Seven Days Oceanfront on the Isle of Palms, Fifteen Minutes from Charleston

Overall Trip Highlights

• Can’t Top This, our private oceanfront home on the Isle of Palms. Ten bedrooms, a private pool, three decks over the Atlantic and a boardwalk straight onto the sand. We unpack once and wake up to the ocean six mornings in a row.
• Capers Island Heritage Preserve by private boat. No roads, no houses, no bridge. We wind through the salt marsh to an undeveloped barrier island reachable only by water, and walk the Boneyard Beach, where sun-bleached driftwood trees stand along the shore.
• Dolphins, crab traps and cast nets with a naturalist guide. Bottlenose dolphins are regulars in the tidal creeks, and our guide pulls up what lives below the surface for a closer look.
• A classic Lowcountry boil on our Capers Island day. Local shrimp, smoked sausage, sweet corn and red potatoes, cooked the old way.
• A private Charleston food tour with Bulldog Tours. Stone-ground grits, benne wafers, fried green tomatoes and collard greens, tasted through the historic district.
• The USS Yorktown at Patriots Point. We walk the flight deck and the bridge of the World War II carrier known as the Fighting Lady, the same ship that recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts in 1968.
• Fort Sumter National Monument. A ferry ride across Charleston Harbor to the fort where the first shots of the Civil War were fired in April 1861.
• A private horse-drawn carriage ride through Charleston’s historic district, past church steeples, antebellum mansions and cobblestone lanes.
• Sweetgrass baskets at the Charleston City Market, handwoven by the artisans who sell them, a Lowcountry craft carried on for generations.
• King Street, the Battery and White Point Garden. Charleston’s boutiques, galleries and jewelers, then a stroll along the seawall with the harbor on one side and grand old houses on the other.
• Boone Hall’s Avenue of Oaks, live oaks planted in 1743 and draped in Spanish moss, and Boone Hall’s live Gullah culture presentation of storytelling and song.
• A seashell jewelry-making party at the house with a local artisan, wine and a charcuterie board, and a keepsake we make with our own hands.

Where We Are Staying: Can’t Top This, 706 Ocean Blvd

One of the Isle of Palms’ great oceanfront houses. Ten bedrooms and eleven and a half bathrooms across 6,000 square feet, a private pool, three decks on the water and a private boardwalk down to the beach. Each bedroom has its own name and its own personality, and each one is priced on its own, so every guest picks the room that suits her. The full room list and prices are at the bottom of this page.

Day One: Sand, Salt and Southern Charm

The house, the ocean and the first dinner together.

Our hostesses are waiting at baggage claim with a Beatrice Bradley sign, and the drive to the Isle of Palms takes about half an hour. Early arrivals can settle into beach chairs and umbrellas just steps from the house while the rest of the group lands.

At four o’clock the house is ours. Can’t Top This sits directly on the Atlantic, with a private pool, three oceanfront decks and a boardwalk over the dunes to the beach. We pick our rooms, unpack once for the whole week, and gather for a welcome dinner at a relaxed island favorite serving coastal Lowcountry cooking.

Overnight: Can’t Top This, 706 Ocean Blvd, Isle of Palms

Highlights

• Met at Charleston International Airport by our Beatrice Bradley hostesses, with transfers to the island handled.
• Can’t Top This, our oceanfront home for six nights. A private pool, three decks on the water and a boardwalk to the sand.
• A welcome dinner on the islands, the first evening with our fellow travelers and our hostesses.

Fun Fact: The Isle of Palms was first called Hunting Island, then Long Island. It took its current name in 1899, when J.S. Lawrence bought the island and renamed it.

Day Two: Bites, Baubles and Lowcountry Magic

Charleston by the plate, then a party at home.

Breakfast is waiting in the kitchen, and then we head into Charleston to meet the city through its food. Our private walking food tour winds through the historic streets with stops at local favorites, tasting Lowcountry classics like stone-ground grits, benne wafers, collard greens and fried green tomatoes. Our guide shares the history behind each stop along the way.

