This Novemeber, I was chosen to visit South Carolina in the South of the USA. Although I had known it was famous for it’s incredible beaches, history & Southern Charm - to experience these all first hand was just amazing.
We started our trip flying to Savannah Georgia where we picked up our rental car from Alamo. We had a large jeep which was a great size vehicle for the large US roads. We then travelled into the South Carolina State and within an hour we reached the first of our stops, Hilton Head Island. The drive from the airport was very easy and watching the sunset over the swaps was just amazing. I was snapping away on my camera like crazy! (luckily I wasn’t the driver!!)
We stayed in the Marriott Hotel which was situated on the beach. The staff were incredible and were always on call if you needed a helping hand. Our room was huge and we had a sea view and a large balcony. The next morning we awoke to the most breath taking sunrise. It was just incredible.
Hilton Head Island is a very relaxed, low key area. Perfect for those who want a more low key holiday. They are very nature conscious and the island doesn’t have any street lights. It’s a beautiful place, with incredible food. I had some of the best shrimp I have ever tasted. While your here, make sure to sample some of the local Southern Cuisine. I recommend Hush Puppies which were very very tasty!
We then hit the high road and headed for Charleston. Charleston, without a doubt is the prettiest city I have ever been in. I fell in love with it’s cobbled streets, old colonial mansions and it’s strong Southern Charm. We spent our time, on a must do horse & carriage tour which takes you around the city and explains the history of Charleston & it’s gorgeous colonial homes. We also visited the Middleton Place Plantation & the Boone Hall Plantation. To see these big plantation houses and gorgeous landscaped grounds was just amazing. We even seen a wild alligator in Middleton Place! Charleston is full of life, the food the people & the pubs were all great fun. It’s a water front city so there is lots to do out on the water too. A walk around the waterfront is very enjoyable with it’s shaded parks, colonial houses and gorgeous weather. In Charleston we stayed in the Marriott Hotel.
After our two days in Charleston, we headed further north up to Myrtle Beach. En route we stopped at Brookegreen Gardens & Huntington Beach which were incredible. The gardens are home to incredible sculptures, flowers & even a zoo. A few minutes away, Huntington Beach lies where you cross a swamp to enter. You can alligator watch or chill out on the perfect white sandy beach that just seems to go on forever. There are lots of picnic areas here to & we even saw a family setting up for a big BBQ!
On arrival to Myrtle Beach, we stayed in the Hilton Kingston Plantation. The hotel was very nice and situated right on the 60 mile Myrtle Beach!
Myrtle Beach is a very family orientated resort, full of lots of things for kids and families to do! From nascar racing to water parks and live nightly shows, the city is designed for it’s guests to have fun! We took a trip on the Myrtle Beach Skywheel which was great fun. It was the nicest day & we had views for miles around. We also attended the Legends Show on our first night and we had so much fun! It’s a great show if you enjoy music and a giggle as the Legends are very funny & love to interact with the audience.
Although Charleston is a walking city, you would definitely need a car when staying in Hilton Head Island or Myrtle Beach. We stayed a total of six nights, two nights in each destination. The weather for the whole week was amazing with temperatures up to as high as about 23-25 degrees.
Overall my favorite things about the trip were the people, who were just amazing, the incredible food with it’s southern twist and the amazing breath taking sunsets.
I would highly recommend a fly drive trip of South Carolina to anyone who wants a holiday that’s a little different, someone who enjoys scenery, history & nature and who like me, cannot take a camera out of there hand!
It really is an incredible place.
“Beautiful Places, Smiling Faces” :)
Written by Kathleen O’Rourke
