GO SOMEWHERE: THE CAROLINAS
Mountains, oysters, weird little islands, very good hotels, and enough Spanish moss to make you reconsider your life choices.
The Carolinas refuse to be one trip.
You can spend a long weekend eating oysters and drinking something cold on a Charleston rooftop. Disappear into the Blue Ridge Mountains with a book and questionable cell service. Bike to the beach on Kiawah. Drive Highway 12 until North Carolina begins to feel like a narrow strip of sand somebody accidentally left in the Atlantic.
Which is precisely why I like them.
North and South Carolina contain several completely different trips within a few hours of one another, making this one of those rare places where you can decide what kind of traveler you feel like being after you arrive.
City?
Mountain?
Beach?
Food?
Art?
Hotel robe and absolutely no plans until dinner?
Excellent.
Let's go.
Image courtesy of Omni Hilton Head Oceanfront Resort
BEFORE YOU GO
How to get there
Your airport depends entirely on which version of the Carolinas you're after.
Charleston (CHS) is the natural choice for Charleston and nearby coastal escapes. Savannah/Hilton Head (SAV) works well for Hilton Head and the southern Sea Islands. Asheville (AVL) puts you near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Norfolk (ORF) is useful for the Outer Banks, while Charlotte (CLT) and Raleigh-Durham (RDU) offer considerably more flight options.
Get the car
This is road-trip country.
Rent one.
The Carolinas become much more interesting when you can change your mind, pull off because something looks beautiful, add another town, or decide that yes, you actually do need to drive into the mountains tomorrow.
One practical warning: barrier islands and mountain roads are both susceptible to changing weather and closures. Check conditions before setting off, particularly during hurricane season or mountain weather events.
How long?
For one region, I'd give yourself three to five nights.
If you're combining Charleston with the Sea Islands or Asheville with the mountains, give yourself more.
Do not turn this into a six-destination death march.
We believe in whitespace around here.
Charleston:
For eating extremely well and walking around looking at houses you cannot afford.
Image courtesy of the Dewberry Charleston
Charleston is beautiful in that slightly dangerous way where, after 48 hours, you start browsing real estate.
The historic peninsula is walkable and full of contradictions: pastel houses and complicated history, church steeples and cocktail bars, antiques and contemporary art, old money and some genuinely exciting food.
Walk South of Broad and The Battery. See Rainbow Row. Wander King Street. Go into the Gibbes Museum of Art or the Halsey Institute. Visit the International African American Museum and make room for Charleston's history beyond the beautiful architecture.
And then eat.
You should do quite a lot of that.
SLEEP HERE
The Dewberry Charleston
This is probably my Wanderslut pick.
A restored mid-century federal building overlooking Marion Square, with gorgeous 1960s-inflected interiors, a spa, Henrietta's restaurant, and the rooftop Citrus Club.
Beautiful without looking like it's trying desperately to convince you it's Southern.
Fora perks: $100 hotel credit, daily breakfast credit, an upgrade, and extended check-in/out when available.
The Charleston Place
Go here when you want grand Charleston.
Right in the historic district, with the sweeping staircase, luxury shops, rooftop pool, and unapologetically polished Southern-hotel energy.
Fora perks: $100 food-and-beverage credit, daily breakfast credit, an upgrade, and extended check-in/out when available.
The Cooper
Choose this one for water.
It's a harborfront luxury hotel overlooking the Cooper River and Waterfront Park, with a marina, outdoor pool deck, and the kind of view that encourages ordering another drink because leaving seems unnecessary.
Fora perks: $100 hotel credit, daily breakfast, welcome amenity, an upgrade, and extended check-in/out when available.
EAT
I'd start with FIG, 167 Raw Oyster Bar, Leon's, Vern's, Lewis Barbecue, and Callie's Hot Little Biscuit.
You are not required to eat at all six.
You are, however, encouraged to try.
THE WANDERSLUT AFTERNOON
Go to a museum.
Buy a book.
Walk until you're hot.
Return to the hotel.
Shower.
Put on something that makes you feel attractive.
Have oysters and a cocktail somewhere you can linger.
That is an itinerary.
THE SEA ISLANDS:
For disappearing without going particularly far.
Image courtesy of The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort
Leave Charleston and everything begins loosening.
Beaches get wider. Roads get quieter. Marsh replaces architecture.
Kiawah is the more secluded luxury escape, with miles of beach, wildlife, biking and serious golf. Hilton Head is larger and more developed, with resorts, restaurants, golf and an enormous network of bike paths.
I'd choose based on the fantasy.
Kiawah: disappear.
Hilton Head: play.
SLEEP HERE
The Dunlin, Auberge Collection
Set along the Kiawah River rather than directly on the ocean, The Dunlin has cottage-style rooms, porches, river views, outdoor experiences and that particular polished-but-not-stuffy Auberge thing.
Fora perks: $100 resort credit, daily breakfast credit, an upgrade, and extended check-in/out when available.
The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort
For the grand seaside version.
Oceanfront, elegant, full-service spa, multiple restaurants, beaches and five golf courses.
Fora perks: $100 resort credit, daily breakfast, welcome amenity, an upgrade, and extended check-in/out when available.
