Suggestions for things to see and do in the Carolinas and Georgia

In My Humble Opinion
1

(Or, Dopers! Do my homework for me!)

I’m going on a two week vacation to the Carolinas and Georgia, and I’ve never been there before. I’ve already figured out that two weeks isn’t nearly long enough to see everything, and rather than scatter-shotting all over, I’m planning to focus on a handful of areas this trip. If I have a good time, I’ll consider coming back (I say “consider” only because there are a couple disadvantages to going there: it’s really, really far [I’m in California] and there are other places in the US I’ve never been).

That said, my current plan is to spend a few days each in Columbia, SC; Wilmington, NC; Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA; and Macon, GA. I have my housing booked already, so I’ll be basing out of those cities. I’m still pulling together the list of things I want to see and do (I’m planning to gorge on all the history stuff in particular), but are there “must-see” things I should add to my list?

2

Wilmington ideas:

Serpentarium
WW II Battleship North Carolina

Nearby:

Moore’s Creek Bridge Battlefield
Hammock’s Beach State Park
Airborne and Special Operations Museum

3

Wilmington ideas Pt Deux

Ft. Fisher
NC Aquarium (also at Ft. Fisher)
A run down US 17 to Calabash (along the NC/SC border) for sinfully delicious and terribly unhealthy fried seafood

4

Hrm…Well, I’d personally suggest skipping Columbia, and spend some more time in Charleston and Savannah, but as long as you are sort of looking for a nice trip, and never-before seen things, I once more have to recommend that if you do swing up through Columbia (proceeding to Wilmington), you detour 3 or 4 hours to Ashveille, NC.

Biltmore, in Asheville is certainly worth spending a day at.

Savannah and the squares is wonderful, and fine for walking around on foot. There are lots of great little cafes and bars there.

In Charleston, you definitely want to walk around downtown, see the Market, Meeting Street, and the Customs house. If you like seafood, stop by Hyman’s (conveniently on Meeting Street) for some of the best lowcountry seafood in the area. You will also find a bunch of excellent Jazz clubs scattered around the Customs house in downtown. Out on the water, check out Charleston Harbor Tours of the historic sites.

Hope that helps some.

5

Being that you are interested in the history angle, the following may be worthwhile in the Wilmington area.

The battleship North Carolina
Fort Fisher (biggest extant sand fort in the country)
The hermit’s bunker (near the Aquarium)
Moore’s Creek battlefield
Bellamy Mansion
Orton Plantation
The history museum on Market St. (can’t remember the name)
Tryon Palace (a little far away, in New Bern)

Wrightsville Beach is nice, probably the best in the area (IMHO)

Since you have to eat:
Barbecue-Jackson’s Big Oak
Burritos (large)-Flaming Amy’s Burrito Barn
Burgers and fries-PT’s Grill
Fish tacos-Tower 7
Meat & 3-Saltworks
Seafood-Dockside (among many, nice view)
Beer bar/dive/institution-The Barbary Coast

6

Sweet Moses, why on earth is Macon on your list? I hope you have family there, or something.

7

My spousal-unit and I enjoyed the trolley tour of Savannah last year.
You can get off at a dozen different places and walk around and then get back on the next trolley.
When we go back, we want to take a riverboat cruise as well.

Try to avoid River Street on the weekend unless you really enjoy loud drunken teenagers.

8

I was thinking the same thing. While I am sure there ARE things to do there, IMO you are much better off not having that on your tour and spending a bit more time in/around the other cities on your list.

9

A childhood trip to New England was interrupted when our brand-new Ford Station Wagon died in Macon. The engine had been built wrong & we had to wait for a new one. So we spent several days in Macon.

I remember theIndian Mounds. Otherwise, I remember thinking “why couldn’t the car have broken down somewhere more interesting?”

10

As a Columbia native, I assure you, there is nothing in Columbia that will take “a few days.” The state museum, the Main Library of the Richland County Public Library, and the state house you can do in one well-planned day.

As a Furman alum, I encourage anyone who is going to be near Greenville to at least go on campus and walk around the lake.

If you’re serious about the visual arts, there are two very good museums in Greenville: the Greenville County Museum of Art and the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery.

11

Unless you’re a drug mule and **have **to go to Macon, please re-consider using that time to explore the coastal islands south of Savannah. A day trip to Cumberland Island is awesome, and there’s also Sapelo, St. Simons, and more. Use the google.

Savannah is nice year 'round in so many ways.
It’s hard to pin down 37 things you must do, but I’ve always liked Bonaventure Cemetary. It’s on many tours, and is just beautiful. Much of my family is there currently, and I will join them eventually.:slight_smile:

Have Fun!

