Looking for a unique date idea for Valentine’s Day? We asked real Charleston moms for their favorite local date ideas and here’s what they said!
Date ideas…from you!
“We love to take the boat out over by Bowen’s Island on James Island and fish, grab oysters or just cruise around. Pack a cooler of good beer and watch the sun go down!”
“Our favorite date night is to walk along the Waterfront Park towards the Battery right before sunset. We watch the sunset at the Battery and walk back towards downtown down Calhoun Street. It’s so fun and romantic to walk the streets of downtown at night with the gas lanterns flickering. End at Kaminsky’s for drinks and dessert!”
“Seeing a movie at The Terrace makes you feel like you stepped back in time. We split a bottle of wine and see something that we’d never get to watch with the kids.”
“There are a lot of cute little wine bars in Charleston! One of my favorite finds is East Bay Meeting House on East Bay. It’s warm and cozy and so romantic. Another favorite is Bin 152 on King Street!” (Ardoa Wine Bar, Accent on Wine, and FortyEight were also mentioned!)
“We like to do the exercise/obstacle course at Hampton Park and then go have lunch.”
“With two young kids, we have given up on going out. We order dinner for pickup from Ted’s Butcher Block or Mercantile & Mash, and treat ourselves to a quiet dinner after the kids are in bed.”
“So this is random, but we had a blast! Since both of us are locals, we sometimes talk about how we don’t ever take advantage of the “tourist” stuff because we grew up learning about it. So we started doing those things as dates! The last one we did was a culinary tour and we had a blast. Everyone was from out of town and it was cool to get to hear the history of Charleston through eating. I sometimes take for granted how amazing this place is. Stuff like that is a great reminder. Next date… a carriage tour!”
“My husband and I took a paddle boarding class together at the James Island County Park one evening a few years ago, we now get out to paddle in Clark Sound whenever we have time alone.”
“We love to grab dinner downtown (Basil!) and then go see a show we’ve never seen. Theatre 99, The American, Music Farm or The Gaillard always have something interesting!”
“We had the best “getaway” staying downtown overnight. We don’t often go downtown to eat because of driving home if we want to have drinks. I think a night away in your own town is so special and stress free!”
“Since our date nights are far and few between, we like to check out multiple bars and restaurants in one night. Pre-dinner drinks at one place, dinner somewhere else, maybe dessert at a different place, and end with a nightcap at a new bar we’ve wanted to try.”
“We love to go to the shooting range! Usually go to Quickshot.”
“We so rarely get date nights that even though we want to try all of Charleston’s trendiest places, we don’t want to waste a date night on a hit or miss restaurant. We always end up at Rue de Jean. It is consistently excellent food, consistent service, & consistently cozy and romantic.”
Other favorite restaurants mentioned were Wild Olive, The Grocery, Sushi 101, SOL, Lokkal, and Obstinate Daughter.
What are your favorites date night spots?
For 125+ more date ideas, check out our Ultimate Charleston Date Ideas Guide!
