We are planning to drive down to the Charleston and Savannah area for a week vacation in April (the week before Easter). Hoping to somewhat avoid crowds, although this is a spring break week for a lot of folks.

Any advice/tips are appreciated. We aren't really party people, so we're not looking for nightlife and clubs.

What are some good places to visit, eat, stay, etc?

Is Tybee Island nice? Is it worth going to the Savannah Wildlife Refuge?

Can we visit both cities in 5 or 6 days (including driving time from Virginia - about 7 hours to Savannah)?

Thanks!

I would spend a majority of my time in Charleston. There is much more to do in & around Charleston, than Savannah. There are a multitude of posts re: both cities on here, a search will answer many of your questions.

I live an hour from Savannah and two hours from Charleston. Haven't been to Savannah in at least five years.

As far as visiting both Charleston and Savannah in 5/6 days, I guess that depends on what you want to see. I spent 4 days in Charleston and could have stayed longer. I stayed at a B&B and would not hesitate to stay there again.
Restaurants -- SNOB and Hanks (my favorite).

I was in Charleston last summer....LOVED it. Took a day trip down to Savannaah. Drive was about two hours. Took a trolley tour for $10pp. This allowed you to be dropped off in the location of your choice. When you were ready, you could reboard(even at a different designated trolley stop) for the return to the trolley depot. We found this was a good way to experience Savannah in a short time frame. Although we thought Savannah was interesting, Charleston is more well preserved and beautifully situated.(our opinion)

It is definitely worthwhile to see both of these beautiful southern cities and do your own comparisons.

Given that we preferred Charleston, following are a few recommendations for things to do:

- See a plantation...Middleton Place is astounding!

- Visit Patriot's Point...very enlightening

- See Angel Oak on John's Island...continue on to Jasmine's Porch at the Sanctuary Hotel on Kiawah Island for lunch. Great food, gorgeous venue plus you'll have a chance to see one of the beautiful barrier islands. Call ahead for reservations, as you must have them to gain access to Kiawah!

-Take a carriage ride in the evening

-Walk, Walk, Walk!! Charleston is a beautiful city with so many charming streets, wonderful architecture, quaint gardens, terrific shops, etc...

-We enjoyed dinners at 82 Queen (ate in the courtyard...highly recommended for ambience) and the Hominy Grill for authentic lowcountry cooking!

Have fun!

Did a relatively quick trip to Charleston in 2006 (http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rleston-sc.cfm) and then did a week long trip to Savannah and Charleston last Spring when the flowers were ablazing and amazing. We did 3 nites in Savannah and 4 in Charleston. We just love that area, especially Charleston, which has lots more to see and do.

Comb thru the readers' comments in the "things to do" link for each city in tripadvisor.com and you'll pick up lots of useful info.

We started in Savannah where we did one of those ghost walk tours one evening which was pretty good because our guide was a lot of fun. We also did the trolley ride overview of the city which was excellent. It's a fun and easy town to walk, especially with all those beautiful squares. We hit Fort Jackson about 30 minutes outside of town and enjoyed several hours there one day.

We hit the Savannah Wildlife Refuge area on the way to Beaufort, SC and we could have skipped that. It's a drive thru, and a pretty long one, and there wasn't much to see when we were there in late March. We were discouraged from spending much time outside the car because it was very buggy.

Beaufort was an easy drive. We spent about 2-3 hours there doing Jon Sharp's walking tour: http://www.jonswalkinghistory.com/ He's a hoot and very knowledgeable. He made the town and its very interesting history come alive. His walk takes you past many of the beautiful southern mansions still standing in that quaint town notwithstanding all the hurricanes. I highly recommend him.

On our second visit to Charleston, we spent a half day at Patriot's Point, just 10 minutes from downtown Charleston, which was well worth a visit especially if you've never visited an aircraft carrier, battleship or submarine. From there, we headed to Magnolia Plantation where we spent the afternoon. It was incredible that time of year with all the blooming azealias and other flowers. Lots to see and do there. In downtown Charleston, we enjoyed the spectacular Calhoun Mansion and did another historical walking tour and carriage ride, both of which were very good. The Gullah Tour gets rave reviews but we didn't reserve far enough in advance. Next time.

We love a good B&B and stayed at two great ones: 15 Church Street in Charleston (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Carolina.html) and The Olde Southern Inn in Savannah, which was a splurge (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Carolina.html)

If you love to eat, you won't be disappointed in either city.

Don't miss the history of the savannah squares and you might want to add Jekyll Island which is a favorite of mine. We took photographs of both places for our site smalltowngems.com. It's worth a look.