Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant

If Patriot’s Point isn’t at the top of your Charleston agenda, rethink it! This is the absolute, hands-down must-see thing in Charleston. You get to go inside navy ships - large and small and understand the lives of a sailor and other military personnel aboard these ships. It was my first experience on a navy ship, so it was very informative and eye opening. I will say, there are a lot of tight quarters, narrow halls, and dozens of steep ladders/stairs to climb as your tour up and down and across the ships. I walked about 3 miles in total across 3.5 hours that we spent. We had to hurry through - and it still took us 3.5 hours. We thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it. The Vietnam experience is unique and worth walking through. The self guided tours were pretty well labeled so you can navigate your way through. Plenty of hands on things you can touch and watch, too.

We have visited a couple of times, and the museum is excellent. You can make this a quick trip and spend a couple of hours or an entire day. If you love military history, you could stretch this and make it a two-day trip if you want to see every little aspect, including the other ships.

I went for a Navy Graduation ceremony on this ship. This place was full of historical information. I learned so much about the history of this ship and it’s service. That had an elevator to the top of the flight deck. Restrooms are easily accessible. The gift shop had plenty of items.Well worth the money to visit and wear comfortable shoes and clothes. Their is a lot of ground to cover. Also the cool breeze of being there early in the morning is the best time to visit during the summer months.

If you are visiting the Charleston area, this is a must do. Amazing to tour Patriots Point. Admission includes the Yorktown aircraft carrier, the USS Laffey Destroyer and the Vietnam Experience. If you want to see everything and take your time, you should plan on about 6.5 hours. You get to walk through many areas of the carrier and destroyer. Wear good, comfortable shoes. You will also be going up and down stairs that are sometimes more ladder than stair. There are also some spaces that are little tight. We thoroughly enjoyed our day at Patriots Point.

My family visited on a Tuesday afternoon and didn’t find it to be too crowded and found this to be an incredible experience that I recommend anyone in the Charleston area check out! Patriots Point offers an amazing opportunity to discover first hand the history of our country and offers exhibits that would even be interesting to those not inclined to want to learn about history. I highly recommend checking out this aircraft carrier and the surrounding exhibits with your family. It took my family about 4.5 hrs to walk through all of Patriots Point but I would definitely say that it was worth the money and time! I especially loved the Vietnam experience and appreciated how immersive and informative the exhibit was!