Archives: Destinations

Folly Beach

This is a public beach. Swim at your own risk unless, the only lifeguarded beach is at Folly Beach County Park

This barrier island beach has a laid-back atmosphere and is often frequented by locals and surfers. With plenty of restaurants, surf shops, hotels and beach rentals, Folly Beach is a great place to spend some time. Plus, Folly is a short drive from the heart of downtown Charleston with all its attractions and activities. Note, summertime traffic can be extra heavy. If you’re not staying on the beach, plan to arrive by 10 a.m. Also, a beach preservation project is underway; check website listed below for additional information on how this might impact your visit.

Where to park: Limited parking is available at Folly Beach County Park (1100 W. Ashley Ave.), so plan to arrive early to secure a spot. Parking fees vary by season. The most you’ll pay is $10 per vehicle Monday to Friday and $15 on Saturday and Sunday. You can easily access the beach via the park, where you’ll be close to restrooms, outdoor showers, a snack bar and lifeguards.

Best selfie spot: Walk out to the northeast end of the island to see the Morris Island Lighthouse, located about 300 yards off shore.

Rules to know: Alcohol is not allowed on Folly Beach. Dogs are not allowed on the beach from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sept. 30. At other times, dogs much be leashed; pick up after your pet. Surfing without a leash is prohibited. Between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. May 15 to Sept. 15, surfing is not allow from 2nd Street East to 3rd Street West (known as the swimming zone). More info and complete beach rules: website below

Folly Beach fun fact: One of Folly’s famous visitors was composer and pianist George Gershwin. While staying at Folly, he composed the classic opera “Porgy and Bess.”

Firefly Distillery Tour & Tasting

Included with Tour Pass: $5 off Tour & Tasting and Souvenir Shot Glass. Cost is $15 so you will be responsible for $10 per person. Reservations are NOT required, go when they are open. Simply present your Mobile Pass to redeem. Be sure to check their website to ensure they are open prior to arriving since the tour does not operate when special events are happening.

Join us for a tasting at Firefly Distillery, home of the world’s first Sweet Tea Vodka. Now featuring over 30 spirits from vodkas to moonshines, whiskeys, rums and more.

• On the tour, you’ll be guided through a spirited tasting flight which includes a sampling of six of our crafted spirits!
• Hours: Tastings are Monday-Saturday, every half hour from 1pm-5pm, last tour takes place at 4:30 unless otherwise noted.
• All tastings are subject to space and availability.
• Each experience includes a tasting flight of 6 spirits and souvenir shot glass. Cocktails and bottles are also available for purchase.
• All ages are welcome, however only those ages 21 and older are eligible for the tasting.

Deep Water Vineyards | Free Tasting

Tastings offered Tuesdays-Saturdays from 10 am – 5 pm.

You’ll go on a “choose your own adventure” tour, weaving your way through their current wine list choosing 6 samples to try. And, since they value their employees being able to be spontaneous, you may receive some surprise tastes as well (especially if you come during the week when they’re not so busy). At the end you will receive a complimentary wine glass to remember your time at the vineyard. Guests are welcome to stroll through the 7 miles of vines on the vineyard as a self-guided tour.

Highlights:

• Tour Pass: Receive a free wine tasting & souvenir wine glass which includes six wines.
• They grow four types of muscadine grape – carlos, ison, noble and tara. From the grapes, they make five different wines – Low Tide, Magnolia, Deep Water Blend and High Tide. They also have chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon from California that they vint and bottle onsite and blend with their muscadines, for a total of six wines available.
• Every Saturday from 12 – 4 pm they host a Weekend Wine Down event where food and music are present. Enjoy the tranquil surroundings, bring family, friends and have a great time. See calendar for upcoming events

DASH Shuttle | Free Bus Service

Free Service Provided by City of Charleston

You don’t have to have Tour Pass to take advantage of this service…it’s free for everyone! CARTA is Charleston’s bus service. It is free downtown but costs a nominal fee to go other places throughout the city.

There are 3 routes for downtown. Service hours: Weekdays: 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays: 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

• 210 Route: College of Charleston/Aquarium
• 211 Route: Meeting & King Streets
• 213 Route: Lockwood and Calhoun Streets
• All routes intercet at the Visitors Center located at 375 Meeting Street.

Museum at Market Hall

In the spring of 1861, thousands of young men were pouring into Charleston to become Confederate soldiers and defend the South. They were given supplies, weapons and their orders. It was here in this building where many of these young men had danced not long before they became soldiers.

