Charleston, SC is a charming and historical city that is perfect for a girls’ vacation!
Designed of over 20 squares filled with historic significance, the city of Charleston can be both easy and confusing to navigate. Charleston is often compared to Savannah, GA in terms of its design and history. Personally, I prefer Savannah; however, each city is unique it its own way.
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Despite the many cobblestone streets, Charleston is a walkable city!
If staying for more than a day, I find it best to stay as close to the “action” as possible. Driving is a possibility, but finding parking is nearly impossible.
For first-time visitors, I’d recommend opting for a hotel in either the downtown or historic district of Charleston, SC so you can walk to all the sights!
To help you make the most of your visit, here’s our suggested itinerary for a day in Charleston SC. It will help you plan your trip, save money, and see everything this charming city has to offer!
A Day in Charleston SC
📍Stop 1: Enjoy Breakfast
We stayed at a charming bed & breakfast that provided a delicious breakfast! They had a variety of muffins, pastries, and breakfast quiche each morning.
If you are only passing through Charleston or your lodging accommodations don’t offer breakfast, here’s a list of the most popular breakfast spots to try!
- Miller’s All Day – Located on Lower King Street (Also known as the King Street Historic District)
- Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits – Featured by Southern Living, Today, New York Times, and O Magazine
- Daps Breakfast & Imbibe – Located on the Westside of Charleston
- Big Bad Breakfast – Located on the Eastside of Charleston
- Toast All Day – Voted #1 breakfast by the New York Times
- Another Broken Egg Cafe – Located near the city Market
📍Stop 2: Take a Horse-drawn Carriage Tour
We took a 1-hour carriage ride around the city. It was such a relaxing time and a great way to see the lesser-known parts of Charleston.
I encourage you to book tickets in advance because, from my observation, tickets tend to be cheaper online!
There are also several horse-drawn carriage companies that provide tours around Charleston, SC. Each company is allotted a route via a lottery system. This ensures the carriage traffic is minimized on each route. It also means that the route you take will be a surprise each time!
📍Stop 3: Catch an impromptu parade
We visited Charleston in early December and lucked up to see a Christmas parade! Although this was not planned, sometimes the best things come as a surprise.
If you are hoping to catch a glimpse of the Holiday Parade on your trip to Charleston, search this page for the day, time, and details. You can expect to see clubs, musicians, and various organizations participating in the parade.
📍Stop 4: Grab Some Lunch
There are SO many delicious places to enjoy Southern cuisine in Charleston. Depending on where you watch the parade, you may want to choose a restaurant close by.
We ate at a popular restaurant called Slightly North of Broad (SNOB). It’s got 4.7 stars and over 2,000 reviews on Google. We were prepared and had reservations. In my honest opinion, I wouldn’t return. The food was wonderful; the service was terrible.
📍Stop 5: Stop by the Drybar
After a delicious meal, we took a 30-minute stroll to the Drybar on King Street – the completely other end of King Street!
There were some questionably safe areas as we were walking to the Drybar. Locals ensured us it was safe in the daytime.
If you’ve never been (or heard of) a Drybar, it’s basically a hair salon that focuses on the washing, drying, and styling of your hair. We went for the experience. Check out their services here.
📍Stop 6: Quick Retail Therapy on King Street
No girls’ getaway is complete without a little retail therapy, right?!
After getting my blowout at the Drybar, we trekked our way to the other end of King Street.
Here we found high-end boutiques, quirky vintage shops, and cute souvenir stores. Unfortunately, our time was limited; however, we could’ve spent hours exploring and shopping King Street.
📍Stop 7: Dinner Time & Relaxation
The last stop of the day = dinner!
Our last stop of the day was at Fleet Landing Restaurant & Bar. Not only was the food delicious, but it also had some great waterfront views. This was the perfect place to relax at the end of a busy day!
Planning Your trip to Charleston last minute?
Make sure to book your hotels and tours in Charleston in advance to ensure availability! The longer you wait, the more difficult it gets. Here are our top picks for your trip:
Top picks for places to stay in Charleston:
- 20 South Battery (Bed & breakfast with great location!)
- Wentworth Mansion (5-star hotel with spa in Historic Charleston)
- Barksdale House Inn (Pet friendly)
- Hyatt Place Charleston- Historic District (Affordable)
Top Tours And Experiences In Charleston:
- Horse Drawn Carriage Tour (Our pick!)
- Historic Harbor Cruise (Our second pick – You can choose day or sunset cruise)
- Haunted Walking Tour (Great way to see the city)
- Food Tour (Good for avoiding crowds)
As you can see, there is so much to see and do in Charleston, SC. A day is not enough time to truly enjoy this magical place. But if you only have a day, I wouldn’t stress about it. Pick out some of the highlights and enjoy the time that you have.
Whatever you don’t have time to see, a return visit just may be in your future!
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