Charleston/Sullivan's Island
 

Hi all

I've decided that, for my April trip to Charleston, I'm going to sacrifice my eco-tour (which I really wanted to do) for Ft. Moultrie and a nice relaxing day on Sullivan's Island. As a history buff, I just can not pass it up, and I regretted not being able to see the fort when I was in Charleston a few years ago.

I just have a couple of questions. How close is the beach to Ft. Moultrie? Is it within walking distance? I know Poe's is further away; I thought I read somewhere that there are bike rentals in the area. How feasible is it to bike from the fort to Poe's? Also, will the water be warm enough to swim in by mid-April?

Thanks !

Fort Moultrie is an interesting place to visit, although it won't take that much time -- a couple of hours at the most. The Fort is located right on the beach. Walk out from the bastion and you're on the beach.

Sullivan's Island is not that large. With a little effort, you could walk from one end to the other in two hours and that's stopping along the way to enjoy the sights.

As to services, remember that you cannot rent houses by the week on SI. There's a 30 day minimum for rentals. That means that it's not so much a tourist area as an area for residents. I'm not aware of bike rentals although you can call the town hall (google) and they should be able to give you an idea of what's available.

As to swimming in April. Water temp should be in the 60s, maybe 70. Your call on what's comfortable. We were down at Kiawah last week and there were a lot of kids in the ocean on the warm days. Not my idea of fun but certainly they seemed to be enjoying the running and splashing.

Hi Dove

Thank you so much! That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for...If I can't bike, I don't mind walking, and I'll enjoy the beach no matter what. I just love being around water.

Is it April yet? LOL

We have spent our last three vacations on Sullivan's Island . I know you aren't planning on renting a house there, but just to clarify for others, there are homes that can be rented for less than 30 days on Sullivan's Island. However, there are no hotels or B&B's.

Fort Moultrie is on the beach, however, there is no swimming allowed there, due to strong currents on that end of the island. I have a feeling that the water will be too cool to swim, but if you want to try it, walk back up the island toward Station 22 and pick a spot that looks nice to you. Poe's Tavern is in the Station 22 area and the walk from Ft. Moultrie is probably close to 1.5 miles. Definitely doable, if you have the time and the weather is nice.

If you're planning an entire day on Sullivan's Island, my suggestion would be to take your taxi (or rental car, if we've persuaded you to get one!) to Fort Moultrie. Since you're a history buff, you could probably spend 2 hours exploring and going through the museum there. After that, I would head back to Poe's Tavern for lunch by either walking up Middle St. or walking up the beach, depending on whether you want to see some of the houses on the island or just the beach. Middle St. also contains the very small business district, which is made up mostly of a handful of restaurants and a small grocery. From Middle St. you can also see the old bunkers, some of which have been made into homes and one that has become the public library. After lunch, I would walk back down to the beach and spend some time with a good book. Sounds like a great day to me! Oh, you might want to check out islandeyenews.com for a taste of Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms.

Ft. Moultrie is wonderful. Make sure to see the movie at the Fort's visitor's center first.

Hi Betsy!

I printed your Sullivan's Island trip report a couple of weeks ago (from 2006, I think?), even before I had planned to add Ft. Moultrie to my itinerary. I just enjoy reading about the areas around places I'm visiting, even if I have no intention of going there, and I enjoyed your trip report very much. It sounds like you had a great time!

Ooh, I love your ideas. Even if I can't go swimming, I love walking on the beach. I don't do that much at all (well, never actually)where I live, but that's because I don't like to deal with beach traffic. It's a wonderful thing to be able to breath in fresh air and to get away from suburbia (not that I don't love where I live, but I'm pretty tired of strip malls). 1 1/2 miles on a nice day is doable for me.....I just have to get into some kind of shape that doesn't resemble a couch potato!

I really like the idea of checking out the business district and especially the library. I'm a complete bibliophile and it would be a neat thing to do something that's truly non-touristy.

Egret, thanks for the tip about the movie. I eat those kinds of things up - I just can't get enough of colonial American history/Civil War history, etc.....

I'm wondering if I should make a complete day of it and have dinner on the Island. Are the sunsets worth staying on the island for dinner? If so, do you have any recommendations for dinner?

I was actually planning initially to combine Charleston and Savannah into one trip, but I remembered how much I loved Charleston and I couldn't bear to take any time away from the city, not with many things I've yet to see and do. I'll get to Savannah eventually.........

thanks again!

I just had an idea...especially if you decide to stay the entire day...maybe you can rent a golf cart for the day. When we are there in the summers, lots of people are out cruising around on golf carts. I looked on the website of the realty company we use and they list Island Golf Carts on Sullivan's Island with a phone number of 843-883-0080. If you had a golf cart you could really explore the island from Fort Moultrie at one end to Breach Inlet at the other. Anyway, it might be worth checking out, because it would save you some walking and allow you to see both ends of the island and the marsh/inland side, as well as the beach.

If all you want is a laid-back day, with a nice dose of history, then I could see spending most of the day on the Island. As far as sunsets, I have seen better sunsets from the Ravenal bridge area than from the Island, because the SI beach is facing the east. Here's an idea....after spending your day on SI, have your taxi drop you at the Boulevard Diner for dinner on your way back to Charleston. It's casual enough that you won't feel uncomfortable if you're rumpled from a day outdoors, plus you might be able to catch the sunset on your trip back into town, depending on how you time things.

Hi Betsy

That golf cart idea is a good one..no, a great one, and I'm going to take note of that. I once visited Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and got around their property in a sort of golf-cart buggy; it was so much fun. I just loved whizzing around.......lol. Seriously, if that's an option, that is no question what I would do.

I was planning on doing Boulevard Diner for lunch on my Patriot's Point day, but I admit that was when I thought I could get away with spending only a couple of hours there. Upon further research, that looks like it's going to take up most of my day and I don't think I would leave for lunch - I'd be more inclined to bring lunch with me.

If I could arrange a cab to drop me off at Boulevard Diner and then pick me up, that really sounds like the best plan. Is Boulevard Diner as good for dinner as it is for lunch?

Thanks again for all the tips!