Charleston Girls Trip!

If you’re looking for a place to go for your next girls trip, Charleston is a MUST! There is tons of great shopping, a fantastic food scene, so much history, lots of places to stay, gorgeous beaches, and of course the low country beauty that is everywhere you look.

This trip was particularly special. It wasn’t just any other girls trip – it was a mother/daughter trip with my sisters and mom, and our childhood sister friends and their moms (who also happen to be present day besties). Growing up, our families would vacation together with an annual beach trip. Literally, 13 plus people (moms, dads, brothers, sisters and sometimes friends) would pile into a beach house for a week. Those summer trips were some of my favorite childhood memories. Well, fast forward 15 years later, and we decided that it’s time to get the gang back together for a trip (except no guys this time)!

When we started brainstorming destination ideas, lot’s of places were mentioned, but Charleston kept coming up. A few of us had been before, but the majority hadn’t. So we felt like it was a good place to go for our first ever mother/daughter trip. Here’s our group pictured below – three moms, six daughters, and one grand-daughter that had to join us for the trip! There’s actually eight grandchildren (yes, eight!!) between the six of us daughters, but the others were old enough to hang back at home.

When it came to lodging, we needed a place that would comfortably accommodate all 9 of us girls. We toggled with the idea of a hotel, but ultimately decided that a rental house would be best for our group. We loved the idea of hanging together in the common areas during our down time, and then also having our own space to go back to each night.

We stayed in the cutest little house right outside of downtown Charleston, in an area called Mount Pleasant. It was the perfect location with just a 10 minute drive to downtown, and 5 minutes to Sullivan’s Island on the coast.

We booked our house through Royall Stays, a family-owned vacation rental company with properties all over the Coastal South Carolina area. Alex and Brooke made sure we were accommodated throughout our entire experience. From a seamless booking process, to friendly reminders leading up to our trip, to the wonderful accommodations during our stay, and so on – I cannot say enough great things about Royall Stays! The spacious property fit all 9 of us comfortably. The house had an open-concept kitchen and living area, which was perfect for our late-night charcuterie and convos. The four bedrooms fit each family well, and we had no problem sharing the two full (and one half) bathrooms between the three families. The fenced in backyard was just adorable with it’s string lights and cozy fire pit area. Everything was beautifully decorated, clean, and well stocked for anything we could’ve needed.

You can view/book the listing and see more photos of the house here! I also shared a video walk-through tour of the home and much more content of the adorable house on my Instagram page (@ashthigpen). Be sure to check out my Charleston highlight as well! Here’s a few pictures I took of the adorable home right when we arrived.

Outside of a few restaurant reservations, we really didn’t have a ton of activities scheduled going into the trip. Which is kind of the best, right? For us, the main goal was to just relax, spend time together, and try to explore as much of Charleston as we could. I was totally surprised at how much we were able to do in just the 3 days we were there!

Below is a description of each day, with links to everything we did, everywhere we ate and everything we saw. I’ve also included a quick snapshot of it all at the end of this post for easy reference, along with a list of recommendations that we didn’t have time to do!

BUT before we move on, I must talk about this travel stroller (pictured below)! Truly the MVP of the trip. When I decided to bring my five month old, I knew I didn’t want to travel around with our big Uppababy Vista stroller. I love that thing, but I was looking for a stroller that would be easy to navigate airports, crowded streets, tight restaurants, vehicles and more.

I was very pleased with this stroller! It folds up to a carry-on size, so it’s easy to take on board the plane. I ended up gate checking it because our flights were full and they needed volunteers to gate check carry-ons, but it does meet carry-on measurements if you prefer to keep it with you. It rides well for a travel stroller, and has some of the luxury features of the bigger strollers – storage basket, cup holder, pocket near the handle bar. It also has a quick close feature and the price point can’t be beat. Overall, a really great travel stroller option!

