Can You Do a Girls' Trip in 24 Hours?

Yes, you can, if fact we just returned from one. Last week, we flew to Charleston, S.C. with our BFF Heidi for a quickie girls' trip in the middle of a very busy month. Why so short? Well, with a couple jobs and five kids between us (not to mention a continuing ed class and back to school night), there wasn't much time left. Heidi wanted to check out the quaint Southern city that was voted America's friendliest by Travel + Leisure readers. She asked us to give her 24 hours and naturally we couldn't refuse.


To make a 24 hour trip work for you, three things have to happen. First, you have to go somewhere close. Charleston was an hour and a half away by plane. The downtown is only a few minutes away by cab and the shopping was right outside our hotel. We stayed at the Charleston Place Hotel which occupies a big block right in the middle of everything (shopping, restaurants, nightlife) that way we could drop our bags and head out to the boutiques.


Next, you can't expect to accomplish too much. Our main objective was to spy the downtown and hit the shops, have a great dinner, and laugh over a few cocktails. Heidi accomplished the most (no surprise to those that know her well), coming home with a suitcase full of new dresses, tops, and shoes she found on King Street. After a little catnap, we had a lobster dinner at the Peninsula Grill topped off with their fantastic (and mail-order) coconut cake. We finished the night at the rooftop Pavilion Bar with its 360 views of downtown and the harbor.


Finally, a little luck never hurts. On this trip, our flights were on time, even arriving early both ways; our hotel room was ready at 10 a.m.; and the weather was perfect (not too hot and no rain).

While 24 hours seems so short, it was plenty of time to catch up with each other without any distractions. On the plane home, Heidi was setting the stage for our next adventure, "You know, I've never seen Montreal."

Editors' note: Thanks for all the great suggestions from our fab readers. Love to get insider info!