Charleston, South Carolina is a beautiful historic city filled with picturesque streets, world-class restaurants, history tours, museums, and excellent shopping. But what if you want to visit with kids and touring historic homes and walking down beautiful streets isn’t their idea of fun?
We’ve got you covered. Our family has lived in Charleston a long time and between filling our weekends with kid-friendly fun and entertaining visiting friends and family with kids, we know exactly what activities in the area kids (and parents) enjoy and what ages they are best suited for.
Downtown:
1. South Carolina Aquarium
The South Carolina Aquarium has been our kid’s favorite Charleston attraction since they were babies. Some of our favorite parts include:
- Petting stingrays in an open-air exhibit with gorgeous views of the Charleston harbor in the background
- Gazing at all the fish, sharks, and our favorite sea turtle in the huge ocean tank
- Watching the playful otters swim
- Playing at the wall full of interactive educational activities
- Petting dogfish sharks, horseshoe crabs, and tide pool creatures
- Playing in the toddler play area
- Checking on the patients in the sea turtle hospital
- Petting reptiles and other animals that the staff often bring out to pet
Our family visits a lot of aquariums and this one stands out for a few reasons:
- Awesome location on the Charleston Harbor with beautiful views
- Ability to meet the patients at the sea turtle hospital and read their stories
- Friendly and knowledgeable staff and volunteers
Key Info:
Location:
100 Aquarium Wharf, Charleston, SC 29401
Ticket Prices:
Around $30/adult, $24/kid. Prices vary slightly depending on date. Make sure to buy your tickets online.
Hours: 9am – 5pm daily
How long does it take to visit?
2-3 hours on average
Best for:
All ages. Easy to do with a stroller, but it’s small enough for a toddler to walk the whole time. There’s also enough to do and see to entertain older kids and teenagers (unless they’re not into animals or going through a stage where “everything is boring”)
Learn more: https://scaquarium.org/
2. Walk the Battery and Play at a Playground
Our kids are not usually interested in walking around just to soak in the beauty of the city, but when it’s a short walk in between a park and a playground and they can look for dolphins along the way, they love it.
Step 1: Head to the Battery
The southern tip of the Charleston peninsula (often called “The Battery” because of the defensive sea wall built here), has a lot of free public parking. Parallel park anywhere on East Battery Stree or Murray Blvd once you see water. Once you park, you can walk along the pathway next to the water and look for dolphins that often swim in the harbor. If you don’t have a car, you can walk, grab an Uber, or call for a Rickshaw.
Step 2: Enjoy Whitepoint Gardens
Across the road from the water is White Point Garden. It’s a beautiful park with old live oak trees, grassy areas, and old cannons and statues. It’s a good spot for a picnic under a shady tree, to let kids run around in the grass, and let them climb on the cannons.
Step 3: Walk the Battery and Enjoy the Views
From the park, if facing the water, head left/north and enjoy a lovely 5-10 minute walk either along the water on the elevated battery sidewalk or on the street side where you’ll see some beautiful historic homes. The homes you’ll pass are some of the most historic and most photographed homes in Charleston. (And if you like more modern history, 39 East Bay St. is where Stephen Colbert grew up.)
Step 4: Playground Time!
After you pass the yacht club you’ll come to a white building marked for Charleston County Recreation. Take the path that leads behind the building and you’ll find public restrooms and Hazel Parker playground. The playground has nice shade trees, is fenced in, and there’s a dog park next to it in case you have a dog with you.
3. Play in the Fountains
There are 2 beautiful public fountains in Joe Riley Waterfront Park that kids enjoy getting wet in. Just be warned – they may get soaked! Bring a bathing suit or a change of clothes. Even if you think it’s too cool out and they probably won’t get wet…they will!
Getting to the fountains:
Joe Riley Waterfront Park is located on the East side of the peninsula. If driving, the East Bay/Prioleau parking garage located at 25 Prioleau St. is the closest. There are also metered spots along the surrounding roads. You can also take the free DASH Trolley using the purple line.
Pineapple Fountain:
The famous Pineapple Fountain is located in the middle of the park. There is no shade around the fountain so bring some sunscreen. It can get crowded on weekends when the weather is nice so try to visit on a weekday if you’re able. Kids (and adults!) are allowed to take off their shoes and wade in the fountain. Sometimes wading turns into splashing and getting fully drenched.
Waterfront Pier Fountain:
The other fountain is located at the top of the park near the intersection of Vendue and Concord St. and the entrance of Waterfront Park Pier.
This fountain is not a wading fountain, but you can walk under the sprays and kids love to put their hands over the sprays and make water fly everywhere. Or on cold days, my kids think it’s fun to try to run underneath them without getting wet. They always fail…
Waterfront Pier:
If you want some more fun or need time to dry off, walk out on the pier to look for wildlife, take beautiful photos, or swing on the swinging benches.
If there’s a Rainy Day: Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry
The Children’s Museum is not at the top of my list for visitors. As a local, we go here on rainy days or for birthday parties, but it doesn’t stand out from the crowd among the many other children’s museums we have visited across the country. With that said, it’s a great rainy-day activity if you need something fun for kids who have energy to burn.
The museum is set up as a series of rooms in one long building plus an outdoor play area. There are several rooms dedicated to imaginative play that are great for younger children such as a grocery store, a medieval castle, and a pirate ship. For babies and toddlers, there’s a contained toddler play area. For older kids there’s a builder lab and a room full of stem activities. There’s also an art room with lots of art supplies.
Key Info:
Location:
25 Ann St, Charleston, SC 29403
Ticket Prices:
$15/person, $13 for SC residents, Babies under 1 are free
Hours: 9am – 5pm Tuesday – Sunday
How long does it take to visit?
1.5 – 4 hours depending on how much your kids get into playing
Best for:
Ages 1-10. Preteens may be entertained for a bit with some of the stem activities and the outdoor activities but will probably skip a lot of the rooms.
Learn more: https://explorecml.org/
Other Ideas (depending on your kids):
Carriage Rides
If your kids love horses or the idea of a carriage ride sounds exciting to them, there are several carriage tour companies that take you around the city in a horsedrawn carriage and tell you about the history of the city. If you have older kids or teens who are into history this can be a fun and educational activity and an easy way to see a lot of the historic city. Smaller children may get bored because they do have to stay seated or be in a lap and usually cannot be seated on the outside edges so they may not be able to see very well.
Check out these carriage companies: https://oldsouthcarriage.com/ or https://palmettocarriage.com/ to book a tour.
Charleston Museum
This is a great local museum about the history of the area. A lot of it may be boring to younger children, but our kids like the Natural History Gallery which has fossils and animal mounts, as well as the Kidstory section which has some interactive exhibits for kids.
Learn More: https://www.charlestonmuseum.org/
Fort Sumter Tour
The most exciting part of Fort Sumter according to most kids is the ferry ride. The ferry leaves from Aquarium Wharf and take you through Charleston Harbor to the island where Fort Sumter is. The boat ride is a beautiful way to enjoy views of the city and the bridge and look for marine life. The actual fort is a bit boring to some kids but others find it fun to explore. You have 1 hour on the island to explore the fort before getting back on the ferry.
I highly recommend booking a ferry time in advance and getting there about 45 minutes before your ferry is scheduled to leave, especially if you want a seat on the top level (which most kids like).
Learn More: https://fortsumtertours.com/
Or Leave Downtown
I could (and probably will) write a whole other post about all the great things to do with kids in the Charleston area outside of the downtown peninsula. Go to a beach, check out a plantation, visit the Yorktown, see animals at Charlestown Landing, and much more.
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