The Insiders' Guide to St. Barths: Isle Of Palms, Charleston South Carolina

Have just returned from a two week stay at Isle Of Palms, South Carolina. The following is a brief (by my standards, LOL) review of the IOP and Charleston area, particularly aimed at those who have never been before.

As is our custom, we stayed in a beach front home about mid-island (yes, on the IOP, I am a Villa People). Isle of Palms is approximately 10 miles long and about one mile wide. It is about 15 miles from Charleston, being separated by Sullivanís Island and Mount Pleasant.

A few years back, Mt Pleasant was a quiet collection of neighborhoods with a few shops. Now it is almost bustling, with traffic, malls, movies and the like. Sullivanís Island, on the other hand, is still quiet and very nice. Everything good I say about IOP could also be said about Sullivanís - even more so. Sullivanís is quiet, absolutely charming, and home to several of our favorite restaurants.

At the north end of IOP is Wild Dunes, an oceanfront development including numerous homes, villas, a nice hotel, many condos, more tennis courts than John McEnroe could shoot a birdie at and two golf courses.

The rest of Isle of Palms includes mostly private homes (for rent) with a small (approximately four block) business area with low rise hotels (code wont allow anything over four stories outside of Wild Dunes), several beach-type eateries and bars and the usual assortment of surf shops.

Rentals on IOP can run from under 100 dollars a night (the hotels and sea cabins in the business area) to thousands of dollars a night for a large and grand home complete with private pools. On Sullivan's, there are no hotels, yet houses can still be rented in small number. Sullivan's, except for its very small business area (about two blocks) is even more quiet than IOP. Very nice.

Here are my observations for this trip:

BEACH:

The beach about mid-island IOP (41st block) was wider than I have seen in years. Toward Wild Dunes, there appeared to be a little of the ìfill sandî (a bit squishier than native sand) further than I remembered however the beach was wide and appeared to be in good condition even toward the north end. We did not go further than the Pavilion in Wild Dunes so I cant comment about that area but the lower end of Wild Dunes down through mid-island and past the pier all appeared in fine shape. While the beach below the pier was also wide and flat, toward the very south end (Breach Inlet) there seemed to be some ìwave carvingsî into the sand dunes. Perhaps a sign of ìpre-erosionî here? Given that this end has accreted (widened) over the last half a century, I would not push the panic button, but the dunes did look a bit curious at the end. All in all, beaches appeared in fine shape.

CROWDS:

All South Carolina beaches are public. And folks can park along the road and come out onto the beach anywhere there is a public access. Our first week displayed somewhat alarming crowds. Certainly not Jones Beach or Myrtle Beach, but more folks than we are accustomed to on the IOP. The second week did not have the same crowds and was more the sparsely populated IOP that we have come to know and love. For the most part, the people appeared to be the same quiet and reserved folks as in the past although a couple of groups did appear a little more ìrough around the edgesî than we have seen in the past. Even so, a pretty quiet and restful time on the beach - though it is not Saline to be sure!

RESTAURANTS:

High Thyme (Sullivanís Island): This has become our favorite on the islands. Between our trip in the spring and these two weeks, we have eaten there five times and loved it each time. Specializing in lightly done seafood dishes, the chef has the deft and experienced type of hand that one associates with St. Barth. The tuna appetizer is to die for and is MANDATORY on trips to this restaurant. This restaurant is absolutely top notch in every way. And like all restaurants on the island, nice shorts, a nice shirt (please, no muscle shirts) and nice sandals are fine for dinner. A MUST DO restaurant.

Station 22 (Sullivanís): Continues to be attractive with great food. The poblano pepper appetizer is again a Must Do dish. The food is dependable, lightly done and delicious. The prices are also agreeable. Never disappointed here. And the menu is a little bit larger than High Thymeís.

Atlanticville (Sullivanís): While the restaurant itself is quite good, we usually go for Thai Tuesday, when the menu is concentrated on Asian dishes. Normally we order several appetizers and split them, the spring rolls being particularly nice. Eating outside under the canopy is a bonus in good weather, as we had, and the presence of soft live music is a nice touch.

ACME cantina: Tex-mex, bar food. Basic and delicious. We enjoyed a couple of meals there, nothing fancy, but were chagrined when on our third trip they were sporting a ìBî rating on the door. Hopefully this changes soon.

Coconut Joe's: Usually dont eat here, but go to the top on late afternoons for drinks. A great place to hang out and observe people. And they make killer ìfoo fooî drinks such as pina coladas and various multicolored concoctions. The live music - often a reggae band playing top forty stuff reggae style - is fun and entertaining.

INVASION OF THE BARTHIANS:

One meal at High Thyme was made even more enjoyable by running into Seles and the lovely Mrs Seles from this site. Having met these Barthians ìon islandî back in June, it was nice to see familiar faces back here in the states. We chatted a few moments and caught up with other ìislandersî. Was a fun time.

While at the pool of our complex, I overheard a group of young people talking and one of them stated she had bought her shades at St. Barths. We struck up a conversation and she stated how she and her family had just returned from SBH (Isle de France) in early June. It was her first trip, though her parents have been many times. We compared notes and it sounds as though this pleasant and attractive young lady will be a Fellow Barthian for many decades to come.

I also became aware that the Minatras were at Wild Dunes while we are at IOP. Unfortunately we did not have any meeting arranged but it is funny to know that so many Barthians were at IOP at the same time.

I would be happy to answer any questions that I can answer. Also, Seles is a tremendous help with local knowledge and the company with which he is associated, Dunes Properties, can help you with any rental or purchase needs you may have.

Best Island Wishes.

IV