12

One of my close friends has a lovely restaurant near Wilmington, I would highly recommend:

http://www.liveoakcafenc.com/page3.php

I grew up right up the road in Swansboro, NC. My favorite NC beach is Hammocks beach. You have to ride a ferry to get there!

13

I’m thinking of taking a trip to Savannah myself - can anyone recommend a good hostel or really cheap hotel there?

14

Well, there’s some stuff outside Columbia that you may enjoy, particularly if you like Revolutionary War battlefields. I’d additionally suggest the zoo and possibly the university, if interested. There’s also the Congaree Swamp for a day trip, which is South Carolina’s only national park. (And coincidentally, probably the only natural feature of interest around that I’ve never managed to go to. I hear it’s nice, though. Some of the biggest trees on the eastern seaboard.)

ETA - it’s funny, the boyfriend and I were just talking about how we haven’t been inside the State House since we were schoolchildren, although we demonstrated outside it twice in the last few months. Then this morning he had to film a commercial in there and this thread came up. I guess God wants me to go to the State House.

15

:smack:

It is entirely an effect of it having been 17 years since I lived in my hometown that I forgot to mention Riverbanks Zoo.

16

My honeymoon was primarily Savannah with a two-day trip to Charleston and back.

In Savannah, rent scooters and tool around to all the squares. Bonaventure Cemetery. There are many B&Bs in old buildings. We stayed at the Confederate House. It was nice. Forsyth Park. The place where General Sherman stayed. Go tour an old house.

In Charleston, it’s nice to walk around the main area. Go to Fort Sumpter. There’s a horse drawn tour wagon that give you some history. We took a ghost walking tour. There’s a nice aquarium.

Some friends of ours took a road trip from Jacksonville to Raleigh. They stayed in Savannah and Charleston along the way. In hindsight, they wished they would have just done Savannah and Charleston only and skipped the rest.

17

http://www.nps.gov/cong/index.htm

I was there a couple of years ago. Neat place with a really nice boardwalk. I half expected to see dinosaurs wandering around in there.

18

Thanks! This is a great list, and I’m really excited about going now!

Per the guide book, I’m given to understand that the one thing I’ll be able to find in pretty much any town, village, or burg in the Carolinas and Georgia is terribly unhealthy fried seafood.

I have been seduced by the guide book. It said, “The wide swath of land that comprises the Midlands may have only one large city – the state capital, Columbia – but its profusion of small and medium-size towns makes this area a patchwork quilt of history and activity. The local museums and historic houses that line the shady streets often house surprisingly deep collections on everything from Civil or Revolutionary War battles to the lifestyle on 1850’s plantations.” Seductive, no?

The plan really is to spend a day in Columbia proper, and then a day exploring one of the other towns, like Abbeville or Camden. But the Congaree Swamp sounds awesome! That’s definitely on the list.

So a number of years ago some family friends were coming to southern California, and they had a list of things they wanted to do. My parents offered to help them find a place to stay, but the friends had, quite rationally, looked at a map and picked a town in the middle. We were all horrified to learn that they planned to stay in Whittier. I think maybe Macon is the equivalent of Whittier.

But in my defense, my pretty guidebook refers to Macon as part of the Antebellum trail, and describes Macon as follows: “With 5,500 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, its antebellum and Victorian homes are among the state’s best-preserved.” There’s the Hay House, the Tubman African American Museum, and the Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon, and day trips can be had to Milledgeville, Madison, Athens, etc. But I’ll take heed that maybe I shouldn’t base out of Macon…

My excellent guidebook refers you to Savannah Pensione, a hostel with mostly private rooms. Pricey for a hostel, but apparently a good location. Note that if you can drum up a few friends, sharing a vacation rental becomes quite reasonable as well.

19

Things to see in Macon: I-75, I-16. These will get you out of there in a hurry in three different directions. If you want to go west, you’ll have to take a slower option.

20

I’d agree with your guidebook if you’re okay with driving a bit for day trips out of Columbia. Abbeville for example is adorable (and has the only place in the state where you can get your Ural motorcycle repaired, which is why we are overly familiar with it.) You pass Ninety Six to get there, which was a great battlefield to go to when I was a kid (haven’t been in ages.)
ETA - maybe Macon has hidden charms. When you actually go to the stuff in the guidebooks you often find out there’s stuff you never knew that was there all along. But if you want to see a real antebellum town, go to Madison off I-20 near Lake Oconee. I’ve never seen so many antebellum houses in one place - not just a downtown, the whole shebang. Sherman had a friend there and didn’t burn it.