Day 1 - Friday, 12/6/2024 Fly to Charleston
Today depart on your flight bound for the South. Spend your first two nights in Charleston, SC, originally founded as Charles Towne in 1670.
|
|
Day 2 - Saturday, 12/7/2024 - Breakfast - Dinner Charleston Sightseeing
Today visit Middleton Place, home to America’s oldest landscaped garden & a National Historic Landmark. It began in 1741 and took 10 years to complete the terraces, lakes and camellia alleys. Tour the home and stable yard with its craft displays. This afternoon, enjoy a Charleston City Tour. Built on a peninsula, Charleston has remained a beautiful port city for over 300 years. Both preservation and southern gentility are a way of life here. See the Historic District, Citadel, and Battery Park. Tonight, enjoy a Welcome Dinner with your fellow travelers at a popular local restaurant in Charleston. After dinner enjoy a Holiday Lights Drive through one of Charleston’s popular districts decked out for the holiday season.
|
|
Day 3 - Sunday, 12/8/2024 - Breakfast Beaufort / To Savannah
This morning visit the Edmonston-Alston House. Despite the ravages of the Civil War, the Earthquake of 1886 and numerous hurricanes, the Alston family pieces remain in place much as they have for over 150 years. Notable in the collection is an original print of the Ordinance of Secession, portraits, dining room table, gas lights, mirrors, and exquisite interior woodwork. Then, depart for the historic port city of Beaufort, a quaint 1711 town with narrow tree-lined streets and historic homes. Enjoy a charming Carriage Ride through town. Then travel to the fascinating city of Savannah, and check in for a two-night stay. Enjoy free time this evening to enjoy a local restaurant or shopping on your own. |
|
Day 4 - Monday, 12/9/2024 - Breakfast - Dinner Savannah Sightseeing
Tour the restored Mercer-Williams House Museum designed by New York architect John S. Norris for General Hugh W. Mercer and completed in 1868. Next enjoy a Savannah City Tour. See the 20 original squares, all landscaped with oaks, azaleas, fountains, and statues. Drive by the Old Cotton Exchange, River Street, and Madison Square of General Sherman’s ‘March to the Sea’ fame. Enjoy time on your own this afternoon to see the sights of John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil and stroll the historic cobblestone streets. Tonight enjoy southern cuisine at a fine local restaurant in Savannah. After dinner enjoy some of the wonderful holiday decorations and lights Savannah has to offer.
|
|
Day 5 - Tuesday, 12/10/2024 - Breakfast Jekyll Island
Today travel south to the Golden Isles of Georgia. Visit St. Simons Island, known for its salt marshes and sandy beaches. View famous Christ Church and the St. Simons Lighthouse which was destroyed during the Civil War and rebuilt in 1872. Arrive on Jekyll Island, a former hunting reserve for America’s top millionaires. Goodyear, Pulitzer, and Rockefeller all built elaborate “cottages” here. Stay two nights at the 1886 Jekyll Island Club, a Victorian-style hotel originally an exclusive retreat for the wealthy. Jekyll Island becomes Holly Jolly Jekyll during the holiday season with over 500,000 light bulbs and 35,000 lights on the Great Tree.
|
|
Day 6 - Wednesday, 12/11/2024 - Breakfast - Dinner Jekyll Island
This morning enjoy a guided Jekyll Island Trolley Tour of the historic district which includes the Indian Mound Cottage, the Mosaic Gallery, and Faith Chapel. Your afternoon is at leisure. Tonight’s Farewell Dinner is in the Jekyll Island Club’s Grand Dining Room, a venue of both social and historical significance which has welcomed guests for over a century.
|
|
Day 7 - Thursday, 12/12/2024 - Breakfast Fly Home
Motor to Jacksonville and fly home with wonderful memories. |
|