Charleston, SC Travel Guide

Welcome to my Charleston, SC Travel Guide, gluten free edition! Below I am sharing all of the things I did with my favorite girls on my calm and fun bachelorette weekend in Charleston! PS – the below recommendations are great for a bachelorette/girls weekend but also for a weekend with your favorite travel partner, aka not just for girls trips!

In July I headed out with 11 of my favorites girls (my mom included, of course) for 4 days and 3 nights in Charleston for my bachelorette weekend. I always knew I that when it came time for my bachelorette trip that I wanted to go somewhere I had never been and enjoy a relaxed yet fun weekend with my best friends. I wanted the weekend to feel like a girl’s trip that everyone would really enjoy, so I spent a lot of time planning each detail. Here I’m sharing each day’s itinerary with you to inspire your trip to Charleston, bachelorette trip or not! As always, all of my recommendations are gluten free friendly!

PS – you can watch the Instagram highlights of the full weekend by clicking here and scrolling to my “Bachelorette” highlight.

Where we stayed

There are so many adorable and accommodating airbnb options in Charleston. We found the perfect house that was in a great location. It was walking distance from cute coffee/cafe options for breakfast every day and was a close drive to all of the restaurants we wanted to go to. Plus, it was such a cute house that had all that we needed for the weekend.

Click here for the house link.

Day One – Thursday

ARRIVE – When we arrived, we checked into our airbnb and settled in before lunch. I quickly assembled the gift bags for the girls, which everyone loved! Here is what I included (click the links below for the exact things I ordered):

Personalized Tote Bag
Personalized Beach Towel (everyone picked the color they wanted)
Scrunchies (I matched the color to their towel)
Fun Pool Float Koozies
Chocolate Further Food Collagen Packets (use code “KK&F” for 10% off!)
B.T.R. Protein Bars (use code “KK&F” for 10% off!)
Advil
Make Up Wipes
Electrolyte Packets
Disposable Cameras (learn from my mistakes, don’t forget to press flash when indoors!)

LUNCH – We ate at Basic Kitchen which was delicious! Everyone loved it and it was very dietary friendly. We ordered appetizers, cocktails and pressed juices alike and fueled for the weekend ahead with lots of nourishing bowls. Basic Kitchen has a ton of healthy and unique options on their menu and their truly was something for everyone. It also was such a fun vibe!

What I ordered: Super Green Juice & the Steak Bowl

SETTLE IN – After lunch, we headed back to the airbnb to greet the rest of the girls as they arrived, order groceries to be delivered and to decorate the space. We created our own fringe backdrop with a balloon arch. Click below for everything we used:

COCKTAILS – We headed to Vintage Lounge for happy hour and it was so much fun with beautiful decor and great drinks. We got a booth by the window and sipped classically with an assortment of aperol spritzes, espresso martinis and dirty martinis.

For round two, two of the girls decided to do their Blind Tasting challenge where you order either white or red, then you have to fill out a questionnaire about where you think the wine is from, what kind it is, etc. If you guess it all correctly, the wine is on the house! However, our girls did not succeed, haha!

What I ordered: Aperol Spritz

DINNER – After drinks we went to Frannie and the Fox for dinner. You’ll definitely need to make a reservation here in advance if you’re with a large group, which is what we did. They were super accommodating and made sure we had the table that we wanted, which was long and right next to the windows overlooking the patio. The space was beautiful and dinner was delicious! The gluten free options were not extensive here, but it wasn’t difficult to make it work and I would still recommend it.

What I ordered: Aperol Spritz, Espresso (had to), Marinated Olives & the Hanger Steak

Day Two – Friday

COFFEE – The morning people walked over to The Daily which quickly became a daily staple for us, truly. With lots of coffee, smoothies, bowls and toasts, there is really something for everyone. They are dietary friendly whether you are gluten free or vegan which was perfect for our group.

What I ordered: Super Green Smoothie + vegan protein & Cold Brew + almond milk

BRUNCH – Knowing that Miller’s All Day does not take reservations, two of my angel friends headed over there to put our name in for a table. With our group size, we did have to split up into two tables, but it was absolutely delicious which made it worth it. They have fun drink options like Lavender Butterfly Tea and shareables (that I couldn’t eat but drooled over) like Banana Bread and a giant Cinnamon Roll.

