nytraveler10

Hi
We've rented a home on a golf course in Kiawah through VRBO. Have read through old threads regarding great places to eat nearby and when visiting Charleston. Was wondering though which places would work for a group of 9. We could eat together or split into a table of adults and teens. Also any other suggestions for this group? Assume we'll tour Ft. Sumter, Charleston, shop some, hit the beach, golf some. Welcome any and all suggestions!

dsgmi

If you want to stay near Kiawah when dining, you have quite a few options. There are all of the restaurants available through the resort like The Jasmine Porch, The Ocean Room, Tomasso, The Atlantic Room, Shrimpers, Osprey Point grill, casual at Night Heron Grill and the Market at Town Center, etc. Right off Kiawah on Seabrook are Red Sky (newly reopened by the original owner), and Rosebank Farms Cafe. There might be another new place where The Privateer used to be, but someone else will have to chime in on that. The Fat Hen and Wild Olive are on Maybank Highway, not too far away, to name a few.

Since you have 9 in your party, I would definitely recommend calling ahead for reservations. Friday and Saturday nights tend to be really busy...last night for renters who have been there all week and the first night for the new renters.

The restaurant options in Charleston are wonderful. There are many previous threads about this just do a search. If you have specific cuisines or budgets.

If you decided to make any meals in, the grocery store at Freshfields, Newton Farms, is very well stocked. There is a produce farm/farm market right before Kiawah called Rosebank Farms. They also sell gorgeous flowers! Local shrimp can be purchased right from a couple of shrimp companies over by Rockville.

Check out the resort schedule of activities when you're there:

http://www.kiawahresort.com/download...ivityguide.pdf

They usually have at least one night a week with activities at Night Heron Park, even night sand volleyball for the teens.

If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask away!

dsgmi

And I forgot...all of the restaurants at Freshfields. You can check those out at:

http://freshfieldsvillage.com/

nytraveler10

Wow dsgmi, thank you for the great links. I read through both and printed tons of good info for our trip. I do have a few followups. Regarding golf and tennis, is it still available to us even though we didn't rent from the resort and rented through VRBO? Will we be shut out of any activities due to that. I realize we can't use the community pools and the house has a small private pool, but will that affect any other aspect? Can we still go to the resort restaurants? Thank you for all the great info above!!!

OurGreatEscape

Here's a comprehensive list of restaurants around the Kiawah area (anything inside the Seabrook Island gate-those restaurants near the top of the page--are only available to Seabrook Island club members and their (rental) guests.

http://www.seabrook-island-rental.com/restaurants.html

You want golf?? Here's the listing of the Charleston area courses: http://www.seabrook-island-rental.com/golf.html

Specifically, you can play golf on KI without renting through the resort.

You can eat at the resort's restaurants too.

With your party of 9, I'd suggest eating out at "off" times. Go late for lunch or early for dinner. Avoid the Noon and 7 pm times.

And, always call ahead! Restaurants come and go around the Charleston area.

dove

The new place at Bohicket Marina is Red's Ice House. It's getting good reviews as a place for "pub" food and beer/drinks. Quite affordable. Location is great, right on the docks with lots of outside seating which can be good, even in the hot weather.

They are also running sunset cruises out of the Marina 3 nights a week. Do a search for the Marina and you will get more info. The cruises allow you to bring your own drinks, snacks, etc. Almost guaranteed to spot dolphins on the cruise.

Be sure to have lunch at the Ocean Course Clubhouse at the end of the island. You will need to call for reservations to get through the second gate (unless your house in behind the gate) but it is worth the trouble. The food is good, not great, but good. The key is the location. A perfect wraparound porch, with comfy wicker chairs, right on the ocean. After lunch, walk down to the end of the beach. This is really the only oceanfront dining on the island. The Sanctuary pool does a nice lunch as well (partial ocean view) and a seafood buffet on Friday nights (relatively expensive for dinner).

Kayaking trips are good for your teens. Very well done. Resort also does a number of teen activities including basketball and soccer at Night Heron Park that anyone can join. Go to the villa check-in office at East Beach and get a copy of the summer activities book. Aside from the pools, preferred reservations and the discounts on sports, all visitors are welcome for the activities.

Kiawah is lovely. Great beach and activities.

nytraveler10

Thank you all so much for all the great info. It sounds like our VRBO house will not hold us back from participating in all that Kiawah has to offer. I will try to be mindful of making reservations for meals and eating at off times. Twelve days till the trip and looking forward to it. Will try to write a trip report upon our return. Thanks Again and if I think of anything else, I will not hesitate to ask before we go.

dsgmi

You might also consider renting bikes while on Kiawah; that might allow some flexibility for the teens. There are many miles of paved bike paths (but stick to the paths and don't ride on the road) and bikes can make the trip to the beach faster, depending on where you're staying. There are a few places you can park a car near the beach but it is in designated areas not just on the side of the road. If you let us know where you're staying, we can help in this area. Do get the summer activity guide that dove mentioned when you get there...all of the resort activities and recreation info is inside. It is also available at the nature center, the magazine shop in the straw market and sometimes at the East Beach Market.

I will second the kayaking recommendation. We've gone on trips from both Cinder Creek and on the Kiawah River.

One thing we love, even when it's hot: breakfast on the porch at Osprey Point Golf Club...big wicker chairs, ceiling fans, great view of the course and lagoon.

