A Day in Charleston
View of Charleston from the Waterfront Park Pier; picture taken by Anieka Travels
Charleston is an alluring, portside city filled with temptations. It's dressing like a southern charm character during the day and hitting the dive bars at night, spending the early morning at the market, lounging at Folly Beach in the afternoon, then returning to the city sandy and sunburnt. Charleston is hot humidity with a hint of an ocean breeze. For an adventurous shopaholic, foodie or history buff, it's paradise on Earth.
I had the opportunity to visit the charming city while I was down in Georgia with my family, so naturally I took it. Although I was only there for two days, I fell in love with the quaint, picturesque city. It was perfect for a long weekend get-away out on the town with plenty of shopping bags in hand. Keep reading for an extensive itinerary, transportation recommendations and safety report.
My 1 ½ Day Itinerary
Evening of June 18th
We arrived in the early evening after a long 5 hour drive. We checked into our quaint airbnb, which was only a street over from the downtown Waterfront Park and didn't waste any time before exploring our surroundings. We were on a mission to find dinner, so while we strolled around and admired the architecture, I searched on maps for a restaurant that had a respectable pricing and also had decent vegetarian options for my parents.
We ended up at Magnolias, a cozy fine dining restaurant right on East Bay St, which is along the waterfront. We didn't do too much else that evening besides eat, which my family and I are very good at I may add. After we had stuffed our faces, we made our way back to the airbnb and put a cap on the night so we could get an early start to the only full day we would have.
Magnolias on East Bay St. Charleston South Carolina, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
Day of June 19th
I woke up early (for vaca standards) and went on a little walk around downtown with my sister. We stopped at the Black Door, a cafe that's on the ground floor of the Mill's House Hotel, for some coffee and then made our way over to the Waterfront Park where we saw beautiful views of the harbour and Charleston's cityscape at the pier. We made sure to take pictures of the Pineapple Fountain located in the center of the park before briefly making our way through a small portion of Rainbow Row. We didn't tour the iconic street for too long because we were in a rush to get back to our airbnb and change out of our athletic clothes for a day of dining and shopping.
Pineapple Fountain at Waterfront Park, Charleston South Carolina, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
Once we had freshened up, we made our way to the Charleston Market, an undercover shopping center that stretches across 4 blocks, starting at the waterfront and cutting into the center of the city along Market Street. One could be there all day and spend their entire savings but we were searching for a specific item. Our cousin had been wearing a pair of earrings we both liked and when we asked her where she got them she told us she had stumbled upon them at that very market the last time she was there. The jeweler was called BR Design Co, a sister run company inspired by their mother who had taught them the art of clay jewelry making. Once we found the shop, we spent forever deciding on our favorite pair of earrings. There were so many stunning designs to pick from that we ended up each buying two. I also bought a striking art piece from Carlos Bilal but beyond that I restrained myself from buying anything else.
BR Design Co. station at the Charleston Market, USA; picture taken by Anieka Travels
Our next mission was getting food, so we walked down East Bay St until we found RuRu's Tacos & Tequila. It was the time of day where it got incredibly hot and humid so sitting in some AC with a taco in hand was much needed. I would recommend this restaurant for anyone looking for a quick but filling meal.
Afterwards, we did more shopping then stopped at a nearby cafe called Bitty & Beau's Coffee for some much needed caffeine before heading back to our Airbnb to relax before round two of the day's festivities.
One way to save on expenses is eating out during happy hour. This is what we did once we had gotten some rest. We stepped back out onto the streets and made our way to The Rooftop, a bar connected to the Vendue Hotel (has a spectacular art gallery fyi) which had their happy hour going from 4-6pm (available Sundays-Thursdays). It was quite windy, but we had wonderful views of the entire city and the harbour from up there. We loved it so much that we ended up having an early dinner up there.
Espresso Martini at The Rooftop, Charleston South Carolina, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
Earlier that day, my mom had stumbled across a cafe along the pier that sold poffertjes, a small traditional Dutch pancake. It's always been rare for our family to ever stumble across anything Dutch inspired living in Seattle so naturally we had to stop in after dinner and all share a plate of them. The café is called Timo y Crema and it's located right across the street from the Vendue Hotel. They also have other sweets and coffee as well but if you have never had poffertjes before I would recommend stopping by for them. I’m a little biased but they're tasty and they're adorable.
