Don’t you love a good destination where both you and your kids can have fun? I mean, I do love children’s museums and aquariums, but sometimes I just want to do activities that are not 100% geared towards children. That’s where Charleston comes in.
Charleston, SC is not only one of the most beautiful cities in the US, but it is also one of those places loaded with history. It’s the perfect destination for parents who want to combine beach fun and education.
These are the best kid friendly activities in Charleston, ranging from history to fun filled, that both me and my kids really enjoyed.
(Note: right after our trip to Charleston, we went to Hilton Head for a week (read about our favorite things to do in Hilton Head here) . While kayaking, my phone slipped out of my pocket and it got soaked. Sadly, I lost all of the amazing photos we took in Charleston. So this is going to be a post without any visuals, but I promise you all the places and activities on this list are fantastic!)
TABLE OF CONTENT:
1. WHAT TO DO IN CHARLESTON WITH KIDS:
- Magnolia Plantation
- Carriage ride – tour of Old Town Charleston
- Fort Sumter
- Folly Beach
- Driftwood Beach (Edisto Island)
1. Magnolia plantation
Number 1 on my list of activities that are fun for both kids and adults in Charleston is Magnolia Plantation. This is a must do activity, whether you travel with kids or not.
What places Magnolia Plantation at the top of my list? Well, not only that you can tour the plantation house and see the beautiful grounds and gardens, but you can also take a boat ride through the rice fields or go to their neat petting zoo. And most importantly, at Magnolia Plantation they speak openly about the slave history of the place.
While other plantations want to forget the brutal slave history, Magnolia gives you the option to tour the slaves’ cottages and learn about the horrific treatment of the people who lived there and worked in the fields. They even make the tour free (included in the general admission)!
Our tour guide was African – American and he encouraged us to ask any questions that crossed our minds. Our 3.5 year old was a bit too young to understand what we were talking about, but my 5 year old seemed to process the information and he was very taken aback by the idea that people used to own other people.
He even had a couple of questions for the guide, who told us about slaves being forced to have as many children as possible, so the plantation owners wouldn’t have to buy new slaves. This prompted my son’s question ”how could a big family fit into such a small cottage?”. The answer was that the children were sold.
Yes, it was shocking to hear that! Yes, my son was saddened to hear it. But it didn’t do any damage to him to find out these horrific truths. In fact, he has asked me many questions about the slave history since then, and while I don’t think he fully understands the whole implications of the slave history, Magnolia Plantation was a good start in educating him on the subject.
My kids also really loved the zoo there. I think we spend a couple of hours alone petting the animals. They had a small reptile house, tortoises, baby alligators, peacocks, foxes, birds, and very friendly deer, who loved being petted.
PRICES:
– General admission:$29/ adult; $15/child (6-12);
– Historic house tour: $10/adults and kids 6+
– Nature boat tour: $10/adults and kids 6+
– Nature tram: $10/adults and kids 6+
– Audubon swamp: $10/adults and kids 6+
– Slavery to freedom tour – FREE (included in the general admission)
– Petting zoo FREE
Kids under 6 are FREE for all activities
We spend a whole day at the plantation and the only activity on the list we didn’t do was the ”Nature tram tour”, since we could see some of the property by walking. We chose to do the ”Nature boat tour” instead.
More information about the admission and tours here.
2. carriage ride in old town charleston
There is a plethora of carriage ride options in downtown Charleston. After reading several reviews, I decided to choose Palmetto Carriage Works, because of the highly reviewed tours and the way they treat their horses.
Charleston is a very hot city. You literally feel like you are melting while walking downtown. Knowing that, I wanted to find a company that treated their horses humanely. Palmetto Carriage does just that!
They have an outdoor patio with industrial size fans, where the horses go and take breaks after tours, until they cool off. They take the temperatures of their horses after every tour and if they are too high, the horses are pulled from their service for the day.
They also get pasture time throughout the year and some of them are horses that have been bought from the Amish people and retired from the field work. The guides are also hand picked based on their knowledge and they seem to have a tight relationship with their horses.
Our guide, Scott and his beloved horse, Elwood took us through a fascinating tour of the Old Town Charleston. We learned A LOT of interesting facts about the history and architecture of the place. Not only was Scott very knowledgeable about the history of Charleston, but he was also very charismatic and funny.
We got to see the Rainbow Row and we learned that while this street is one of the main attractions in Charleston nowadays, it didn’t have such a great reputation back in the day. It was actually where the brothels were and as such, the area was highly frequented by pirates.
Scott was careful in choosing his words when speaking on the matter, so my kids never raised an eyebrow when he was telling us the history of the Rainbow Row, but the word ”pirates” quickly piqued their interest. He also showed the kids the bars and taverns where pirates would go to eat, including the oldest operating bar in the history of the US, McCraddy’s, established in 1778.
My kids loved that they got to ride in a horse driven carriage and hear about pirates and I loved that I got to learn so many interesting facts about the slave and the civil war history. Plus, looking at all the gorgeous buildings was a treat for the eyes. It was a win-win situations for both the adults and the kids in our party, which is why this attraction is on my list of best kid-friendly activities in Charleston that adults can enjoy too.
