Charleston Itinerary

Charleston Itinerary   

I've gotten lots of questions about what Leon and I did while we were on spring break in Charleston. So I figured I'd outline what we did for our few days there so you guys can plan trips too! 

P.S. If you're lazy I'll summarize at the bottom and share outfit details!

Day One   

Breakfast: 

Our first day we started with a trip to Black Tap Coffee. I got the Lavender Latte as well as a ham and cheese croissant and it was all to die for.  

Activity:

After a dose of caffeine, we visited the Magnolia Plantation Gardens. There's plenty to do here, and you could easily spend a full day there.  We wandered through the unruly gardens and over intricate bridges for hours before grabbing a quick lunch on site. We finished up our trip by visiting the swamp garden. Most people don't stop here, but for an extra $5 to your ticket, this place is a must! It is so cool to be able to explore a natural swamp. There are lots of flower, trees and critters, including quite a few gators! My piece of advice for this particular activity would be to stay aware: there's no fence between you and the alligators!

Dinner:

By FAR our best meal, we headed to the popular restaurant Husk. This place is reserved months in advance, and unfortunately we were not so lucky. However, I promise you that the wait was one of our favorite parts. We headed over to the restaurant, put our name down and received a 2 hour wait estimate. In our down-time, we walked next door to their bar, which is adorable (and boasts an entire wall of whiskey)! Here we ordered some appetizers including fresh Benton's ham (our favorite brand) and pimento cheese. I had never had pimento cheese before, but it quickly became my favorite southern food. We ate and drank for about an hour and a half before our table at Husk was ready. The menu changes every day, so be ready for a surprise when you visit, but don't worry, everything is delicious!

Day Two   

Breakfast:

We grabbed something quick at our hotel to get a jump start on our full day.

Activity: 

LOTS. We headed out to do 3 main things: visit the famous Pineapple Fountain, explore Rainbow Row and make it to Sullivan's Island for a beach day. The Pineapple fountain was gorgeous and a surprisingly popular wading pool. I went at peak midday and it was very crowded, in the future I would avoid the people by visiting a little later. From there we walked over the Rainbow Row. Now the architecture in Charleston is stunning, but this street is so fun it's difficult to not fall in love. The tall, pastel buildings are the perfect background for any color-loving instagrammers or a pretty view for just about anyone! After our exploration we drove over to Sullivan's Island. There are a few beaches around Charleston, but this one is much more lowkey. It was a nice spot to relax and walk along the sand dunes. On our way back we stumbled across a farmer's market. We stopped and it ended up being on of my favorite things we did. We got amazing homemade pickles, yummy cheese, tried lots of samples and I ate a doughnut.

Lunch: 

Brown Dog Deli. You might have a short wait as this place is very cool. However, the sandwiches are so unique and delicious. I got the Apple "Butter" Jeans and Leon got the Shortrib Grilled Cheese. Both were delicious, but I preferred his (mine was a little too sweet for me). 

Dinner:

We visited the Swamp Fox at the Francis Marion Hotel. After a lot of research, this seemed to be the only place that served gluten free fried chicken in all of Chareston. Needless to say, Leon picked this one. No complaints from me though, the food was all delicious and the drinks were strong. Like, very strong.

Day Three  

  Breakfast:

Technically more of a brunch, but we went to Poogan's Porch, neighbor to our old friend Husk. I had the spiciest fried chicken sandwich I've ever dared to consume as well as some very yummy biscuits and gravy. Leon had eggs and bacon because ~gluten free~.

Activity:

 Shopping on King Street! Be warned, this is definitely not the most affordable street. But it's fun to look around and the boutiques were stunning. The store that really got me was Beckett Boutique (keep an eye out for that purchase during my Europe trip). We also stopped midday at the Skinny Dip. These stores are found in a few places, but this one has a rooftop frosé bar! We stopped for dinner and then visited the Battery. A park along the water, lined with the most stunning houses I have ever seen. Each mansion had beautiful wrought iron gates warning us not to trespass, and visibly gorgeous architecture. Plus, I heard if you go at the right time you can see dolphins!! No promises though.

Dinner:

We did a lot of fancy stuff so this night we went classic southern with a trip to Rodney Scott's BBQ. Oh. My. God. The people are nice, the food is drool-worthy and the portions will last your for days (literally we ate them for like a week). 

Summary

Food: Black Tap Coffee, Husk, Brown Dog Deli, Swamp Fox, Poogan's Porch, Rodney Scott's BBQ

Activities: Magnolia Plantation, Pineapple Fountain, Rainbow Row, Sullivan's Island (keep an eye out for the farmer's market!), shopping on King Street, the Battery

Details