We spent the late evening watching the sunset from the pier before making our way to a nearby restaurant for some live music, another sweet treat and coffee. Originally we had planned to step into High Cotton because I had seen their advertisement for a live performance the entire day while walking around, however they were too packed and weren't able to seat our party inside, so we walked down a few blocks and stumbled across The Peacock, where Nick Horn, a local musician, was performing. Listening to him sing was the first time I had ever heard a cover of a Michael Jackson song and liked it more than the original, a near impossible endeavour. After listening for quite a while with some sweets and decaf coffee, we stepped back out onto what felt like a completely different street.
Live music at The Peacock in Charleston, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
Nightlife in Charleston is honestly not what I expected. The long flowy dresses and dress shirts were gone and what replaced them were hoards of people hopping around to all the bars which had opened up along the street. It was a PG family trip so I did not indulge in the nightlife but I got to imagine what it was like as I walked back to the airbnb and had a peaceful night's sleep.
Morning/Afternoon of June 20th
When I woke up that morning, I was in a time crunch. We had to check out of our Airbnb at 11, I still hadn't strolled the entirety of Rainbow Row, we all wanted to get brunch, we were all in desperate need of some coffee and there was a cemetery I wanted to stroll around in (very morbid, I know). Luckily, our Airbnb was located right on the corner of Broad and East Bay street so once we were all dressed for the day it was a breezy walk to the neighboring street where Rainbow Row began.
Rainbow Row in Charleston, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
I talk about Rainbow Row as if it's something extraordinary but in all honesty it's just a street with cute houses. I overheard a tour guide saying that 100 years ago it used to be a red light district which I thought was humorous because now it's one of the most aesthetic and picturesque streets of the entire United States. 100 years ago, no one wanted to be caught on Rainbow Row and now everyone wants to. Eventually we cut across Trad Street which led us in the direction of where we wanted to have our brunch, the Iron Rose, which was still just as picturesque as Rainbow Row but not as crowded with tourists.
After eating a hearty breakfast, I sped over to the cemetery which was nestled just across the street from St. Philips Episcopal Church. Why did I want to visit a cemetery you may ask? Simply because it was the most beautiful cemetery I had ever seen and I so desperately needed to walk through it to fully appreciate it. If you find yourself in Charleston, take the time to at least walk past it. You will understand my peculiar obsession with it. By then, I only had 30 minutes before check-out and I hadn't packed my stuff yet, so I rushed back to the Airbnb, finished the cleaning tasks, grabbed all my stuff and then we headed over to Folly Beach.
St. Philips Cemetery in Charleston, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
If you're longing for a beach day but still want access to bars, shops and restaurants then I would highly recommend driving the 20 minutes outside of Charleston to Folly Beach. There are plenty of other family friendly beaches around Charleston that are meant for parents with young kids but Folly Beach is the happening spot where you'll catch surfers floating out past the shallows searching for a wave, groups of friends passing around a volleyball or chilling on a rooftop with a drink in their hand. When we were there we did a little of both. It was an extremely hot and muggy day so we spent the early part of the afternoon walking along the beach and then when the heat got unbearable, we found a Tequila bar and had some margaritas and tacos to escape the heat under the AC.
We didn't stay too long in Folly Beach because just like our time in Charleston, we were in a time crunch. We needed to be in Savannah, GA by evening to check into our Airbnb and make our dinner reservations with our relatives we were meeting there.
View of the Atlantic Ocean from Folly Beach on Folly Island South Carolina, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
If I had an extra day I would…
Our time in Charleston was rushed and if we had just one extra day added to our itinerary it would have relieved a lot of pressure and it would have given us more time to relax. It's not like there is a whole lot to do in Charleston because it mainly is all about the eating, shopping and admiring the pretty houses but we would have had more time to do those things and in more areas of the city.
