Planning a long weekend trip in Feb with wife and daughters (13, 10). Just sort of a sight-seeing, eating, drinking trip. Anyone been recently? How is it these days with covid restrictions? Thanks!

a co worker just went last weekend. Said everything was open for the most part. Gotta wear masks everywhere, even outside. He said police were handing out tickets to those not wearing them. (those were his words, not sure how accurate that part is. he is somewhat of a branch covidian).

Generally speaking they enjoyed it and it seemed like it was open for business

Just got back two weeks ago after the rib and I honeymooned there. Everything was open: All restaurants, King Street Shops, French Quarter Market, Horse Carriage Tours, ect... Only had to wear masks when inside of a business, we never wore them while walking around outside and neither was anyone else.

My main tip would to be make dinner reservations now. We luckily planned way ahead, but we noticed a ton of "locals" trying to get seats at restaurants that we were dining at and the hostesses having to turn them away or seat them "closer to 10pm." Limited seating in restaurants has made it where you have to plan days in advance for some of the "staple" restaurants, even for lunch.

Other than that, it was beautiful weather. Super easy and relaxing week and we had nothing to complain about.

Thanks to both of you for the feedback!

We were there early February time a year ago. temperatures were very nice
Ate at Hall's Chophouse, Husk and Magnolia, all very good. Had breakfast at Miller's All Day and Big Bad Breakfast.
Worth a drive out to Kiawah Island for a walk along the beach. Stop on the way at eat hot (or not hot) chicken at KinFolk
Rooftop restaurant and bar at The Bohemian has a great view from the patio

I'll tag along on this thread if you don't mind.

Any recs on where to stay that would be in an area conducive to walking and seeing the sights? Or do you rent a car or Uber around town?

Thks

You want to stay in the Historic district which is a bit more expensive
everything in that area is walkable

if you want to venture outside of the historic district like Khawai Island or the Angel Tree then maybe an uber would work...we had no need for car while there

would go back in heartbeat easily one of the Top 10 food destinations in the USA

if you need recs there are a ton of greatplaces and with very little research you wont have a bad meal

Husk, FIG, HallsChophouse, 82 Queen, Fleet Landing, SNOB, Muse, Blossom all have excellent recs on mutiple threads of places to eat

We stayed at Planters Inn. It was an absolutely amazing hotel, never pulled the car out and walked everywhere. We value being able to feel like living in the city and saving time on commuting.

Be ready to eat, eat and eat some more. I didn't realize how great the food is there, make reservations!

If you do stay at Planters Inn, I HIGHLY recommend the Peninsula Grill downstairs! You will not regret it.

We like staying in the Church Street Inn. It is right next to Market Square. Beautiful accommodations and covered parking available nearby

wildmen09 said:

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We stayed at Planters Inn. It was an absolutely amazing hotel, never pulled the car out and walked everywhere. We value being able to feel like living in the city and saving time on commuting.

Be ready to eat, eat and eat some more. I didn't realize how great the food is there, make reservations!

If you do stay at Planters Inn, I HIGHLY recommend the Peninsula Grill downstairs! You will not regret it.

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Penninsula Grill Coconut cake is amazing

NIcer upscale place Havent stayed at Planters Inn

also soup sandwich food type place we liked was Cru Cafe

OP, did this EXACT trip in December (5 of us including three daughters ages 17, 16, and 10). If you haven't gone yet and are still planning your trip, let me know and I'll post more details.

My wife and I are booked to go to Charleston for a few days towards the end of the month, I'd be interested in hearing more about your trip.

We went for 12/26-12/31. The weather was much list Houston. Layer up because if the sun comes out it gets warm.

Skip the plantations as there's really not much to see or do this time of year. We went to Magnolia Plantation, checked it out, but all agreed it would be better in the spring or summer.

Of course, Fort Sumter is a must. You only get about 45 minutes on the island, but that's plenty of time to check it out. There are still rounds stuck in the walls, so those were cool to see.

We didn't do the aquarium but heard good things about it. We walked the Battery area, very neat homes nearby, such as Rainbow Row. Spend a bit on King Street just walking and checking out the shops. We went to the Old Exchange Building, which is where SC signed the Constitution back in the day. Also, George Washington walked on those same floors.

Our biggest hit, by far, were ghost tours. We did a walking ghost tour that was very interesting if you're into that kind of thing. The guides are convincing, but I'll leave it up to you to judge. The walking tour was so interesting to us that we booked another ghost tour the next night in which we could go through the old jail. I don't know if we saw any spirits, but it was creepy for sure!

For food, hit 82 Queen for a high-end restaurant. With the kids, we of course found Chick Fil A and other kid favorites. There's a seafood/crab restaurant near Market St that was pretty good too.

Bump. My wife has wanted to visit Charleston for years so I am booking us a trip for April. Booking reservations now. Aside from the restaurants mentioned above, are there any other "must-do" type places? I have booked a room at The Dewberry. Came down to the Belmond Charleston Place, Hotel Bennett and The Dewberry for me. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. TIA.

just walk the streets and enjoy the architecture, scenery, and beautiful weather. Very laid back place.

