USS Yorktown & Fort Sumter
 

We will be visiting Charleston in a few weeks, and the men really want to visit the USS Yorktown and Fort Sumter. Is this an all day affair, and is it worth it? The girls are not super excited, but are willing to try it. We just want to know want we are in for.

Thanks!

Yes, the boat trip to Fort Sumter is fantastic!

The Aquarium would be another fun thing for your kids.

Our whole family found the USS Yorktown and Fort Sumter very interesting and well "worth it".

Thanks! Does this excursion take the whole day or will we have time to plan something else?

We didn't get a chance to visit the USS Yorktown, but I think the girls will enjoy the boat trip to and exploring Fort Sumter. It is a very worthwhile visit.

I'm not sure if you are referring to adults or children with the girls, but if you have children I second the Aquarium. It is very convenient since it is right next to the dock for the boat trip.

I think that visiting the Yorktown and Fort Sumter together would take the better part of a day. The Fort Sumter trip takes close to 2.5 hours, round trip. They usually ask you to start boarding about 25 minutes before departure. It's about 30 minutes to the fort and then you have 1 hour to explore the fort, before returning to Patriot's Point. As far as the USS Yorktown and Patriot's Point go, you can spend as much or as little time there as you like, depending on your interest in boats and planes, but I would allow at least 2 hours to prowl around and look at everything. If the weather is hot, I would definitely plan to visit the Yorktown early in the day because the interior spaces get quite warm and the deck gets extremely hot.

Its best to do these two activities on different days but if time doesn,t permit schedule your Ft Sumter trip in the morning and the USS Yorktown in the afternoon. Besides the Yorktown there is the destroyer USS Laffey. a submarine and a Coast Guard cutter, all worthwhile to visit. We went in at 1 pm and were the last ones out and I still missed a lot. There is a lot of stair climbing involved and much to read and absorb. My suggestion is to take one day and let the guys go to the Yorktown while the girls go shopping and exploring in old Charleston.

It's really hard to say how much time 'the men' will want to spend visiting these two sites once they arrive. My husband, the history buff, could easily spend the better part of a day exploring Fort Sumter and another entire day aboard the USS Yorktown....LOL! If you're going to be in Charleston on the weekend the guys might also be interested in touring the CSS Hunley, a Confederate submarine that is currently undergoing restoration. Here's the website to get them started: http://www.hunleystore.com/Newslette...r_67.htm#tours

If you're not really into the whole naval thing, then split the group up for a day. Take 'the girls' out to visit a plantation or tour several of the in town houses which are always on tour, go shopping for a sweetgrass basket, take in the Charleston Museum, go on a walking tour of the city, etc. Lots of options available for everyone.