Anyone boat out of Charleston SC?

[christo15]

My family and I are going on a family vacation to Charleston in April and I was wondering if anyone knew any cool places to stay, eat, and just have fun (preferably by or on the water). Thanks in advance!

 

[JimT]

Charleston Harbor Resort in Mt Pleasant is a great place on the water that just happens to have a full service marina. They have a water taxi you can take over to downtown Charleston as well as a shuttle. There are also harbor cruises that can be arranged through the hotel. Very good seafood restaurant overlooking the harbor
-Take the cruise to Fort Sumter.
-The SC Aquaurium is great for kids.
-There are many good seafood restaurants on Shem Creek in Mt Pleasant. You can rent kayaks and standup kayaks there to explore.
-Do the Yorktown aircraft and battleship tours at Patriots Point.
-There are so many exellent restaurants in Charleston its hard to name a just a few. Hanks Seafood, SNOB, Magnolias, Peninsula Grill, High Cotton.
-Shopping on Kings Street
-There is a minor baseball team that plays in a stadium by the Ashley River. Can recall their name
-Take a carriage ride tour through downtown and the battery
Charleston is one of our favorite places. Have fun.

 

[SearayPaul]

Wild Dunes is a good place to go. It is a gated community with condos for rent and a hotel, The Boardwalk. These are both on Isle of Palms. Places to eat at IOP include the One Eyed Parrott which has great food. Do not judge the food by the way the building looks. Morgan Creek Grill is nice also. Parking is tight there. The Boat House at Breach Inlet is good. Crossing to Sullivan's Island Hometown Barbecue is good along with Sullivan's. Poe's is good if you can get in there. Always elbow to elbow at Poe's. Word of caution watch where you park. The cops write a lot of tickets.

Moving back towards Charleston Paige's Okra Grill has a great breakfast and lunch. We have not had dinner there. On Shem Creek Reds is casual, RB's is nice, and Water's Edge is good. RB's is our favorite. The other end of the creek try Shem Creek Bar and Grill. There is a bunch more to pick from in this area.

If you stay at CHR I do not recommend the Fish House. Ate there once never again. The Reel Bar and grill is ok. The menu is very limited. The crab cake sandwich is good. I do recommend E Dock at the marina and the Magma grill on the stern of Southern Belle. Come say hi if you have time.

In downtown Charleston you could eat all day every day for a week and not get to all of the restaurants. On the water Variety Store is a 10. Great breakfast and dinner that is very reasonable. Never had a bad meal there. Take your parking ticket with you so they can stamp it. As a plus the Charleston City Marina Megadock is outback. You can see some very nice toys while eating and walking around after dinner or breakfast.

Hope you have a great trip to the Holy City

An alternative to CHR is the Quality Inn at Patriots point. NO water view but clean, nice staff, and a great breakfast. Tourist note: You need to walk to the top of the Ravenel Bridge. The view is great.

 

[Alex F]

What to do: Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum: USS Yorktown USS Laffey - go inside close the door and hit "play" button to get affect of the battle. USS Clamagore (Sub)

After the museums have lunch at the restaurant right next to it. I think it's called Fish House.

-Carriage ride is nice. Pick warmer day.
-Black Fedora theater is nice. It's an interactive show.
-Check what Woolfe Theater has going on. It's small but cool and cozy place. Not regular Broadway type shows, but still good fun.
-We haven't made it to yet, but Middleton Place looks nice.
-Tour the Mansions
-Go to Charleston Museum
-I think it's every third Sunday they close the King Street and it's very interesting event with all the vendors and stuff going on.
-Lastly, there's good amount of info on trip adviser about Charleston. Check it out.

Where to eat:
I 100% agree that there are just ton of good places, but here are the few that we liked.

-If you like French food, 39 Rue De Jean is the place you don't want to miss.
-Cypress is another excellent choice.
-Morgan Creek Grill has Oyster fest on Saturdays. But check their calendar b/c they stopped it in December, but I assume it'll be back on by April. It's right on the water, so it's a dock and dine restaurant.

 

[jason78]

+1 on the Boat House and Poe's. There is an EcoTour that works out of the Isle of Palms Marina as well. That is a good time and takes you around the ICW. I rented a boat at IOP Marina a couple years back and ran down the ICW in to Charleston Harbor. If you do this I would highly suggest you purchase a chart prior. The told me not to worry because they provided one. The "provided" chart was a B&W copy of a copy of a copy, etc. Also you have Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie. Downtown and over near the battery is a great experience as well.

As far as the USS Clamagore Sub, it is amazing to think that people spent a couple months at a time on that thing as tight as it is. I could barely go from one end to the other without going crazy. There used to be a volunteer that stood in the aft where you enter. He served on that sub and would share some great information. His bunk was a sling hanging off a wall near the aft entry hatch. USS Yorktown is also very impressive. My Grandfather served on this ship as Chief Petty Officer. It was the ship he retired off of. After seeing the boiler room where he worked and imagining how hot it was down there I began to better understand his bad temper.

 

[christo15]

Thanks a lot guys. We'll make sure to try and check out those places!

 

[rcmafgny]

ToDo's:
Carraige ride in Charleston
Food:
Coast on John St
SNOB [south of Broad]
Bfast - Hominy grill
"inshore" Fishing:
Angler Management -

 

[Kendall]

I know I'm commenting a little late....just found this thread...

Good comments already noted but I will give you some of my favorites.

If you and the family like steak you must try Halls Steakhouse on King St. Go on a week night as Friday and Saturday can get crazy. $$$

If the wife likes to shop let her loose on lower King Street.

If you want to be around the water then stay at the Charleston Harbor Marina....no other place will get you such good access to all things water related when you don't have a boat of your own. Water Taxi, Yorktown Tours, Ft. Sumter Tours, sailing lessons...you name it. I believe the sail boat regatta starts at the CHM around April 14th so if that is your timeframe you may have to look elsewhere....

Last but not least my favorite dive/sports bar is Home Team BBQ on Sullivans Island.

Have a great time!

Kendall

 

[christo15]

Thanks for all the help guys. Excited to say I'm leaving for the trip tomorrow.