We enjoyed the Ft Sumter tour, boat tour of the whole harbor, and the carriage ride. Our guide was very knowledgeable of the local history, and we saw some stuff a little outside of downtown.

Be sure and carry extra cash because your wife will want to buy a sweet grass basket for $200 and up. It's a bit of a racket, but they are cool and a nice memento.

We stayed at Indigo Inn. Nothing special, but clean and close to the market

Was there last February. Checkout R Kitchen for dinner. It's an all chef run restaurant with two seatings each night and maybe only 20 seats. We also had fun with a night ghost tour of the old jail.

I went in November and really enjoyed the culinary tour offered by Bulldog Tours. I added on the guided walking tour, which was also good and doesn't take up too much time.

The sunset harbor cruise is great. I also went out to Fort Sumter. It's interesting if you're a history buff, but there really isn't a lot to see. If the weather isn't good, I'd skip it.

I stayed at the The Mills House, which was great and didn't break the bank. Right around the corner from this hotel, on Queen Street, are three great restaurants. For lunch/dinner, I really liked 82 Queen and Husk; for breakfast, it was Harken Cafe. I ate breakfast there every day, except for one when I went to Callie's Hot Little Biscuit. If you like biscuits/biscuit sandwiches, theirs are great.

I was underwhelmed by the vendors at the City Market, but there is a lot of great shopping in the city - lots of home goods, gifts, and jewelry that really reflect what makes Charleston special.

Camellia's champagne bar at Hotel Bennet is great for a pre-dinner drink, especially if you are just coming off the sunset harbor cruise (it's close to the departure point).

I also ate at The Church on North Market Street. The venue is beautiful (although, I got stuffed in a less-impressive side room), but it wasn't my favorite meal.

It's a super walkable city. I traveled solo and felt completely safe the entire time. I walked 5 miles each day, just admiring the architecture and beautiful old oak trees.

Mousepad - we stayed at the Dewberry last year and loved it. Great location. Make sure to spend some time in the Citrus Club (rooftop bar). I don't typically like things like this, but I highly recommend doing one of the carriage tours. Great way to learn about the history of Charleston. Raw 167, FIG, Husk Bar, Ordinary, Leon's: all places we would go back to. Love that city. Enjoy!

Following this and heading there in March. Have dinner reservations for two at Hank's Seafood, 82 Queen, and SNOB. Another couple "may" join us but knowing them they probably won't want to have dinner at that price point each night. I know it's a food city and can be priced as such but would anyone have a few dinner recommendations that may be at a price point below the ones above?

Rather than a different restaurant, try one at lunch. I did 82 Queen for lunch (after stopping there on the food tour). Everything I was interested in was on the lunch menu. Lunch prices should be cheaper.

Enjoyed our stay at the Harborview Inn. Don't remember a bad meal.

TMfrisco said:

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Enjoyed our stay at the Harborview Inn. Don't remember a bad meal.

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That's where I'm staying too.

AgOutsideAustin said:

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Following this and heading there in March. Have dinner reservations for two at Hank's Seafood, 82 Queen, and SNOB. Another couple "may" join us but knowing them they probably won't want to have dinner at that price point each night. I know it's a food city and can be priced as such but would anyone have a few dinner recommendations that may be at a price point below the ones above?

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Really enjoyed the oyster house and amen st fish & raw bar for the non fine dining nights when I was there.

Thanks

Thanks for all this info.

Enjoy the Harborview now because there won't be an actual view of the harbor after the new hotel next door (which looks awesome) is completed.

I strongly recommend FIG. If you can't get a reservation they have a common table that we really enjoyed sitting at. We had a drink a waited ~30 minutes and were seated at it.

Just went between Christmas and New Years. We stayed at Loutrel (new hotel) and it was very nice. Culinary hits of our trip were 167 Raw, Pink Bellies, and Wild Common. We tried to get a table at Chubby Fish but didn't want to wait ~2hrs. Chubby Fish was recommended by almost every local we talk to about food. They open at 5 for dinner and do not take reservations.

TXTransplant said:

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Rather than a different restaurant, try one at lunch. I did 82 Queen for lunch (after stopping there on the food tour). Everything I was interested in was on the lunch menu. Lunch prices should be cheaper.

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While I agree the atmosphere at dinner is great in courtyard.

Poogans Pooch and Cru cafe were great for lunch spots and that was a few years ago.

Leon's Fried Chicken and Oysters and Rodney Scott's BBQ are both walkable from but away from the King Street crowds. And both excellent.

If you have a car, Wild Olive out west of town is terrific and easier to get a reservation.

I second 167 Raw being awesome. We like going for lunch, and siting out and having a glass of wine before we're seated. Get the lobster roll and thank me later.

Yep, the lobster roll was excellent.

Another place we visited and really enjoyed was the Port of Call Food Hall. We grabbed a bite and some beers while listening to some really good live music.

When are you going in March? My wife and I are headed there the 16th through the 19th.

Cbarber42 said:

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When are you going in March? My wife and I are headed there the 16th through the 19th.

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We went Spring Break last year. Loved it there, great history and food.