Charleston, Savannah, or Hilton Head, etc. for long weekend getaway with daughter in October

Parent Cafe
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<p>D1 has done a LOT of traveling lately, but almost all for work, and a couple of weddings. She wants to plan a long weekend getaway with me, just to chill out, but can’t do it until October. We’re looking at possibly Columbus Day weekend. She lives in Boston, and I’m in the Chicago area. I don’t want to travel any more than two hours by plane, with a non-stop/direct flight, nor does she. But we both want to get far enough away from our regions so we feel like we’ve gone somewhere. She threw out the ideas of Charleston and Savannah, in that order. I sort of looked at and considered Hilton Head, but I don’t know enough about it. I also threw out a couple of other suggestions - Saint Simon’s Island, GA and Seaside, FL. However, when she looked up Saint Simon’s Island, it came up as one of the most romantic getaways out there, so that might not fit our criteria. And Seaside, FL (about 40 minutes east of Destin) looked right up my alley when H and I went there for dinner several years ago, but other than that, I don’t know much about it.</p>

<p>Biggest concern is that all of these places, in October, could be impacted by a hurricane; I will buy travel insurance. But I would prefer something on the beach, but not an area that is lined with high-rise resorts and condominiums. Would prefer to stay at a place that allows easy walking to restaurants/shops, etc., but we don’t need a whole big city of touristy trap kinds of shops. I really don’t shop much anymore when I travel, but she likes to. I have no problem with renting a car to get us the kind of place we’re looking for. Definitely luxury, as opposed to rustic.</p>

<p>Of all the places I’ve mentioned, neither one of us has been to any, other than the evening H and I were at Seaside, FL several years ago, so I have no idea about any of them, other than what I’ve heard in passing.</p>

<p>Hope someone has some recommendations. </p>

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<p>We love Charleston’s museums and restaurants; October would be a good time of year to walk in the historic district. Fine antique shops and some very upscale boutiques. There are several beaches within a 15 minute drive, but the city itself is not “on the beach” per se. We’ve stayed at the Inn on Meeting Street and at the Planters’ Inn and would recommend both if you decide you want to stay in town. </p>

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<p>If you ‘do’ Charleston, are there places to stay on the beach, but then you could drive into the city to do museums/shoppping/restaurants?</p>

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<p>We went to Charleston and loved it. The food, historic homes…I would go there again in a second.</p>

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<p>The places out on the beach are across the bridge from Charleston. Will be I charleston shortly. Can report back. Was last there a few years ago. </p>

<p>Seaside is charming. You can rent a house there or in watercolor and walk to a lot. There are other places down 30a that you can get to by bike. Also look at rosemary beach, though its smaller. </p>

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<p>As I recall, it is about an hour car ride from Savannah to Hilton Head so would add to your travel time. Unless there is a closer place to fly to I am not aware of.</p>

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<p>HHI would be very touristy. Lots of good food and beach time, I don’t think there would be much culture or history. Depends on what kind of trip you want. Around here people rent condos on the beach there and you can rent a bike to ride to shopping and food. </p>

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<p>What about Tybee Island?</p>

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<p>Charleston is a truly great food town!</p>

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<p>Take a look at The Cloisters on Sea Island in Georgia. Really nice luxury resort on the beach–no high rises. </p>

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<p>We’re familiar with the area, Teri, as we have a home in Hilton Head. I can’t think of any particular location where you are going to get a beach location with shopping and restaurants within walking distance in any of those options. I will throw some ideas and information out for you where you may be able to find something that will work for you.</p>

<p>Charleston is a beautiful city that is very walkable. I’d recommend either Charleston Place Hotel or the Vendue Inn. The aquarium in Charleston is a great place to visit. There is an abundance of galleries, antique stores, and wonderful shopping in Charleston, all of which you could walk to easily from either hotel. One option if you choose Charleston and still want to be on a beach is to stay on Kiawah Island which is ~20-25 miles south of Charleston and an easy drive into the city. There is a beautiful hotel there which may be just what you want in a beach place, the Sanctuary Hotel.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.kiawahresort.com/accommodations/the-sanctuary-hotel”>http://www.kiawahresort.com/accommodations/the-sanctuary-hotel&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You could stay there, enjoy the beach and then take a ride into Charleston to explore, shop, etc.</p>