This trip, we focused a lot on the area right by the waterfront and then on our way out of town made the detour to explore Folly Beach but we didn't have the time to venture inland. I would recommend going for a long weekend to give yourself more wiggle room. You could then spend the first day exploring the waterfront, the second day exploring Folly Beach and the surrounding area, then the third day exploring other areas of Charleston. A neighborhood that I wanted to see but didn't get enough time to visit was Harleston Village around Colonial Lake Park. The lake has a walking/running track around it and there are a lot of cute shops, restaurants and more aesthetic historical buildings.
St. Michael's Church on Broad Street, Charleston South Carolina, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
Transportation
We had rented a car because we were road tripping from Georgia but if we only wanted to stay in the city, I don't think we would have needed it. That being said, I did only stay around the waterfront, I ate out for nearly every meal and didn't venture farther inland than what I was able to walk. If you're staying in an Airbnb that has a kitchen and you want to cook, you probably would want a car for getting to grocery stores. If you're wanting to visit a beach, there aren't any directly in Charleston so you would need a car for that. If you're wanting to access other neighborhoods that aren't within walking distance of the waterfront, you'll most likely want to have a car.
If you can't rent a car due to age restrictions, or want to avoid spending the extra money there is free public transportation that takes you directly to tourist attractions around the city. The DASH shuttle is a free option that has three different lines you can use to get around the city. You can choose between the purple, orange, or green line depending on which direction you want to go. There are also buses that take you outside of the city to places like Mount Pleasant and the airport but I'm not sure if that includes Folly Beach. Besides those two options you can Uber/Lyft places or you can walk.
Coming back to the airbnb after a stroll around town, Charleston South Carolina, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
Safety Meter
I would rate Charleston a 9/10 for safety because of how infrequent I was suspicious of people on the street. My family and I walked a lot when we were there and we're all very observant people. None of us ever felt weary, uncomfortable, or threatened while out and about. With there being so many people the only aspect about the city that made me cautious was regarding petty theft like pick-pocketing, so I kept a hand resting on my purse at all times and didn't leave my phone in my back pocket. Everyone was also very respectful. My sister and I never were made to feel uncomfortable, even the times we were strolling around at night. We also felt the same way when we were walking around Folly Beach. When you're out and about you should still be on your guard, like you would anywhere you travel for the first time but Charleston is definitely not a dangerous city.
Lodging
Art in the Vendue Hotel lobby, Charleston South Carolina, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
We stayed in an Airbnb right off East Bay on Broad street which was really convenient for walking around the waterfront and having restaurants and bars easily accessible to us. My only complaint about it was that it didn't have a kitchen, which in my opinion is the point of renting an Airbnb instead of a hotel room. This was why we were stuck to eating out instead of cooking our own meals which definitely made the trip a lot more costly.
If you're not wanting to stay in an Airbnb, there were three hotels I spotted that I would recommend. The first one was the Mills House Hotel which was where the Black Door Café was and the Iron Rose Restaurant. Although the hotel is old and supposedly a little haunted, this 1850's building matches the old Charleston aesthetic to a tea and even though it's not right on East Bay street, it's only a few blocks away from everywhere you'd want to be.
The second hotel I spotted was the Palmetto Hotel, directly on East Bay Street with a view of downtown and the waterfront from the rooms. What struck me about the hotel were the cute balconies attached to the rooms facing the street. I could just imagine myself waking up early and sipping a cup of coffee out there while I watched people on their way to brunch.
Another hotel that I thought was cool was the Vendue Hotel, also directly along the waterfront with a rooftop bar attached. This was where I went for happy hour and where the really cool art gallery was set up in the lobby. This hotel is right in front of the waterfront pier and directly across from a bunch of amazing restaurants like Magnolias, the Peacock and High Cotton.
Houses along Trad Street in Charleston South Carolina, USA ; picture taken by Anieka Travels
I really enjoyed my time in Charleston and will be back again, most likely on another weekend road trip from Georgia. I wish I had been able to stay for longer but there was another segment of the trip that I needed to venture towards. I moved on to Savannah where we met up with relatives and stayed in an old house that was potentially haunted. I will be publishing another article about that leg of the trip in a few weeks, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, get out there and explore the world. There's never a better time than the present.
- Anieka ♡
