11 Places to Visit in South Carolina That Will Steal Your Heart

Being from the south I’m always surprised how each southern state has its own personality. Most people lump them all together and while there is some overlap each state really has its own character. So it’s not surprising that South Carolina is one of a kind.

Crushed between Georgia and North Carolina, it probably has more in common with Georgia than the more mountainous North Carolina but it’s still decidedly all its own. From the Blue Ridge foothills to the Atlantic coast and the more than 350,000 acres of lake water in between — these are the places to visit in South Carolina I’d tell a friend about.

Places to Visit in South Carolina

A quick disclaimer: I’ve road tripped all 50 states and make a lot of these lists. South Carolina has plenty more destinations to visit than what you’ll find here. These just so happen to be a few of the places I’ve personally visited and recommend. If your favorite place didn’t make the list please let me know so I can add it to my always growing travel wishlist.

Charleston

My honest take on Charleston? Go to Savannah.

Hey, I’m from Georgia so I’m allowed to say that. Kidding aside — Charleston is genuinely one of the most historically significant cities in America and the oldest city in South Carolina. People love it and go back again and again. Plan at least a couple of days — a long weekend is even better.

The history is real — Rainbow Row is as pretty as the photos, the old city walls and Fort Sumter tell a story that shaped this entire country and the Charleston City Market is a great place to wander even if you don’t buy a thing. Take a harbor tour and watch the city from the water — that’s when you really understand what was built here and why.

The food scene delivers too. Just know going in — it’s expensive and parking is a nightmare.

Also, the city carries a heaviness that’s hard to shake. At least for me it does. The weight of its history is present in a way that’s difficult to explain — you just feel it. That’s not a reason not to go. If anything it’s a reason to pay attention while you’re there.

My honest advice — unless it’s a special occasion or you’ve never been, base yourself in Mount Pleasant, day trip in, walk everywhere and eat well. That way you can get the full coastal Carolina experience — Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island are right there and worth every minute.

If you’re deciding between Charleston and Savannah — and many people are — I feel like you have to work a little harder to enjoy Charleston so I’ll usually choose Savannah. But that’s a whole other article. And that’s just me.

Berkeley County

You don’t have to be a Revolutionary War buff to visit Berkeley County — but it doesn’t hurt. South Carolina had more Revolutionary War battles than any other state — some sources say over 200, others say as many as 400. Berkeley County alone accounted for 32 or 33 of them.

It’s where Francis Marion — the Swamp Fox — operated. If you’ve seen The Patriot you’ve actually seen Berkeley County. Those smoky battlefield scenes? Filmed at Cypress Gardens.

Speaking of Cypress Gardens — it’s also where they filmed The Notebook. So in one 80 acre cypress-tupelo swamp you have both Mel Gibson carrying a flag through battle smoke AND Ryan Gosling romatically rowing a boat through Spanish moss. A huge contrast.

Much of Berkeley County’s character is shaped by its location on the Santee Cooper Lakes — Marion and Moultrie — known as the Great Lakes of South Carolina. Fishing, kayaking, boating and waterfront dining are part of daily life in a way that feels genuine not just touristy. The county seat is Moncks Corner — a small friendly town with a big personality.

And then there’s Mepkin Abbey — one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I’ve found anywhere in the South. In fact, I stood overlooking the Cooper River and wondered if I had somehow been transported out of South Carolina to somewhere else. A Trappist monastery with gardens, a labyrinth and monks who grow oyster mushrooms actually kind of sounds like a movie too.

I have a full guide to Berkeley County — start there.

Congaree National Park

South Carolina is known more for its Lowcountry and beaches so you don’t expect to find one of the largest intact expanses of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the United States stuck right in the middle — but it’s there. Congaree National Park is ancient and will make you feel really small in the best possible way.

The visitor center should be the first stop. It does a good job of replicating the sights and sounds of what you’re about to walk into. Walk the boardwalks at minimum but try to get out on the water or attend one of the park’s special events to really appreciate what makes Congaree so unique.

Some visitors might feel a bit let down because it doesn’t look like what they picture when they think national park — there’s no really dramatic vistas, no towering peaks. But it is a forest. A very old, very quiet, very humbling forest. And it’s worthy in its own way.

I still want to go back and kayak the river and — if I time it right and win the lottery — see the synchronous fireflies. If you don’t know about the fireflies at Congaree look it up. It’s one of the most extraordinary natural events in America and most people have never heard of it.

