Guides,  Itineraries,  South Carolina

3 Day Charleston Itinerary & Guide

March 10, 2020 / 39 Comments

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Charleston is a port city in southern South Carolina in the USA. The gorgeous seaside city is steeped in history and full of things to do. It’s one of the best places in the US to learn about the country’s horrible history of slavery. On a more upbeat note it is also one of the best places for foodies! With a city full of restaurants serving southern classics and fresh seafood you can’t go wrong! Follow my 3 day Charleston itinerary to experience the best of the city.

3 Day Charleston Itinerary

Use the map above for a suggested three day Charleston itinerary. You can easily spend more than three days in Charleston, but if you only have a few days my itinerary includes some of the top sights and best places to eat in Charleston and the surrounding area.

Continue reading the Charleston guide below for additional details on each stop on the itinerary and more things to do and places to eat in Charleston.

What to Do in Charleston 

The Charleston Tour Pass is a great way to save money while visiting Charleston. Admissions to many of the places and tours below are free when you buy the pass.

Take a Historical Walking Tour  

Rainbow Row Charleston

Did you know that Charleston is North America’s only English walled city? Learn about this and so much more on historical Charleston walking tour. South Carolina was one of the country’s 13 original colonies and Charleston had the largest slave port. There is so much history and significance to the city that you can’t really know by walking around on your own. It’s great city to learn about Black history in the South.

Explore Historic Downtown

What to Do in Charleston

While I do recommend taking a guided tour, I also suggest you leave some time in your Charleston itinerary to wander around on your own. The historic downtown is very walkable and picturesque. I recommend visiting the Battery & White Point Garden in the southern point of the city and walking north along the water on the eastern side of the city. Walk pass Rainbow Row as you head to waterfront park which has fountains, walkaways and swings where you can relax and take in views of the sea.

Take some time to walk through the inner cobblestone streets of the city as well. It’s an easy city to walk without a map and enjoy all the houses and historic architecture. Also take note of all the golf carts in the street! It was so funny to me that many people get around by golf cart instead of car.

As a side note I was really impressed with the toilets downtown. Not necessarily the toilets themselves, but all the options for public restrooms. It’s nice to be able to wander around without worrying about finding a restroom or paying for one. Many of the public garages have public restrooms. It’s the first time I have been in a city that offers that! The things that amaze me, lol! This guide shows you both where the public parking garages and the public restrooms are! 

Visit a Plantation 

Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens

Visiting a plantation in Charleston is a must. We chose Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens because we could learn about both the lives of the wealthy slaveowners and the lives of their slaves on this plantation. The guided tour of the house describes the history of the plantation and the various owners over time, as well as information about the house itself. Along with the self-guided tour of the slave cabins there is a short presentation about slave life on the plantation. There is also a tractor tour about the agricultural history of the land. This was much more interesting than I thought it would be!

Even though we missed out on the traditional Gullah performance, which isn’t offered year-round, there was still so much to see, do and learn. While in the south I learned that some sites are better than others at offering an honest perspective of slavery and the role it played in developing the south. I learned a lot from Boone Hall and thought they did an excellent job in presenting this period of history.

Boone Hall is actually located in Mt. Pleasant about 25 minutes from downtown Charleston. If you don’t have a car you can buy a ticket that includes transportation.

We didn’t have enough time to check out the Magnolia Plantation & Gardens or the Charleston Tea Plantation, but they both looked like interesting plantations to visit as well.

Go to the Old Slave Mart Museum 

Old Slave Mart Museum

Boone Plantation gives you a look into what the life of a slave was like on a plantation. The Old Slave Mart Museum is dedicated solely to the domestic slave trade. The museum touches on the intercontinental slave trade, but is mostly focused on the domestic trade within the US and specifically Charleston. I never knew that Charleston was the hub of slavery. We hear so much about slaves working in homes or on plantations, but there is not a lot of information about how the slaves were bought and sold. 

Go to the Charleston Museum

The Charleston Museum

The Charleston Museum is the oldest museum in the US. There’s a wide variety of exhibits including the Lowcountry History Hall which covers the first inhabitants of the city and the enslaved African Americans who did so much for the city without any rights.  There is also an exhibit on natural history, the civil war, textiles through history and more. The museum has a nice children’s area as well, which I may or may not have tested out because there were no children when I visited!

Tour a Historic House 

the Joseph Manigault House

The Charleston museum also includes two historic homes, the Heyward-Washington House and the Joseph Manigault House. You can purchase tickets for each place separately or buy a combined ticket to visit two or three of the places. We only had time for the museum and one house so we toured the Joseph Manigault House which is across the street from the Charleston museum. The master bedroom had a separate bathroom, which would have been very unusual for the time. I love these little details and learning about what it was like to live in different places and time periods.

