My wife and teenage daughters are planning a trip to South Carolina at the end of this month to attend our other daughter's graduation from basic training at Fort Jackson. We have never been back east except for a trip to Orlando, so we're looking for some advice on what to see and do in SC for a week.

We would like to spend a few days at the beach, but I'd like to see some of the historical sites as well. Any recommendations for places to stay? We're looking for a VRBO-type rental, close to the beach (or at least within an hour of the beach), and also close to other attractions.

I thought about flying into Atlanta for the cheaper fares, but don't think we want to do all that driving. We might fly into Charlotte or Charleston.

Thanks for any help!

I know a friend of mine on another forum would probably suggest a visit to the old fort at Ninety-Six, SC (a town near Greenwood, SC--in the NW corner). There are some photos of that fort at the end of this Album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157631993067803/.

flashguy

First, remember all that humidity in Orlando? Well, think of that and add another ten degrees to it and you have Columbia.

Secondly, Folly Beach. Near Charleston. Should be able to find some vrbo houses - but may be limited to week only rentals. And Charleston and Columbia are not near enough to do a daily drive-by.

Charleston has some decent sites, but a lot of real good food.

Fly to Charleston. Lots of historic stuff to see around there and the beach is nearby. Fort Sumter and across the river are the big ships. Much of Charleston is nice and safe but a few parts are not.
Great seafood places all over. Foley Beach probably has some reasonable places to stay, check online. We slept there but left in the morning and returned in the evening.
It will be very very hot and humid in Charleston and Columbia this time of year.
Ft. Jackson is by Augusta, on the GA/SC border. Not that much to do there other than the daughters graduation or in Columbia either. With limited time, I'd spend it around Charleston as much as possible.

Please use the thread search utility on the karmanator website and pull up the half-dozen threads on Charleston, SC.

http://www.karmanator.com/sig_search.html

80 results are there in 0.03 seconds.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Ft. Jackson is by Augusta, on the GA/SC border. Not that much to do there other than the daughters graduation or in Columbia either. With limited time, I'd spend it around Charleston as much as possible.

Fort Jackson is in Columbia, SC, which is not on the SC/GA border. It's about 70 miles to North Augusta, SC.

I'd spend the time in Charleston, too. It'll be hot, but not as bad as Columbia. And there's more to do in Charleston.

Patriots point

And

Boone’s plantation would be a go to for me.

Remember it’s hot, damned hot, this morning I saw a guy inorange burst into flames...lol don’t forget about the humidity

If you are from Utah, South Carolina would best be described as "different". Columbia is rather mundane and traditional. Think Deep South. There are still people who admire Strom Thurmond. Charleston has more to offer in terms of history, fun activity and of course good food. Charleston has quite a few similarites to New Orleans in terms of architechture and tolerance of alternative life styles. I have been there multiple times, and of course this is just my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by cheesegrits:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Ft. Jackson is by Augusta, on the GA/SC border. Not that much to do there other than the daughters graduation or in Columbia either. With limited time, I'd spend it around Charleston as much as possible.

Fort Jackson is in Columbia, SC, which is not on the SC/GA border. It's about 70 miles to North Augusta, SC.

I'd spend the time in Charleston, too. It'll be hot, but not as bad as Columbia. And there's more to do in Charleston.

Sorry, got it confused with Fort Gordon where my brother had basic.

The thread linked has some good options in it. I’m a 5 minute drive from downtown Charleston and 10 minutes from the beach here in Mt. Pleasant. From Columbia to here is not a bad drive, straight shot at 80mph will have you here in less than 2 hours. The last 20-30 miles can see some backed up traffic depending on the time of day.

Folly Beach is by far the best beach if you’re looking for the “beach getaway” in this area. Lots of hole in the wall places and very laid back. Isle of Palms is second then Sullivan’s Island. I spend a lot of time on Sullivan’s, but it’s strict on short term rentals and only a handful of restaurants.

The one downside to Folly is there’s only one way on and one way off. Traffic can back up PDQ in the summer. Over an hour to just go a couple of miles isn’t uncommon.

If you’re looking to check out any of the numerous nice restaurants downtown, better call now for reservations.

For hotels, look at Mt. Pleasant unless you’re wanting to spend some coinage in downtown Charleston for the experience. Plenty of Hampton Inn type properties in Mt. P. You can be in downtown Charleston in 5-15 minutes from most hotels in Mt. P.

I travel a lot with work, but my email is in my profile if you get stuck in the area or need a real time recommendation. Be glad to help anyway I can.

Edit - I was in Boise last week, my skin and nasal passages dried up within an hour of walking out of the airport. You guys may actually die here this time of year due to the humidity

Definitely do Charleston but prepare to sweat.

I lived in Utah for 6 years and the folks out there were complaining when the humidity hit 22%.

It'll be about 90% in Charleston.

Lewis BarBQ, for Texas style BBQ, Page's Okra Grill, famous for Southern Cuisine, are two of my favorite places,

Columbia, SC! Just behind the screen door to Hell in July. Unless it's Lake Murray, there's no beach within 3 hours of here.

You may want to split the trip between Charleston and Columbia/Ft Jackson.

In Columbia:

SC State Museum
Confederate Relic Room in the SC State Museum
Restaurants in the Vista (Gervais St immediately west of the Statehouse)
Motor Supply Co in the Vista is a classic.
Palmetto State Armory store on Fernandina Rd west of Cola on I-25.
Docs BBQ Shop Rd
Little Pigs BBQ Percival Rd near Ft Jackson
Pawleys Front Porch burgers in Five Points area between Cola and Ft Jackson
Congaree National Park south of Cola to walk around (but in July, maybe not)
Arts and Farts ... check Free Times

Really, this will only fill a day or two before/after Ft Jackson graduation.

Offsite gun board discussion of Charleston stuff.