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Beat the Heat with These Cool Tours, Activities

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The Rooftop at Vendue InnCocktails with a view: Enjoy an evening breeze and a sunset view at one of Charleston’s rooftop bars. Some cool spots include the Rooftop Cocktail Bar at the Vendue Inn near the picturesque Riley Waterfront Park; Pour Taproom at 560 King St. serving beer and wine samples; and The Watch: Rooftop Kitchen and Spirits serving great food and great views atop the Restoration Hotel.  

Share a pint: The Charleston area is home to almost 30 local breweries. Whether you like IPA, reds, stouts, ciders or porters, there’s something for every beer lover. If you’re visiting downtown Charleston, check out what’s known as the Charleston Brewery District – a short stretch of the northern end of the peninsula where the brews are flowing. Neighboring breweries there include: Palmetto Brewing Co., Revelry Brewing, Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co., Fatty’s Beerworks, Cooper River Brewing, Munkle Brewing Co., Tradesman Brewing Co. and LO-Fi Brewing. 

Wind down in nature: No ‘whining’ about the heat here! Deep Water Vineyard grows muscadine grapes, a fruit native to the Southeastern United States, and then turns those grapes into refreshing muscadine wine. Visit Deep Water on Wadmalaw Island for tours and tastings – all in a beautiful Lowcountry setting.  

Sunsets on Shem Creek: Enjoy a seafood dinner with spectacular views on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant. Try one of these restaurants: Tavern & Table, Red’s Ice House, Vickery’s Bar & Grill, Saltwater Cowboys, Water’s Edge, R.B.’s Seafood Restaurant. 

Shem Creek - Charleston, SCRelax on the water: Spending time in the water is the best way to beat the summer heat. Take a boat tour, go fishing or try your hand at kayaking for a cool summer experience. Barrier Island Eco Tours offers naturalist-guided eco tours to some of the Lowcountry’s most pristine spots as well as fishing charters. Book a tour of the Charleston harbor (including specialty tours and dinner cruises) with Charleston Harbor Tours or SpiritLine Cruises. Get a taste of Charleston’s maritime history with a sail aboard The Schooner Pride, an 84-foot tall ship modeled after the 18th-century coastal trading schooners that once sailed the Charleston harbor. How about a sunset cruise with Sandlapper Water Tours to wind out a day of Charleston sightseeing? 

Wet and wild adventures: Looking for some adventure on the water? Tidal Wave Water Sports on the Isle of Palms has tubing, jet ski and wakeboarding options. Or, go parasailing for a bird’s eye view of the Atlantic Ocean. Visit Isle of Palms Marina for boat rentals or book a charter tour to go fishing, watch for dolphins or visit the undisturbed Capers Island. Feeling the need for speed? Book a 13-mile Speed Boat Adventure Tour with Speed Boat Adventures. Or slow down and soak up the scenery on a kayak tour with Nature Adventures on Shem Creek. Rent kayaks or book a guided kayak tour for two or three hours on the water. The Reel Deal Charters offers inshore and offshore fishing charters or take the family on a dolphin watching tour or go hunting for shark teeth. 

Sightseeing in comfort: Learn about Charleston history and see the city’s best sites – all from the comfort of an air-conditioned bus. Adventure Sightseeing offers a 90-minute “See It All” city tour. Gray Line Tours has a 90-minute historic city tour. 

Zoom through the treetops: Fly high with Charleston Zipline Adventures, located just north of Mount Pleasant. Start your adventure zipping from a 65-foot tower through the trees on seven zip line cables between tree platforms. Make your way across three swinging bridges before the grand finale zip of 750 feet. A kids’ zip line course is available for ages 5-13 and zip line beginners. 

charleston county waterparks
Charleston County Waterparks

Family fun: The Charleston County Park system operates three water parks in the area. Splash Island in Mount Pleasant has a shallow-water play area just for toddlers and separate areas with a wave pool and slides for older children and pre-teens. Splash Zone at James Island County Park has a Caribbean theme with island-style play structures and slides. Whirlin’ Waters in North Charleston is designed for children of all ages and is the largest of the three water parks. Don’t miss The Washout raft ride: two slides 65 feet in the air offer near-vertical climbs, twists and turns.  

