re: Charleston must dos

I know there are a bunch of Charleston threads, but I find the search feature lacking, so wanted to ask. I am OT poor I guess, and not ready to drop $400+ per night to stay downtown. Are there any recommendations on where / what area of Charleston to look for accommodations?

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I am OT poor I guess, and not ready to drop $400+ per night to stay downtown. Are there any recommendations on where / what area of Charleston to look for accommodations?

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To still be on a peninsula but on a budget, I'd look at the westside along the Ashley river. There's a number of hotels there that will be less expensive but still walkable or a short uber to everything downtown/historic district. If that's still out of your budget, I'd look at Mt Pleasant. Yes, you'll have to Uber or drive downtown (Uber would be ~$10 and/or the parking is cheap), but Mt Pleasant is it's own attraction as you'd have Shem Creek, the Old Village (basically downtown Mt Pleasant), Patriot's Point (which has the USS Yorktown), easy access to both Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms, and there are a bunch of good restaurants over there as well.

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No budget in mind and any style of food works. Just looking for something with a nice atmosphere with good food.

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Some of my favorite places that check those boxes, in no particular order:

- SNOB
- High Cotton
- Vern's
- Chubby Fish (don't take reservations but you wait in line for a bit and can pick your seating...it's worth the wait)
- Costa
- Chez Nous
- The Ordinary
- Lowland (the chef who ran FIG for forever left and opened this place)
- Marbled & Fin

Less expensive but still really cool spots:
- Leon's
- Edmunds Oast (the restaurant, not the brewery)
- Bar 167
- Melfi's
- Renzo's

Still a decent number of places we haven't hit but we've done some serious damage here. I can make a ton more recommendations if you are planning to get off the peninsula or onto the islands

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It was a pontoon boat but it wasn't shaped like an octagon.

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Yup, that would've very likely been Charleston Booze Cruise. Brandon is the owner/captain that we know.

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Fort Sumpter fo' sho'

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I'm love the history of this place, so I thought Fort Sumter was cool. But a word of caution...if you're not into history you may not find it all that awesome. That said, even if you're not a history buff, doing a carriage tour day 1 of your visit is highly recommended.