Kiawah Island, South Carolina – Family Beach Vacation
September 4-10, 2017
Of all the traveling we have done, beach vacations are still my favorite! This year was our year to go on an extended family vacation with Mr. Jo’s side of the family which consisted of Jo Jr. and Missy Jo’s A Gong (grandpa), A Ma (grandma), Uncle Andrew, Auntie Yura, and Uncle Anthony. Jo Jr. (3) and Missy Jo (10 months) are still the only grandchildren on both sides, so we hand-picked the destination for them. We were looking for a fun beach vacation with activities for the kids, shopping, golfing, and good food. Kiawah Island had them all and we had the best time! Check out our Kiawah Island itinerary and trip details below:
Kiawah Island Itinerary
Monday, September 4
- Departure DFW (Dallas Ft. Worth International Airport)
- 2 hr 30 min flight
- flew standby with American Airlines benefits
- Arrival CHS (Charleston International Airport)
- Picked up rental car from Enterprise
- Drove to Rodney Scott BBQ in Charleston, SC
Rodney Scott BBQ - 15-20 min drive
- Rodney Scott BBQ was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s Charleston episode of Parts Unknown
- Pretty good BBQ and even better banana pudding
- Picked up groceries at the Food Lion next door
- Drove to Kiawah Island
- 50 min drive
- Took us a little longer because Missy Jo had a major blowout diaper. That was fun.
- Arrival at Homeaway on Kiawah Island
- Address: 45 Muirfield Lane, Johns Island, SC
- Settled in at the house
- Walked 5 minutes to the beach
- took pictures
- kids played in the ocean
- Picked up dinner at La Tela Pizzeria
- Pizza place at the Freshfields Village (main shopping center on Kiawah Island)
- Pizza was pretty good
Tuesday, September 5
- Made breakfast at the house
- Went to Freshfields Village
- Lots of fun boutique clothing and other shops that surprisingly weren’t very expensive
- Ate a delicious lunch at Fuji Sushi
- Went back to the house
- attempted a kids nap
- Seaside Cycles delivered our rented bicycles to the house
- 5-10 min family bike ride from Homeaway to Kiawah Island Golf Resort
- Missy Jo was not a fan so we biked back
- Picked up dinner from Forty Eight – wine bar
- they serve fancy bar food that is really good
Wednesday, September 6
- Men played golf at The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island
- ate lunch at the clubhouse overlooking the ocean
- The women and kids went shopping around Freshfields Village again
- ate lunch at Fuji Sushi again because it was that good
- Long family bike ride from the house around Turtle Point Golf Course and then to the beach
- saw some deer and alligators!
- Bought groceries at the The Village Market by Harris Teeter
- Grilled burgers and hot dogs at the house for dinner
Thursday, September 7
- Drove to Charleston, SC and had brunch at Poogan’s Porch
- 25.8 miles, 46 minute drive
- Amazing southern food! We had fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese fritters, macaroni and cheese, chicken and waffles.
- Walked over to the historic Charleston City Market
- flea market type shopping
- tons of vendors selling food, handmade crafts, artwork
- Strolled over to Waterfront Park
- 8 acre park along the Cooper River
- beautiful landscape
- saw the somewhat famous Pineapple Fountain
- Drove back to Kiawah Island
- stopped at The Village Market grocery store
- started planning for the evacuation of Kiawah Island due to Hurricane Maria
- expected to hit on Monday (in 4 days)
Friday, September 8
- Men’s round of golf cancelled due to impending weather
- Biked around Kiawah Island again
- Ate lunch at the house
- Kids napped while we packed
- Drove to Charleston, SC for early dinner reservations
- ate at Husk, a fancier restaurant serving re-imagined Southern Cuisine
- also featured on Anthony Bourdain’s Charleston episode of Parts Unknown
- Chef Sean Brock is known for his new take on southern food
- Food was good but, at that price point, we though Poogan’s Porch was better
- Checked into our hotel
Saturday, September 9
- Walked to Charleston Farmers Market
- one of the best activities of the trip
- soooo many food trucks and food stalls
- lots of vendors selling handmade crafts
- Strolled around the area outside of the farmers market
- Drove to the waterfront and continued our walk from Thursday
- Early dinner at Magnolias
- traditional Southern cooking
- even better than Husk!