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Charleston FAQ's

Choosing a hotel and where to stay in Charleston all depends on your budget and goals. Do you want to stay Downtown, at the beach or in the outer areas such as North Charleston where you have to drive to get everywhere? For more help on deciding: https://travelerofcharleston.com/articles/hotels/

Charleston has 3 main public beaches which are: Folly, Isle of Palms and Sullivans. Each beach has it’s own atmosphere. The most common beach that people visit is Folly Beach and then Isle of Palms followed by Sullivans Island. For more info on Charleston’s beaches visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/guide-charlestons-beaches/

Charleston, SC is full of historical things to do. Everything from museums, to public sites and free landmark sites such as Rainbow Row and the Battery can be seen. For more info on Charleston’s top historical sites visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/places-to-learn-about-charleston-sc-history/

There are many things that will keep the kids and family entertained and educated in Charleston. There are historic sites such as Fort Sumter, a Children’s Museum, Aquarium and the USS Yorktown…a WWII era aircraft carrier you can tour. For more info visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-family-fun-activities/

There’s so many  things you could do in Charleston it can be overwhelming. We recommend that first time visitors, checkout the ultimate first-time visitor guide here: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-first-time-visitors-guide/

Spring in Charleston, SC is an amazing time of year to visit. The flowers are blooming and the weather is mild and sunny. For more info, check-out our spring guide to Charleston here: https://travelerofcharleston.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-springtime-in-charleston/

Summer in Charleston is a great time to visit. There’s plenty of things to keep you busy and visiting the beach will probably….or should be on your short-list. Also water-based activities and tours are popular. Checkout this summer guide to Charleston for more info: 

Our 10 Favorite Summer Activities in Charleston

Fall is one of the best times to visit. The weather cools down a bit and the skies are typically blue and clear. In addition there are many great events, festivals and the large crowds of summer have gone back to school or work. For more info on visiting in the fall, checkout this article: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-12-things-to-do-fall/

There are so many great things to do that it’s difficult to narrow the list down. This article does a great job with figuring out the must do things to do in Charleston

7 Can’t Miss Reasons to Visit Charleston, SC Now

The consensus is a minimum of 3-days is needed to settle in and experience Charleston. For instance, many people take 2 days exploring downtown and another day visiting sites outside of downtown such as the plantations, Angel Oak Tree or beaches. Checkout this page for a list of tours and attractions: 

Charleston’s Top Tours & Attractions | Things to do

Downtown Charleston was made for walking and for sure one of the best way to soak up and experience the history first-hand. This article goes over getting around Charleston with and without a car as well: 

Getting Around Charleston, SC

We’re of course partial to Charleston, but here’s the truth. There are many similarities however there are some differences in our opinion: 

  • Both cities are historic and beautiful. 
  • Both cities are extremely walkable. Savannah, with it’s park-like squares maybe more walkable than Charleston. 
  • Charleston has a more established and food scene with many more options. 
  • Charleston has better hotels and shopping.
  • Both cities have equally good tours.
  • Charleston has better beach options. Savannah has Tybee which is great, however it’s 1 beach vibe versus Charleston which has 3 beaches with different vibes. Checkout this Charleston beach guide article: https://travelerofcharleston.com/guide-charlestons-beaches/
  • In Savannah you can walk with alcoholic beverages on the street. This is not allowed in Charleston. This can be good or bad depending on your stance. 
  • Savannah is more affordable.
  • TourPass offers all-inclusive passes in both cities: https://tourpass.com

There are always great and world-class events happening in Charleston. For a calendar of events and things to do in Charleston, checkout our online calendar of events: https://travelerofcharleston.com/events/

Of course there are free money-saving coupons that you can use. Visit the coupons page for a bunch of ways to save: https://travelerofcharleston.com/coupon/

Charleston has some fantastic can’t miss tours such as Fort Sumter, carriage, ghost, harbor, historic and culinary tours. For a full list with more info visit: https://travelerofcharleston.com/attractions/

Checkout the Charleston Relocation Guide page which will guide you during your move: https://travelerofcharleston.com/charleston-sc-relocation-guide/

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