An 8 Day Lowcountry Road Trip: Charleston to Savannah and Back

When I found an $80 round-trip flight from Philly to Charleston on American Airlines, I invited my mom to do a road trip to Charleston & Savannah with me. We traveled in April 2019.

Day	Basic Itinerary	Hotel
1	Arrive late, pick up car rental	James Island Air BnB
2	Circular Congregational Church Graveyard; History, Culture & Architecture Tour with Charleston Sole Walking Tours; Charleston City Market; Carriage Tour.	James Island Air BnB
3	Boone Hall Plantation; Magnolia Plantation & Gardens.	James Island Air BnB
4	Angel Oak Tree; Francis Beidler Forest; Old Sheldon Church Ruins; Downtown Beaufort.	Beaufort Inn
5	Wormsloe; Mercer-Williams House Tour; The Savannah Saunter Walking Tour with Noble Jones Tours.	Historic District Savannah Air BnB
6	Bonaventure by Day Tour with Shannon Scott; Pin Point Heritage Museum; Skidaway Island State Park.	Historic District Savannah Air BnB
7	Savannah River Boat Cruise; Forsyth Park; Botany Bay Plantation on Edisto Island.	Best Westerm Plus Airport Inn & Suites, Charleston
8	Depart early morning

Lodging & Car

I found hotels in both Charleston and Savannah to be very pricey if you want to stay downtown – $200 a night or more for rooms with two beds. In order to make my trip more affordable, I chose to book Airbnb’s. I found an apartment on James Island, about 15 minutes drive from downtown Charleston, for about $100 per night. It cost us $20 to park in a downtown garage when we visited the city. In Savannah I found a fantastic deal for an entire town home on famous Jones Street for just over $100 a night with free street parking.  I did spring for one night at a historic inn in Beaufort because I wanted the experience. In all, it cost me about $850 for seven nights.  

I rented a compact car from Budget which ultimately cost $340 for the week. Be aware that the car rental agencies at the Charleston Airport close at midnight and open at 4:30 am. If you have a very early flight home like we did, you can drop the key in a box.

Get Prepared

Charleston and Savannah are places that look great in both the rain and bright sunshine. Greens and blues pop when it’s cloudy, and when the sun comes out everything sparkles. This is good because you’re likely to experience both conditions every day. I started a tour of Charleston in the pouring rain, and by the end we were walking down Rainbow Row in the sunshine. The gaggle of  bachelorette partiers on my tour all showed up unprepared and had to desperately purchase pioneer bonnets from the Old Exchange Building gift shop to keep the rain off.  We looked amazing as we wandered the streets of the historic district.  

If you are bringing camera gear, make sure you have a waterproofing system. Invest in a rain cover for your backpack, or bring dry bags to store your lenses in. Any outdoor store like REI should have these items. As far as clothing, assume it’s going to be warm and wet (or hot and wet). Waterproof and breathable layers, waterproof walking shoes, and an umbrella are essential.

Days 1-2 – Charleston

You’ll enjoy Charleston if you like walking through historic neighborhoods. Focus on the area south of Broad Street. This is where you’ll find the best places to photograph architecture and gardens. If Charlestonians are good at one thing, it’s creating beautiful gardens. You’ll get the most out of a visit here if you are into this kind of thing. Make sure you peak around fences and over walls. Try a private gardens tour with the Charleston Horticultural Society.

Book a historical tour to hear about Charleston’s intriguing history from a local. People rave about Ed Grimball’s tour, but he currently only offers them on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I was in Charleston on a Sunday so I booked through another well-reviewed company, Charleston Sole Walking Tours for their History, Culture & Architecture Tour. See above about our group of bonnet-clad bachelorettes.

Carriage Tours are one of the “must-do” things that pop up when researching what to do in Charleston, and to be honest, if your feet are tired from miles of walking, a carriage ride is pretty nice. All carriage tours depart from Market and Anson Street near the Charleston City Market. No need to prebook. For about $25, you get an hour long carriage ride with a driver-guide. Be aware these are four bench carriages that can carry 16 people, although I did see a couple of two-person carriages here and there. Before you depart, they’ll stop by a little shack where a bingo ball will be drawn in order to determine which one of the five routes your carriage will take.

Charleston is known for its top-notch food and drink. You’ll need to make reservations early for places like Husk and Fig. I was too late to get reservations at these spots when I tried to book a month out, but there are plenty of great options. (If you can’t get dinner reservations at Husk in Charleston, Savannah has its own outpost.) We had dinner at Poogan’s Porch which is a historic Victorian mansion house-turned-restaurant serving strong cocktails and elevated southern comfort food.

Day 3 – Boone Hall & Magnolia Plantations

My goal for this day was to get to Boone Hall Plantation early in order to photograph the long oak-lined driveway. This was the right decision because by the time we left around noon, there were dozens of cars driving in and out. If you want to take pictures, there’s a little parking area on the right just before the oak trees start. Break out your telephoto lens to get those layers and layers of Spanish moss-draped branches framing the drive.

