Since moving to Virginia, my travels have somewhat slowed down. Mostly because I’ve been focusing on adulting, and let me tell you, it’s exhausting… and expensive. But no matter what, I eventually get a craving to explore again, and figure something out to at least have a quick getaway. Bonus if it doesn’t break the bank!

4 day weekend expense tally: *drum roll please* – Just over $400! That was a hella win in my book! Not to mention we covered a ton of ground!

So let me tell you about my weekend! Honestly it was AMAZING! Everything about it was beautiful, and honestly little to nothing was planned beforehand. We just went with the flow!

Friday morning, my friend Dania and I left Northern Virginia around 5am. First stop was Dunkin’ Donuts, which nowadays, their Iced Coffee is life. Then we were off on our 8 hour drive tooooooo…… Savannah, Georgia!

We stopped at every state entrance, and grabbed a snack in every state. This definitely helped with being in the car so long. But let me fast forward a few hours, and start telling you about Savannah! <3

Savannah took my heart. <3

As soon as we got to the hotel, we took off running! Well walking, but you get me. Straight to the shops and strolling through the streets. Everything was sooo cute and quaint. The squares all have a different design and story, all adding to the ambiance of Savannah.

After a little shopping on Broughton & Congress, we found our way to East River Street. Side note: Dress Up is super cute! Don’t forget to take a picture with the Hello Savannah! grass wall. After some shopping, we went straight to grab a drink at Wet Willie’s then walked through the outdoor market looking at some art work.

Before getting to Savannah, I made reservations at Paula Deen’s restaurant: Lady and Sons  and let me tell you. This was a simple buffet of about 20 items, but they sure as hell satisfied our comfort food craving instantly! The chicken, stew, green beans, corn bread, mac-n-cheese.. all to die for. I highly recommend this place, just make sure you go hungry and pace yourself! If not you might be unable to walk and that’ll put a damper on the rest of your evening.

Our first night ended up being a semi early night for us, as the rest of our group got a little delayed arriving from Florida. Our plan for the night was to visit, Mata Hari’s Speakeasy, and bar hop. Mata Hari’s was said to be an extremely different experience, where a password or key is needed to get into the 1920s speakeasy with absinthe drinks and all. Fun fact: you can check with your hotel front desk for a key, or just try giving them a call directly for a password. Part of the experience is tracking down an entry way.

Day 2-

8am wake ups for mid twenty year olds on vacation is kind of early, but we managed to make it to breakfast in the hotel. There we were interestingly enough joined by Forrest Gump and other ‘prominent’ Savannah celebrities.

First stop for us was Forsyth Park- you know part of Forrest Gump. Fun Fact: The bench is actually in Chippewa Square. Which was also checked off our Savannah- must do list!

Some more strolling around Savannah: ride on the trolley, lunch at the Flying Monk Noodle Bar, iced coffee from Paris Market, Honey from Capital Bee Company to name a few.

I personally wish we had more time to spend in Savannah, but spoiler, the rest of the trip wasn’t too bad!

About an hour drive away was our second stop! Hilton Head Island, South Carolina!

I’d never been to this Disney Resort location, so there was a special excitement in that alone. As a Disney Vacation Club member, I’m trying to stay at as many destinations possible. Stay tuned for a review of Disney’s Polynesian Resort coming early 2019!

This room was Ahhhh-mazing! I swear I booked a traditional studio style room, but after checking in, and opening our room, we were in for a pretty sweet surprise! We had a one bedroom suite, where the room had a king size bed, and the living room had a pull out sofa, and a twin pull out, plus a full kitchen, dining area and balcony. The bathroom even had a jacuzzi in it! We certainly put that to good use! Disclaimer: Hilton Head was our super chill stop, so nothing too major happened here. 

That night we went for some BBQ at The Smokehouse. Although we did get a discount for being Disney guests, we picked it because of the reviews. As always, thank you Google for coming in clutch. The rest of our night we spent enjoying the room since it was raining and no one was up for going out.

Day 3-

Another bright and early wake up! Just kidding, we strolled out of the room late morning, and checked out the resort, the resorts private beach house (but there was on and off rain), then made our way to have lunch at the Salty Dog Cafe in Sea Pines. This place was recommended to us by multiple people, and growing up my little had heard about it a lot while living in South Carolina. Thankfully, we were able to check that off her list! The cafe is on the water, and has a few stores nearby and a dock. Honestly, it was the perfect lunch for a chill getaway on Hilton Head Island.

And last on our quick labor day adventure was: Charleston, South Carolina! It’s a lot like Savannah, but not as compact I’d say. After check in and getting ready we went out for the night. Dinner followed by some drinks and dancing was on the agenda!

Dinner was Italian at Indaco, and it did not disappoint. The drinks were unique, the food was flavorful and the service was welcoming. We mostly bar hopped for the rest of the night and I’ll mention a few of those below–

• Dudley’s – $2 jell-o shots + drag shows
• Prohibition – Multiple parts, all playing different music. + drinks. 1920s atmosphere, but recent day music. Fun fact: There’s swing dancing on Sundays
• King Street Public House – Stumbled across this place on our way back to the hotel. Took me back to my high school years!

**Bonus: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream – You can sample as many different flavors as you’d like on super cute little metal spoons. Then pick a flavor or two or five and enjoy!

Day 4-

Breakfast was included in the hotel, which was the most crowded of all our stays. Even a custom omelette bar. Sadly, we only had a few hours left in Charleston, so we drove to all our stops.

• Rainbow Row
• Pineapple Fountain
• College of Charleston – Phi Mu house
• Cuban Gypsy Pantry – Small, literally has 4 tables, but was pleasantly surprising
• King Street shops
• Historic Charleston City Market – ton of different local vendors indoors

Here is the rest of our checklist that we just didn’t get around to:

• Boone Hall Plantation
• Benny Ravello’s – Giant pizza slices
• Ink n Ivy – Southern food with fun decor
• Best means of transportation – Bike ride!

Although this weekend getaway was short and crammed in THREE new cities, I would fully recommend it! If you have a few extra days, I would add a day to each city tops. Add some tours, and a beach day in Hilton. Savannah and Charleston both have ghost tours that are said to be pretty good, we just never had everyone in the same place, or were in the city early enough to make the start of one. Both cities also have carriage rides and/or tours that may be worth checking out, we just didn’t have time.

Where did we stay:

Savannah- Hampton Inn & Suites Savannah Historic District

Hilton Head- Disney’s Hilton Head Resort

Charleston- Hyatt Place Charleston/Historic District

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