PRICES: $45/adult, $35/child (4+), lap children under 4 FREE
3. Fort sumter
Continuing the journey into the history of the US, number 3 on my list of activities in Charleston is visiting Fort Sumter, the site of the first shot of the Civil War (1861-1865).
The fort is located on an island, accessible only by boat. The ride takes about 30 minutes from Charleston and on the way there, the chances of seeing dolphins are very high. We got to see a pod of dolphins, playfully splashing and jumping around us.
Once you get on the island, you have one hour to explore the site. My kids really liked checking out the cannons and looking at the pictures inside the little museum. They also have a ceremony of either raising or lowering the flag, depending on which time of the day you go.
PRICES: $32/adult; $19/child (4-11). The boat departs from two locations in Charleston (Patriots Point or Liberty Square) and you can book your tickets here.
4. folly beach
Its location on the Atlantic ocean is another reason that makes Charleston such a wonderful vacation spot. Just like you can’t miss the historic sites, you also can’t go to Charleston and not spend some time at the beach, whether to swim in the summer or to take walks in the colder seasons.
Folly Beach is an amazing beach to go to with little kids. Not only can they swim and play in the sand, but they can also look for shells and shark teeth there. My kids found their first ever shark teeth on this beach and their excitement cannot be put into words. Roby, my littlest one, who is naturally an explorer found 5 shark teeth. We also found pieces of coral reef and a bunch of cool looking shells.
There are showers as you leave the beach and a bunch of restaurants that serve delicious food. Our favorite one was Rita’s seaside grill.
5. driftwood beach (Edisto Island)
The pictures we took at Driftwood beach are the only ones I still have from our trip to Charleston. I had to brag on social media about this place as soon as we visited it, so I was able to retrieve them later.
Oh. Driftwood Beach! This otherworldly place makes you have all the feels. It is eerie, strange and peaceful at the same time and it is, without doubt, one of the most memorable places I’ve ever been to.
Driftwood Beach is not in Charleston. It’s on Edisto Island, about 1:15 hrs away from the city, but totally worth the drive.
We spent a whole morning exploring this beach and we left different people – more relaxed, more in sync with our inner selves. It’s strange to think that a place can do this to you, but I swear Driftwood Beach is more than just a place; it’s an open invitation to look into yourself.
Things to know about Driftwood beach:
- it is not swimmable, due to strong currents and lots of fallen trees in the water.
- there are no bathrooms on the beach.
- the walk from the parking lot to the beach itself is about 1/4 of a mile, but the boardwalk cuts through marshes filled with wild life. We saw birds and hundreds of fiddler and hermit crabs.
- the beach is protected, so people are not allowed to take any shells with them.
- there are volunteers in the parking lot who are happy to assist you with any questions you might have about the beach or the island.
Where to eat on Edisto Island:
This island is not your typical touristy spot at all. In fact, the only reason I knew about it is because last year I read a book called ”The time between”. The action takes place in Charleston and on Edisto Island.
The island is so laid back that the hours of operation for the restaurants can be unreliable. We went to two different restaurants before we finally found one that was open.
At the first restaurant, the owner was there doing some repairs and told me that he had closed down the business for the day, so that his employees could rest, seeing as Labor Day weekend was around the corner and they would have to work hard those days. How SWEET is that?
The second one was closed because ”the employees also need to eat lunch, so we close down the business at this time of the day”. I mean, could you love Edisto Island more by now?
We ended up eating at the SeaCow eatery and we loved our food. SeaCow is a funky, little restaurant with interesting decor and only a few tables. Everybody seemed to know everybody.
Another kid-friendly activity on Edisto Island that we didn’t get to do was the Serpentarium. My kids were exhausted after exploring Charleston for 4 days and we had to go back to our AirBnb and pack to leave for Hilton Head the next morning.
other kid-friendly activities in charleston
If you are looking for more kid-friendly activities in Charleston, these ones were highly reviewed:
3.Children’s Museum of the Low-Country
5. Joe Riley Waterfront park (we actually attempted to check it out the first day we got to Charleston, but after walking for half an hour in what seemed like 1000 degree weather, we gave up and sought shelter in a restaurant).
where to stay in charleston
(photos from the official AirBnb listing)
We rented an AirBnb and absolutely loved it.
The outside of the house seemed a bit strange at first. There’s a small, Asian restaurant at the front of the building and the alley way to get to the parking lot in the back of the house was very narrow, so it took me a minute to figure out how to get there.
But once we walked in, my mind was put to ease immediately. The place was immaculate, cozy and stocked up with everything we needed and more. We had two king size bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. The beds and pillows were heavenly! The house also had a cozy living room, TVs in both bedrooms and in the living room, a washer + dryer and a free parking spot in the back.
The location was also very good – about 6 blocks away from King St, which is considered one of the 10 best shopping streets in the US. We walked from the AirBnb to Old Town a couple of times and it took us about 40 minutes. I enjoy walking while visiting cities, as I think the best way to explore a place is by foot.
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