We spent our time at Boone Hall strolling around the grounds and through the gardens. They have an old brick slave quarters street where we browsed through a few historical exhibits before settling in at the theater for a Gullah Geechee cultural presentation. This turned out to be an inspiring experience that included stories, history, song and a fun demonstration of a the Gullah creole language. Do not miss out on learning about this uniquely American culture while in this part of the country.

In the afternoon we visited Magnolia Plantation and Gardens to walk through their extensive non-formal gardens. If you asked me to imagine a romantic scene in an old movie about the south, this would be the setting. Do not expect perfect geometric and pruned flower beds. Instead, walk along the paths crisscrossing through lush forests. Sit on a bench under a live oak and watch the Ashley River go by. Walk over the wooden bridges spanning the fish ponds. Spend some time looking for little alligators sunning themselves in the historic rice fields. Absolutely lovely.

Day 4 – Angel Oak, Old Sheldon Church Ruins, Beaufort

I’m excited to get on the road this morning because our first stop of the day is the Angel Oak on Johns Island. This tree has been on my list of places I need to see in the US for many years. Off of the Maybank Highway, down a small back road and past a church is the parking lot. When we arrived around 10 am, a group of school kids was just getting back on the bus after visiting. We park and walk around the tiny building housing a gift shop and it’s just this gargantuan behemoth sprawled out over an acre of land.

Gnarled branches are both grasping at the sky and clawing at the ground. Ferns and moss cover the branches like a fuzzy blanket. We probably spent half an hour walking around, in and out and around the tree. Here are there are pieces of wood acting as support beams for particularly large branches. As a photographer I’m a little annoyed by the abundance of signs placed around the tree warning people to stay off, but they don’t detract from the nearly spiritual experience of getting to walk under the canopy. This tree looks thousands of years old, but the most surprising thing to me is that they estimate its age to only be about 400. When two busloads of seniors roll up, we hit the road.

We decide on the fly to backtrack a bit and visit the Francis Beidler Forest where they have over a mile of boardwalk through a cypress and tupelo swamp. I had originally wanted to visit the Cypress Gardens in Moncks Corner but that site was closed due to bad flood damage. (Happily, they’ve now reopened if you want to visit.) I told my mom all about my love for cypress swamps and she was down for going out of our way to Francis Beidler. Great decision because this place was beautiful and totally devoid of the crowds in Charleston. We spent a serene two hours walking through the atmospheric swamp and even spent some time listening to two owls calling to each other through the trees.

Back on the road, we head south again. Our overnight stop would be the town of Beaufort, South Carolina, but first we get to pay a visit to the Old Sheldon Church Ruins near Yemassee. There are so few ruins here in the US, so this is an exciting stop for me. Situated along an old tree-lined road, the brick ruins stand in a large courtyard surrounded by live oaks and dogwoods. Here and there are old gravesites and tombs. When we arrive there is a light rain and nobody else around, allowing us to privately explore this haunting remnant of the pre-Civil War south.

Another 30 minutes down the road is Beaufort, a small coastal town known for its antebellum homes and walkable downtown. We check in to the Beaufort Inn which covers an entire block just a short walk from the river. The main building is a pink mansion and it’s surrounded by several smaller historic cottages, gardens and courtyards. We get half of a cottage called the Rhett Butler House.

Beaufort is relaxed and sleepy. The river walk is lined with porch swings that we sit in to watch dog-walkers go by. The downtown is full of little shops carrying things like “Welcome, Ya’ll!” hand towels. It’s a good stopover between Charleston and Savannah, although I would not call it a must-visit destination. We eat the Saltus River Grill where I order the soft shell crab since they’re still in season. I have to watch a Youtube video on how to eat the crab and it turns out you just eat the whole thing.

Day 5 – Wormsloe, Savannah

Leaving Beaufort we head south out of town toward Georgia. We actually drive a little past Savannah to visit Wormsloe Plantation first where I get another drop-dead gorgeous driveway lined by live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. We watch a video at the visitor center and walk for a mile or so among the tabby ruins of the old plantation home.

At lunch time we drive in to Savannah and park on Jones Street for lunch at Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room. This is probably the most famous dining establishment in Savannah and often has lines waiting out the door. We arrive around 1:40 (they close at 2 pm), and before I can ask if we’re too late a man whisks the door open and sits us down around a large oak dining table. Turns out getting here near closing time helps to avoid the lines. In less than 30 seconds we’re spooning okra, fried chicken, pork ribs, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, corn bread, and more onto our plates. We were too stuffed to bother with dinner that evening.

After lunch we walk over to the bright coral-colored Mercer-Williams house on Monterey square for a tour. The best part about this house tour are the stories and rumors surrounding the home. Made famous by John Berendt’s book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, it’s a fascinating tour through the home to see the decadent décor and hear stories about the eccentric Jim Williams who was tried four times and eventually acquitted for the killing of his lover Danny Hansford. 