We are back at the house for a long afternoon on the beach or by the pool, and beach cruiser bikes arrive for the week. At the end of the afternoon, a local artisan comes to us for a private seashell jewelry-making party. Everyone designs and makes her own piece, with wine and a charcuterie board on the table. Dinner is a catered Italian feast at the house, with the ocean right outside.

Overnight: Can’t Top This, 706 Ocean Blvd, Isle of Palms

Highlights

• A private Charleston walking food tour with Bulldog Tours, tasting Lowcountry classics at local favorites across the historic district.
• An afternoon at Can’t Top This, with the beach, the pool and a beach cruiser bike for each of us.
• A private seashell jewelry-making party at the house, led by a local artisan, with wine and charcuterie.
• A catered Italian dinner at home, with the Atlantic outside the windows.

Fun Fact: Bulldog Tours rotates its stops among more than twenty-five partner restaurants, so no two of its food tours are exactly alike.

Day Three: Dolphins, Driftwood and a Lowcountry Boil

The morning we go where the roads do not.

We are on the water by half past eight, on a private charter from the Isle of Palms Marina with Barrier Island Eco Tours. The boat winds through the salt marsh and tidal creeks toward Capers Island Heritage Preserve, one of the few undeveloped barrier islands left near Charleston. There are no roads, no houses and no bridge. The only way on is by boat.

Along the way our naturalist guide pulls crab traps and throws a cast net, and whatever comes up goes into a touch tank so we can see it up close. Bottlenose dolphins are regulars in these waters. On the island, the Boneyard Beach is lined with the bleached skeletons of old trees, and there is time to walk the sand and hunt for shells. Lunch is a classic Lowcountry boil of local shrimp, smoked sausage, sweet corn and red potatoes. Burgers and hot dogs are there for anyone who prefers them.

The afternoon is spent back at the house, rinsing off the salt and settling into a beach chair. Dinner is a casual evening out at an island spot known for its Lowcountry cooking.

Overnight: Can’t Top This, 706 Ocean Blvd, Isle of Palms

Highlights

• Capers Island Heritage Preserve by private boat, an undeveloped barrier island reachable only by water.
• The Boneyard Beach, where driftwood trees stand bleached on the sand.
• Crab traps and cast nets with a naturalist guide, with the catch in a touch tank on board.
• Bottlenose dolphins, regular visitors to the tidal creeks around Capers Island.
• A Lowcountry boil of local shrimp, smoked sausage, sweet corn and red potatoes.

Fun Fact: The waters around Capers Island are home to loggerhead sea turtles, South Carolina’s official state reptile.

Day Four: Anchors, Artillery and American History

A day on Charleston Harbor, and a day to be proud.

This morning we cross to Patriots Point on the banks of Charleston Harbor, home of the USS Yorktown. Commissioned in 1943, the Fighting Lady earned eleven battle stars in the Pacific during World War II and five more off Vietnam, and in December 1968 she recovered the Apollo 8 astronauts and their capsule. Our guide takes us across the flight deck, up to the bridge and down into the crew quarters for the stories of the men who served aboard her.

We picnic with a view of the harbor, then board the ferry to Fort Sumter National Monument. At 4:30 in the morning on April 12, 1861, Confederate guns opened fire on this fort and the Civil War began. Standing inside its walls, with the city skyline across the water, is one of the most moving hours of the week. We head home for a relaxed coastal Mexican dinner on Sullivan’s Island and an evening stroll on the beach.

Overnight: Can’t Top This, 706 Ocean Blvd, Isle of Palms

Highlights

• A guided tour of the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point, from the flight deck to the bridge to the crew quarters.
• The carrier that recovered Apollo 8, and earned sixteen battle stars across World War II and Vietnam.
• A picnic lunch on Charleston Harbor.
• The ferry to Fort Sumter National Monument, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired.
• An evening beach stroll back on the Isle of Palms.

Fun Fact: Fort Sumter can only be reached by boat. The ferry is the one way in.

Day Five: Cobblestones, Carriages and the Holy City

Charleston at the pace of a horse.