<p>HIlton Head is wonderful and we love it there, and contrary to what some people believe, there is culture. :slight_smile: There’s a symphony, a terrific theatre, and many historical sites. Many great beach hotels and resorts but not many within walking distance to what you might want to do, and definitely not after dark. Bike rentals are popular on the island, as there are 55 miles of amazing bike trails. Dozens and dozens of good places to eat and lots of great shopping on the island and in the surrounding area. A couple of beautiful small lowcountry towns close by that are fun to visit. One spectacularly beautiful resort that isn’t exactly what you’re looking for but I’ll throw it out there anyway, The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, in Bluffton SC, just off the island. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.palmettobluff.com/the-inn.aspx”>http://www.palmettobluff.com/the-inn.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>A great spot, with good shopping and interesting southern architecture and ambiance in nearby old town Bluffton. A short drive to the public beaches on HH. And if she really wants to shop, there are two good outlet malls close to HH and Bluffton.</p>

<p>Savannah is an interesting place to visit but not anything like Charleston and it could easily be explored and experienced in about half a day. An easy drive from HH. The walking tour is fun, seeing the Mercer House is interesting, exploring the different squares.</p>

<p>I don’t know how many days you’re planning when you say a long weekend, 3?4? Including or excluding travel days? Unless you are choosing to stay in Charleston and fore go the beach, you are going to need to rent a car, which is probably a good idea if you want to do any exploring at all. I wouldn’t worry too much about hurricanes. We go down in October every year and have never had any problem in HH. We actually haven’t had a hurricane-related issue anytime we’ve been there, in any month during hurricane season. Hurricanes tend to pass by, further out to sea, and head for the Outer Banks of NC. Not that it couldn’t happen but I wouldn’t worry about it.</p>

<p>If I can be of any other help with specific questions, PM me!</p>

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<p>Kiawah Island…we have friends whose kids went to College of Charleston. They rented a house every year coinciding with the move in week. Because school had already started, it was considered off season. I would definitely check there.</p>

<p>I loved Charleston when we visited. Loved it. Just a charming town. And really, if you rent a place on Kiawah Island, you can relax, and go into Charleston for dinners and the like.</p>

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<p>Another vote for Kiawah!! The sanctuary is terrific. A day trip into charleston just to walk it, a day on the beach. I might have to get in my car and go right now!</p>

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<p>Look up the beard winners from charleston. I still haven’t figured out how to link from my
Phone. I heart Husk. But there are so many great options. McGrady’s, Hominy Grill</p>

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<p>Another vote for Charleston. If you’re planning more than “a long weekend getaway”, staying at Kiawah would be great. However, for a weekend trip, given your flight distances, flying into/out of Charleston from your cities would work perfectly for that. I wouldn’t want to do much additional traveling once I’d arrived, for just a long weekend.</p>

<p>In addition to what everyone’s already mentioned, I also highly recommend the horse/carriage ride which takes you around the historic areas. At least when we went, they were led by students of architecture/history. Learned so much and it’s really a beautiful charming city. LOVE it. You will too. And you will definitely feel like you’ve been somewhere different from Chicago/Boston!!</p>

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<p>Charleston would be perfect. You have great suggestions on this thread and I will keep them in mind! I stayed at Charleston Place last Nov on a business trip. It’s lovely, but I don’t know if you need to pay those prices since there are a lot of other places close by. I might stay on the beach and come in town to walk around and see the historic sites. It’s a great city. </p>

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<p>We stayed at the French Quarter Inn in Charleston. It was lovely. We drove out to the beach one day. It was not far. </p>

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<p>Watercolor and Seaside are absolutely walkable to shops and restaurants and the beach. </p>

