Why You Should Stay at Folly Beach Near Charleston, SC

Charleston, South Carolina is a very popular destination for girls’ trips and family vacations. Most Charleston trips include visiting the beautiful historical buildings and taking a ride in a horse-drawn carriage. 

However, a trip to Charleston isn’t complete without spending some time on the gorgeous beaches of the East Coast. Only a few minutes from Charleston is the beautiful Folly Beach. This is where I stayed during my trip to Charleston, and I loved every minute of it!

Here are a few reasons why you should stay at Folly Beach instead of in Charleston, SC.

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Proximity to Charleston

Folly Beach is only 11 miles away from Charleston making it the closest beach to the city center. Get to the heart of historic Charleston in minutes.

Staying in the city might give you the benefit of lower driving times or being within walking distance of some popular attractions. However, if you’re like me and you’re not into partying and nightlife, staying near the quiet beaches is a great alternative. 

If you want to know more about things to do in Charleston, check out this blog post:

Best Things to do in Charleston, South Carolina

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Sunrise and Sunset

If you stay at Folly Beach instead of Charleston, you have the added bonus of being able to wake up to the gorgeous sunrise over the water.

I love a good beach sunrise. If I was staying anywhere other than right on the beach, there’s an extremely low chance that I would actually want to wake up and drive to see the sunrise. But if it’s right outside my door I’ll wake up for sunrise every day!

Of course, you could spend an entire day swimming and laying out on the sand, but sunrise and sunset are my favorite times to be on the beach. Especially since at sunrise there’s rarely anyone else around.

The Pier

The Folly Beach Pier makes an already beautiful ocean landscape even more picturesque.

The pier is undergoing construction until spring of 2023, so we weren’t able to walk on it. But it does look pretty and you can still go underneath for the time being. This makes it a pretty good place for a photoshoot!

When it wasn’t too crowded, I even put up my Eno hammock under the pier. This was the most relaxing moment of my trip without a doubt!

Surfing

Folly Beach is known for having great surfing, and it’s not hard to see why.

I’m going to be honest; I don’t know the first thing about surfing. But the waves were really big and there were tons of people surfing when I was there, so I take that to mean that Folly is a good surf spot!

Where to Eat

There are a variety of unique restaurants in Folly Beach. Since I was only in Folly for a couple of days, I didn’t get to try many places. However, I did find a great seafood place!

I always say that you have to eat seafood if you visit the beach. Snapper Jacks has some great choices, and it’s where we had dinner on our last night in Folly.

It’s not right on the water, but it was within walking distance of our hotel and the beach. Sit on the rooftop for some nice views and good atmosphere!

I ordered the Fish and Chips: beer-battered white fish with hushpuppies, french fries, and coleslaw. The fish was HUGE and so delicious!

My friend, Brittney, ordered the Folly Salad which was also quite large and very good!

Shopping

This isn’t a big metropolitan area, so don’t expect any malls. Instead, check out the fun souvenir and surf shops that are close to the beach. We walked from our hotel to eat dinner and then visited the shops to find souvenirs!

Where to Stay

We stayed at Tides Folly Beach. This hotel is the only beachfront hotel in Folly Beach, so you get to wake up to gorgeous ocean views every day! The lobby is very modern, the pool is great, and the rooms are clean. But the best part is that every room has a balcony with a view of the ocean.

The hotel has 10 floors, but if you want to stay on the 4 upper floors, that’s an additional charge. However, we were lucky enough to get a 6th-floor room, so we had a great view.

For some reason, I didn’t take a photo of our view, but I did take some photos from our balcony at night and tried to capture the stars above the water.

During the day, we could see the pier and a good stretch of the beach.

By the way, this isn’t sponsored at all! We literally booked a room here a few hours before arriving and loved it!

If you’re trying to decide on a beach vacation or are looking for a day trip from Charleston, Folly Beach is a perfect choice! 

Read more about things to do in Charleston or discover the nearby Magnolia Gardens in my other blog posts!

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