KidsOutAndAbout.com's Family Travel Video Guide to Charleston, SC
The Big Sweetgrass Basket: Visiting Charleston with Kids
by Ella S. Ross
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the ocean is the best. So if you have a city on the coast and manage to keep me inland, you’ve got quite the accomplishment. Charleston had so much for me to do that I only went to the beach once…ONCE!
I ate like a king, (which for me means biscuits and coffee all day everyday) and went on many historical tours (all I was missing was my Dad bombarding the tour guides with questions). With the pure amount of things to do there, Charleston could get away with being boring-looking, but it’s gorgeous to boot.
Charleston was my first true introduction to the American South, (I’ve heard Florida doesn’t count), and it’s safe to say I’ll be coming back.
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Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum
Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum on South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor is a must-see. With WWII aircraft carrier USS Yorktown as centerpiece, the Museum is also home to destroyer USS Laffey, the Cold War Memorial, the Vietnam Experience, the Medal of Honor Museum and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. It’s nearly 1,000,000 square feet of hands-on history combined with heroes’ stories and stunning natural landscapes.
Fort Sumter Tours
Fort Sumter Tours is an authorized National Park Service concessioner. We provide the only commercial boat transportation to Fort Sumter. We offer many departure times daily from two convenient locations: Liberty Square in downtown Charleston or Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant.
Board your tour boat and get ready for a relaxing 30-minute cruise to historic Fort Sumter.
Upon arrival, you’ll be greeted by National Park Service rangers who will provide programming and answer questions about the history of Fort Sumter and its pivotal role in the American Civil War. Learn about the events that led to the outbreak of America’s most bloody war.
Spend an hour exploring Fort Sumter before boarding the boat for a cruise back to your departure point.
Bulldog Tours
Our love for Charleston – its history, people, places, food, and culture – inspires our desire to share it. Not just because we want you to love it, too, but because we believe that when we get to know and love a place, we’re exponentially more likely to nurture it – keep it healthy, unique, interesting, and vibrant.
This notion is what we’ve built our business – and our team – on. We designed a sustainable tour model that invests a portion of all ticket proceeds back into the properties we tour, ensuring that Charleston’s most historically significant – and often complex – landmarks, structures, sites, and stories, are preserved for future generations to see, hear, consider, and explore.
We believe walking through Charleston is the way to know and love her. To inhale the perfume of tea olive in bloom. To meet and delight in her people. To see the enslaved mason’s fingerprint in a single brick. To hear church bells marking time. To touch a name from the past etched in stone. Taste the ocean in her food. Feel the heavy gauze of her tropical air. And discover new things on streets we’ve walked before.
That’s why we offer a diverse mix of history, culinary, and ghost walking tours and exclusive access to Charleston’s most fascinating places. That’s why our licensed tour team are also endlessly curious, passionate storytellers. And, that’s why our true mission is more than entertaining, more than informing, it’s ultimately about creating meaningful and lasting connections between people and Charleston, and always, to one another.
Charleston Tea Garden
Truly one of a kind, you can see thousands of tea bushes grown over 100 acres. Bigelow owned Charleston Tea Garden, is one of America’s true treasures, located on the quiet and secluded Wadmalaw Island, in the heart of South Carolina’s Lowcountry and is home to American Classic Teas.
Callie's Hot Little Biscuit
Charlestonian Carrie Morey was raised on a smorgasbord of savory flavors. Her mother, Callie White, ran a successful catering business that often paired Southern recipes with more exotic cuisine, which made it a popular choice for events ranging from casual Lowcountry gatherings to celebrity weddings.
In 2005, the mother-daughter duo found themselves at overlapping crossroads. Carrie wished to trade investment banking for a career that would allow for more time with her newborn daughter. Callie prepared to retire. And that’s the short version of how Callie’s hallmark hors d’oeuvre—a delectable, bite-sized biscuit made with finely chopped artisanal country ham, Dijon mustard, and butter—became a made-in-Charleston sensation.
Childrens Museum of the Lowcountry
Established in 1995 and opened in 2003, the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage young children’s potential by inviting families of all backgrounds with children age birth to 10 years old to explore environments and experiences that spark imagination and stimulate curiosity through the power of play.
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Family-friendly restaurants worth checking out:
Thank you for the wonderful hospitality to the team at Explore Charleston and everyone at the attractions who showed me around! To learn more, visit their website at Charlestoncvb.com
—Ella
Ella S. Ross is a travel videographer. Interested in having her visit your region? Click here for more information.