<p>I keep bringing it up and H has agreed to take a week in the fall to see another part of the country.
I am thinking Savannah, Charleston and what else? We would have between 5 and 7 days depending on how long we can be away from work. Early to Mid October. We both have never been to this part of the country. Where should we fly in and out of. Is it worth heading to Asheville? What can we reasonably see in 5-7 days. This trip is mainly for me. H prefers his vacations out on the water or in the mountains.
We are both born, raised and entire adult lives lived on the west coast.</p>
<p>Hilton Head, Kiawah Island are both in great proximity to Savannah and Charleston…</p>
<p>Asheville is in North Carolina and, yes, supposedly beautiful mountain region (Blue Ridge, I believe)…not near the other two cities you mentioned…</p>
<p>we have done both Savannah and Hilton Head in 7 days as well as Charleston and either Hilton Head or Kiawah Island in 7 days…</p>
<p>How far are you willing to drive? Some of the larger airports in the southeast include ATL has plenty of nonstop flights from the west coast, and RDU has daily non-stops from LAX as well. Obviously, you can rent a car at any major airport.</p>
<p>Since you already have Charleston listed, I’ll second Kiawah Island. Beautiful city. Also, Asheville is gorgeous in the fall. Check out the Biltmore if you are there, and the Grove Park Inn is renowned in the Southeast.</p>
<p>Are you guys sports fans? Since you’ll be here in October, I’d recommend trying to get to an SEC football game. Those are truly incredible experiences for those who have a seated interest in college sports.</p>
<p>No interest in college football nor golf. We live at the beach so not sure how much time we want to spend on the ocean.
Should we visit both Charleston and Savannah? What airport is RDU? We don’t mind some driving but don’t want to be driving hours each day.
This will probably be our one trip to that part of the country.</p>
<p>RDU is Raleigh Durham (NC), but you can get a lot closer than that. You can fly into Charleston, or Savannah/Hilton Head. Or Charlotte is a major airport that is closer than Raleigh.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go too terribly far if you only have 5 days. Asheville is nice, it’s probably about 5 hours or so from Charleston though. Lots to see/do in the Charleston and Savannah areas. I think it’s worth seeing both towns, they have different “personalities.”</p>
<p>I’ll echo the ideas already posted above. You can keep yourself quite busy doing 5-7 days along the southeastern coast. Charleston and Savannah are both great cities to visit. Kiawah is beautiful and very close to Charleston. I’m not sure how busy it is in October. We are Hilton Head fans. It’s busier than Kiawah, but also very beautiful. Stay in Sea Pines if you go to Hilton Head. Rent bikes, it’s flat, and the bike paths are plentiful and well maintained. Savannah isn’t too far from Hilton Head. </p>
<p>I think Asheville is too far away to be included in a 5-7 day trip, if you also want to do the coast. An inland trip could include Asheville and some of the other mountain towns. Depending on what part of October you are there, the trees could be beautiful. Also, if you like Nascar, one of the big races takes place in Charlotte (really Concord) in October. Another nice spot in NC if you like to golf is Pinehurst. The resort is very nice. Have fun making your plans.</p>
<p>Edit - just reread that you’re not interested in golf, so scratch off Pinehurst.</p>
<p>Checked some airfares. It is two flights to Charlotte or 3 flights to Savannah or Charleston. Have to check with the kid sitter but I think we would be closer to 7 days maybe 10 if we pushed it.
If we have beach at home would an inland trip be nicer? We like hiking and the outdoors. We live in a town that is within 10 degrees of 70 yr round. We don’t have seasons. We are flexible about timing. I would enjoy seeing the trees.</p>
<p>Savannah and Charleston really are great cities to visit. They would be different than the seaside towns on the west coast. But…the mountains of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennesee are beautiful. You can follow the Blue Ridge Parkway which goes from the Smokey Mountains National Park in NC to the Shenendoah National Park in Virginia. It’s beautiful and lots of hiking, including the Appalachian Trail. You would definitely want to check out the Biltmore and Grove Park Inns as Cuse0507 mentioned above. You could also consider going to Nashville once you are in the NC mountains. I believe it’s about 4-4 1/2 hours from Asheville to Nashville.</p>
<p>Then go to the mountains of NC…beautiful in the Fall…drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, check out Asheville and the Biltmore House,go to the top of Mt. Mitchell or check out the swinging bridge at grandfather mtn., spend a day in Blowing Rock, a very picturesque mountain town with lots of cool shops on main st., hike in some of the great state parks.<br>
If you’re really adventurous, take a raft ride down the Natahala river.</p>
<p>be aware October is still hurricane season.</p>
<p>Packmom- could you outline a 7 day trip in the area you describe? Also what would be the ideal time of October to go?</p>
<p>bumping up for more information</p>
<p>Mom60, here is a link to fall colors in Asheville:</p>
<p>[Asheville</a> Fall Foliage Color Leaf Report 2010, Blue Ridge Parkway](<a href=“http://www.romanticasheville.com/fall.htm]Asheville”>Fall Color Forecast 2023, Asheville & NC Mountains | RomanticAsheville.com)</p>
<p>It gets busy during leaf looking time. You probably don’t want to wait too long to make reservations.</p>
<p>I am getting closer. I am thinking about flying into Charleston and staying in Charleston for several days and renting a car and driving to Asheville area. Flying home out of Asheville or an airport within a few hours of Asheville depending on the cost. It looks like we might be able to swing about 9 days.