Following the house tour we head over to Reynolds Square to meet our guide for our 4 pm walking tour with Pierce from Noble Jones Tours. We’re the only people booked on the tour so we get him as our private guide. This is awesome because it gives us the opportunity ask all sorts of questions about Savannah and what it’s like to be a local as we walk through several squares, along historic streets and through the old cemetery.

Around 6 pm we check in to our Airbnb located in a historic row home on Jones Street. We have a fun chat with one of our neighbors – he’s out with a whiskey on the rocks walking his German Shepherd. In Savannah, open containers are permitted so it’s not totally crazy to see someone walking down the street with a highball in their hand.

Day 6 – Bonaventure Cemetery, Pin Point Heritage Museum

Today is the day I finally get to visit Bonaventure Cemetery, something I’ve been eager to do for many years after reading about it in books like John Muir’s A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf and Berendt’s Midnight. I wanted to take a tour because I knew there’d be amazing stories about the people buried here. In searching the Trip Advisor forums, I learned about Shannon Scott’s highly recommended tour, and I have to give him credit because this is one of the best tours I’ve ever taken.

For $22 a person, our group of 12 followed Shannon around Bonaventure for three engrossing hours. Maybe the most amazing part of this tour was a gravesite of a high-level mason. It didn’t look looks like much from where we stood, but we learned that a secret door leads down a marble walkway and opens up to a large tomb containing his entire library of books, as well as his coffin and a chapel.  Shannon is a master raconteur, semiotician and historian. He had my mom so moved by his stories that she cried twice during the tour!

Next up we decide to drive out to the Pin Point Heritage Museum. I found this place on Atlas Obscura’s website and after the Gullah/Geechee presentation at Boone Hall, I was interested in learning more. The museum itself is an old oyster and crab factory on the Georgia coast a few miles south of Savannah. I knew this was where I could learn more about the Gullah/Geechee culture, but this place turned out to be an unexpected highlight because the guides at the museum are members of the local community who grew up living around and working at the factory.

We spent time touring the grounds and watching a fantastic movie, and then we just hung out in the courtyard and talked to Gail about her life growing up in Pin Point and working at the factory shucking oysters. (She started when she was 6!) We discussed the Gullah/Geechee language and culture, and she explained that Pin Point contains some of the last black-owned property on the Georgia coast. Don’t miss this unique place if you are in Savannah.

With the rest of our afternoon, we do a little driving tour of the town, then walk the one mile Avian Loop Trail at Skidaway Island State Park. Mom wasn’t up for a major hike, so we choose this short and easy trail to get a feel for the park. We walked through salt marsh and a gorgeous forest peppered with palmettos and live oaks. For dinner we drive out to Tybee Island to eat at the famous Crab Shack, which has OK food but a great atmosphere.

Day 7 – More of Savannah, Botany Bay Plantation

We go to brunch at Vic’s on the River and laze around on their deck drinking sangria and eating chicken salad for a while. Then we walk down to the river and buy a couple of tickets for a river boat cruise. It’s cheesy for sure, but we have a ton of fun on the Georgia Queen, a giant red and white former gambling river boat (serving pina coladas). The most interesting part of the cruise is going by the Savannah port, which is one of the largest in the US. Amazing to see these cargo ships the size of skyscrapers plugging along down the Savannah River.

We haven’t seen the famous 30-acre Forsyth Park yet, so we spend our last hour in the city here doing some reading and people-watching on a bench. It’s a good show as all sorts of people walk by – SCAD students, old folks, couples, tourists, dog walkers, moms and kids.

Saying goodbye to Savannah, we start our drive north back to Charleston. I have to time this right because we are visiting Botany Bay Plantation Heritage Preserve. Due to recent storm damage, the beach here is only accessible the few hours around low tide, so I had to check the Edisto Island tide charts when planning the day. Low tide was luckily at 8 am and 8 pm, so we were able to time our visit around sunset. The beach at Botany Bay is one of the last stretches of undeveloped barrier island on the east coast and it will take your breath away.

To get here, we drive down sleepy Highway 174 to Edisto Island, almost to the end of the road. Then we turn left onto Botany Bay Road and make our way down the dirt road through thick forested swamp singing with frogs.

After a couple of miles we enter the preserve and head to the beach parking lot. It’s about a third of a mile walk on a path through a salt marsh filled with live oysters to get to the beach entrance. Once you walk out on the beach, you’ll understand why people keep describing this place as magical.

Enormous tree skeletons are both jutting out of the sand and fallen over into the surf. Huge pink and white shells are strewn across the beach, some caught in the tree roots. I walk down the beach gawking at the scene. The light is perfect, the wind is warm. Nothing could have been a more perfect cap on our road trip to Charleston and Savannah.

I’m sad to head back to the car when it’s time to go but I love hearing the oysters snapping shut in the marsh as I walk by. We have dinner reservations at the Old Post Office restaurant just a minute up the road, then head to our hotel near the Charleston airport to sleep for a few hours before our 6 am flight. And that’s it!