"Advice Needed For A Trip To Charleston" Topic

I apologize for this not being a a wargaming related question, but since I have received a lot of great advice here, I thought, "what the heck."

My family and I are planning a trip to Charleston this year. We have never been there, so for me a trip to Fort Sumter will be a must. I would also like to visit Battery Wagner, but cannot find out whether or not it is visitable. Does anyone know if tours to Morris Island (and Wagner) are available and if so, how can they be arranged?

Any advice on where to stay, the best beaches, etc. is also welcome. Thanks.

Can't help you, but there is a travel section in the TMP Plus forum.

I believe Battery Wagner is under water now.

Billy Yank

Battery Wagner wasn't visitable when I was there. Do make time for Patriots Point and Fort Moultrie. Well worth the visit. Go down to the Battery park and visit the market down there. It's in an original tobacco shed.

My family had a great time there 20+ years ago. Don't know how much has changed -- time plus hurricanes! Fort Sumter, yes. Patriot's Point, yes. Fort Moultrie, I think, has a fascinating series of coastal defense installations, from 1776 style up to WWII, so you can walk along and see the development of such defenses.

It's also just a classically beautiful old southern city. Spend some time just walking around; go in churches and cemeteries.

Savannah is worth a visit, too, it is similar but quite different.

We went for a week during Spring Break, and that was a good time of year and also a good amount of time.

i was there for a couple of days in the fall, i couldn't see the hunley because it was only open on weekends.

and i did like the North Charleston Fire museum about a dozen old fire trucks mostly early 1900's. the volunteer was from near my hometown and he restores firetrucks for fun. a good talk

i liked the confederate museum for a quick trip. I suspect a real museum curator might not like the way it was laid out.

i did not like the slavemarket, not worth the time

walk around the town is a must

I think you can get close to the some of the batteries on morris island, but battery wagner is either underwater or close to it…not accessible. if you read the local guides it implies you can take boats out to some of the other sites

i actually liked fort moultrie more then sumpter, but you still have to go to sumpter.
Patriots point has an aircraft carrier and a sub so you know what it is

i just stay in hotels in the coupon books on isle of palms, so i can't really help you on hotels

The food is spectacular.

As an aside, if you have the opportunity to travel up to Columbia, a visit to the Confederate Relic Room is a must.

wftf.sc.gov/crr&museum.htm

Further down the coast to Savannah is Old Fort Jackson, another great place to visit.

Yommy Condon's Pub
tommycondons.com/cms_pages

There are 3 beaches in the Charleston area on different islands. All are accessible from downtown or you can stay on one of them. There are plenty of beach-area rentals. They are all nice, it just depends what you are looking for.

Sullivan's Island: 15-20 minutes east of downtown across the Cooper River. A nice beach, lined with houses but less developed than the Isle of Palms. Fort Moultrie is nearby. There is a small strip of restaurants 1 block off the beach.

Isle of Palms: to the North of Sullivan's Island. Much more developed/crowded. Some sections have a lot of condos and there is an area with bars/restaurants on the beach.

Folly Beach: 20 minutes to the west of downtown across the Ashley River. Lined with houses, with some condos and a hotel at the middle with a nice (free) pier. Can be crowded near the pier but it is a wide beach. Folly Beach tends to get the biggest waves so you will see surfers. At the eastern end of the island is an undeveloped preserve open to the public that is beautiful. Just off the beach are a lot of restaurants/stores.

Jason

Great advice everyone! I forgot to mention, our children will be on this trip. They are 9 and 5. What are some fun things for us to do a's a family(zoos, aquariums, etc.)?

there is an aquarium,next to the loading dock for Ft Sumter, but i din't go into it

Since you have a little time to prepare, I would take advantage of it to also read up on the fighting at Charleston in 1776 and 1780. The first surrender of a large American army is not widely emphasized, around here anyway, but still important. I'll bet many never heard of it.

At Fort Moultrie there will also be an Edgar Allan Poe connection, since he was stationed there.

You will be within daytrip range of many battlefields such as Guilford Courthouse and others from the Revolution also, besides the ACW.

The South Carolina Aquarium is next to the departure point for the Ft Sumter ferry (BTW, there is a nice Civil War display inside the ferry building). It is about 10 years old and well done, my kids love going there. Check the website for prices & discounts if you a member of various organizations as tickets are on the high end.

There is not a zoo in Charleston. Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia is about 2 hours away. Charlestowne Landing (site of the original settlement in the Charleston area) has some animals in outdoor displays that you can see if you visit the park there.

Here's a map of the present-day Morris Island that shows how the area has changed in the past 150 years: link

There'll be no visiting the Fort today…

You'll note that many of the very old homes have windows that start at floor level. It was a response to the infamous "Door Tax." Very clever tax avoidance device.

Can't believe I forgot – you'll want to visit The Citadel while you are there. citadel.edu/root