Charles Town Landing is state park and historical site that is also great for learning about Charleston’s history.

Enjoy the Outdoors at Shem Creek Park 

Shem Creek Park

After touring Boone Hall Plantation stay in Mount Pleasant and walk around Shem Creek Park. It’s a park inside of the town with boardwalks over the water. The park is really handy to the restaurants and bars within Mt. Pleasant (and even has bathrooms), but it still has a tranquil feel as you walk along the water.

Where to Eat in Charleston 

Page’s Okra Grill

Page's Okra Grill

Page’s Okra Grill has a great selection of both classic southern dishes and fresh seafood plates. It’s the best of both worlds! After walking around near the water I knew I wanted some seafood. Everything looked so good and I was having a hard time deciding that I had to go with the seafood platter. Both my sides, the hushpuppies and each type of seafood was delicious. If I had to choose the fried flounder fillet was my favorite. It was actually the one thing I wasn’t thinking about getting on it’s own. Good thing I went with the platter! In addition to the delicious food, the service was excellent!

Poogan’s Porch 

Poogan's Porch

Poogan’s Porch, located in a Victorian townhouse is one of Charleston’s oldest restaurants. You can order traditional southern low-country dishes here such as fried chicken, shrimp & grits and lump crab-cakes. The crumbly, warm biscuits were my favorite. The restaurant setting within the different rooms of the townhouse added a nice ambience to the meal.

Lewis BBQ

Lewis BBQ

Charleston is one of the best BBQ cities in America so you have to go to one of the great BBQ places in the city. If I had to choose my favorite place to eat in Charleston it would have to be Lewis BBQ.

At this counter service BBQ place you order your meat by the pound. Don’t worry if you don’t get enough the first time you can go back and buy some more like we did. The pulled pork was my favorite meat and the green chile corn pudding was my favorite side. I’m still thankful to the server who slipped us an extra corn pudding on our trip up for seconds. In case you are like I was and don’t quite know what a corn pudding is, it is like a corn bread but with more of a soft consistency and a great flavor.

Five Loaves Cafe

5 Loaves Cafe

It’s not all fried goodness and hearty BBQ in Charleston. If you are looking for something lighter or healthier, Five Loaves Cafe is for you. The cafe serves soups, salads and sandwiches. After all the rich meals I was feeling good about myself when I ordered a colorful, healthy salad here.  Fresh juice from the juice shop next door can also be ordered while dining at the cafe.

Sugar Bakery

Sugar Bakery Charleston

Remember when I said I was feeling good about my healthy choices at Five Loaves Bakery? Well, we walked down the block to Sugar Bakery. So much for that! If the wonderful aroma doesn’t convince you, the lovely cupcakes will dissolve all your willpower. The bakery mostly sells cupcakes. When you create something as good as their cupcakes, you don’t need to sell much else! Stop by Sugar Bakery, you won’t regret it!

Taste of Thai 

Taste of Thai

Yes, you are in the south and should eat lots of fish, BBQ and fried food….but variety is the spice of life! Speaking of spice, the Taste of Thai has very flavorful curries and Thai dishes.

 

Where to Stay in Charleston 

Sleep Inn - West Ashley, Charleston

If you are traveling to Charleston with a car and want to save some money I recommend staying outside of the historic downtown area. West Ashley, about a 10 – 15 minute drive to the main attractions of Charleston, has more reasonably priced hotels.

We stayed at the Sleep Inn – West Ashley. The rooms were modern with comfortable amenities. I found the beds to be extra comfortable. The hotel was very quiet when we stayed. Breakfast had a lot of choices. WiFI worked fast, but you need to re-sign in every time you return to the hotel (after being disconnected from it). Parking is free, but there are not a lot of spaces and the parking lot is very dark. 

While the room was very clean on arrival, I can’t fully recommend the hotel because of the housekeeping the following nights. On our 2nd night our room was not cleaned despite not having the ‘do not disturb’ sign up. The front desk person was polite and gave us new towels and supplies we were missing. On the 3rd night our room was cleaned. 

On the 4th night we returned and the only thing done in our room was one bed made. Someone came into our room and made one bed, but not the other one. They didn’t take our towels that were on the bathroom floor or do any cleaning. We found it very strange why they would only do one thing in our room. The most concerning part was that a ‘do not disturb’ sign was put on our door by someone. Our do not disturb sign was broken and in our room. We even showed the front desk how we then had two signs. She agreed that it was a housekeeping staff trying to get out of work. 

We felt conflicted about our stay, almost every thing was great and the night manager did apologize and refund our final night, but it was a strange situation that I had never encountered before. 

Search for the best Charleston accommodation for your budget!



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Whether you have 3 days in Charleston or more I hope this Charleston city guide and itinerary helps you plan your time in this charming southern city. 

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