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Family trip · Charleston, SC

A 5-day Charleston plan for families (kids ~6 & 9)

Charleston is often sold as a grown-ups' weekend — historic houses, long dinners, carriage rides — and it is very good at that. It's also a genuinely easy city with kids, as long as you accept two things: the historic peninsula is beautiful but it is a lot of walking on uneven pavement, and from June to September it is hot and humid enough that the middle of the day belongs to water or air conditioning.

So this plan gives you one real anchor a day, an easy backup, built-in downtime, and a deliberate mix — one aquarium, one aircraft carrier, one boat ride, one place to run around outdoors, and one beach. The 6- and 9-year-olds should still have something left by dinner, and so should you.

How to read this: each day has one main thing, an easy backup if the day goes sideways, and an eat/rest note. Several of the anchors below sell timed tickets online — the Fort Sumter ferry in particular runs a limited number of sailings a day and books out in summer, so reserve that one first and build the week around it. Expect to want a car: the peninsula is walkable, but Mount Pleasant, the beaches and Johns Island are all a 15–30 minute drive. Strollers are fine almost everywhere, though the historic sidewalks are narrow and buckled in places.

5-day plan10 stopsFamily tripCharleston
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Make this plan yoursWhat's on now in Charleston

Photo: J Love

Jump to a day
Day 1 · South Carolina Aquarium & the waterfrontDay 2 · Patriots Point & the USS YorktownDay 3 · Fort Sumter by boatDay 4 · Charles Towne Landing: animals, woods and a tall shipDay 5 · A beach day to finish
Day 1Half day

South Carolina Aquarium & the waterfront

A note from Wonder

Everything is at eye level and moving, which suits short attention spans, and the whole thing is indoors and cool. On the harbour at Liberty Square, at the top of the peninsula; there's a parking garage next door, and the Fort Sumter ferry leaves from the same square — worth a look on your way past. Flat and stroller-friendly.

South Carolina AquariumAnchor

South Carolina Aquarium

Start with the sure thing while everyone is fresh. The South Carolina Aquarium sits right on the harbour at the top of the peninsula and works its way from the mountain streams of the Blue Ridge down to the open ocean, ending at the two-storey Great Ocean Tank with sharks, a loggerhead sea turtle and a diver who answers questions through the glass. The Sea Turtle Care Center — where rescued turtles are rehabilitated in view of visitors — is usually the bit kids talk about afterwards, and there's a touch tank of rays and small sharks for the six-year-old.

It's a half-day at most, which is exactly right for a first day. Buy tickets online to skip the queue, and check the daily programme when you arrive so you can time the feeds and the turtle talks rather than discovering you missed them.

South Carolina Aquarium

Photo: Ameri Craft

Charleston Waterfront ParkBackup

Charleston Waterfront Park

Ten minutes' walk south along the harbour, Waterfront Park is free, shaded by live oaks, and has two things kids reliably love: the Pineapple Fountain, which they will get wet in, and the long covered pier with porch swings looking out over the water. It's the low-effort way to spend an afternoon when nobody wants another ticket.

Charleston Waterfront Park

Photo: Kim Dodd

Eat & rest

There's a café at the aquarium, but the better plan is to walk down to the shops and casual restaurants around East Bay Street and the City Market for lunch, then take the afternoon slowly. If it's hot, the Pineapple Fountain does more for morale than any air-conditioned attraction. Keep Day 1 short — travel-day energy is real, and there are four more days.

Day 2Half to full day

Patriots Point & the USS Yorktown

A note from Wonder

It's a real aircraft carrier you are allowed to climb around inside, which beats any exhibit about one. About 15 minutes by car from downtown over the Ravenel Bridge; large free car park. NOT stroller-friendly on board — ladders and hatches throughout, so carry the small one or plan to split up. Wear proper shoes.

Patriots Point Naval & Maritime MuseumAnchor

Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum

Across the Cooper River in Mount Pleasant, the USS Yorktown — a Second World War aircraft carrier — is moored permanently at Patriots Point, and you can walk it. Self-guided routes take you across the flight deck between real aircraft, down through the hangar bay, into the bridge, the mess decks and the sleeping quarters, with a submarine and a destroyer alongside.

