I’m taking the lovely Virginia bar exam in Roanoke at the end of July. We’re thinking my girlfriend will come out and we’ll take advantage of the proximity to some places we’ve been wanting to visit. I thought we’d drive down to Charleston and then Savannah. I know there’s lots of experience on this board in that area… what are your thoughts on:
A stopping point between Roanoke and Charleston. Durham? Looking for some place with character and good restaurant options. Thought seeing the Duke campus would be interesting.
Any civil war sites or other valuable stops along the way. Would like to tour a cigarette factory for kicks.
How long to spend in Charleston and Savannah? I’ve heard great things from people here about Charleston. Savannah is the main reason for this trip as we’ve been wanting to go for a long time. Was thinking one night in Charleston and 2-3 in Savannah. Or is that backwards?
Standout restaurants/hotels. I see there are a number of threads on Charleston, so… I guess ignore this one.
I find nothing interesting about Savannah, especially compared to Charleston. So it will be interesting if you visit both on the same trip. Both are (allegedly) charming southern cities with a lot of similarities. But, for my money, Charleston has tons going on, and Savannah very little. The food scene in Charleston is light years ahead of Savannah, the beaches are better and the sites are probably a touch more interesting. (If it matters there are better breweries there too!)
If you want to loop out of your way a bit, Asheville is 3.5 hours southwest of Roanoke and well worth a night or two. An abundance of high quality restaurants for such a small town. And very pretty and rich with history.
Which is not to say that you could not find plenty to enjoy in Durham. Had a very fine upscale asian-y meal at Lantern in Chapel Hill last time I was around.
Let me know if interested in Asheville and I’ll kick an exhaustive food list your way.
I would stay in Chapel Hill rather than Durham unless Durham has changed a lot. It is nice to walk along Franklin Street. Short drive to Duke if you want to visit it.
Thanks everyone. We’ll check out Chapel Hill. Thanks, Dave, for the notes about Asheville. It looks great–we’ll have to wrap it into a future trip.
Interesting to hear about Savannah. I think it’s going to be hard to talk my girlfriend down to not visiting at all, but since Charleston seems to find universal support both here and elsewhere, maybe we’ll do two nights there and one in Savannah just to see it.
I will be in Savannah in a few weeks for a work conference. We are staying at the Westin, where the conference will be. Dinners are still being set up but I think they will be at the Pink House and Vics, which will be fine.
I have Saturday night free and will have dinner with some cousins (not foodies). Between them and me, we can certainly come up with a restaurant. But, I recently heard about some place and wanted to see if Robert or anyone else has been there. Apparently there is a seafood restaurant called the Flying Fish that is about where Williams used to be on the way to Tybee (Savannah Beach). Someone on a Savannah Facebook group compared it to Williams. If so, it would be a place to seek out. Robert (or anyone else), have you been there? Any thoughts.