We start in the historic district with a private horse-drawn carriage ride past the church steeples, the antebellum houses and the cobblestone lanes, while our guide tells the story of the city from its colonial beginnings.

From the carriage it is a short walk to the Charleston City Market. The land was given to the city in 1788 for use as a public market, and today it is where more than fifty sweetgrass basket weavers sell their work. The baskets were first made to winnow rice on Lowcountry plantations, and each one is made by hand by the person selling it. Our hostesses point out the best spots for lunch nearby.

The afternoon is for King Street, Charleston’s grand old main street of boutiques, galleries, jewelers and specialty food shops, and then a walk along the Battery and through White Point Garden at the southern tip of the peninsula, with grand houses on one side and the harbor on the other. We end the day with seafood and a sunset view at Breach Inlet, the channel between the Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island.

Overnight: Can’t Top This, 706 Ocean Blvd, Isle of Palms

Highlights

• A private horse-drawn carriage ride through Charleston’s historic district.
• The Charleston City Market, a public market since 1788 and home to more than fifty sweetgrass basket weavers.
• King Street, Charleston’s boutiques, galleries and jewelers in one long stretch.
• The Battery and White Point Garden, the seawall promenade at the tip of the peninsula.
• A seafood dinner at Breach Inlet, with the tide running past between the two islands.

Fun Fact: Charleston carriage routes are assigned at random by the City of Charleston, so the carriages spread out across the historic district instead of crowding the same streets.

Day Six: The Avenue of Oaks and a Farewell to Remember

Coffee on the beach, an avenue of moss-draped oaks, and our last night together.

The morning starts with coffee in hand and a walk along the shore with our hostesses. Then we drive to Boone Hall Plantation, founded in 1681 and still a working farm today. The way in is the Avenue of Oaks, two rows of live oaks planted in 1743 by Major John Boone’s son and draped in Spanish moss. We tour the house and see Boone Hall’s live presentation of Gullah culture, told through storytelling and song by descendants of the Gullah people.

The afternoon is our last one at the house. Some of us take the bikes along the island, some go back to the beach, and some settle on the deck with a book. The farewell dinner is a Lowcountry barbecue feast catered at home, with a week’s worth of stories around the table.

Overnight: Can’t Top This, 706 Ocean Blvd, Isle of Palms

Highlights

• A morning coffee walk on the Isle of Palms beach with our hostesses.
• Boone Hall’s Avenue of Oaks, live oaks planted in 1743 and hung with Spanish moss.
• The Gullah culture presentation at Boone Hall, storytelling and song from descendants of the Gullah people.
• A coastal bike ride on our beach cruisers.
• A farewell barbecue dinner at the house, our last evening together.

Fun Fact: Boone Hall is one of America’s oldest working farms, and it has been growing crops since 1681.

Day Seven: Until Next Time

One last breakfast at the house, one more cup of coffee with the ocean behind us, and time to trade phone numbers with anyone still missing from the list. The group leaves the house at 10:00 AM for Charleston International Airport, so flights should be booked accordingly. Earlier airport transportation is at the traveler’s own expense.

Highlights

• A final breakfast together at Can’t Top This.
• Group transfer to Charleston International Airport.

Note: This itinerary serves as a general guide to what we will be doing, seeing, and eating, with the final version provided approximately two weeks prior. The published itinerary is an example and may be adjusted to include accommodations, tours, or restaurants of comparable quality to ensure the best experience.

Come With Us

There are only thirteen places in this house, and each room is booked one at a time. Six nights on the Atlantic, the best of Charleston fifteen minutes away, and a houseful of women who arrive on their own and leave as friends.

Contact Lindsay Rue at lindsay@bbgage.com or 763-784-8291.

Traveling Alone, Together.

Double Occupancy Rooms

Double Occupancy Queen $4,330.00 – Available
Double Occupancy Twin $3,740.00 – Available

Double Occupancy Twin A  $3,440.00 – Available
Double Occupancy Twin B  $3,440.00 – Available

Single Occupancy Rooms

Single Occupancy $6,380.00 – Sold Out

Single Occupancy $5,270.00 – Available