<p><a href=“https://www.google.com/search?q=watercolor+and+seaside+fl&sa=X&espv=2&tbm=isch&imgil=vEzQXfceJOe-6M%253A%253B9HfqENtwFHPQZM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.coastalliving.com%25252Ftravel%25252Frentals%25252Fbest-seaside-cottage-rentals%25252Fwatercolor-inn-resort&source=iu&usg=__kCVhtXXN9gPQtIsPoTUz_pwH9vk%3D&ei=Y3vzU6CLM4_5oATwtYKQAQ&ved=0CFAQ9QEwAg&biw=1236&bih=670#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=vEzQXfceJOe-6M%253A%3B9HfqENtwFHPQZM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimg1.coastalliving.timeinc.net%252Fsites%252Fdefault%252Ffiles%252Fimage%252F2010%252F04%252Fwatercolor-resort-l.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.coastalliving.com%252Ftravel%252Frentals%252Fbest-seaside-cottage-rentals%252Fwatercolor-inn-resort%3B400%3B400”>https://www.google.com/search?q=watercolor+and+seaside+fl&sa=X&espv=2&tbm=isch&imgil=vEzQXfceJOe-6M%253A%253B9HfqENtwFHPQZM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.coastalliving.com%25252Ftravel%25252Frentals%25252Fbest-seaside-cottage-rentals%25252Fwatercolor-inn-resort&source=iu&usg=__kCVhtXXN9gPQtIsPoTUz_pwH9vk%3D&ei=Y3vzU6CLM4_5oATwtYKQAQ&ved=0CFAQ9QEwAg&biw=1236&bih=670#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=vEzQXfceJOe-6M%253A%3B9HfqENtwFHPQZM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimg1.coastalliving.timeinc.net%252Fsites%252Fdefault%252Ffiles%252Fimage%252F2010%252F04%252Fwatercolor-resort-l.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.coastalliving.com%252Ftravel%252Frentals%252Fbest-seaside-cottage-rentals%252Fwatercolor-inn-resort%3B400%3B400&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Santa Rosa Beach is also beautiful. Last time I was at Kiawah was after hurricane Hugo (I think) and there was a lot of pointing to where things were going o be rebuilt :(</p>

<p>IIRC Mt Pleasant and Isle of Palms (near Charleston) had a mixture of houses and condos on the beach.</p>

<p>Hilton Head has more shops, outlet stores, etc to go to. As others have mentioned, look at St. Simons and Sea Island are beautiful. Jekyll is more quaint, with less to do.</p>

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<p>We stayed in the historic district of Charleston. We walked along the ocean or bay side, passing the multi color homes overlooking the ocean. We went into historical homes that gave tours. We went to the Museum of Slavery. We happened to be there during soft shell crab season…omg…fantastic. We had real fried chicken…there wasn’t a moment when we were bored.</p>

<p>Oh, the gardens!!! I ready (after) that if a gate to a private is open one could go in. We didn’t go in, but the beauty of some of these places…great. (We live in a tourist destination. Once a family opened our back gate…never a good idea. )</p>

<p>Mr. Ellebud has been to more synagogues then most then most Jews. We went to the synagogue of Charleston. They have tours…what a beautiful place.</p>

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<p>Awesome responses here! Thanks everyone. I’m going to collect all the responses and send them to D1. I also spoke to one of my brothers in Houston today who has been to Charleston and Savannah - he says it’s a flip of a coin for him - he loved both places. There are a couple of places mentioned here that I’m going to do more research on, including Kiawah, because I wasn’t really aware of them.</p>

<p>Someone upthread asked how long it would be for - I suspect four nights. If D can find a dog-friendly place, we’d maybe do five nights, but I know she doesn’t like being away from her dog for too long (she is already talking about taking a two-week trip to Thailand next spring with a friend; it will cost her more for someone to watch her dog in Boston for that time, than it will be for her to fly to Chicago first and leave the dog with me, so I may be dog sitting next spring for two weeks - good thing I like her dog).</p>