Spring Break Road Trip Part 5- The Low Country Savannah, GA to Charleston, SC

Our 2024 Spring Break took us from Norfolk to NYC by train, to Miami Florida by plane, and from Key Largo Florida back to Norfolk by car. Follow our steps with this series of blogs:

AMTRAK & NYC
THE FLORIDA KEYS
SOUTHERN FLORIDA: THE EVERGLADES & KEY BISCAYNE
DEERFIELD BEACH TO ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA
ST AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

On our road trips through the the US Southern States, Savannah has been both an overnight stay and a “stop for a walk on the way through” destination. When there’s an affordable option we stay downtown near River Street. This year we stayed at the Holiday Inn Savannah, which was just on the western edge of the busy historic monument district.

Savannah, Georgia

River Street

We arrived in early evening and spent sunset on newly renovated western end of River Street. This area has become a lively entertainment district, and the Power Plant has been renovated to include live music venues, bars and restaurants. The lobby of the JW Marriott is now filled with decorative dinosaur skeletons and real fossils, as well as large and fine gems available for purchase.

We left dinner mid-evening to return to the hotel, just as the Saturday night was becoming lively with bachelorette parties and other celebratory events with visitors and residents who came to enjoy the many, many bars and the option to drink alcoholic beverages in public areas.

Historic Landmark District

Because Savannah is a daytime tourist town and an evening nightlife destination, we found the early morning a good time to take in the scenery of a less-crowded Historic District. While Forsythe Park is one of our favorite spots in the city, with limited time we chose to stick around the River Street area and walk through the nearby small historic squares.

Beaufort, South Carolina

Historic District

Our family is well acquainted with Beaufort, SC after many years of visiting family who lived on one of the Barrier Islands. While not a primary destination for most visitors to the Low Country, I always recommend at the very least a day trip to anyone traveling through.

The town has long been a popular filming location for movies and television shows, including The Big Chill, Forrest Gump and The Great Santini. Tours are available to many of these and other historic sites both by vehicle and horse-drawn carriage.

As just an afternoon road trip stop between Savannah and Charleston, we spent a few hours downtown, walking along the waterfront, and shopping and dining in the historic downtown. With more time we would have gone further east into the barrier islands and to Hunting Island State Park.

Old Sheldon Church

Between Beaufort and Charleston is Old Sheldon Church, the ruins of the originally built mid-eighteenth century building (originally the Prince William’s Parish Church) that was burnt during the American Revolutionary War, rebuilt, and destroyed again and after the Civil War. Today visitors can park along the roadside and visit the ruins for photos, although recently a barrier was created to keep them from going inside the ruins.

Charleston, South Carolina

We stopped in Charleston for just an hour to walk along Battery Street, starting along Rainbow Row going north through White Point Garden, then to Concord street and the Pineapple Fountain.