Any lodging suggestions in Charleston and in the Asheville area?
BUandBC82- thanks for the link</p>
<p>I stayed at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston the last time I was there. It was nice and a good location. I stayed at the Holiday Inn a while back in Charleston and wasn’t impressed.</p>
<p>In Asheville if you don’t mind the cost, stay at the Inn on Biltmore Estate or the Grove Park Inn. Last time I was there we stayed at the Inn on Biltmore and it was wonderful.</p>
<p>Here’s a list of airports:
Airports near Asheville Regional AVL Airport
Asheville Regional AVL Airport
Fletcher, NC (0 miles)
Greenville Spartanburg GSP Airport
Greer, SC (41.9 miles)
McGhee Tyson TYS Airport
Alcoa, TN (85.4 miles)
Charlotte Douglas CLT Airport
Charlotte, NC (91.8 miles)
Athens Ben Epps AHN Airport
Athens, GA (111.7 miles)
Smith Reynolds INT Airport
Winston Salem, NC (138 miles)
Augusta Regional Bush Field AGS Airport
Augusta, Georgia, GA (145.8 miles)
Columbia Metropolitian CAE Airport
Columbia, SC (152.5 miles)
Chattanooga Metropolitan CHA Airport
Chattanooga, TN (152.6 miles)
Piedmont Triad GSO Airport
Greensboro, NC (152.6 miles)</p>
<p>Have fun!</p>
<p>H and I prefer staying in luxury cabins with mountain views. We stayed in a really neat one in Waynesboro (half hour away from asheville). Here’s one in asheville…just a thought. Looks very romantic! (lot of other choices of course).
[Carolina</a> Mornings, Inc. | Property Details](<a href=“http://www.carolinamornings.com/109/rentals/net/Little-Knotty-Pine-Place.aspx]Carolina”>http://www.carolinamornings.com/109/rentals/net/Little-Knotty-Pine-Place.aspx)</p>
<p>Bumping back up.
Plans are coming together. We were able to arrange 9 nights. I have already reserved 4 nights in Asheville. I am now looking at Charleston. We are skipping Savannah.
Lodging costs in Charleston are very expensive. Between cost and availability I am considering the following places. Doubletree Guest Suites, Kings Courtyard, Fulton Lane Inn, Mills House or the Holiday Inn. Any feedback on any of these places. I am thinking 4 nights in Charleston.</p>
<p>you should definitely take a day or two for Savannah. That is the best city in the southeast, in my opinion. Beautiful city and lots to do.</p>
<p>My only experience with the hotels you mentioned is the Holiday Inn. When we arrived we found they had overbooked the hotel and instead sent us to a smaller partner hotel. We got into the Holiday Inn the next night. They really didn’t seem to care about us or that they inconvieneced us. I was annoyed. That was quite a few years ago, so maybe there’s new staff by now.</p>
<p>I love Charleston, but 4 nights seems like alot or maybe I just haven’t yet taken advantage of all there is to see. Are you planning day trips outside of Charleston. I mentioned on the earlier page that Kiawah Isand isn’t too far from Charleston and is quite beautiful. You would probably want to stay at Kiawah, rather than make a day trip.</p>
<p>Posted before realizing OP had indicated present plans, but perhaps this will be useful for future planing or other readers.</p>
<p>Charleston and Savannah sound like the perfect choices. Similar but both worth visiting for historic architecture and overall sense of place and past. Great food in Charleston. (And definitely allow time for visits to Drayton Hall and Middleton Place outside the city.) Asheville is too far to include as a component to dive to or from drive on this trip, though also lovely in a more modest way. The Savannah tourist waterfront felt a little seedy to me when I last visited a few years ago with my daughter–we stayed at the Westin on an island in the Savannah River and really enjoyed it; free water taxi was helpful. For Charleston, opt for best/most walkable location all other things being equal. We stayed at the Hampton Inn near Marion Square last time and it felt a trifle remote–just a block or two too far and not quite populated enough to feel comfortable when walking at night (may have improved in the last three or four years though).</p>
<p>You might consider flying into Charlotte and driving south to the two scenic cities from there; I suppose Atlanta would be about the same driving distance to Charleston and Savannah–in any case, I’d opt for one of the two large hub airports for convenience and frequent flights–the drive to Charleston and Savannah from there is easy interstate and interstate-style travel-not especially scenic but very manageable.</p>