Let's Go to Charleston
Grab your suitcases, pack your favorite little dresses & prepare your appetite for lots of shrimp & grits! Charleston has been on my "must visit" list for years now! It seems as though everyone that has visited this beautiful city now has a long time love affair with it. After spending a few days strolling down King Street, tasting bites at unique restaurants & shopping in adorable southern boutiques, I now understand the instant attraction & endearment that everyone raves about!
Travel Look:
Let me introduce you to my fave travel buddy & one of my very best friends, Jess! She is the cutest little thing & I am so happy we got to spend this trip together, exploring all over Charleston. Even if we did it all based on trial & error while getting lost a million times.
Thank you to Jennifer Snowden for both of these outfits above! The gingham dress & pinstripe jumpsuit made for perfect Southern Style outfits! See more from her boutique at
From the bright, colorful buildings, to the culture of the town & everything in-between, there was so much to see in just a few short days. Jess & I filled up as much time as possible with fun activities & captured all that we could to be able to share with y'all! While we may not have seen all that Charleston has to offer, we sure did love what we were able to get around to!
Where we stayed:
I absolutely LOVED staying at The Belmond Place in Charleston! I wanted to be sure to share every detail of our time there, so I have a full blog post about the increbile hotel. You can see all of the pictures, food, rooftop feels & more on the post below here:
Where we ate/Drank:
Meeting at Market: As soon as we got to the Belmond, we decided to stop at the restaurant that they have there. It has a view of Charleston streets to see people passing by & is set up as a sports bar. It was a good, quick place to stop for some yummy food before going off to explore the city!
Miller's All Day: Jess & I were SO excited to go here. We knew from other friends & pictures that it was cute inside, but oh my goodness were we for a surprise when it came to the food! I shared all the details on the blog in a post y'all can see HERE!
Halls: We stopped by this bar for a drink for girl's night, but they do have food as well! Our sweet friend Jennifer told us that lots of locals go there as well, so it will be a good atmosphere any time that you go! If you go out one night and want to start with a meal, this is a great place that transitions from dinner to a night out!
Darling Oyster Bar: HOLY YUM! After eating at this place, I will forever have a place in my heart for shrimp & grits! Especially with egg on top! The combination of exposed brick & coastal accents will give you that "light & airy - on the water" feeling the entire time. We sure did fill up the table with lots of goodies like the outer platter, crab lets, shrimp & grits, drinks such as the London Fog, the Jalapeño Margarita, Mango Unchained and then ended with the ever famous oyster shot!
You can see the full review here: The Darling
Zero Restaurant & Bar: This sweet little patio was such a perfect spot for drinks & snacks at sunset. We had to hit the fan to cool down a bit, but that's about right considering we were in the south in the middle of summer. They had the cutest food that had the most amazing taste & most neat attention to detail I have ever seen for my food. Be sure to look into going here when planning your trip to Charleston!
Places for next time:
We had lots of amazing reccomendations from y'all for more restaurants & things to try while visiting town. We unfortunately weren't able to go to them all. However, here are some that you may want to try & we will for sure be hitting up next time we go! We walked by a lot of them, because things are so close, but only snapped a few pics. These will for sure be on my list for my next visit!
Poogan's Porch
Magnolia's
Hot Little Biscuit
Butcher & Bee
Blossom
Cocktail Club
What To Do:
Rainbow Row: All of the bright, colorful, beautiful buildings that you see in all of the famous Charleston photos, chances are those were taken on Rainbow Row. Ask any taxi or Uber to get you there & it will be a quick trip to this part of town. It is also right on the water too, so after you tour around the buildings, be sure to walk along the water!
Shopping on King Street: It wouldn't be a girl's trip without some shopping! We went shopping inside of the Belmond a few times, but the local boutiques along King Street were too cute to pass up! From baby clothes, Starbucks stops & the most adorable stores, we could have spent hours upon hours on this street finding the best little gifts, souvenirs & so much more!
Isle of Palm & Sulivan's Island: We didn't get to stop by these places, but we heard such amazing things about the beaches here. We wanted so badly to spend a day on the beach, but we were so busy running around town! Next time I go to Charleston, I will be sure to dedicate a full day of beaching on that trip!
Bike Riding: Lots of local places have bike riding stations that you can rent for a day & cruise around the city! You get your exercise, you get to see the town & it makes for a fun day on your vacay!
Photoshoot: Grab your friends, family or whoever you traveled to this cute as can be town with & snap some pics. We typed in #CharlestonPhotographer on instagram to see what style we wanted. Find someone local or take turns with the camera, because you will have so many beautiful photo opportunities!
I always love getting to travel new places & see new things. I have been told for years now to go to Charleston & I am so glad I have now visited! I am already looking forward to going back to spend time really touring the city & seeing more that it has to offer. I found so many amazing places that I wanted to dive into deeper, but our time here was short, so we had to pick & choose. This just calls for another Girl's Trip right?!
Where is the best place you've ever had a group of girlfriends travel to? Maybe you've been to Charleston & loved something that I didn't see or hear about. Let me know in the comments below for either one!
We had an absolute fabulous time & are already sooo excited for our next trip! Jess & I have been looking at unique places & think we have a pretty good one coming up! Stay tuned to see where we are headed next!
xo, Shea Leigh