Help to Customize our 8 days in Charleston/Savannah

We are heading Charleston on Oct 29 for 8 days. We would like to see a bit a Savannah as well. We love to walk, so it sounds like both places are good for that. We also love the outdoors and are looking to get a day of kayaking in somewhere and maybe tour some wildlife sanctuaries. (Maybe 8 days isn%26#39;t enough!)

Help to Customize our 8 days in Charleston/Savannah

Here%26#39;s a kayaking info site:

http://www.paddlesc.com/rivers.htm

Shem Creek would be the closest place, and you would be amongst dolphins if that interests you.

Happy to answer other questions!

Help to Customize our 8 days in Charleston/Savannah

Contact Ralph...

http://www.kayakcharleston.net/

He%26#39;s a personal friend who has lived in Charleston most of his life. He leads trips in the area, particularly in the ACE Basin (Asheepoo, Combahee %26amp; Edisto Rivers). He%26#39;s a wealth of knowledge.

Give him a call, he%26#39;ll get you to alligators, blackwater, rice plantations, etc.

Several years ago he put together a cool little guidebook of trips within an hour of Charleston. It%26#39;s very popular and has been updated w/GIS info, etc.

Thanks for the responses. Loks like we will be in Charleston at the King George over Halloween, then we%26#39;ll venture out in to the wild, then to Savannah. Any input as to unique things to do on Halloween night? (We are both 50, so take it easy on us)!

Also, we are trying not to use a car while in Charleston. Sounds like we can walk everywher, but can we get to the plantation from an ni town shuttle or will we have to rent a car?

THere are tour companies that are happy to drive you to the plantations on Hwy 61, and you can technically take a bus almost all the way out to Boone Hall Plantation. (route 40; www.ridecarta.com) Ask your concierge - they can make all of the arrangements.

Halloween - Boone Hall Farm (next to the Plantation) has a pumpkin patch, hay rides, and a giant corn maze. www.bonehallplantation.com and click on the Halloween icon.

Oopsie - that would be www.boonehallplantation.com I dare not try to figure out if there is really a bone hall plantation! If there is - don%26#39;t tell me!

- a red-faced Culturehound!

Middleton Place has added kayaking and some other great outdoor activities. Check it out at www.midddletonplace.org. There is an icon with a kayak at the top of the home page.

Great tips on the kayaking. Thanks!

Any feedback on using the bus service? It looks pretty extensive and with a multiple day pass, pretty inexpensive. How about taking that from the historic district to the plantations? I see they have a route. Are they safe or do you not recommend using them outside the historic district?

Thanks again for your help in setting up our trip!

Bone Hall would be great for Halloween!

The International Center for Birds of Prey is on up Hwy 17 in Awendaw. They just recently started allowing the public to tour. Don%26#39;t know the hours, but it would be a great place to see eagles, osprey, owls, etc, all being rehabilitated.

Also, there%26#39;s a ferry to Bull Island. It%26#39;s a beautiful windswept beach with no McMansions. It%26#39;s a long day though so prepare for that if you want to go. have fun.

Thanks for the tip on the birds of prey.. These are exactly the ';out of the norm'; things we are looking for rather thatn the standard tourist sites. Keep %26#39;em coming !

Great marketing idea - Bone Hall - I hope someone from Boone Hall sees this thread.

Other ';not the norm'; things to do...Visit the Hunley (open on weekends only) and a surprisingly busy downtown is Georgetown, SC. Beaufort is a better stop since there isn%26#39;t a big paper mill in Beaufort (Georgetown can be stinky if the wind is blowing wrong)

For an out-of-the way place to eat, my vote is for Seewee Restaurant (it%26#39;ll be a good stop when you go to the Birds of Prey place).

If you are golfers, try Charleston National, which is extremely ';one with nature'; even though it%26#39;s in a neighborhood. (lots of cart paths over water; watch for gators)

If you want to go ';antiquing'; for a day, you can spend a goodly amount of time at Hungryneck Antiques in Mt. P, which has a blend of junk, Asian imports and antiques (as opposed to the antique shops downtown are for the person who is looking to furnish a home with stuff from France or Italy and has much spare change!)

Oh, in Mt. P go to Gullah Cuisine for lunch. Very unique!

Enjoy!