We live in western NC, and the beaches of South Carolina are about 4 hours away from us. My wife has one week off this summer, and would love to make it down to the beach for at least a couple of days. Do folks know of good ways to snag deals for lodging? Since our plans are flexible (midweek travel is possible, we can go to any beach within 5 hours of us, etc.), is it best to wait until that week to find bargains? Are there particular websites especially good for this sort of thing?
I’ve always had good luck with vrbo.com. Better lodgings than a hotel for similar prices, and most places will have a kitchen, too, which will save you cash on meals (provided this is something you want to do). You can search on number of guests, price, particular dates, last minute deals, etc. Note that to get certain prices, there are frequently minimum stays - anywhere from 3 to 30 nights. There’s tons of places in Charleston.
I was going to suggest checking individual houses for rent on Folly - the houses there are very reasonable, and downtown can be less than 30 minutes away now depending on traffic.
Airbnb, vrbo, avocet properties, and a few others have the best selections. Prices will be high now (peak season) and some properties require a week stay (or to stay in week-long increments) but since you don’t have that many people, you should have lots of options available.
Alternatively, if you really want to be cheap, and are willing to drive a bit to get to the beach or to downtown, check out the extended-stay places along I-26. They’re designed for business travel, so they usually have a bedroom and living area set-up, with a decent kitchen, and sometimes an in-suite set of washer-dryers. I’d look up around the intersections with Ladson and ALT-17 for the best “out-of-town” cheap-o rates. You might also find some good rates near the airport, but again; peak season. I think the major ones near Charleston are called Extended Stay and Value Place, but there are lots of competitors scattered along 26.
Charleston proper has a waterfrontbut doesn’t have any real beaches. For that your best bets are Folly Beach (south of town) or Isle of Palms (east of town). A bit farther out are Dewees Island (east) and Kiawah Island (south). I echo the idea of staying at the beach and driving into town for a day trip. All of the beach spots above offer easy car access to the city.
Not really recommended but you could do what we did and arrive the day after record setting rains and flooding. We didn’t have reservations and just starting heading there from a visit in NC to see how close we could get. We were able to drive right into the historic district, had lunch at a brew pub and found a room a couple of blocks away. The staff had been there for a few days. They couldn’t get home and relief couldn’t get in. Or, more accurately, couldn’t get out of their own neighborhoods. The desk clerk was happy to see us and seemed a little punch drunk. The room that would have normally been well over $300 was $129 or something. Most of the businesses were closed or just starting to re-open. I’d love to go back to sample more of the restaurants.
Go directly to the hotel’s web site and make reservations there. If you have a AAA or other discount, you’ll get as good a price as anywhere else. And the hotel will treat you better, since they don’t have to give the hotel site a cut.