Charleston, SC with a toddler: vacation review

DCtoLowcountry · May 2011

We just returned from a family vacation in Charleston, SC, and since vacation recommendations are often requested, I thought I'd post!

Getting There and Away: We drive since time-wise it?s only a few hours more to have our own car with all the gear. Other options are a direct flight from DCA or the overnight Amtrak train. The train is about the same as plane tickets but it?s easier to take the gear.

Where to Stay: We stay with family, but there are several hotels (from cheapest to highest: Days Inn, Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, Mills House Hotel, Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston Place) downtown and B&Bs (Indigo Inn, Vendue Inn, Meeting Street Inn). We recommend the Anchorage Inn, which we rented for our wedding and often has less expensive rates. PM for more info. Parking downtown can be an expensive hassle so it's something to consider in lodging.

Activities Downtown:

The aquarium is very toddler-friendly. In addition to the great exhibits, there is a toddler play area on both the first and second floor, and a great private family room with chairs for nursing and a changing area on the first floor. Also, we got hand stamps so that we spent awhile in the morning, and then returned about 3:30 pm for another round of indoor play before closing. A great lunch spot nearby is the East Bay Deli.

The Lowcountry Children?s Museum is a bit of a misnomer since it?s not so much a museum and more an indoor series of playrooms. There?s an arts & crafts room (we skipped), a castle, a pirate ship, a grocery store complete with carts and scanners, and a water room (they provide smocks). Most importantly, there?s an infant and toddler soft play room where you can actually sit down and let a toddler play mostly freely. Their nursing corner is only semi-private since you pull a curtain around an armchair, but may work well if you?ve got a toddler in addition to an infant. Private bathroom/changing station as well.

There are several outdoor play areas downtown. The best toddler-friendly playground is the Hazel Parker Playground along the East Battery. Waterfront Park has a pier with swings and two kid-friendly-splash fountains. Battery Park has cannons kids can climb on; Marion Square is big and open, but I?d bring a ball to play with.

A free trolley runs downtown, but you must fold up the stroller to ride along. It?s easy to walk downtown but some streets may be a bumpy stroller ride. Window shopping on King Street and in the Market is excellent.

I?d skip the carriage tour with a toddler since it?s too long to sit still ? at least for mine ? in favor of a walking tour with the stroller. I'd also skip the Fort Sumter tour since it's a long boat ride and uneven ground at the Fort.

Activities Outside of Town:

Middleton Place Gardens is my favorite plantation to visit because of the gardens modeled after Versailles. There?s also a working farm where we watched cow milking, horse shoe-ing, and saw other farm animals. With a toddler, I?d recommend giving yourself the tour rather than trying to stay with the free tour groups.

Beach: Sullivan?s Island and Isle of Palms are close, family-friendly beaches. At Sullivan?s Island, you can park any place that?s not posted and walk a few blocks to the public beaches; Isle of Palms is further out but has closer parking lots for public beaches.

Toddler-friendly eats: Downtown I?d recommend Jestine?s Kitchen and Jim & Nick?s BBQ for local flair. DS loved fried okra! I also have tons of date-night options if you like - PM for more info.

Hope that helps if anyone's interested!

MrsPhilDunphy · May 2011

How long a drive is it from your place? I'm kind of tempted to do this in the fall, if we end up with extra days of leave to kill.

And C loves fried okra!

Gigs2000 · May 2011

Thanks for the review! I love Charleston and DH has never been, but I wasn't so sure about doing it with small kids. It may be a good option for us next spring.

2vthokies · May 2011

Immensly helpful! We are headed to Charleston in a couple weeks with an 8 month old and a 33 month old. We have been before, but never with kids, so this is great info. I'll post any other goodies that we find. We are flying direct from Dulles. I can't deal with driving that far with an almost 3 year old who isn't really in to watching DVDs.

DCtoLowcountry · May 2011

MrsPhilDunphy:

How long a drive is it from your place? I'm kind of tempted to do this in the fall, if we end up with extra days of leave to kill.

From MoCo, it's 10 hours. We structure the drive to leave at naptime (2 hours), then stop at a mall and let DS run around, get in the car and drive as much as we can, stop for dinner and change into jammies, then drive from 7 on. DH does the driving, I sleep in the car, then I have morning duty while he sleeps in. Is it a PITA? Sure, but for us the flexibility to be on our own schedule and keep our own gear makes it worth it for us.

QueSrah · May 2011

We rented a guest house through VRBO when we went there at Christmas - it was great, since T has such an early bedtime that we really need a second room so we can stay up past 7 and I think it cost less to stay in a 2-BR house (and have a kitchen for breakfasts/snacks) than to get two hotel rooms.

It seemed like a REALLY kid-friendly place, and everywhere we went (including Jestine's!) was filled with families and strollers. We flew out of DCA, and other than the cab from the airport we walked everywhere (except for a pedicab trip when we were tired). For a short trip (3 or 4 days), you can do just fine without a car.