What I ordered: Cold Brew + half ‘n half, B.E.C. on gluten free bread & split a side of Homefries

SHOP – From Miller’s, we grabbed a second coffee to go and headed out to King Street to walk around and shop. We didn’t really have a plan or itinerary for this part of the day, so we just walked in and out of stores and also walked through a market where we got cute Charleston tees to take home.

PARTY PREP – When booking an airbnb, I knew I wanted a place that had a working kitchen and a spacious living room because I envisioned one of the nights being a PJ-themed sleepover with the girls. Our airbnb was perfect for this and we were able to make waffles, pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit, etc. to stay on theme. We also got set up for the night by assembling a friendship bracelet making table and hanging a homemade pinata (it was “F” shaped for my new last name and decorated to look like a cloud) full of 90’s nostalgic candy and prizes.

PJ PARTY/NIGHT IN – As mentioned, we stayed in this night for our pj party. We played music, drank champagne topped with fluffy white cotton candy, ate brunch foods, filled out custom made MASH papers with gel pens, made friendship bracelets and took lots of pictures. They also surprised me with a fun game where they had asked my now husband questions about our relationship that he answered on video. I would answer what I thought his response would be and if I was right, the girls drank, if I was wrong, I drank. It was such a cute game!

The night was so fun and it was a great way to spend quality time together vs. packing into a bar!

Day Three – Saturday

COFFEE – We all woke up ready for coffee, so we walked over to Sightsee which was close to our airbnb. It’s a very cute little shop and coffee bar that sells unique art prints, coffee table books, letter pressed cards and more while offering a selection of coffee drinks, baked goods and even an assortment of non-caffeinated drinks.

What I ordered: Cold Brew + half ‘n half & a Gluten Free Muffin

BOAT DAY PREP – After grabbing coffee and breakfast, we walked back to our house to throw on our bathing suits (and the friendship bracelets we made the night before), packed our beach bags and called two Ubers. We drove to a Publix grocery store that was across the street our pickup spot for the boat to get drinks and lunch for the day.

BOAT DAY – We booked a private four-hour tour through GetMyBoat. The name of the company was Holy City Boat Tours. When I say I cannot recommend this company enough, I mean it. We had Chad and his assistant for the tour and they were seriously amazing. They organized all of our food and drinks into coolers they supplied, offered to hook up a phone to play our music, took lots of photos and videos for us and shared some facts about the passing areas (without making it a full on tour, if that makes sense). We were also able to stop along the way to some bars and restaurants then ended the tour by docking and getting in the water for a bit. They were the best and it was one of the most fun parts of our weekend!

DINNER – We had full intentions of going out for dinner that night, but by the time we all showered and settled back in after a day on the water, a pizza night in sounded like a more ideal option to us.

Where we planned to go: Pink Cactus

Where we ordered in from: D’Allesandro’s Pizza, which had delicious gluten free pizza options!

Day Four – Sunday

BRUNCH – While some of the girls had earlier flights, some of us were flying out a little later which gave us time for brunch. I’m glad we had time because we went to 5Church and it was so unique and beautiful. The popular restaurant is set inside of an old church that has been renovated to be a really fun dining experience.

What I ordered: Almond Milk Latte, Mimosa Flight & the Prime Burger with no bun

SHOPPING – To kill some time after brunch, we walked around and popped in and out of shops nearby. We browsed all the candy at Crabby Jack’s General Store and ended up getting the most delicious gelato at Market Street Sweets.

Thoughts looking back

To be fully honest, it was such a fun trip with my best friends and I wouldn’t change a thing. If anything, I would have loved more time to visit more restaurants, but I’m glad we used some of our time having the chance to catch up stress-free in the comfort of our home for the weekend. If you’re planning a bachelorette or girls weekend to Charleston, I fully recommend all of the places we went to, the boat tour and taking the time to just enjoy the company around you instead of making a too-packed itinerary.

Next time I go, I’ll definitely be checking out one or two of the beaches! We planned to go, but it would have made us pressed for time on the morning before our boat tour. Again, no regrets, but if you can make it, I’ve heard great things about them!

Have you been to Charleston?

If so, leave your recommendations in the comments below to give some insight to anyone planning a trip!

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Talk to you soon!

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