First Visit to Charleston
 

Hi,
I am planning a visit to Charleston in mid-march. I'll be flying in from NYC, am a 40-something guy, and traveling solo. A few questions:

1. It's a bit more expensive to come from like a SAturday-WEd as opposed to Monday-Friday. Would I be missing out on a lot not being here on a Saturday and Sunday?
2. I know this is a hard question to answer, but how many days is a good number. I'm thinking 5 days, including arriving around 11 am and leaving around 4 pm, so both those days are somewhat full days.
3. My main focus is just to absorb the charleston/southern culture. So walking the Historical District; Fort Sumter; Visiting other civil war and revolutionary war sites and homes; plantations and gardens; nice beach walks;
4. Maybe a drive to another small rural town outside of Charleston

How does this all sound?

I'll try to answer your questions:
1) No.
2) Anywhere between 5 and 7 days is good. We've been to Charleston several time - there's lots to see/do.
3) Great ideas! Also, do a google search of "Things to Do/See in Charleston" you'll finds lots of info.
4) Yes, definitely. Consider a drive to Beaufort - lovely historical small town on the inter-coastal waterway.

All that Roams says. The hotels drop prices for the mid-week, and all of Charleston is still there. Don't forget the Plantations. You'll have a great time.

Good advice.

I can try too.

1. The Charleston attractions (old homes, beautiful architecture, great food) are all there during the week. It's not a weekend only city.

2. Any length of time in Charleston is time well spent.

3. Ft. Sumter involves a boat ride, so that will take an entire morning. If you go to Sullivans check out Ft Moultrie too. The azaleas may be in bloom-no tellin.

4. The drive to Beaufort is lovely-swampland with lilypads. Consider stopping at Old Sheldon Ruins while down there. I'm not sure what you're looking for, but Rockville and McClellanville are nice fishing towns.

If you haven't booked a hotel, you may want to do that soon. Spring is a busy time.

I found I was able to see a lot in Charleston with three full days -- reposted from an earlier thread below, modified slightly.

For Charleston, I did the following:

-Day 1. (morning) Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, Nathaniel Russell House, Heyward-Washington House, (afternoon) Edmonston-Alston House, walk around The Battery, Gibbes Museum of Art, Old City Market, city bus to and from campus of The Citadel. Otherwise all on foot.

-Day 2. (morning) Drayton Hall, Middleton Place, (afternoon) continued Middleton Place, Magnolia Plantation. Done using shuttle service via Charleston Chauffeur Company.

-Day 3. (morning) South Carolina Aquarium, Ft. Sumter, (afternoon), Aiken-Rhett House, Joseph Manigault House, Charleston Museum. All done on foot except water shuttle to and from Ft. Sumter.

The Charleston Museum is large and can easily take a few hours to experience. The three Ashley River Road plantations definitely take a day. The house tours took about an hour each. The Gibbes Museum is not that large.

I did not get to explore some of the other outlying attractions, such as Boone Hall, Cypress Gardens, Charles Towne Landing, the H.L. Hunley Submarine, or Ft. Moultrie.

Thanks for the info. So heres my plan: Sunday March 17-Wednesday March 20.
Flight gets in Sunday at 10:30, so I wold have a solid afternoon to do stuff.
Then all day Monday and Tuesday.
On Wednesday, my flight leaves at 6:10, so have a full day to do stuff as well.

Sounds good?

It appears restaurants won't be a problem, since I'll be solo and can sit at the bar and eat there, no reservation needed.

Thanks for the help!

Sounds fine. Book your hotel soon.

Eating at the bars of some of the nice restaurants is a pleasant experience. There will be many locals having drinks after work, though, and some of the places are small. The larger bars are McCrady's, the one in Charleston Place, and Cypress. Husk's bar is in a separate buliding that's really neat, but the menu is different from the restaurant. My favorite is FIG but the bar is small. Also look at Ordinary and Stars on Upper King.

Here is a link to the March 2013 Calendar Events in Charleston. It lists all types of events--arts, music, theatre, tours, lectures and any special events. There might be something in these listings that you'd enjoy.

http://www.charlestonarts.org/wp-con...s-Calendar.pdf

I have no idea of prices, but Jet Blue will be having two flights daily between Charleston and JFK and one daily to and from Boston.