Charleston Trip Report
 

DH and I were in Charleston, SC last week. I found so much useful information on this board, I thought I'd share some highlights:<BR><BR>We stayed at the Hampton Inn on the Isle of Palms Connector in Mt. Pleasant. Was a little far from C'ton (esp. during rush hour) but service was very good and it was near a grocery store (great for buying own picnic foods!).<BR><BR>Places we visited:<BR><BR>1. Kiawah Island. Gorgeous drive under mossy trees. Beach closed on weekdays, though. Oops!<BR>2. Edisto State Beach. Wonderfully isolated, lots of seashells.<BR>3. Palmetto Carriage Tours of Historic Charleston. The employees of the carriage tours are quite happy to accept coupons for other companies, so bring any you find. Informative and fun.<BR>4. Charleston Museum. More history than art. Fascinating.<BR>5. Middleton Plantation. Must be gorgeous in the spring when in bloom, but mostly just shrubbery this time of year. House tour was a big disappointment. At $30 pp, overpriced. <BR>6. Boone Hall. Although the house was built in 1935, the tour guide had lots of fun stories. The drive under the famous oaks is nice too. With AAA discount, only $10 pp.<BR><BR>Overall, DH got history'ed out but I loved it and wouldn't hesitate to go back!

Doesn't make any sense that the beach was closed at Kiawah. Beaches are public and don't get closed. Maybe Kiawah access was? Anyway, if you get a chance, come back for the Boone Hall Oyster Festival in the winter. It is a huge oyster roast and a lot of fun. Glad you enjoyed the Low Country.

ttt

Would you recommend Palmetto Carriage tours to others? My 2 sisters and I are going to charleston for a day in June and would really like to do a carriage ride, but I have found more than one company.

We only did the Palmetto tour so I don't have much to which to compare it. However, I was quite satisfied with our experience.

All the carriage tours are pretty-much the same. Just get on the most convenient one.

I too learned so much from this forum prior to our Charleston trip, I wanted to return the favor with some information from the trip we took just this March.<BR><BR>We stayed at the Doubletree in historic Charleston, but while I thought the staff was really great, I thought the rooms were rather dingy and not as clean as I would have liked. I would look for another hotel before another visit.<BR><BR>Instead of a carriage ride, we rented the walking tapes so we could walk the city and learn its history at our own pace. We really enjoyed the tapes. For around $25, you get a tour tape and two earphones for 24 hours. This allows you to stop longer at points of interest and to go into one of the homes if you want to as you walk the city. You can pick up the tapes at the Vistor’s Center.<BR><BR>My husband and I really like botanical gardens, and we were very impressed with Magnolia Gardens. I thought the on-your-own tour was really well done, and the gardens were just coming into their spring swing. But most of all, I highly recommend the “Swamp Walk” there at the plantation. Older rice fields have been returned to their swamp state, and there are birds of all kinds (ones that we rarely if ever see), there are turtles, alligators, and the area is left as pristine as possible. The place is truly amazing.<BR><BR>As for food, we thoroughly enjoyed Jestine’s Kitchen on King Street for good and inexpensive soul food. We also tfinally found and tried out “The Wreck” in Mount Pleasant, an out-of-the-way place you can’t find without directions, and even with those it’s not an easy find. There’s no sign to let you know you’re there. Very good and fresh fish at a fairly reasonable price (be sure to try the fried green tomatoes). We also ate at Gumbo Ya-Ya--cheap but not great. Our favorite was the Bookstore Cafe on King Street. This place is truly wonderful, and is now open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Note--split a plate if you can--the portions are huge. This place had as good a food selection as any other place we visited. It was excellent. Alice’s Fine Foods, we were disappointed to find, is now closed.<BR><BR>Anyway, Charleston is a great city. You’ll have a wonderful time, but it is expensive unless you do your homework and find those out of the way restaurants.