This past weekend we escaped to Kiawah Island, SC! Stephen and I went with another couple we’re friends with; it was my friend Laura’s birthday and even though traveling is still limited right now we all thought it would be nice to get a change of scenery and celebrate even if it was for just a couple days.

We didn’t get to take advantage of a ton that Kiawah has to offer given that it was January, during a pandemic and we were only there for a weekend LOL, but we did have a really good time! So I can only imagine what it would be like during the summer and not during COVID. So I wanted to share my thoughts on it and what we did do for anyone else looking to visit!

First, if you’re in the Raleigh/Durham area, it’s a really easy drive. It’s about 5 hours south and around hour 4 you hit Charleston. So I would say if you’re planning a trip to Kiawah, definitely make Charleston part of your trip at some point (even if its just for some food and shopping like we did!)

I’m trying to think of how to describe Kiawah for people who haven’t been. I feel like it resembles a smaller, almost more “exclusive” version of Hilton Head. It’s really similar in that is has the beautiful beaches, golf courses, bike paths etc. Except with Kiawah, it’s a gated community and mostly private residences. Even though it’s smaller, there is still a pretty decent variety of restaurants to choose from but it’s more upscale casual to fine dining.

As far as where we stayed, we found an airbnb that was right off the beach so we literally just had to walk across the street to access it. There were also bikes provided so one day we biked down the beach, and around the island. There were a few restaurants within a 5-10 minute bike ride as they were right along the beach, and then there were a ton of casual and more fine dining restaurants and shops in an area called Freshfields Village. This would have been about 20-25 minutes to bike to, and was less then a 10 minute drive. We went to Catina 76 here one afternoon and it was really good, and then we ordered pizza from La Tela Pizzeria the first night we got to Kiawah which was great as well. We also planned to go to Hege’s (one of my dad’s friends from college is the owner and head chef) but they ended up being closed on Sunday. If you are looking for a nicer restaurant, Hege’s is a French Bistro and supposed to be delicious! There is also a Harris Teeter in this “village” so this is where we did our grocery shopping. Basically there is a lot in this Freshfields Village area!

Like I said, we stayed in the airbnb for a good amount of time because of COVID, and it was raining part of the time we were there. However, I would 100% go back, especially during the summer! The beach is beautiful, the houses are gorgeous to look at lol, and it was fun to bike around the island. I feel like this, plus good restaurants is really all you need. It’s definitely a great place to go if you’re looking to get some fresh air, or just some R&R. Have any of y’all been to Kiawah? Thoughts?!