Last week, my best gals & I road-tripped to South & North Carolina! The main reason behind our visit was to pick up the cutest little babe: Peter, an 8 week old Viszla pup. So (obviously) we used this as an excuse to plan a whole trip hehe.

Charleston & Asheville were our main stops. Although we wish we had more time to explore each town, I’m sharing my fave spots from our itinerary. ALSO, I had asked for your recommendations on Instagram and made sure to include them all at the end of this post!

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Day 1: Miami, florida –> charleston, South Carolina

We had a 9 hour drive directly to Charleston, so we woke up early and hit the road by 5am. We stopped along the way in Vero Beach, FL for breakfast at good ol’ Cracker Barrel and then a pit-stop at Starbucks in Savannah, Georgia (which I’ve been dying to visit!!).

Where we stayed

Luckily, we found this dreamy airbnb stay for ONLY $50/night! Here’s a quick tour I made of the space! It was a cute townhouse in a great location – only a short drive to downtown Charleston, surrounded by lots of yummy eats and you could even bike to Sullivan’s Island – lot’s of great restaurants there too!

WHERE WE ATE

Light lunch: As soon as we arrived, we stopped at Metto Coffee & Tea for a panini + coffee. I’m a sucker for cute & cozy cafes and this was definitely one of them. Bonus: their sandwiches are amazing!

Dinner: The Obstinate Daughter in Sullivan’s Island (really short drive from the airbnb). I cannot recommend this spot enough!!! It’s a Southern restaurant influenced by Italian, Spanish and French cuisine. The food was so so good, the space is beautiful AND there’s a sweet shop right downstairs for dessert afterwards. Hands down, my favorite dinner experience from the whole trip.

Dessert: After dinner, went down to BeardCats Sweetshop and ended the night with hot cocoa.

things to do

Because we only spent a day and a half in Charleston, we didn’t have much time to really explore. But after checking into our airbnb, we strolled around Downtown Charleston. I fell in love with this area – it really does feel like you’re in a Hallmark movie?! The most picturesque, quaint old town. Make sure you travel inward to King Street and George Street.

Day 2: Breakfast in Charleston | En route to Asheville

We checked out of our airbnb early morning and went straight to grab coffee at Vintage Coffee Cafe. This one is a MUST visit! It’s DREAMY. Sitting outdoors here really give you those small town feels.

After grabbing coffee here, we headed back into Downtown Charleston to pick up warm biscuits at Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit. This was our yummy breakfast on the go as we began our 4 hour drive to Asheville, North Carolina.

4 hours later, Hello Asheville :)

where we stayed

ANOTHER Airbnb gem! This one almost feels like you’re in a cozy tree house. Click here for another quick lil tour video! We loved the space & location. It’s only a 5 minute drive from Downtown Asheville, the arts district and all the local eateries + bars.

where we ate

Lunch: we arrived just in time for lunch and had to try out another highly recommended spot: Tupelo Honey. Here you’ll get a really good Southern food experience!

Dessert: Gelato at Asheville Chocolate. Walking distance from Tupelo Honey.

After dessert, we spent the rest of our day strolling around Downtown Asheville and called it an early night!

Day 3: Asheville

Breakfast: Liberty House Coffee & Café – a rustic chic coffee shop with heaps of yummy options (their pancakes and avo toast are delish). With COVID, they only have outdoor seating but if you happen to visit in the winter (like we did), there’s lots of heaters outside. It’s perfect.

Dinner: Red Ginger Dim Sum Tapas - if you’re a Chinese food lover, this dim sum & tapas bar is a great spot. Soup dumplings & lettuce wraps were my favorite.

things to do

Visit the Biltmore – America’s largest home located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville. This was HIGHLY recommended but unfortunately we weren’t able to do it. If you do plan to visit, family & friends suggested to buy your tickets online in advance.
Stroll around Biltmore Village – this is a charming little village filled with the cutest cottages, farm-t0-table restaurants, cafes & shops.
Drive 40 minutes from Asheville to Chimney Rock. This is home to one of North Carolina’s most beautiful parks: Chimney Rock State Park. You could spend a whole day here hiking, strolling around the Chimney Rock Village and the Riverwalk, shopping, eating AND visiting the winery right across the village: Burntshirt Vineyards. If you decide to visit the State Park, it’s $17 per adult/$8 for children. I would recommend driving your car up and then hiking up to the top of the Chimney Rock flag pole for some pretty amazing mountain views!!
If you love beer, visiting some breweries here are a must! We went to Wicked Weed Brewing Pub (great prices) and Wicked Weed Funkatorium.

Day 4: Asheville –> Greensboro, North Carolina (picking up Peter!)

Woke up early, grabbed coffee to-go at High Five Coffee and hit the road for 3 hours until we arrived to Greensboro.

where we ate

Breakfast: as soon as we arrived in Greensboro, we went for breakfast at Scrambled Southern Diner. We loved it! The coffee, the southern breakfast, small town feel. Definitely recommend if you happen to be around the area or just passing through.

Dinner: Sticks & Stones Clay Oven Pizza (can’t go wrong with wood fired pizza)

where we stayed

The Groome Inn – a family-owned Bed & Breakfast Inn! I had always dreamt of staying at a small town B&B and this was IT. Dream come true hehe. This cozy stay is located just a few minutes outside of Greensboro surrounded by beautiful countryside views.

*Fun fact: The Groome Inn also happens to be a wedding venue! So if you or any of your gals happen to be looking for an outdoor wedding venue, DEFINITELY look into it.

After breakfast and checking into our B&B, it was TIME. We drove 15 minutes out to a realllly small town: Julian, North Carolina to pick up cutie little Peter. The next morning, we woke up at 4am and started our drive back to Miami with our favorite road-trip buddy – sweetest ending to our gals trip! :)

Day 5: Back to Miami, Florida

I saved ALL of your recommendations from Instagram for both Charleston & Asheville and I’m sharing them here! I may or may not be planning another little road-trip back to Charleston for my birthday next month (I loved it that much) so stay tuned for more!! x