Another thing to note: SC changed the fishing regulations last year and they're pretty strict. Under 16 are exempt, however. The DNR does visit Kiawah and does issue tickets.

nytraveler10

House is on Cougar Point golf course near a bike path. I am considering renting bikes, but there are 5 teens. What do you think I shld get? I have numbers of several bike companies, but do you have a favorite? Now here is a crazy question(but remember I am from NY), do I need to lock the bikes at the beach? Do the companies give you a bike lock?
Thanks!

dove

I would rent bikes as it will allow the teens to go all over the East Beach area with ease, as well to the beach. This is a walking and biking place. You aren't going to want to drive most places.

Most visitors do not lock bikes. If you are going to spend time on the beach, leave the bikes on the bike racks near the walkways over the dunes rather than on the beach itself. There are literally hundreds of bikes on the island in the summer.

I don't think it matters where you rent. Negotiate the best price.

Other recommendation: Don't rent beach chairs on the beach. If your house doesn't have them, (many supply them for guests) go to the CVS or stores at Maybank and Main Roads and buy cheap chairs to use while you are there. Great savings.

suewoo

You'll need to make sure you know which bikes are yours! Everyone else with rentals will be out there. Hang something on the handlebars that will allow you to ID your rental.

LindainOhio

Definitely rent bikes--everyone rides bikes. We rented from Seaside Cycles www.seasidecycle.com. They give you a lock for your bike and deliver them to your rental house. $32.95/bike.

As much as I like to eat out, with 9 people, you may want to look at the markets where there are a lot of prepared foods. It's actually enjoyable to grill out when your group is that large.

We stopped at the large grocery store on our way before we to Kiawah--not far from the island--and did a big shop and then used the grocery stores on Kiawah to replenish our supply.

dsgmi

As for grocery stores close to Kiawah...Newton Farms at Freshfields, a Piggly Wiggly at the corner of Bohicket Road and Maybank Highway, and a Food Lion at the corner of Maybank Highway and River Road. There's a Costco on 17 near 526 and several other places closer to Charleston. Both the Piggly Wiggly and Newton Farms have prepared things at their deli counters, especially Newton Farms. At NF they have a takeout section for both lunch and dinner (meat and three, etc) with different offerings each day.

About the bikes, we often walk them on the boardwalk and park them on the beach near our stuff, especially if we want to take a ride on the beach. Identifying items (rubber bands, etc) would indeed make them stand out in a rack of a bunch of other rentals as suewoo wisely thought of! Locking them isn't necessarily a bad idea...every summer a few get taken for joyrides by those that don't have bikes. They're usually found elsewhere on the island and not completely 'stolen' but I know I'd rather ride back from the beach than walk.

Have your teens heed the signs about the alligators in the lagoons when riding their bikes. This is about the time that they lay their eggs/establish nests. The kids should not goof around at the edge of lagoons and never, ever taunt or feed alligators. There are quite a few places on the island for good alligator spotting, but on bridges/docks/overlooks where they won't be accidentally standing near a nest or too close. Alligators are great to see and watch..one of the many cool things about Kiawah! Your kids might be too old, but mine loves the Serpentarium over at Edisto...all snakes and turtles and alligators. They must be doing something right because every year the alligators lay eggs. There are some huge ones there that you can see up close and watch them eat lunch. www.edistoserpentarium.com Edisto is a little bit of a drive, however.

nytraveler10

Thanks everyone! Put in a bike order today from Seaside Cycles and got a 10% discount for ordering at least 8 bikes. (Grandma didn't want one!) They provide some locks, but great idea to identify them with rubber bands, ribbon etc. Thanks for the grocery and alligator tips. We definitely aren't used to seeing gators here in NY so that should be an experience.

lovncharleston

This might help in your trek to Charleston:

http://things-to-do-in-charleston.com

Kiawah is beautiful... you'll love it out there, especially the drive to get there! Have fun!

nytraveler10

Sorry it took so long for my trip report. We LOVED Kiawah!!! Arrived on Sunday 6/27 and the good people at Seaside Cycles were unloading the 8 bikes that we ordered in fron of the rental home from VRBO which was beautiful. Dinner Monday night at Wild Olive which took reservations for our large group. Interesting place inside and food was good (recommend goat cheese ravioli). Spent Tues. in Charleston, what a great city with so much to offer another trip will be required! Just saw that it was recently ranked the third favorite US city to visit behind NYC and San Francisco. Walked through the market area, waterfront park area, shopping area etc. Tried to have lunch at Jestine's, but the line was around the corner, so walked over to Sticky Fingers for some ribs and BBQ sandwiches. They were able to accomodate our large group fairly quickly. Spent the remainder of the trip in Kiawah. Loved the private beaches and wonder why we fight the crowds at the Jersey Shore each summer! The ocean was so warm, but not big enough waves for boogieboarding. Teens enjoyed some of the planned community activities in the evening such as pickup soccer, basketball, teen dance, etc. Enjoyed a Friday night concert at Freshfields and ate at the King St. Grille and the Pizza Place with our large group. Having bikes was great and one of our group even took in some golf at Oak Point. Also saw some gators in ponds winking at us. We can't say enough about our trip and hope to return. Thank you all so much for your tips and advice, it made it that much more enjoyable!!!

OurGreatEscape

@nytraveler10--You've got the bug! Charleston and surrounding area have way too many things to do for one trip. Heck, I've been visiting for over 10 years...um, my to-do list is longer now than when we first starting visiting.

For some reason, it's hard to leave the Kiawah or Seabrook

dsgmi

nytraveler: So glad you had a great time on Kiawah! Nice trip report.