Charleston Travel Guide

This summer my mom and I traveled to South Carolina to stay at Isle of Palms Beach and visit Charleston. When we went into Charleson, we took the water taxi over for the day so we wouldn’t have to worry about parking.

Best Places to Take Photos:

Not gonna lie, taking photos in Charleston was FRUSTRATING. It was hot, super sunny, there were very few places to change, and we were exhausted. I definitely recommend visiting Charleston on a cooler, overcast day or in the evening. I’ve read that people recommend going a little earlier in the evening if you plan to take photos because the buildings will cause you to lose the sun quickly.

Rainbow Row:

Rainbow Row was definitely my favorite and most successful place I took photos in Downtown Charleston. The lighting was great because it was the last place we went so it was later in the afternoon and wasn’t as hot and sunny as it was during the day.

The Historic District:

The historic district in Charleston is filled with a ton of beautiful buildings!

The Mills Wyndham Grand Hotel:

Again, one of my favorite places we took photos! It was a little difficult with the heat and constant tourists in the background, but the building is total PFG!

Chalmers Street:

Another row of beautiful buildings!

Waterfront Park:

We tried to take photos with the famous pineapple fountain at Waterfront Park, but children are allowed to swim in it so that made it difficult, as I pointed out in my vlog.

Hampton Park:

I did not go here but I read that it is good for photos!

Places to See:

Angel Oak Tree:

One day we went and saw the Angel Oak tree, a free park with a huge 400-500-year-old tree standing over 60 feet tall. There was also a guy there painting the tree on a canvas!

Pitt Street Bridge Sunset:

When researching things to do, we found that Pitt Street Bridge was known for a beautiful view and sunset. We went there one evening and the golden hour lighting was amazing (making one of my favorite photos), but I’ve seen better sunsets. I’m sure a beautiful sunset would look amazing there, it just wasn’t insanely impressive the day we went.

King Street Shopping:

I didn’t actually do any shopping on King’s Street because I was THAT tired but they have every store you could possibly think of such as Forever 21, Louis Vuitton, Steve Madden, JCrew, Madewell, Bevello, Gucci, Sunglass Hut, Victoria’s Secret, Lilly Pulitzer, Anthropologie, H&M, Aldo, Madewell, Chubbies, Dress Up- literally you name it, they have it. Just pull up King Street on Apple maps, zoom in, and check out everything on the street.

Places We Ate:

Poogan’s Porch in Charleston:

When we went into Charleston we ate at Poogan’s Porch, a little restaurant in a house beside the pink hotel featured above! Poogan’s Porch was named after a dog named Poogan that lived on the porch. I got their strawberry french toast!

Papi’s Taqueria in Isle of Palms:

Isle of Palms only had about three restaurants: one with tacos, one with pizza, and a place with burgers/chicken tenders. We ate at Papi’s Taqueria one afternoon and I loved their decoration and they have a rooftop eating area!