Hi there. We are travelling to US 22 October.Flying to Fort Lauderdale and hiring car and taking our camping gear with us. Did this before - as the baggage allowance is so generous on US airlines we can take everything we need.

We are thinking of driving up to South Carolina and staying near Charleston. Has anyone any info on the area. We love wild places and nature [but not averse to a night out on the town either]. Any suggestions of places to go, sights to see would be appreciated.

I was thinking there is a wonderful bird sanctuary near Charleston--It might be Hunting Island. Maybe someone will chime in here. In the meantime, if you want to camp, maybe one of these sites will help. The weather should be good.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...bird+sanctuary
I have to admit I am amazed you can bring all you need on the "allowance". Watch the weight and size restrictions.

Hunting Island State Park is beautiful and you can camp there as well.

http://www.huntingisland.com/

That whole "low country coastal area" is magical. Try to do some things in the ACE basin region too.

http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov/ACEBasin/


Both of these areas are on the way to Charleston from Florida.

Another really great area (has a long boardwalk through the swamp) is called Francis Beidler Forest. It's north of Charleston near a town called Harleyville.

Here's one more link.

http://www.beidlerforest.com/index.html

These should get you started.

Thanks for yuor help. Have looked up the sites on the web and they look great. Especially Hunting Island.

Please don't miss seeing one or more of the riverfront plantations and gardens just outside Charleston. Lots of natural, unspoiled swampland scenery as well as the manicured formal estates.

There's one other important place that I forgot to mention--Cumberland Island off the Georgia coast and also on the way to Charleston from Florida. This national seashore island is accessible only by ferry but you can camp there. It's absolutely beautiful and unspoiled. Some planning is required to get there, since you do arrive by ferry (only people not cars) It's been ages since we've camped there but it was a far more memorable and magical experience than most other camping that we've done elsewhere. Here's the link.

http://www.nps.gov/cuis/