Charleston, South Carolina: things to do on a girls weekend

The best things to do in Charleston with a group of friends are a carriage ride through the historic district, a harbor cruise at sunset, long Lowcountry dinners and a morning under the Angel Oak. Go in spring, March to May, or in October and November, when the days are warm and the evenings are cool enough to walk to dinner.

Our handbook puts it in one line: cobblestone streets and salt air, where old history meets modern food.

When is the best time to visit Charleston?

March to May, and October to November. NOAA's 30 year averages for the Charleston City station put the average high at 66 degrees in March, 72 in April and 79 in May, then 76 in October and 67 in November.

Summer is hot and humid. July averages 88 degrees, and June through September are the wettest months. If you go then, do the outdoor things before noon. Winter is mild, with highs near 60, and the handbook says it has the best room rates of the year.

What does a weekend in Charleston cost?

$200 to $1,200 per person per day, by our handbook's estimate. The hotel decides most of it: the inns below start around $300 a night per room and the grandest go past $500. Check before you go.

Where to stay in Charleston

Stay in the historic district and you can walk to almost everything on this page.

We may earn a commission if you book through the links in this section.

The Spectator Hotel is a 41 room hotel in the French Quarter with a butler for every guest and breakfast brought to your door. Guests must be 21 or older. Valet is $46 a night.

Check dates and prices

Planters Inn opened in 1844 at the corner of Market and Meeting Streets and has 64 rooms around a garden courtyard. Its cafe, Benne's, serves the 12 layer coconut cake.

Wentworth Mansion is a 21 room house built in 1886 in the Second Empire style, with its original Tiffany stained glass. Breakfast at Circa 1886, afternoon wine and valet parking are included.

The Pinch has 25 rooms in renovated buildings on King Street. Some suites have a full kitchen, which helps a group, and Lowland, its restaurant, is across the courtyard.

Check dates and prices

The Charleston Place is the big landmark hotel in the middle of the historic district, with a rooftop pool on the fourth floor. Its spa is closed for now.

Check dates and prices

Andrew Pinckney Inn is in the French Quarter, one block from the City Market. Breakfast and a wine and cheese hour in the rooftop room are included, and you can book up to five rooms at once.

Check dates and prices

Every decision, already made for you

Where to stay, eat and go, plus a ready made 48 hour plan for every town. Pick one and send it to the group.

See the handbookOne time payment. Love it or full refund.

Where to eat in Charleston

Magnolias has served Southern food since 1990: fried green tomatoes and a Lowcountry bouillabaisse. Sunday brunch runs 11am to 3:30pm. Its contact page says "the maximum party size we take for reservations is 8 people", so a bigger group asks about the private rooms upstairs.

FIG cooks a Lowcountry menu that changes every night, Tuesday to Saturday. Reservations open four weeks ahead. Its page is plain about size: "We are only able to accommodate groups of up to 6 guests."

Circa 1886 is in the carriage house of the Wentworth Mansion, with two six course tasting menus. Its Garden Room seats eight to twelve. It is closed Wednesday and Sunday.

Lowland, at The Pinch, serves Southern comfort food and has rooms for parties of eight or more.

Hyman's Seafood has been family owned since 1890. It takes no reservations, so go early.

Where to taste wine and spirits

High Wire Distilling makes Jimmy Red bourbon and Hat Trick gin downtown. Tours are $10, Thursday to Saturday at noon, 2, 4 and 6pm.

Deepwater Vineyard grows native muscadine grapes on 48 acres and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm.

Firefly Distillery makes more than 30 spirits, including the original sweet tea vodka. It is closed Sundays and on concert days.

Charleston Tea Garden, on Wadmalaw Island, runs a 35 to 40 minute trolley ride through the tea fields, $16 if you book a day ahead.

Where to shop on King Street

Hampden Clothing is the designer boutique, with personal styling by appointment. It is closed Mondays.

Worthwhile is an independent women's shop on two floors. Beckett Boutique, at 409 King Street, carries dresses and sweaters from new labels.

Croghan's Jewel Box, at 155 King Street, has been run by one family since 1907.

The City Market is where to buy a sweetgrass basket. The day market is open every day, 9:30am to 5:30pm, and the night market runs Friday and Saturday evenings.

The parts most visitors miss

The Angel Oak on Johns Island is 300 to 400 years old by the city's estimate, 65 feet tall, and shades 17,000 square feet. It is free and open seven days, but closed on holidays.

Philadelphia Alley is a narrow old passage lit by gas lanterns.

Hampton Park has 60 acres of gardens and is at its best when the azaleas bloom in spring.

The Pitt Street Bridge, in Mount Pleasant, is a walkway with views over the harbor at sunset.

The Gibbes Museum of Art is Charleston's only art museum, with elevators to every gallery. It is $20, or $14 if you are 65 or older, and closed Tuesdays.

The Old Exchange, built in 1771, has the Provost Dungeon in its cellar and an elevator to all three floors. Adults are $16.

Carriage rides, boats and a spa morning

Palmetto Carriage Works runs one hour tours of the historic district every 30 minutes from 9am to 5pm, from $50. A private carriage for up to eight starts at $250. Book ahead.

We may earn a commission if you book through the link below.

Charleston Harbor Tours runs a 90 minute narrated cruise past more than 75 landmarks, with close views of Fort Sumter. There is a sunset departure.

Check times and tickets

Earthling Day Spa has been open since 1988. It has nine treatment rooms and can do nine massages at the same time, which is rare for a group. A 60 minute massage is $150. Book by phone, a week ahead for a weekend.

The Dewberry Spa is open every day, 9am to 7pm.

Getting around and parking

The historic district is made for walking, though the cobblestones are uneven, so pack comfortable shoes. You need a car for the Angel Oak, the vineyard, the distillery and the tea garden.

There are no free public lots downtown. City garages charge $1 for every 20 minutes, up to $24 a day. Street meters are $3 an hour, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, according to the city's parking page. Check before you go.

Charlotte is about three hours away by car, Jacksonville about three hours and 45 minutes, and Raleigh about four hours.

Coming up

Dates from each organizer's own page on October 1, 2026. Check before you go.

• Holiday Festival of Lights, November 13 to December 31, 2026, at James Island County Park. Festival page
• Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, February 12 to 14, 2027, across downtown. Event page
• Charleston Wine + Food Festival, March 3 to 7, 2027. Tickets went on sale October 8, 2026. Festival page
• Spoleto Festival USA runs 17 days from Memorial Day weekend each year. The 2027 dates are not posted yet. Festival page

What a Charleston girls weekend looks like

Friday is check in, the harbor cruise at sunset, dinner and a walk down Philadelphia Alley. Saturday is the carriage tour in the morning, the Angel Oak, and the King Street shops in the afternoon. Dinner is FIG if you are six or fewer, or Lowland if you are more. Sunday is brunch at Magnolias and the City Market for a sweetgrass basket on the way out.

The full plan, with the bookings in order, is in The Girls' Trip Handbook.

Charleston is one of the towns in our town guides. For towns that feel like a trip abroad, see the Feels Like Europe Index.

Frequently asked questions