Daniel Island

Daniel Island is Charleston’s bougie Southern neighbor — a 4,000 acre planned development named after the colonial governor who once called it home. It evolved into a walkable golf-cart friendly community with residential neighborhoods, parks, trails, a farmers market and a busy calendar of events — yoga, tennis, you name it.

It’s also where Charleston comes to see live music. Credit One Stadium hosts the major concerts for the entire Charleston area so if there’s a show bringing you to Charleston — chances are it’s actually on Daniel Island.

Besides the cute boutiques and markets, The Kingstide restaurant is a good reason to visit — fresh catch, wood-fired everything, a rooftop deck with river views and a carrot cake I would walk from Georgia for. New Realm Brewing is there too for craft beer lovers. And the Keith School Museum is a powerful stop — a reconstruction of the school that educated local children during the height of Jim Crow segregation.

Families especially will love the ease of Daniel Island — everything is clean, safe and well organized. One thing I still want to do — take the ferry from Charleston over. It runs daily and seems like the perfect way to arrive.

Southerner Says: Did you know that South Carolina is called the Palmetto State? Named for the Sabal palmetto, the state tree its role in the Revolutionary War. Logs from the trees were used to build a fort on Sullivan’s Island.

Greenville

I’ll be honest — Greenville has been on my list far too long. I’ve been but it’s been awhile and the city has transformed significantly since then. What I know is this: the downtown is great — there’s live jazz, a waterfall running right through the middle of the city and a walkable revitalized core that went from plain to hip seemingly overnight.

It’s the kind of city that’s good for wandering and maybe a brewery crawl and I intend to give it a proper visit soon. If you get there before I do — go downtown, find the waterfall and report back.

Old 96 District

I met the tourism people behind Old 96 District in of all places — a Twitter chat I used to host about road trips. And that makes perfect sense because Old 96 — named for the18th-century traders who believed it was 96 miles from the Cherokee town of Keowee — is one of those destinations that rewards travelers who decide to leave the interstate and follow a sign just to see what’s there — the road tripper.

Six state parks, including one with an impressive lodge and cabin giving it a resort vibe, a national park unit and the Benjamin Mays Historic Site are just a few of the public lands found in this rich cultural region.

Beyond the outdoor activities like boating, kayaking, camping, hiking and birding on South Carolina’s freshwater coast — there’s also pottery, art, train history and Huguenot Crosses — yes, this area was one of the seven French Protestant (Huguenot) colonies established in South Carolina before the American Revolution. If that wasn’t enough one of the coolest used bookstores I’ve come across is in the small village of Willington.

Greenwood does the heavy lifting as the largest of the five cities that make up Old 96 alongside Abbeville, Edgefield, Laurens and McCormick but — and I might be biased — but Abbeville is the heart of it.

Abbeville once served as the midway stopping point between New York and Atlanta — and it shows. The beautiful Opera House still puts on performances, a haunted hotel has been welcoming travelers for over a century and a walkable downtown full of funky shops and antiques rounds

The people behind Old 96 tourism have done an extraordinary job shining a light on a region that most travelers would otherwise miss entirely. I’m glad they did — and I’m glad I went.

Bluffton

Bluffton is a place I’d brave one hundred percent humidity to visit. And I have. It’s that charming. It feels like you stepped back in time — strolling through Old Town Bluffton, the Church of the Cross draped in Spanish moss along the May River, art galleries tucked into historic buildings and some of the best food I’ve had in South Carolina.

But the most special thing I found in Bluffton is Ma Daisy’s Porch — a Gullah cultural heritage center honoring Daisy Pinckney Frazier, a Gullah matriarch and the grandmother of owner and chef Bridgette Frazier. Featuring Black chefs, bakers and artists, it’s the kind of place that reminds you that the real soul of the South has always been Gullah culture.

In contrast, the Montage Palmetto Bluff — a five star resort on the May River — is its own luxurious enclave. From the moment you step out of the car and into reception where you’re greeted with sweet tea laced with Jack Daniels you understand exactly what kind of place this is — it’s impeccable Southern hospitality and the kind of opulence that doesn’t feel the need to announce itself. It deserves its own full review — and it will get one.

Santee County

At first glance Santee looks just like any other small South Carolina town with an overabundance of souvenir shops along the busy Interstate-95 corridor between Canada and Florida. But a closer look reveals yet another one of South Carolina’s hidden surprises.

