excursion out of Bohicket Marina if they're running them that early in the season. As for the Oceanfron without an ocean view...it could be a first floor unit that you can't see through the trees. Even if you can't swim, the beach can be a lot of fun for playing around, kite-flying, etc. The kids liked Middleton Place because of the working farm-type atmosphere - but, again, check to see what is really going on that early in the spring.