{"id":23350,"date":"2026-06-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/?post_type=essay&p=23350"},"modified":"2026-05-28T13:30:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:30:20","slug":"roadtripping-sights-and-bites-a-summer-coastal-rv-trip-through-sc-ga-fl","status":"publish","type":"essay","link":"https:\/\/sasee.com\/ro\/essay\/roadtripping-sights-and-bites-a-summer-coastal-rv-trip-through-sc-ga-fl\/","title":{"rendered":"Roadtripping Sights and Bites: A Summer Coastal RV Trip Through SC, GA, FL"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tammie Hughes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pack up the RV and get ready for an East Coast glamping trip this summer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CHARLESTON, SC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our starting point begins in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Check yourself into the Mt Pleasant\/Charleston KOA Holiday RV Park, just minutes from the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, where you can cross into \u201cChucktown\u201d (locals\u2019 affectionate name) and meander the cobblestone streets of historic Charleston, enjoy some of the South\u2019s best restaurants, shop top designers and boutiques along King Street, and visit one of the three beaches\u2014Sullivan\u2019s Island, Isle of Palms, and Folly Beach. The \u201cHoly City\u201d (debatable nickname, often attributed to the 1700s religious tolerance of the city and the hundreds of church steeples downtown) has a plethora of amazing restaurants prepared by chefs who are making waves in the culinary world. If you\u2019re into afternoon tea, check out the Thoroughbred Club at the Charleston Place Hotel. My favorite places to grab a cocktail are Bar 167, Prohibition, and The Gin Joint. For oysters try The Darling Oyster Bar and Delaney Oyster House. Brunch is spectacular at Miller\u2019s All Day, and for a quick lunch, be sure to check out the artsy Gaulart and Maliclet, a.k.a. Fast and French, or High Cotton. Dinner choices abound, making it hard to choose. A few I recommend are Lowland, Chubby Fish, Marbled and Fin, SNOB, Husk, and The Ordinary. If you\u2019re into literature, be sure to drop into Poe\u2019s Tavern on Sullivan\u2019s Island. You can read about Edgar Allen Poe\u2019s time in Charleston here: https:\/\/www.literarytraveler.com\/articles\/poe-on-sullivans-island\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mt Pleasant \/ Charleston<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay: <\/strong>Mt Pleasant\/Charleston KOA Holiday RV Park<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/koa.com\/campgrounds\/mount-pleasant-charleston<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sights:<\/strong> The Citadel, Battery Park, Waterfront Park, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Boone Hall Plantation, Drayton Hall, Aiken-Rhett House, Nathanial Russell House, Fort Sumter National Monument, Old City Jail, Charleston City Market, Rainbow Row, Folly Beach, Sullivan\u2019s Island, Angel Oak Tree on Johns Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bites:<\/strong> High Cotton, Lowland, Bar 167, The Ordinary, Slightly North of Broad (SNOB), Fig, Chubby Fish, Obstinate Daughter, Darling Oyster Bar, Prohibition, Delaney Oyster House, Husk, Poogan\u2019s Porch, Marbled and Fin, The Restaurant at Zero George, Miller\u2019s All Day, The Gin Joint, Wild Common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After you\u2019ve absorbed the rich tapestry of one of the oldest European settlements in the country, head down to Hilton Head Island for a slower-paced reprieve, where you can bank ample sunshine while strolling the wide, sandy beaches. Hilton Head Island has a rich history as the \u201cheart\u201d of the Gullah-Geechee Corridor. The West African slaves worked the rice plantations in the early 1700s. They have fought to retain their heritage, their culture, and their land. After the Civil War, the area\u2019s \u201cPort Royal Experiment\u201d was established as the first Union initiative to pay the freed slaves for their labor, establish schools, and begin the process of land ownership opportunities. The entire Gullah-Geechee Heritage Corridor runs from Wilmington, NC, to Jacksonville, FL. Visit the Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island or the Daufuskie Island History Museum to learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hilton Head Island is often referred to as the \u201cHamptons of the South,\u201d even though scenic Highway 30A in FL near Rosemary Beach has tried to claim the reference. At only twelve miles long and five miles wide, it packs nearly thirty championship golf courses, including the renowned Harbour Town Golf Links at Sea Pines, home to the RBC Heritage PGA Tournament since 1969\u2014it is held each spring, the week after The Masters in Augusta, GA. In addition to world-famous golf venues, there are numerous top-tier tennis resorts on island, including the Smith Stearns Tennis Academy, co-founded by former Wimbledon champ, Stan Smith. If biking is something you enjoy, there are over sixty miles of paved, dedicated biking and walking trails throughout the island, where you can easily loop around on two wheels or two feet. The island is relaxed, less snooty than the actual Hamptons, and, as a whole, an environmentally preserved area. Even though nearly three million visitors arrive each summer, it doesn\u2019t feel that way. With over 250 restaurants on the island and hundreds more in neighboring Bluffton, you\u2019ll easily find numerous places to dine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most convenient RV resort is on-island, just over one mile from Coligny Beach. The Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort is Class-A, Class-C, and Super-C only. If you have an RV outside of these parameters, you can stay at Hilton Head National in nearby Bluffton. The fifty-acre HHI Motorcoach Resort is commonly known as \u201cParadise.\u201d Its ample tree cover gives the resort an idyllic, shady setting reminiscent of a tropical oasis. They have 401 sites, each one unique. While you\u2019re visiting HHI, check out one of the seven public beaches. Coligny is the most popular option, while Fish Haul is more secluded and scenic. As you walk along the mat that opens to Coligny Beach, on either side a short stroll offers two vibrant beach bars\u2014Pool Bar Jim\u2019s and The Tiki Hut. Both locations offer up frozen cocktails sure to enhance your island vibes. The most amazing greasy spoon\/diner-style option has to be Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe. If you\u2019re craving pizza, it doesn\u2019t get much better than Fat Baby\u2019s Pizza and Subs, and for upscale Italian fare, Michael Anthony\u2019s is my favorite. If serene water views are calling your name, check out Skullcreek Boathouse, Hudson\u2019s On The Dock, Old Oyster Factory, or Ela\u2019s on the Water. Catch an evening sunset aboard the Salty Dog Cruise at South Beach in Sea Pines. I\u2019m not sure who had the name first, South Beach, Miami, or South Beach, HHI. For an early evening cocktail, gazing at massive yachts, mosey over to The Quarterdeck, also in Sea Pines, and grab a fros\u00e9 at the outside bar; they\u2019re delicious. Also, be sure to check out the Chef\u2019s Table experience at The Sage Room. I totally adore this place; say hello to Manager Marquis and Chef Wesley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hilton Head Island\/Bluffton<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay: <\/strong>Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort (On Island)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Luxury Motorcoach Resort Hilton Head Island, South Carolina<\/a><\/blockquote>