My Trip to Charleston

I have several places on my travel bucket list I have yet to visit, but I can now check off Charleston, SC. 🙌🏼 Charleston did not disappoint either. The food, the people, the history, and the breathtaking antebellum homes made for a wonderful weekend trip.

If you love history and have a special place in your heart for architecture then I highly recommend adding Charleston to your places- to-travel-list. If you are planning a trip to Charleston or thinking about planning a trip, then you’ll want to read this!

Please note, my recommendations are just that, recommendations.

Transportation

If you are flying to Charleston, I recommend taking the airport shuttle to your hotel, Airbnb, or wherever you are staying. The cost was a flat fee of $14 a person. However, if you are traveling with your family an Uber might be less expensive. I traveled by myself so the $14 was the least expensive route for me. Uber might be around the same amount depending on the time of day and drop-off location, but Taxi’s cost substantially more, so I would not recommend using the Taxi service.

If you are staying in downtown Charleston then you will be in walking distance to a majority of my recommendations. If you are not, then there is always Uber.  Uber’s are literally everywhere!

All the Touristy Things

Of course I did what some would call the cliché touristy things, but why wouldn’t I? Its the cliché touristy things that attract me. Instead of getting an Uber every time I went somewhere, I walked…A LOT. My iPhone health app recorded an average of 20k steps a day. 😳 I was definitely sore after the first day, but seeing everything I did, like this secret garden, made it totally worth it.

Let’s start with the FREE places to visit.

Historic District

The first day I got to Charleston, I aimlessly wandered through the historic district. I had no idea where I was going, but everywhere I turned, there were homes like this. 😍

Rainbow Row

I have never seen homes as beautiful and colorful as I did in Charleston. Specifically the homes located on Rainbow Row. There are tours offered, but I opted out of the tour. I went pretty early and I was lucky enough to snap a photo of the homes with an empty sidewalk. This photo does not do this row of pastel colored homes justice. They are truly breathtaking.

For more information on Rainbow Row click HERE.

The Battery

Where the Cooper River and the Ashley River meet, you’ll find the most stunning antebellum homes. I am not an architecture buff, but these homes had me drooling.

King Street

Usually King Street is crazy busy, but if you get up super early on vacation like I do, you would find a near desolate street. I took this picture one morning on my way to Starbucks. I walked that 1.2 miles to Starbucks three days in a row around 7ish each time and each morning, King Street was empty. There is also a Farmers Market located at Calhoun & King on Saturdays. I am not sure if it is every Saturday, but if it is, I recommend checking it out. There was food trucks, local artists, fresh veggies, artisan soaps, and an area with bouncy houses for kids.

Magnolia Plantation

If you plan to visit the plantations in Charleston (there are several) then I recommend packing them in by location. One of our Uber drivers actually told us there is a bus tour that does multiple plantations. I don’t  know which company offers it, but I’m sure you could google Plantation bus tours and find it.

The price of admission varies, but if you just want to walk the grounds at Magnolia Plantation it’s under $20. For each tour you would have to pay an additional $8 though. If you want to do the guided tours get there within the first hour of them being open. The tours fill up quickly and chances are if you have to wait 4 hours until the next available tour, you won’t do it. Personally, I am not much of doing guided tours, but I am so thankful my friend talked me into it. We did a guided tour of the Magnolia Plantation home. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and the home was what farmhouse dreams are made of.

If you want to do multiple plantations in one day, I recommend doing your homework on which ones are close to one another or you’ll be spending a lot of money on Uber rides. Two different locals recommended both The Magnolia Plantation and Boone Hall Plantation, so those were the two we decided on. One of our Uber drivers told us that Middleton Plantation is very close to The Magnolia Plantation, so you could definitely squeeze both of those in, in one day. My favorite thing about The Magnolia Plantation is the gardens. The grounds are breathtakingly beautiful.

Boone Hall Plantation

First, can I say how much I love the movie The Notebook? Yeah, I am that girl. Well, if you love the movie as much as I do, you’ll be excited to know that a portion of The Notebook was filmed at Boone Hall Plantation.

Below is a picture of one of the gardens.

Boone Hall is also the top rated Plantation in Charleston. One of our Uber drivers (we had several) said that Magnolia Plantation is known for its beautiful gardens and Boone Hall Plantation is known for its rich history. However, Boone Hall has beautiful grounds as well. My favorite part is the entrance. The Hugh oak trees with the draping Spanish moss is so dreamy.

 The admission for Boone Hall Plantation is under $30, but all tours are included and not a la carte like Magnolia Plantation.

Below is a list of other places that were highly recommended to me, but wasn’t able to fit them in.

Sullivans Island
Folly Beach
Angel Oak

Now to the most important thing you’ll need to know about…

Food

The thing I get most excited about when traveling is eating at local restaurants. I ventured out by myself one morning and asked a local at the farmers market where a good place for breakfast was. He pointed me to Jacks. An old diner tucked away on a side street off King Street. I thought the atmosphere was charming and the staff was super friendly.

I recommend the blueberry pancakes. They were super yummy. 😋 My total bill was $10, which I thought was good for being so close to downtown.

5 Church

It’s on the expensive side, but 100% worth it. The building was a church at one time, then later converted to a restaurant.

I had the grapefruit mule and it was amazing and the food was spectacular! I recommend the ramen from the appetizer menu. Even though it’s listed as an appetizer it could be meal if you add a side salad. I also recommend the Mexican street corn. Definitely get the Mexican street corn! If you are planning a trip to Charleston and want to eat at 5 Church I would highly recommend making a reservation. For more information click HERE.

The Watch Rooftop Kitchen

Rooftop bars are everywhere in Charleston, but I highly recommend this one specifically for their specialty cocktails and view.

Obstinate Daughter

This was by far my favorite place to eat. The ambiance was laid back and the atmosphere just spewed good vibes.

The food was crazy good too. Like, lick your plate good! I recommend the anson mills farro piccolo, obstinate flatbread, and chocolate cake. The Obstinate Daughter is located on Sullivan’s Island, so you would need to take an Uber if you are staying in downtown Charleston. But it is well worth the drive. For more information about the restaurant click HERE.

And that’s a wrap! For those planning a trip to Charleston or those thinking about visiting, I hope you found my post helpful! Again, the places recommended above are all based on first hand experience and in no way am I affiliated with any of the places I recommended. If you have any questions please comment below or DM me on Instagram. My handle is @acarriedaffairdesigns

Until next time friends.Xo