Travel Day

We landed in Charleston early afternoon, immediately picked up our rental car, and started driving towards our house in Mount Pleasant. On the way, we passed a really beautiful waterfront area called Shem Creek, and ate at a restaurant called Saltwater Cowboys. It was the perfect start to our trip with the outdoor, waterfront seating. Get the friend green tomatoes!

After our late lunch, we checked into our house and decided to just have a low-key girl’s-night-in with a charcuterie board and wine. Some of us ventured out to the grocery stores in Mount Pleasant, and to see what all was around – such a cute little area!

Day 1

On our first full day, we decided to explore downtown Charleston. We started our morning at Rainbow Row, then hopped on over to King Street to wander around and enjoy the endless shops! We popped into places like LoveShackFancy, Sewing Down South, Madewell, Faherty, and Spartina just to name a few. I also admired all of the beautiful antique shops and art galleries that we passed along the way. I could’ve spent hours (DAYS) strolling King street – if shopping is your thing, then this is a must! Even if it’s not, you should still just stroll along it for a few blocks.

For lunch, we took a slight detour off King Street for a bite at Circe’s Grotto. They have a delicious selection of sandwiches and paninis, wraps and salads – and the cutest little outdoor seating area. I got the turkey melt panini, chips and an Olipop. We continued on shopping down King Street, and stopped for a mid-afternoon coffee and pastry at La Patisserie. We also strolled through Marion Square, which had a Saturday market and tons of beautiful flower beds to admire.

That evening we left King Street for our early dinner reservations at Southbound. Listen, if you are any kind of a foodie and/or appreciate an elevated dining experience – please go ahead and make yourself a reservation at Southbound. The restaurant is in an old historic home filled with incredible architecture and design. Our group sat at the chef’s counter where we were able to watch the chef’s prep and live fire cook all food ordered by guests. Their menu is fresh and changes daily depending on what’s in season – so it’s likely you won’t order the same thing again if you visit more than once. It was such a unique experience, and I definitely walked away with a greater appreciation for what they do. It’s an art!

Day 2

Day two we made brunch plans at a restaurant in Mount Pleasant, called Post House. It’s the coziest little coastal tavern and inn offering seasonal fare and seven rooms for stay. A few Charleston creators I follow have posted about it several times, so I thought it was a must-do. It did not disappoint!

We ordered a few sharables for the table – coffee cake with citrus cream cheese, cornbread with jam, and the lemon blueberry poppyseed muffin. You can’t go wrong with any of them, but my favorite was the coffee cake. I got the kimchi blue crab fried rice with an egg for my meal and oh my heavens! Divine. A few other dishes that were ordered amongst our group were the seasonal quiche, waffles, and shakshuka – which is a grilled bread with spicy tomatoes, eggs and greens. And you can’t forget the brunch libations! Overall, it a wonderful experience.

After brunch, we stopped at a few shops around the area and then a group of us headed out to Sullivan’s Island to explore the coastline. Sullivan’s Island was an area that I wish we had more time at. We walked along the beach for a bit, and then drove around to see more of the island but headed back home shortly after to get ready for our evening plans.

We made our way back downtown for an afternoon carriage tour with Old South Carriage Company. You can pre-book your tour online here. They take walk-ups as well! We finished off the night with a classic Charleston dinner at 82 Queen. My sisters and I shared a bowl of the She Crab Soup (gone within seconds), and I ordered the gumbo for my entree. I learned that it’s a tomato-based gumbo, so it had a slightly sweeter taste but it was SO good!

Day 3

On our final day we headed out to Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens. Our flights back home were scheduled later that evening, so we had most of the day to explore and learn all about the plantation’s southern history and heritage. There was so much to see and do! We toured the beautiful Georgian-style mansion, took a wagon tour through the vast property, walked amongst the luscious gardens, and learned all about the Gullah culture that was a prominent piece of Boone Hall’s history. We spent more hours here than we expected, and it surely did not disappoint. I think we all agreed that it was such a great way to end the trip and our time together.