Located on Lake Marion — the northernmost of the two Santee Cooper Lakes known as the Great Lakes of South Carolina — Santee and the surrounding area has oodles of national forest to explore, Indian mounds dating back 3,500 years, water to paddle and sunsets to enjoy at the end of day. There might not be one big wow factor but all of these experiences add up to a really good time — with some of the best seafood around.

The icing on the cake might just be the Old 301 Bridge — a 1946 highway bridge that closed to vehicles in 1987 and was reopened in 2023 as a nearly two mile pedestrian crossing over Lake Marion as part of the Palmetto Trail. On a clear day you can see up to 40 miles in every direction.

Egrets, osprey and the occasional alligator keep you company. Fun fact — the bridge was actually closed in 2017 because officials were worried too many people would crowd it for the total solar eclipse that year. It’s that special of a spot.

Southerner Says: The Palmetto Trail is South Carolina’s cross-state trail spanning nearly 500 miles from the mountains to the coast. The Old 301 Bridge section over Lake Marion is one of its most accessible. You don’t have to be a serious hiker to walk it. Just show up and have a look around.

Columbia

Columbia doesn’t always make the top of South Carolina travel lists but the state capital deserves more credit than it gets. Home to the University of South Carolina, a beautiful State House, the highly regarded Riverbanks Zoo and a food and bar scene centered around Five Points and the Vista district — Columbia exceeds expectations.

If you know anything about me by now it’s that I love — among other things — street art. Hunting for murals and public art is one of my favorite travel activities. It makes me happy that Columbia has invested seriously in public art — the murals downtown and throughout the Vista district are are best seen on foot. It’s the kind of thing that’s good for a slow meandering walk more than a checklist.

The city is also about to become even more interesting. The new International Scout factory is being built just north of the city in Blythewood. For anyone who grew up with a Scout in the driveway or is just a little bit Scout obsessed — hello it’s me. I’ve owned two — that’s reason enough to make the trip. I’m going back for that factory tour the moment it opens.

Georgetown

I got run out of Georgetown by a hurricane — or at least the threat of one. But not before I walked around the waterfront, found the Indigo Bakery and fell a little bit in love with this quietly beautiful city.

Georgetown is South Carolina’s third oldest city and sits at the confluence of five rivers — which explains both the stunning waterfront and why I eventually had to leave as the water started rising. The old downtown is compact and walkable with a vintage theater and the kind of Main Street that makes you want to stay awhile just to see what’s around the corner.

What I didn’t get to — and fully intend to go back for — is the rice museum, the maritime museum and the Gullah museum. The maritime museum and Gullah museums are a given but what you may not know is that Georgetown was the center of South Carolina’s rice culture and that history is extraordinary and largely untold. There’s also a boat tour on my list.

Georgetown is vastly underrated and deserves more than a hurricane day trip. I’ll be back.

Hilton Head Island

Hilton Head is not for everyone — and I’ll be honest, I’ve day tripped there and left underwhelmed both times. One way in, one way out, bumper to bumper traffic and beaches that don’t quite deliver the payoff you sat in that traffic for. If I’m going to inch along a highway to reach a beach it better look like 30A on the other end.

That said — if a predictable, comfortable, well organized resort island is what you’re after, Hilton Head delivers exactly that. The golf is world class, the Sea Pines Forest Preserve is very much worth seeing and the bike trail network is enchanting. The lighthouses are lovely and some people come back year after year for exactly that experience. It’s just not mine.

South Carolina: Better Than the Brochure

Still not convinced? Go back and read it again. From Revolutionary War battlefields to Gullah culture, freshwater lakes to five star river resorts and small cities most people blow right past on I-95 — South Carolina has more going on than most people give it credit for.

It’s best explored by road trip and I’ve driven a lot of it myself — everything except the Beaufort to Charleston stretch which is still on my list. If you’re flying in, Columbia, Charleston, Myrtle Beach and even Savannah are all solid gateways depending on which part of the state calls to you first.

One more tip: no matter what you do in South Carolina — eat the shrimp and grits, order the she-crab soup and find yourself some bene cookies before you leave. You can thank me later.

If you want help planning any of it — that’s exactly what I’m here for. Fill out this form and let’s build your perfect South Carolina trip.

See you on the road!