This is the single most impressive thing on the trip for a nine-year-old: it is enormous, it is real, and almost all of it is open. It's also the most physically demanding — steep ladders, high hatch coamings, and long narrow passages. Pick two or three of the marked tours rather than attempting all of them, and skip the lowest decks with a small child.

Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum

Photo: CC_sibling C

Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront ParkBackup

Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park

Right beside Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park has a long fishing pier with swings, a playground, and lawns directly under the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge — free, breezy, and a good place to let everyone run after a morning of ladders. The sweetgrass basket stands along the road here are a Lowcountry craft worth stopping for.

Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park

Photo: NM

Eat & rest

Shem Creek, a few minutes away in Mount Pleasant, is the easy lunch: a row of casual seafood restaurants on stilts over the water with decks, boats going past, and often dolphins in the creek. There's a boardwalk along the marsh beside it if anyone needs to move before sitting down again.

Day 3Half day

Fort Sumter by boat

A note from Wonder

It's a boat ride with a fort at the end, and there is no way to get bored on a boat. Ferries leave from Liberty Square (next to the aquarium) and from Patriots Point; arrive 30 minutes before departure, and note the whole outing runs about two and a quarter hours door to door. Strollers are awkward on the boat and on the fort's uneven brick — a carrier is easier.

Fort Sumter National Historical ParkAnchor

Fort Sumter National Historical Park

Fort Sumter sits on an artificial island in the middle of Charleston Harbour, and the only way there is the ferry from Liberty Square downtown (or from Patriots Point). That's the point: the half-hour crossing each way is half the experience, out past the Battery with the peninsula shrinking behind you, and it's the most reliably popular boat ride of the trip.

At the fort you get about an hour ashore — brick casemates, enormous cannon to stand next to, a ranger talk, and a small museum. The history is heavy (this is where the Civil War began) and a six-year-old will take away mostly cannons and boats, which is fine. The nine-year-old will get more of it, especially if a ranger is talking.

Sailings are limited and they do sell out in summer and at weekends — book online well ahead and choose a morning departure.

Fort Sumter National Historical Park

Photo: Linda Mattus

Charleston City MarketBackup

Charleston City Market

If the ferry is full or the harbour is rough, spend the morning at the Charleston City Market instead — the long covered market hall running four blocks through the historic district, with local makers, sweetgrass basket weavers and small bites. It's largely covered, so it works in rain or in heat, and it's a low-commitment browse you can leave whenever the kids are done.

Charleston City Market

Photo: Bonnie Turner

Eat & rest

Eat before you sail — there's nothing on the island and the boat's snack options are limited. Afterwards, the streets around the City Market and East Bay are full of casual places, and an ice cream on the walk back down Broad Street is a reasonable bribe. Then take a genuine afternoon off: this is the right day for the hotel pool.

Day 4Half day

Charles Towne Landing: animals, woods and a tall ship

A note from Wonder

After two ticketed, structured days, this is the one where nobody has to be quiet or careful. Animals, a pirate-looking ship, and space to run. About 15 minutes by car from downtown, with plenty of parking; flat, wide, shaded paths that are entirely stroller- and bike-friendly. Bring water and bug spray in warm months.

Charles Towne Landing State Historic SiteAnchor

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site

This is where the English first settled the Carolina colony in 1670, and it is now a large, shaded state historic site on the Ashley River — and much the best place near Charleston to let kids simply be outside for a few hours. Three things do the work: the Animal Forest, a natural-habitat zoo along a woodland trail with bison, black bears, otters, pumas and bald eagles; the Adventure, a full-size replica 17th-century trading ketch tied up at the creek that you can go aboard; and miles of flat paths through live oaks and marsh, with a history exhibit hall if it rains.

Budget three hours minimum. It's the one day of the trip with no queues, no timed tickets and no crowds, which after three days of attractions is worth as much as the animals are.

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site

Photo: Frank Prohaska

Angel Oak TreeBackup

Angel Oak Tree

Out on Johns Island, the Angel Oak is a live oak estimated to be several hundred years old, with limbs so long they rest on the ground and then rise again — a genuinely astonishing tree, free to visit, and a 20-minute stop rather than an afternoon. It pairs well with a drive out to the island; check the opening hours before you go, since the site closes some days.

