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Travel guide
Charleston
3 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: March to May and October to November
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Welcome
Charleston, in a few days
Founded in 1670 by English settlers, Charleston lines its peninsula with side-porch houses, church steeples and pastel facades facing the harbour where the first shot of the Civil War was fired, in April 1861. People come for Lowcountry cooking, shrimp, grits and red rice, for the oaks draped in Spanish moss and for a history of slavery that the city now tells head-on.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 3 things
- D2 Day 2 3 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Charleston City Market free · about 1 hA four-block covered market crowned by the Market Hall of 1841, where Gullah basket makers weave sweetgrass baskets using a technique brought from West Africa.
- Afternoon · Rainbow Row free · about 1 hThirteen Georgian merchants' houses on East Bay Street, mostly 18th century, whose pastel facades date from the restoration of the 1930s, opening onto the cobbled lanes nearby.
- Late afternoon · International African American Museum · about 2 hOpened in 2023 on Gadsden's Wharf, where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans landed, it traces the slave trade and its legacy, from Lowcountry rice to civil rights.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Francis Marion Hotel ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€210 a night
D2
Day 2
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Battery free · about 1 h 30The stone seawall at the tip of the peninsula, with a raised promenade facing Fort Sumter, antebellum mansions with tiered porches and the oaks of White Point Garden behind.
- Afternoon · McLeod Plantation · about 1 h 30A former sea island cotton plantation on James Island, told from the point of view of the enslaved people, with its row of 1850 cabins and a guided tour.
- Late afternoon · Fort Sumter · about 2 h 15The brick island fort bombarded on 12 April 1861 to open the Civil War, reached only by ferry, with about an hour on site with a ranger and a small museum.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Francis Marion Hotel ↗€210 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Folly Beach free · half a dayThe beach island closest to the centre, with 10 km of sand, houses on stilts, South Carolina's best surf spot and a view of the Morris Island lighthouse.
- Late afternoon · Angel Oak free · about 45 minA live oak on Johns Island several centuries old, about 20 metres tall, whose low branches, some resting on the ground, shade more than 1,500 m².
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €200 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMarch to May and October to November
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/charleston
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.