The Lowcountry With Children

Seven nights in the South Carolina Lowcountry for a family, from the old streets of Charleston to the tidal rivers south of it. A sea turtle hospital where children watch patients through the glass, a river cruise with a naturalist, a working farm with goats, and a last stay on a 20,000-acre preserve where the archaeologist leads walks.

Length: Seven nights
Pace: Three stays
Style: Family, coast, history
Route: Charleston to Johns Island and Kiawah to Palmetto Bluff

CharlestonTwo nights
Johns Island and KiawahThree nights
Palmetto BluffTwo nights

A row of brightly painted pink, yellow and blue townhouses with shutters and window boxes along a pavement.

Days 1 to 3 · two nights

Charleston

Two nights in the old city, with a private boat trip and a seafood boil on the beach. At the South Carolina Aquarium, the Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery is both a hospital and part of the visit: children can look into the surgical suite and CT room and come face to flipper, through the glass, with the turtles being treated. Out along the Ashley River, Drayton Hall can be seen with an archaeologist who works on the property, including the excavation under way. With a native Charlestonian guide, a walk through the old city's architecture and gardens can go inside some of its private historic houses. Afternoon tea at Camellias and a swim in the heated rooftop pool on the way back.

Where you stay

Hotel Bennett

Hotel Bennett stands in the centre of historic downtown Charleston, its entrance opening onto King Street. There is a rooftop pool with private cabanas looking over the city, pastries at La Patisserie, a spa, and afternoon tea at Camellias, which the hotel suggests for families alongside the South Carolina Aquarium.

Aerial view of tidal creeks winding through green and gold salt marsh under a wide, streaked sky.

Days 3 to 6 · three nights

Johns Island and Kiawah

A horse-drawn carriage ride through downtown Charleston on the way out. On the Kiawah River, the Dunlin's Coastal Safari, a river cruise with a naturalist, a farm tour of the Goatery, its regenerative working farm, and a boat to the beach for a picnic, and on request a bicycle ride through Kiawah's wetlands with a naturalist to find their wildlife. The rest of the time on the water: kayaks and paddleboards in the marsh, crabbing and casting from the dock with local anglers, and an oyster roast by the river.

Where you stay

The Dunlin, Auberge Collection

The Dunlin sits on the banks of the Kiawah River on Johns Island, 20 miles from Charleston, with 74 rooms and suites and three places to eat. Children can feed the goats at the farm, and days go to birdwatching on the tidal flats, fishing, and paddling alongside dolphins and sea turtles.

A long, straight avenue of live oaks hung with Spanish moss, meeting overhead above a sandy road.

Days 6 to 8 · two nights

Palmetto Bluff

A drive south to the May River. The Palmetto Bluff Conservancy looks after 20,000 acres here and runs more than 300 talks, tours and hikes a year, among them archaeology programmes and cemetery walks open to guests, owl and plant walks, and naturalist camps for children in the school holidays. A guided walk past Savannah's landmarks and a private Civil War history tour, then the flight home from Charleston.

Where you stay

Montage Palmetto Bluff

Montage Palmetto Bluff lies along the May River in the South Carolina Lowcountry, between Hilton Head Island and Savannah, with cottages, rooms, suites and village homes. There are pools and river outings, golf, bicycles and Spa Montage, and eight restaurants, among them River House and Buffalos.

Arranged on request

Inside the sea turtle hospital

At the South Carolina Aquarium's Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery, included in admission, children look into the surgical suite and CT room and meet the current patients through the viewing glass.

Coastal Safari on the Kiawah River

The Dunlin's river cruise with a naturalist guide,, out among the tidal creeks and flats looking for wildlife.

The Goatery

A farm tour of the Dunlin's regenerative working farm, where children feed the goats, and on another day a boat to the beach for a picnic.

With the Palmetto Bluff Conservancy

The conservancy's archaeologist leads cemetery walks and archaeology programmes open to guests, alongside owl and plant walks and, in the school holidays, naturalist camps for children.

A dig at Drayton Hall

A private visit to Drayton Hall with an archaeologist working on the property, including an active excavation. Arranged on request.

Kiawah's wetlands by bicycle

A ride with a naturalist through the wetlands of Kiawah Island, looking for the birds and wildlife that live there. On request.

Subject to availability.

Ways to make it yours

A day on the beaches of Kiawah Island.
An extra night in Savannah itself.
A morning in the gardens along the Ashley River.

This is a sample. The hotels, the pace and the order are where we start, not where we finish: every journey is designed around the people taking it.

Made around you

Most travel is bought. This is designed.

Before anything is booked, we talk: who is travelling, how you like to spend a morning, and the hotel preferences below the obvious, from the kind of bath you like to the time you wake and how much daylight you need in a room. You see options where options matter and clean recommendations where they don't.

The same person remains your point of contact from the first reply to the trip after next. No handovers. No team.