🧂 The Salty Details: Charleston & Isle of Palms, SC — This Trip Was a DOOZY!

Quick Snapshot 🌴

📍 Location: Charleston & Isle of Palms, South Carolina

🏨 Stayed At: Seaside Inn

🍽️ Ate At: Henry's on the Market, Coconut Joe's, Lawrence's Seafood Company, IOPizza Co.

💰 Price Range: $$-$$$

🌴🌴🌴½ (3.5/5 Palms)

Wondering where that other half-palm went? Keep reading... 🤣

This Trip Was a DOOZY!

For the last week of summer—and a slightly belated celebration of our 10-year anniversary—we slipped away to the South Carolina coast for three nights on Isle of Palms and one full day exploring Charleston.

The plan was simple: arrive Wednesday, Charleston Thursday, toes in the sand Friday.

What we got was history, beautiful scenery, good food, a celebrity horse, a perfect beach day, surprise concerts, questionable bathroom privacy, and enough stories for several more blogs.

In other words...

We made memories. 🤣


Charleston ❤️

Thursday morning started aboard a ferry headed across Charleston Harbor with Fort Sumter Tours.

And here's the first Salty Detail: the ferry isn't simply transportation. It's part of the experience.

Charleston slowly disappeared behind us as our ranger filled the ride with history—and enough personality that it never felt like a history lesson. Some passengers even spotted dolphins. We did not.

Apparently, the dolphins chose the other side of the boat. 🤣

Once at Fort Sumter, we had just enough time to explore without getting bored. Because we took the first tour of the morning, Steven even got to participate in raising the American flag over the fort.

Now THAT was cool. 🗽

Standing there surrounded by Charleston Harbor, watching that flag rise over a place carrying so much American history, was easily one of the highlights of our trip.

💵 Fort Sumter: $43/adult during our visit
⏰ Total Experience: About 2 hours 15 minutes
✅ Verdict: Absolutely worth it


After lunch, we traded the boat for a horse-drawn carriage with Old South Carriage Co.

Meet Jasper—a beautiful Percheron who has appeared in a Twilight movie AND is apparently a bobbing-for-apples champion.

You know. The important stuff. 🤣

Our guide was knowledgeable and funny, and we saw parts of Charleston we wouldn't have known to look for on our own. We drew Zone 5 in Charleston's lottery-style carriage-route system and loved our tour.

💵 Carriage Tour: Around $50/person
✅ Verdict: We'd absolutely do it again










In between, we wandered through Charleston City Market, saw the Battery, and admired those beautiful old homes, colorful buildings, overflowing window boxes, and little architectural details that make you want to slow down and look.

We also stumbled across Sea Bags, where gorgeous bags made from recycled sails line the walls beneath old nautical buoys.

I didn't buy one.

BUT...

Steven did mention something about Christmas. I'm just going to leave that little Salty Detail right here in case he needs a reminder. 😉⛵

One day in Charleston wasn't nearly enough.


🦞 Gimme Some Grub




At Henry's on the Market in Charleston, we both ordered the Waldorf Chicken Salad Croissant.

YUM.

Great food, great staff, and we'd happily go back. 💵 $20–$50/person.

On Isle of Palms, Coconut Joe's gave us a gorgeous view and good food. Steven had shrimp and grits; I had grilled chicken with pepper jack, pineapple, and pico de gallo. My original chicken was a little too enthusiastically Cajun-seasoned, but they very kindly remade it for me. 💵 $20–$30/person.

We liked the food even better at Lawrence's Seafood Company, where Steven ordered honey butter hush puppies and mahi tacos and I once again went with grilled chicken.

Because salt. Or rather, because I'm trying NOT to eat it. 🤣

We sat outside—and happened to visit on karaoke night. Dinner AND a show. We'll leave it at that. 😂

And IOPizza Co. gave us exactly what we wanted another night: yummy veggie pizza and cheese sticks without any fuss.

One thing I really appreciated throughout the trip was how accommodating most restaurants were when I requested food without added salt.

🏖️ Isle of Palms









Friday was beach day.

No tours. No schedule.

Just sand, water, sunshine, and salty air.

And Isle of Palms delivered.