In 1894 the Charleston Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy was founded. They immediately began to collect relics and the collection grew quickly. By 1898 this group of ladies became Charleston Chapter #4, United Daughters of the Confederacy. In 1899 the reunion of the United Confederate Veterans was to be held in Charleston. The men decided to help these ladies form a permanent Confederate Museum in Charleston. A call was sent out asking former soldiers to bring their war-time possessions to the reunion for donation to the new museum. The enthusiastic response showed that a large building would be needed to house the collection. Since the Mayor and the city councilmen were all former Confederate soldiers, it was only natural that they selected Market Hall for this purpose. The same building where they had gone to become young soldiers became the place they brought their relics to be preserved for the future. The museum opened here is 1899

Water Taxi All Day Ride Pass

The Charleston Water Taxi provides ferry service from downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant and back. Please check schedule to see if they are running. They can cancel or postpone their service due to inclement weather or during the winter season.

Notice: This is a Standard Tour therefore it can be checked into 1x in total for your pass duration even if you have a multi-day pass.

Departure Points and Times

Charleston Tea Garden

The only tea production facility in North America where you can see hundreds of thousands of tea bushes stretching out acre after acre for almost as far as the eye can see.

The Bigelow family, William Barclay Hall and the staff of the tea garden stand ready to bring you the tea experience of your life. They are located on picturesque Wadmalaw Island in the heart of the lowcountry just a few miles south of the historic city of Charleston.

In addition to their many acres of tea plants, they offer a very educational tour of our tea factory. You get to walk the entire length of our tea production building where you can see all the equipment it takes to make tea. Large TV screens along the glassed in gallery describe the entire process.

Included with Tour Pass is a 45 minute trolley ride, which makes a stop at their state of the art greenhouse.

Last but not least is the gift shop, stocked with more tea related items than you can possibly imagine. Last year some sixty five thousand people from all over the world came to visit. There are many hundreds of tea production facilities in the world. With the exception of the Charleston Tea Garden, they’re all located in Asia, Africa and South America, many thousands of miles from our shores.

Charleston Strolls History Walking Tour

Take a historic Charleston walking tour, where carriages and motor-coaches are not allowed. This fascinating tour is filled with stories and traditions revealing Charleston’s rich history and colorful past. This two-hour walking tour through America’s most charming historic district is sure to be the highlight of your visit to historic Charleston.

Some historic highlights on the Charleston Stroll walking tour will include:

• Tour Duration: 2 hours.
• Rainbow Row
• Historic Waterfront Battery
• Antebellum Mansions
• A visual tour of Fort Sumter
• Hidden Gardens & Courtyards
• Historic Churches & Graveyards
• The Revolutionary and Civil War

Charleston Strolls Tour is offered 365 days a year, including Holidays! Tours Depart rain or shine from Mills House Hotel, 115 Meeting Street – Courtesy pickups available at Charleston Place and Days Inn prior to the tour

Charleston Museum

The South Carolina Lowcountry has always been home to a cast of eclectic, unconventional characters – scholars, scientists, scribes, and socialites, revolutionaries and world travelers, collectors, curators. They have been lovers of the established and experimental, the rare, beautiful, odd and unusual. Our history is a blend of beauty and pain, grace and war, great storms and calm seas.

We are a melting pot of cultures and customs, remade with each changing tide. We are writers of a never-ending story that asks life’s most essential question: Who are we?

The search for the answer is our reason for being. So, we dig into attics and archives. We pore over ancient artifacts, journals, and albums. We study, document, preserve, interpret, and share.

We do it for the electric joy of discovery. The stories and humanity revealed. But perhaps even more, we do it for what it inspires within us. The thoughts that ask us to rethink our past and our place in the world. The thoughts that spark a conversation not just about who we were, but who we are – and who we can be.

We are all a story. And our story starts here.

Charleston Harbor Tours

Climb aboard the Carolina Belle to enjoy the beauty of the Charleston Harbor and learn the rich history of the Holy City. During the scenic and relaxing 90 minute tour, you will see over 75 landmarks and points of interest! Tour departs multiple times per day. Your professional USCG licensed captain will narrate history, sights, and facts about the Charleston Harbor as you pass locations critical to United States history.

Highlights of the tour

• Tour Duration: 90 minutes.
• Fort Sumter: One of Charleston’s most popular landmarks, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired (does not stop at Fort Sumter)
• Confederate and Union army Forts Moultrie and Johnson
• USS Yorktown: the famous World War II Fighting Lady
• St. Michaels Church: A survivor of both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, whose steeple was painted black so as not to be an easy target
• Stately homes on the Battery: Symbols of Southern elegance and perseverance
• Cooper River Bridge, including the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge: A state of the art span that accommodates the largest ships in the world
• Dolphins skimming the surface of the water and pelicans diving for food

This family-friendly, relaxing, and insightful cruise is best way to discover the Holy City and its famous Harbor! The 80-foot Carolina Belle features graceful, classic lines. During your cruise, choose between the boat’s two decks – a climate controlled Main Salon and an Observation Deck – or spend time enjoying the spectacular harbor views from each.