If you follow along on Instagram, you might’ve seen that Sabir & I took a weekend trip to Historic Charleston. We had never been and wanted to check out the beaches. It was absolutely beautiful; so much greenery everywhere! The food was amazing and the beaches were gorgeous.
I HIGHLY recommend taking a trip to South Carolina if you have yet to make your way down south. I decided to document our trip & share the different places we went to. There are definitely a few spots you HAVE to check out next time you are in Charleston!
Day 1: Thursday
3:55 – 11:50am: Drove from Tyson’s Corner to Historic Charleston.
We woke up super early to hit the road. Ghost was not having it haha. We had to carry him to the elevator because he was still sleeping! The drive honestly wasn’t THAT bad! We were happy to make it there before noon.
1:00 – 1:50pm: Grabbed lunch at Harbinger.
We loved this place! They have a really good selection for those of you who are plant-based. The baked goods looked delish and they were vegan!
2:00 – 2:20pm: Beach towels & drinks.
We stopped at Total Wine and TJ Maxx to grab some drinks for our cooler and towels for the beach! Luckily, they were right next to each other and on the way to Folley Island.
2:45 – 3:15pm: Folley Island.
Finally made it to Folley Island! It was a little crowded but we had fun. There was a parking lot right next to the beach and they charged $15. You could probably find street parking if you drove around but we didn’t realize that until after we parked. Sadly, it started raining (full on monsoon) and we had to leave after 30 minutes of arriving.
3:45 – 5:20pm: Hyatt House & relax.
We absolutely loved staying at Hyatt House! It is in the heart of Historic Charleston and within walking distance to all of the restaurants. Our hotel room was very spacious; large bedroom, separate living room and a full kitchen! Once we got back to the hotel, we showered, relaxed, and had a glass of wine. Then, we took Ghost out for a nice long walk around Historic Charleston before heading to dinner.
5:20 – 6:15pm: Mesu.
We went to Mesu for dinner. We started with the chips & salsa trio. I got the grilled mushroom tacos and a marg. Highly recommend!
6:15 – 7:30pm: Fèlix.
We wanted to grab drinks somewhere with a nice ambiance. Fèlix is known for their cocktails and had great reviews. We loved this place and would go back in a heart beat!
7:30 – 8:00pm: Jeni’s Ice Cream.
Headed over to Jeni’s ice-cream for dessert and thank god they had vegan options, haha. There were only two but still – I was happy! I ended up getting the chocolate.
8:00pm: EXHAUSTED.
We called it a night early since we drove 8 hours that day.
Day 2: Friday
8:00 – 9:00am: Workout.
Hyatt House has a pretty decent gym so we woke up early, went to the gym, and did our regular bi’s and back workout (hah). Although we’re on vacay, I’m someone who needs to workout or else I won’t be in the best of moods. What’s crazy is I NEVER used to be like this but now – I need that endorphin rush in the morning.
10:30 – 11:00am: Blend Juice Bar & Taziki’s.
Went to Blend Juice Bar and Taziki’s to grab some food for the beach. At Blend Juice, we got the Green Juice and Super Human Smoothie (both were really good)! At Taziki’s, we got the veggies and hummus (delish), Mediterranean salad, and Greek Salad. The shopping center was only about 15 minutes away from out hotel and it was on the way to Sullivan’s Island.
11:30am – 2:00pm: Sullivan’s Island.
Arrived at Sullivan’s Island. The beach wasn’t as crowded but that’s probably because they didn’t allow coolers (we had to leave ours in the car), shade devices aka umbrellas, or chairs. I think they’re only doing this because of Covid but they were hard core beach patrolling and handing out citations left & right so be careful!
2:00 – 3:40pm: Hyatt House.
We left the beach and went back to Hyatt House to shower, hang out with Ghost and get ready for the outlets.
3:40 – 5:30pm: Tanger Outlets.
Headed over to the outlets. They were only about 20 minutes away so not tooo bad! I got a few things from Loft, Banana Republic, and Tory Burch. I was on the hunt for cute nude sandals and right as we were about to leave, we decided to pop into Tory Burch. Apparently, they had just opened the day before so they were having an AMAZING sale – literally 50% off the whole store! I found a really cute pair of sandals for only $80!
5:30 – 8:30pm: Relaxed & Explored Historic Charleston.
At this point, we were getting tired haha. When we got to the hotel, we grabbed Ghost and took him for his afternoon walk. Historic Charleston is so beautiful. As we passed the restaurants, we were checking to see what places had availability.
8:30 – 10:00pm: Dinner at OKU.
This was, hands down, the best restaurant we ate at while we were there. We started off with the truffle and spicy edamame and an avocado wrap roll. Delish.
Side tangent – Being vegan, I love going to nicer restaurants because the chef will most likely always make you something off menu and it always turns out amazing. That was definitely the case here! The chef made me a teriyaki tofu with sautéed broccoli. I would give it a 15/10 if I could. Sabir even liked it better than his dish! He got the seafood rice & said to skip it (he wasn’t a fan).
10:00 – 10:20pm: Cupcake DownSouth.
So we actually grabbed dessert at Cupcake DownSouth earlier that day and saved it for after dinner. These cupcakes were sooo good! We ended up sharing the vegan birthday cake.
Day 3: Saturday
10:30am – 2:20pm: Kiawah Island.
By far our FAVORITE beach! If you could only visit one beach during your stay, I highly recommend coming here (it was ~40 minutes from our hotel). There is, of course, a caveat. There is only one parking lot here and it fills up FAST. People were lining up by 7:30am (they open at 8:00am). We arrived at 10:00am and it was already too late. There was a 3 hour wait! There was no way we were waiting that long so we parked at the Harris Teeter up the street (~1 mile away) and Ubered to the beach ahah. There are rarely any available cars out there so just be careful if you decide to take this route; we had to hitch a ride back to our car when we left!
2:30 – 8:00pm: Moe’s & Nap.
We grabbed a quick lunch at Moe’s; This was my first time eating here & WOW, their salads are amazing. After Moe’s, we stopped at the outlets again to exchange something Sabir got. Then we went back to our hotel and took a nap haha. The sun drained us so this was much needed.
8:00 – 8:30pm: Bourbon n Bubbles.
Bourbon n Bubbles had an amazing ambiance. It was chic & intimate. We stopped here before dinner to have a few drinks & an app. “The Poolside” is one of their well known cocktails and we could see why! It was really good. I ordered Prosecco (what’s new) & started with hummus.
8:30 – 10:00pm: The Ordinary.
After Bourbon n Bubbles, we walked over to The Ordinary. Hands down, the best martini I have ever had! You must get the martini service if you come here! Sabir got the Oyster Stout and loved it. This was another restaurant where the chef made me something off menu and it was delicious! They made an eggplant purèe topped with roasted in-season vegetables. Sabir had oysters and the Fish Schnitzel (both recommended).
On Sunday, we woke up at 5:00am and headed back home. We are already looking forward to our next trip down south! Have you been to any of these restaurants? If so, which was your favorite? Until next time, Charleston!