- drove my BIL and SIL to airport to catch flight to NY
Sunday, September 10
- 7:59 am Departure from CHS
- 2 hr 53 min flight
- 9:52 am Arrival at DFW
Kiawah Island Trip Details
Rental Home on Kiawah Island
All of the homes on Kiawah Island are actually privately owned. The homeowners rent them out through the main hotel on the island (Kiawah Island Resort) or via rental agencies such as Akers Ellis Rentals. The rental agencies list the homes on rental websites such as Homeaway.com, Airbnb.com, or their own website. When deciding whether to rent through the hotel or through a rental agency, we considered several factors. The benefit to renting from Kiawah Island Resort was that we would have access to the main hotel, pools in the resort, kids’ splash pad, and the hotel shuttle bus. However, it’s considerably more expensive to rent from Kiawah Island Resort and we decided it wasn’t worth it. Plus, there was a community pool that we had access to by renting through Homeaway.com You can check out the home we stayed in here.
We love staying in rental homes as opposed to hotels because of the larger space and access to a full service kitchen. We made breakfast several days of the trip and always had snacks available. One night for dinner, we bought groceries and grilled hot dogs and cheeseburgers. It was easy, delicious, and affordable!
The Beach
September was the perfect time to go to the beach on Kiawah Island. The water was a nice warm 81°F. It was Missy Jo’s first time to set foot on the beach and she loved it! We couldn’t get her to leave.
It was only a short 5 minute walk from our house to the beach. We enjoyed building sand castles, swimming, and riding bikes on the beach. That’s my idea of paradise!
Baby Equipment Rental
In the past, we were the parents that brought a pack ‘n’ play, car seat, stroller, sound machine, and a bunch of other baby equipment with us on vacation. We were definitely a sight to be seen going through the airport. Now, there are baby equipment rental companies pretty much everywhere, even internationally. This is a HUGE livesaver and major mommy travel hack.
On Kiawah Island, we rented a crib and sound machine through Charleston Baby’s Away, which allowed us to travel much lighter. They worked with the home rental company to set up the crib before we arrived. To our surprise, they rent out everything from baby monitors, to bouncers, to toys, to rocking chairs and much more.
Golf on Kiawah Island
So, my FIL is OBSESSED with golf. At home, he plays every weekend, even when it’s over 100°F outside. Mr. Jo and and his brother, Andrew, both play a little as well. On Day 3 of the trip, the men went and played golf on The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. Per Mr. Jo, it is one of the best and most well-known public courses in the U.S. It has hosted a Ryder Cup as well as the 2012 PGA Championship. Apparently, the 2021 PGA Championship will also be played there. It was the nicest (and most expensive) course that they have ever played.
There are a total of five golf courses on Kiawah Island. Sadly, the boys had to cancel their round of golf on Day 5 at Turtle Point due to the pending evacuation of the island due to Hurricane Maria. Well, there’s always next time!
Freshfields Village
While the men were golfing, we took the kids to Freshfields Village for some shopping and lunch. There are several cute boutique shops, and we definitely did some damage. We bought handmade jewelry, cute summery clothes on clearance, shoes, and baby items. We had lunch at Fuji Sushi, which was delicious. They had great sushi and bento boxes, which the kids gobbled up.
Also, there is a Harris Teeter grocery store in the retail center where we got water and snacks for the house. They had lots of prepared foods, which was definitely convenient. One place you should definitely check out is Vincent’s Drug Store and Soda Fountain. They served amazing ice cream and floats as well as grill-type food.
Biking on Kiawah Island
For lots of reasons, I love biking on vacation. It’s such a fun way to explore the area and you can cover so much ground relatively quickly. There are several bicycle rental companies on Kiawah Island, but we went with Seaside Cycles. At first, we weren’t really sure everyone could all go riding together since we had one toddler, one infant, and my MIL who is a little unsteady on a bike.
Thankfully, the rental company had lots of different options that made it possible for us to take family bike rides together. We got my MIL an adult tricycle, which was awesome! My FIL and I both took one child each in a carrier attached to our individual bikes. Missy Jo hated the bike ride the first time. I think it was because she was too short and her helmet hitting the back of the seat pushed her head down. For the second ride, I folded up a towel and stuck it behind her. Problem solved! And, she took a nap while we rode around in peace. They also have trailers for rent that you can attach to your bicycle for the kids to sit in.
We rode all around Kiawah Island and even some on the beach. Jo Jr. spotted some deer and other wildlife along the way. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of an alligator, but no such luck. Apparently, the locals say they see them all the time.
