Hi!
We are planning a June honeymoon in Charleston. We'd like to wander around the historic district, do some antique shopping, see some plantations, maybe go to the beach, etc. I'm not sure how long we should go for. We'd like to keep it kind of short as we are saving for our dream trip to France in 2007.
Thanks!

Depends on the time of year.

Warm weather, spend 3 days at the beach if you like the beach.

Spend at least 3 days downtown.

Spend your honeymoon at the Wentworth Mansion.

As a South Carolinian who visits Charleston usually once every year or two, I would say no less than 5 days to be able to see the things you want without being rushed. Make sure you also go out to Fort Sumter while you are there.

If you also haven't been to Savannah, I believe you will be short changing yourself by not giving at least 4 days in Charleston & 4 days in Savannah. Lots of history & attractions in both & they are so close in distance.This amount of time should not impact your visit to France in 2007. The daily cost of France over Charleston & Savannah would probably be triple so for a short visit it should have little impact on the France trip. See the U.S.A. too - don't spend all of your dough in France.

You can get a little taste of Charleston in 5 days...enough to make you want to come back for more. Here's the link to a trip report I posted when some friends came to visit for the first time: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34648755

Not sure when in June you're planning to visit but May 26 - June 11 is the Spoleto USA Festival (www.spoletousa.org) and hotel rooms will be at a premium during that time. If you can come later in the month, I would recommend it so that you will be able to get a little better deal on hotel rooms and all the attractions will not be as crowded.

Best wishes on your upcoming marriage!

Hmmm...the wedding is June 10 - so we were thinking about leaving on the 12th...will this be too close to the festival, or will everyone be gone by then? We could wait a while and go later in the summer, but I hear it will be HOT then!

I'm thinking 5 or 6 days now...here's a tentative itinerary:
1 day - 1 or 2 plantations in morning and beach in afternoon.
2-3 days - wandering around historic distric, shopping, etc.
1 day - Ft. Sumter

Thanks for the Savannah suggestion - I've heard that it's also a great city. How far is it to drive between the two cities?

Between the two cities, it is about a 2 and a half hour drive. In Charleston, I would stay at the Wentworth Mansion, the John Rutledge House, or the Market Pavillon.

There may be a few stragglers left around the 12th but nothing compared to the masses that flock to the city for the festival. It definitely gets HOT later in the summer so mid-June would be my suggestion (though it will be pretty warm then as well).

Looks like you've got a good plan formulating...though you really only need to allot about 3 hours for Ft. Sumter as the ride to/from and time on island is just shy of 3 hours.

For your plantation/beach day, you may want to consider Boone Hall and then heading over to Isle of Palms or Sullivan's Island. Boone Hall and the beaches are east of the Cooper (about 15 minutes from downtown Charleston). You could hit Boone Hall in the morning...tour the plantation and have lunch there (restaurant is fabulous) and then spend the afternoon at the beach.

No matter what you do, I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time!

A great seafood place with an upbeatable view is the Boathouse between Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island. We had drinks on the roof and saw dolphins.

Wild Dunes is great. Check to see if they have any honeymoon specials.

This is my suggestion. June will be steaming downtown.

Hit the beaches during the day and downtown Charleston at night. Remember, the sun doesn't set that time of year until after 9PM so it is still HOT at night. Plan on 85+ degree temps at night.

See the plantations early morning. After 10AM you'll want to ocean breezes.

Bring a sweater for indoors. Because it is so hot down here we cool down our homes and businesses to popsicle. No lie.