The Inn & Club at Harbour Town
For Hilton Head without the sprawling-resort feeling. It's a smaller luxury hotel inside Sea Pines, close to the marina and Harbour Town Golf Links.
Fora perks: $100 hotel credit, daily breakfast, an upgrade, and extended check-in/out when available.
WANDER FURTHER
If you have time, go to Daufuskie Island.
Ferries, unpaved roads, golf carts, artisan studios, historic sites and beaches.
Exactly the sort of place where the journey there is part of the reason to go.
THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS
For when everybody needs to stop asking you things.
Image Courtesy of The Swag
Now we change the entire trip.
Drive west and the coast disappears into old mountains, forests, waterfalls, craft towns and long Blue Ridge views.
This is where I'd send you for a creative retreat.
Or an anniversary.
Or after a breakup.
Or because you've answered enough emails for one lifetime.
Drive part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Hike if you want. Explore Asheville's River Arts District. Find waterfalls in Pisgah National Forest. Stop at roadside orchards. Sit somewhere high and do absolutely nothing productive.
SLEEP HERE
The Swag
Ah, this beautiful splurge.
A tiny, all-inclusive Relais & Châteaux mountain hideaway bordering Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with cabins, fireplaces, serious food, private trails and enormous views.
Bring the book you've been pretending you're going to read.
Fora perks: $100 hotel credit, welcome amenities, and an upgrade when available.
Cataloochee Ranch
Historic mountain-ranch energy above Maggie Valley, with cabins, fireplaces, hiking and horseback riding.
Fora perks: $100 hotel credit, welcome amenities, and an upgrade when available.
High Hampton
A historic Cashiers mountain resort spread across 1,400 acres with a private lake, golf, trails and an old-school lodge.
This is summer-camp fantasy after summer camp gets a very good interior designer.
Old Edwards Inn and Spa
Stay here if your mountain fantasy involves Highlands, spa treatments, pools, cottages and walking into town for dinner rather than becoming one with the wilderness.
THE WANDERSLUT AFTERNOON
Go for a walk.
Come back.
Take a bath.
Read twenty pages.
Fall asleep on top of the covers.
Wake up confused at 5:17.
Get dressed for dinner.
Perfect day.
THE OUTER BANKS:
For going all the way out there.
Image courtesy of The Sanderling
The Outer Banks feel different because geographically they are.
More than 100 miles of barrier islands stretch along North Carolina's coast, sometimes with barely enough land between sound and Atlantic to hold the road.
There are lighthouses. Dunes. Wild horses. Surf. Birds. Wind.
And stretches where the landscape feels almost temporary.
Take Highway 12.
Visit Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Climb dunes at Jockey's Ridge. See the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Take a responsible guided tour to see Corolla's wild horses.
Then keep going.
SLEEP HERE
The Sanderling
In Duck, between the Atlantic and Currituck Sound, with water in practically every direction, coastal rooms, spa, pools and private residences.
Fora perks: $100 hotel credit, daily breakfast, an upgrade, and extended check-in/out when available.
THE WANDERSLUT AFTERNOON
Walk toward the water without bringing anything except the room key.
Stay until you're hungry.
What to Eat in the Carolinas:
There are entire books to be written about Carolina food, so consider this the extremely abbreviated version.
Eat barbecue.
Then accept that saying “Carolina barbecue” is approximately as useful as saying “European cheese.”
Eastern North Carolina traditionally favors whole hog with vinegar and pepper. Western/Piedmont styles lean toward pork shoulder and a tomato-vinegar sauce. South Carolina is famous for mustard-based Carolina Gold.
Try them.
Develop opinions.
Become briefly insufferable about them.
Also look for Lowcountry shrimp, pimento cheese, biscuits, local seafood and sweet tea.
And Cheerwine, because occasionally travel requires drinking something violently red.
Don’t Skip the History
The Carolinas are beautiful.
They are also complicated.
Indigenous nations including the Catawba, Cherokee and Tuscarora have deep histories here and remain living communities today. The wealth generated by rice, indigo and cotton was built substantially through enslaved African labor. Gullah Geechee culture developed along the coast and remains a vital part of the Lowcountry.
The region also contains major sites connected with the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement.
You don't have to turn every vacation into a seminar.
But don't travel through a place while refusing to know where you are.
Visit the museums.
Read the plaques.
Listen to people who live there.
It makes the beautiful things more interesting, not less.
Trip Combos:
For a first trip, I'd probably choose one of these:
CHARLESTON + KIAWAH
Food, art, history, hotel bars, then beach.
ASHEVILLE + BLUE RIDGE
Art, mountains, craft, hiking, fireplaces and creative-retreat potential.
OUTER BANKS
A road trip built around ocean, dunes, lighthouses and being very far out on a narrow piece of land.
Want to go?
This is the useful part of having a travel advisor.
Tell me what kind of Carolinas you're craving… city, mountain, coast, food, art, golf, complete disappearance, or some combination of the above, and I'll help match you with the right place and hotel.
When you book eligible hotels through me, I may also be able to add advisor benefits such as breakfast, hotel or resort credits, upgrades and flexible check-in or checkout, depending on the property and availability.
You get the trip.
I get to obsess over the hotel.
Everybody wins.
