jessica archibald
CHARLESTON, SC
i had NO IDEA charleston was going to be so magical. We spent two nights there and I thought it was perfect. Try and find something on King Street. We used airbnb and stayed in an apartment, but King street is like cutest thing in the world and the center of the historical district with lots of shops and restaurants. i remember thinking Kings Courtyard Inn and Renaissance looked nice. Anything near those would be a perfect spot to stay. It's called the holy city because there are churches everyyyywhere, we literally ate and wandered around the mansions and just enjoyed how beautiful and charming it was.so,many.mansions! While in Charleston we did three Plantations tours, I think you definitely need to do one. We did Middleton, Magnolia, and Drayton plantations. Middleton was BY FAR my favorite. Magnolia was my second favorite because the grounds were pretty, Drayton was my least favorite. Middleton has the oldest preserved gardens in the United States and it was phenomenal!! (i posted pics on insta from middleton) it was honestly the prettiest place i've ever seen. in the fall!!! gah it would be so pretty. from charleston we drove to savannah and it was a two hour drive...
SAVANNAH, GA
we stayed in a bed and breakfast called the gastonian, it was really nice! it was close to the main park called forsyth park. it was a pretty central location, definitely more residential because it's the historical district. if you want to stay in a more touristy area i would stay closer to the river. if you look at it on a map, the streets Broad, Bay, Montgomery, and Gaston make a perfect square. honestly anywhere you stay inside that square would be perfect! but i definitely wouldn't stay anywhere outside that area. there are "squares" parks every other block and it's just the most magical place i have ever seen. churches and gorgeous houses and AMAZING food!! we took a horse and buggy ride but i personally don't think it was worth the money. we experienced more just walking around but there is a haunted ghost tour you should totally do. they say it's the most haunted city in the united states! Walk ALL of Jones street, it was named the most beautiful street in the united states!
some i remember walking by and thinking they looked nice were: the marshall house, eliza thompson house (cutest thing on earth), foley house inn, the old savannah inn, the galloway house (dream life).
TYBEE ISLAND
it was really warm when we were there so we wanted to hit up a beach and we to tybee island for the afternoon. it was about a 20 minute drive to perfect white sand beach with a red and white striped lighthouse that was to DIE for. so that was fun! the lighthouse was so so charming
I have a good friend who lives in Charlotte and was asking her advice before we left on our trip and she said that Myrtle Beach is like a spring break town and its her least favorite place and beach to go along the coast. Charleston is her favorite, Savannah is her second favorite, and Hilton Head is her favorite beach/vacation. it's about a six hour drive from myrtle to charleston. We didn't go to Hilton Head but it looks gorgeous, Folly beach, seabrook, beaufort. all places where nicholas sparks movies have been filmed!
we went to augusta for our last two days for the golf tournament but there wasnt much there to do other than golf. if it were me, depending on how long you guys are planning on being gone, i would spend three days in charleston and three in savannah and really get to know the cities and do a couple afternoon trips to the beach or a plantation. whatever you do it will be fun!!