Best vacation places in south carolina
Vacations in south carolina are perfect for tourists and locals alike. The south carolina coast encompasses the best of cape-style islands, a vibrant lifestyle, and scenic mountain hamlets. The lowcountry offers history, plantation tours, unique boutique shopping and lovely beaches. There’s plenty to see, things to do and places to visit all over the state.
Everyone likes vacations. Vacations are times for rest, relaxation, recharging mind and body, and enjoying friends and family. When planning a vacation, one should always be careful that this is the experience to be had, because the lack of it can leave a most disagreeable taste in ones mouth. This article aims to discuss some of the most enjoyable vacation spots in South Carolina. The list may surprise you.
Between the red clay, the marshes, and the Mossy Oak, South Carolina’s natural beauty will leave you breathless and wanting more. The state has a long history of traditional cultures, attractive and rich. But as world changes which are happening fast, it looks to balance tradition with contemporary lifestyles.
South Carolina’s beautiful coastline is the perfect place for a relaxing vacation. This state is known for its beautiful beaches and clear waters, as well as its rich history and culture.
South Carolina has more than 100 miles of Atlantic Ocean shoreline and a number of beach towns that offer visitors a variety of options when choosing where to stay while on vacation. These coastal areas are perfect places to visit during any time of the year, but they are especially popular during the summer months when families can enjoy water sports like surfing and swimming in the ocean’s warm waters.
The Grand Strand is one of South Carolina’s most popular tourist destinations because it offers so many activities for visitors. Here you’ll find plenty of places to stay including hotels, resorts, condos, motels and bed & breakfasts! Popular destinations include Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Pawleys Island which are all located within easy driving distance from each other in Horry County along Highway 707 (also known as Ocean Boulevard). These cities offer plenty of shopping opportunities as well as amusement parks such as Broadway at the Beach which features over 100 shops & restaurants plus live entertainment options including concerts by big names like Beyonce who performed here last year while on tour with
In South Carolina, you’ll find a multitude of vacation options, from the beach to the mountains. You can find an ideal spot for your family and friends to relax and enjoy some time together.
Whether you’re looking for a place to take the kids or just need to get away from it all with your spouse, South Carolina has something for everyone.
The following are some of the best vacation spots in South Carolina:
1. Charleston’s Historic District
Immerse yourself in the gracious atmosphere of the antebellum south in Charleston, where more than 1400 historic homes, churches, and other buildings line the streets. A carriage ride will give you an overview and a little history as well, or you can join a walking tour that includes a peek into some of them.
You can also take a guided tour of several historic homes, including the Aiken-Rhett House and the 1808 Nathaniel Russell House. Both hold priceless collections of fine and decorative arts.
Exhibits at the Old Exchange Building and Old Slave Mart Museum reveal more about the city and its long history. It is also worth paying a visit to the Charleston City Market to watch “basket ladies” weave sweetgrass baskets, a long-cherished tradition here.
Accommodation: Best Hotels in Charleston, SC
2. Myrtle Beach
One of the most popular things to do in South Carolina in the summer is to retreat to the miles of pristine sands that line the coast at Myrtle Beach. As appealing as the beaches themselves are the many traditional seaside pleasures to choose from here. The Carolina Opry produces musical shows, and the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel takes visitors on 10-minute rides above the beach and boardwalk.
Broadway at the Beach is the state’s largest entertainment and shopping venue, with rides, mini golf, Ripley’s Aquarium, movies, specialty shops, dining, and other attractions in a pedestrian-only area around Lake Broadway. Families love the slides, splash rides, and swimming pools at water parks and at major hotels.
Whether you like fishing or not, you’ll also want to add Apache Pier to your list of places to visit in Myrtle Beach. Close to 1,200 feet in length, it’s the East Coast’s longest wooden pier, and is a popular fishing spot. For those just wanting to walk its entirety, grab a fresh fish sandwich from Croakers and soak in the spectacular views back over Myrtle Beach. Live music is provided every night in summer, and there’s a fun arcade for the kids to enjoy.
Accommodation: Best Resorts in Myrtle Beach
3. South Carolina Plantation Gardens
Many of the state’s 2,000-plus plantations are open to visitors, and those around Charleston are noted especially for their outstanding gardens. Magnolia Plantation is in America’s oldest publicly accessed gardens, begun in the early 1700s and first opened to visitors in 1870. They are unique as America’s last grand Romantic-style garden. Middleton Place sits above America’s oldest landscaped gardens; the house is fully furnished in original style.
Boone Hall Plantation in nearby Mt. Pleasant is one of the nation’s oldest plantations still operating as a working farm, and is best known for its picturesque, three-quarter-mile Avenue of Oaks. You get a rare glimpse of original 18th-century craftsmanship in the ornamental details of the interior of Drayton Hall, which is the oldest unrestored plantation house in America that’s open for tours.
Along with showing how the owners and their families lived, these plantations now include exhibits, tours, and programs on the lives of the enslaved people who made the plantation lifestyle possible during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
Guided tours of Middleton Place include discussions not only about the Middleton family, but also the enslaved people and freedmen who served them. Active archaeological studies at Drayton Hall continue to recover artifacts that provide insight into these undocumented lives.
Magnolia’s Cabin Project preserves former slave dwellings that serve as the focal point for a 45-minute program on African-American history, highlighting not only the lives of enslaved people, but their later role in maintaining and preserving the estate’s magnificent gardens. Boone Hall features a live presentation of the unique Gullah culture developed by African slaves, where descendants of the Gullah people tell the history of this culture through storytelling and song.
4. Hilton Head Island
While Hilton Head Island doesn’t have the glamorous stage shows of the Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach, this low-country beach town offers laid-back relaxation and smaller crowds. You’ll find plenty of fun things to do here, including great shopping, restaurants, and golf courses, and, of course, the beautiful wide sandy beaches.
One of the best places in South Carolina for bicycling, Hilton Head has miles of flat, well-marked bicycling trails, with great scenery and signage to point out landmarks and interesting facts. At low tide, you can even ride along the beaches, as most bike rental companies now offer bikes with extra wide tires that handle nicely on the firm, packed sand.
In some places, particularly along the shores of the Intracoastal Waterway, you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of dolphins playing on the surf not too far from you. Wildlife watchers can also spot rare and common marine and birdlife up close at the Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Be sure to also pay a visit to the Sea Pines Resort area on the island’s south end. Of particular interest here is Harbour Town, notable for its marina and famous lighthouse. Be sure to pay the modest admission, it’s worth it for the superb water views over to Dafuskie Island.
Accommodation: Best Beach Resorts in Hilton Head
5. Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor
The attack on Fort Sumter, the federal fort guarding Charleston Harbor, by Confederate forces on April 12, 1861, began the American Civil War. The excellent National Park Rangers’ interpretations bring those events vividly to life and set the stage for a better understanding of Civil War history.
You can visit the island and the well-preserved ruins of the fort by boat from the Visitor Education Center at Liberty Square, or from Patriots Point. Or you can get good views of the fort from a 90-minute tour on a sightseeing boat that takes you along the Cooper River to Fort Sumter National Monument.
The tour is fully narrated to provide historical background for Charleston’s role in the Civil War and other eras of its history. It also gives good views of other forts, the Civil War prison at Pinckney Castle, the USS Yorktown, and the Ravenel Bridge.