Angel Oak Tree

Photo: Javier Rivera

Eat & rest

There's a small café at the visitor centre, but a picnic under the oaks is the better version — pick something up on the way and eat on the grass by the creek. Afterwards, head back into town early and keep the evening simple; four days in, an early dinner and a swim beats another sight.

Day 5Full day

A beach day to finish

A note from Wonder

After museums, a carrier and a fort, they need sand and water and no schedule. About 25 minutes by car; Sullivan's Island parking is free residential street parking with clear restrictions — read the signs, and arrive before 10am at weekends. There are no beach chair rentals or lifeguards on much of Sullivan's, so bring shade, water and sunscreen.

Sullivan's IslandAnchor

Sullivan's Island

End in the water. Sullivan's Island, about 25 minutes from downtown past Mount Pleasant, has a wide, gently shelving beach that stays calm enough for small swimmers, plus a compact village a couple of blocks back from the sand with restaurants and ice cream. It is quieter and less commercial than the other local beaches, which is exactly what you want on a last day.

Also on the island, and worth an hour if anyone still has appetite for history: Fort Moultrie, part of the same national park as Fort Sumter, guards the harbour entrance and can be walked at your own pace — ramparts, gun emplacements, and a view straight out to Sumter across the water. Unlike Sumter it needs no boat and no reservation.

Sullivan's Island

Photo: Andrew Landers

Isle of Palms County ParkBackup

Isle of Palms County Park

If parking on Sullivan's Island defeats you — it is residential street parking and it fills early — drive ten more minutes to Isle of Palms County Park, which has a proper car park, lifeguards in season, restrooms, showers, a playground and a beachfront snack bar. Less charm, far less friction, and with kids that trade is usually worth making.

Isle of Palms County Park

Photo: James Klapcuniak

Eat & rest

Lunch in the village on Sullivan's Island, or on the way home at Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant for a last deck table over the water. For a final dinner back in town, the casual places around East Bay and the City Market are the least stressful option with tired children; anything with a courtyard buys you an extra twenty minutes of peace.

Rainy-day & heat-of-the-day indoor backups

Charleston summers are hot and humid with fast afternoon thunderstorms that usually pass within the hour. Keep these indoor anchors in your back pocket:

  • Children's Museum of the Lowcountry (Ann Street, downtown) — hands-on play for roughly ages 3–10: a water table, a pretend shrimp boat, an art room. The best rainy-morning option in the city for the younger one.
  • South Carolina Aquarium (Liberty Square) — entirely indoors and cool, with feeds and turtle talks through the day (see Day 1).
  • The Charleston Museum (Meeting Street) — founded in 1773 and billed as the first museum in America, with a natural history hall, a whale skeleton, and a kids' discovery room.
  • Patriots Point (Mount Pleasant) — the Yorktown's hangar bay and interior decks are under cover, so a wet day barely dents it (see Day 2).
  • Charleston City Market — largely covered, so it doubles as a rain-friendly browse through local makers and small bites.

Where to eat without a meltdown

Charleston's famous restaurants are mostly small, booked out, and not built for a six-year-old at 8pm. Aim for these family-tolerant clusters instead:

  • Shem Creek (Mount Pleasant) — a row of casual seafood decks on stilts over the water; boats, dolphins, and nobody minding noise.
  • East Bay Street & the City Market (downtown) — the densest run of casual, walk-in restaurants near the harbour attractions.
  • Upper King Street (downtown) — pizza, burgers, bakeries and ice cream, and a wider pavement to walk on than the historic core.
  • Sullivan's Island village — a couple of blocks of relaxed restaurants right behind the beach, sand-in-shoes acceptable.
  • A picnic at Waterfront Park, Charles Towne Landing or Hampton Park is often the easiest lunch of the day — fewer queues, more downtime.
  • A note on timing: eat early. Charleston kitchens fill from 7pm and the dining rooms get quiet-and-serious; a 5.30 table is a completely different, much easier restaurant.

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