Overnight: Days Inn, N. Charleston
1-800-325-2525

Day 2:
Drive north to Huntington State Park, at Murrell's Inlet. Of the 2,500 acres comprising Huntington, 1,060 are saltmarsh and tidal waters, 750 are woodland, 90 acres are freshwater lagoon, 400 acres of maritime shrub and 200 acres of sandy beach and dunes. This diversity provides for a large variety of birds and other wildlife. After a morning exploring the park, we will cross the highway to Brookgreen Gardens, a garden museum on the site of a former 18^th century rice and indigo plantation. There are 2,000 species of plants growing here, there are 500 sculptures and a wildlife park is available.
1-843-237-4218 (B/L)
Overnight: Days Inn

Day 3:  
Tour the beautiful 300-year old city of Charleston, renowned for its architecture and its Southern gentility. Its homes proudly display enchanting walled gardens and an array of flowers. We will walk an area famous for these before taking our boat tour of Charleston Harbour across to Fort Sumter National Monument. Built in 1829, Confederate troops fired the first shots of the Civil War against Fort Sumter in 1861. We will tour the fort and the adjacent area.
(B/L_ Overnight: Days Inn

                                                                                  
Day 4:
Today we drive north of Charleston to Francis Marion National Forest, over 250,000 acres of coastal sand flats, black swamp waters, moss-hung oaks, pines and lakes. Despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, there is still much forest to explore and many fascinating creatures to see, such as the rare Red-cockaded Woodpecker, the Bachman's Sparrow, Brown-headed Nuthatch and numerous reptiles. Within the forest lies the I'On Swamp, renowned as the last known refuge of the Bachman's Warbler and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Later we will visit the Audubon Sanctuary at Francis Beidler Forest, containing the largest known stand of virgin cypress and tupelo trees in the world. We will walk the 1.5 mile boardwalk to view the native trees, plants and wildlife.  1-843-462-2150
(B/L) Overnight: Days Inn

Day 5:
A relaxing day exploring the beautiful 500-acre Magnolia Plantation and its gardens. The 60-acre garden dates back to the 1680s and contains numerous species of camellias, azaleas and other flowers. We will take the Nature Train around the plantation and hear about its history. We will also visit the Audubon Swamp Garden and traverse its trails, boardwalks and bridges .
(B/L) Overnight: Days Inn

Day 6:                   
Today we leave Charleston and drive south to Savannah. En route, we will stop to observe the array of wildlife of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge situated on the South Carolina Georgia border. Thousands of ducks and other waterbirds overwinter here. We should see many birds as we drive along the dike roads.
(B/L) Overnight: Best Western Savannah Gateway  1-912-925-2420

Day 7:
Early morning visit to downtown Savannah. Founded by the English in 1733, the plantation economy of tobacco and cotton prospered through this new port. The Civil War saw Savannah fall to General Sherman in 1864, but its homes were spared and many still survive today, due to the work of its historical foundations. We will also visit the Savannah History Museum as well as view the restored waterfront area. Later we will visit a historic plantation, now the Bonaventure Cemetery, to discover migrating birds on their passage south. We will then proceed north as we return to Charleston for our final night.
(B/L/D) Overnight: Days Inn, North Charleston

Day 8:
After breakfast, we will fly home from Charleston airport.