Sitting on a barrier island just a short drive from downtown Charleston, Isle of Palms gives you about seven miles of wide, sandy shoreline along the South Carolina coast. After spending Thursday soaking up the history and charm of Charleston, Friday was all about slowing down and enjoying the other reason we'd chosen this destination—the beach.

And let me say this clearly:

The beach was PERFECT.

We somehow forgot our umbrella—you know, one of those rather important BEACH items—so we rented one from Isle of Palms Beach Chair Company for $39.

When we arrived, it was already set up in a prime spot waiting for us.

Now THAT is vacation service. ✅

There was one little incident involving another couple, personal space, our ocean view, and music we hadn't personally selected...

But America apparently needs a Salty Details guide to Beach Etiquette, so we'll save that one. 🤣

🛏️ Where We Laid Our Heads

And now we arrive at Seaside Inn.

Oh boy. 😂

The hotel sits right in the middle of the action along Ocean Boulevard, with the beach, restaurants, shops, and nightlife all within walking distance. For some travelers, that's a HUGE plus.

For us? It was a little busier than we expected.

But let's start with the reason we booked it.

Let's start with THE VIEW.









Our top-floor oceanfront room looked directly over the beach, and it was gorgeous. We watched the morning sky brighten over the Atlantic, boats along the horizon, beach volleyball, yoga, dogs splashing in the water, and people searching for crabs after dark.

The room was clean, the bed was comfortable, the A/C worked great, and check-in was easy.

But...

The bathroom had a sliding barn door with gaps on BOTH sides and a completely clear glass shower.

We've been married ten years.

Still.

Privacy is #1 when it comes to #2, people. 🤣

Add in a “semi-private” balcony that wasn't particularly private, limited parking, a teeny-tiny pool, and a pretty basic grab-and-go breakfast.

Then there was The Windjammer.



We knew the live-music venue was next door. We just didn't realize next door meant approximately 60 feet from our balcony. Winyah played Thursday AND Friday nights. And to be fair, they were talented. Judging by the screaming college-aged fans who knew every word, VERY talented.

Those kids were having the time of their lives.

The 10-year-anniversary couple next door who envisioned listening to the waves?

Well...we were having a different experience. 🤣

So here's the Salty Detail:

Check The Windjammer's concert schedule before you book.

If you love live music and want to be right in the middle of the action, the location could be a huge plus. If you want quiet evenings listening to the Atlantic, keep looking.

💵 Our Rate: About $150/night Wednesday & Thursday; around $350 Friday
🚗 Parking: $15/day
🌊 Beach Access: Direct
🌴 Hotel Rating: 🌴🌴½ out of 5

Another guest summed it up perfectly:

“Yeah...we're paying for the view.”

He wasn't wrong. It was one heck of a view. I'm just not sure it was enough. And believe me, Seaside Inn generated enough material for its own blog. 😂

🌴 Would We Go Back?

Charleston? Absolutely.

Next time, we'd like to stay there for a few nights. We barely scratched the surface.

Isle of Palms? Yes—but we'd do it differently.

The beach was beautiful. We'd simply stay farther from the main Ocean Boulevard area next time. 

A little less action.
A little more ocean. 🌊

And before we made it home, the trip gave us one last Salty Detail: Ronnie's Restaurant near Savannah.









Red booths, old records covering the walls, burgers, fries, onion rings, milkshakes—the kind of nostalgic little diner you hope to stumble across on a road trip. 

And the name made me smile, too. I had a cousin named Ronnie who passed away much too young. Still miss him so much!❤️

💵 About: $10–$20 per person
🍔 Classic diner food
❤️ Great little road-trip find

Sometimes the best stops are the ones you weren't looking for. ❤️

So where did that missing half-palm go?

Let's just say it may have gotten lost somewhere between the barn-door bathroom and The Windjammer. 🤣 Because despite the surprises, this was a GOOD trip.

We celebrated ten years of marriage. Steven helped raise the American flag over Fort Sumter. We toured Charleston behind a movie-star horse. We ate well. We spent a perfect day with our toes in the sand. And we laughed.

A LOT.

Perfect trips make pretty pictures.
Trips like this make unforgettable stories.
And after ten years together, we've learned that sometimes the best souvenir is a story we'll still be laughing about years from now. ❤️

Until the next adventure...

Go. Be. Salty. 🌊

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