Fly into Charleston and check into The Pinch, our newest hotel recommendation in Charleston.

After you check into your hotel, take a stroll through the heart of the city, visiting the famous City Market and shopping along King Street.

Spend two more full days exploring Charleston, or more, if you have the time. Experience 18th- and 19th-century history by touring the grand homes once owned by the city’s elite. One of our favorites is the Aiken-Rhett House, a former plantation home that has been preserved rather than restored, and the renovated Gibbes Museum of Art, which has a fine collection of Charleston Renaissance paintings.

If you have time for city tours, we recommend two led by locals: the Charleston Tea Party Private Tour, which provides access to gardens and homes ordinarily closed to the public, and City Tours With Ed Macy, who leads a more irreverent tour that includes a little gossip and personal anecdotes laced with colorful language. Those interested in Civil War history should consider an excursion by boat to Fort Sumter, or a visit to the lab working to preserve the Hunley, a Confederate combat submarine (open only on weekends, and advance reservations are required).

Like a visit to New Orleans, you are guaranteed to eat well in Charleston, as it has one of the greatest culinary scenes in the United States. Check out our list of recent favorite restaurants.

Depart Charleston. But before you leave the metro area entirely, stop to visit Drayton Hall, an 18th-century plantation on the Ashley River. Like the Aiken-Rhett House, the main home has never been restored, giving it historical importance and rich character. Tours delve into the history of the property’s enslaved people, ensuring that their stories are told in addition to those of the estate’s voluntary residents.

Continue on to Savannah, and check into Perry Lane Hotel. With 167 lodgings and a central Historic District location, this contemporary hotel lacks patina but compensates with modern conveniences and engaging service.

Spend two days exploring Savannah. Start with a leisurely stroll along Bull Street to fully appreciate the city’s graceful layout; the pretty thoroughfare links five celebrated garden squares to the verdant expanse of Forsyth Park, where fountains play amid gnarled trees draped in Spanish moss.

If historic homes are at all of interest, tour the Davenport House and the Owens-Thomas House.

Savannah also lays claim to the South’s oldest public art museum, the Telfair Museums.

And a drive through the atmospheric Bonaventure Cemetery is a must.

Depart Savannah and return north, checking into The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island, a beautifully appointed resort set along a 10-mile beach.

It’s time to have a day of pure relaxation after sightseeing in Charleston and Savannah. Complementing the beach are two seaside pools (one is adults-only), a spa and fitness center with an indoor pool, a tennis club and five championship golf courses on the island. The resort can also arrange for biking, sea kayaking and marshland canoe trips.

Drive about an hour from Kiawah Island back to Charleston’s airport, and depart on your flight home.