Charleston City Market
I LOVE fancy flea market type shopping on vacation. Namely, the search for one-of-a-kind crafts, art, and food is my kind of excursion. The Charleston City Market had plenty to keep me interested. It’s a long air-conditioned hall where vendors sell anything from baby clothes, to homemade jams, various caviars, handwoven baskets, artwork, jewelry, and much much more. My favorite thing we bought there were these handmade tiny wooden boxes for putting Jo Jr. and Missy Jo’s baby teeth. They haven’t lost any yet, but we’re ready for them when they do!
Waterfront Park
Pineapple Fountain
In short, Waterfront Park is a beautiful and green 13-acre park along the coast. We took a nice leisurely stroll for a couple hours walking from one end to the other. The kids napped in the stroller, so we really enjoyed ourselves. There is a somewhat famous Pineapple Fountain along the path, which is the focal point of Waterfront Park. Interestingly, pineapples are very common in Charleston and they represent hospitality.
Rainbow Row
On the second leg of our waterfront walk, we traveled down Rainbow Row, which is a series of 13 consecutive colorful historic houses in Charleston. The buildings were destroyed and restored after the fire of 1778 and the Civil War. Some say, the houses were painted in different colors so that drunk sailors coming in from port could remember which houses they were staying in. On the contrary, others say the colors were used so that slave owners could tell illiterate slaves which buildings to go to for shopping.
The Battery and White Point Garden
For a little more history, we walked through The Battery to White Point Garden. The Battery is a defensive seawall and promenade. Along our stroll, we saw the historic antebellum homes. Some of the homes were very grand, including the William Ravanel House. If you watch Southern Charm on Bravo like me, you know who the Ravenels are.
From High Battery, or the Cooper River side of the seawall, you can see Fort Sumter. At the southern end of The Battery, you’ll find White Point Garden, a 5.7 acre public park. It was first used as a public garden in 1837. Later, when the Civil War broke out, it became a fortification for the city. Interestingly, we saw sculptures of historic weaponry used to defend the city as well as a monument to commemorate the hanging of of notorious pirates. The statues of Confederate Civil War Leaders are still erect in the garden.
Ok, I’m not going to lie, I Google’d and Wikipedia’d most of that. History is not my thing, but I thought I would include it for those interested.
Hurricane Maria
Unfortunately, we learned on Thursday of our trip, that Hurricane Maria was coming straight for South Carolina on Monday and might ruin the rest of our vacation! Immediately, Mr. Jo booked us flights out of Charleston for Sunday to ensure we could get home, cancelling our initial plans of flying back standby on benefits. Surprisingly, the flights were pretty cheap because the airlines were trying to help people get out of town. Go airline industry!
Mr. Jo was in full on vacation mode trying to figure out how to make the most of our trip but not get stuck in a hurricane either. By the way, vacation mode for Mr. Jo is frantically researching and optimizing everything. In anesthesia, we talk about how we have to be like ducks on water during critical situations – calm and collected above water, but legs paddling frantically underneath. Yeah, that’s a good analogy for vacation mode too.
On Friday, the home rental company came to prep the house for the hurricane. Soon, the governor of Charleston was supposed to be announcing an evacuation of Kiawah Island and other areas. The rental company did not think it was safe to stay, so they refunded us our money for Friday and Saturday night, and we had to make alternate plans for shelter. We drove to Charleston Friday afternoon and stayed at the Aloft Charleston Airport Friday and Saturday Night. The governor never ended up ordering the evacuation, but many people boarded up their homes and businesses and left town.
Charleston Farmers Market
Since Hurricane Maria was projected to hit on Monday, we hung around Charleston for a day and a half and kept the fun going. My favorite activity of the trip was going to the Charleston Farmers Market on Saturday. It’s an outdoor market with tons of vendors selling a variety of things including: fresh produce, beautiful flowers, homemade pickles, handmade pastas, fresh jams, honey, homemade ice cream, handspun yarn, jewelry, crafts, and more. I bought some really cute glass coasters with girl power quotations and some homemade pickles for my SIL. She is obsessed with pickles and couldn’t take them on the plane with her, so she ate the entire container and even drank the pickle juice!
Even more amazing, the Charleston Farmers Market had like a million food trucks. Everything was so delicious. We ate gourmet breakfast tacos, roti rolls, BBQ and pimento cheese sliders and so much more. Certainly, I had died and gone to food truck heaven. I was so excited I forgot to take pictures. Check out their Facebook page for pictures of all the offerings. As far as adult beverages, there is definitely a nice selection of cocktails and wine too.
Check out our extended family vacation to the Grand Canyon, Page, and Sedona, AZ
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