Christmas In Charleston!
November 29 – December 3, 2022
Arrive Tuesday, November 29 – Depart Saturday, December 3
10/18/2022 UPDATE: Space is very limited – only two rooms are left!
This year we are offering a Christmas tour to the most gracious, historic, and genteel city in the South: Charleston! Our tour is designed to please those who have been to Charleston before as well as those enjoying it for the first time. Either way, you will see it all dressed up in its Christmas finery!
We will dine at several of the city’s most respected restaurants, featuring classic Carolina Low Country Cuisine as well as cutting edge contemporary menus.
Perhaps what may be the most memorable activity of all:
THE CHRISTMAS PROGRESSIVE DINNER
Drinks and hors d’oeuvres at Kings Courtyard Inn, dinner at Circa 1886, and dessert at the John Rutledge House. All three are impressive historic properties. Horse-drawn carriages will transport us among the three locations!
AN OLD SOUTH CHRISTMAS!
Two Christmas Concerts will showcase the unique atmosphere that is part of an Old South Christmas experience –
THE DRAYTON HALL SPIRITUALS CONCERT – sung by a top-notch local ensemble, in one of the nation’s most important 18th century plantation homes! This will include a wine reception and tour of Drayton, at a private Flying Longhorns-only event.
THE CITADEL CADETS CHRISTMAS CONCERT – Their Festival of Lessons & Carols in the grand Gothic Chapel of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina.
CHARLESTON – THE 400-YEAR-OLD QUEEN OF THE ENGLISH SOUTH!
- TWO in-depth walking tours focusing on the History and Architecture of Charleston with our art and architecture historian from the Historic Charleston Foundation.
- Visits to four of the great Museum Houses – Heyward-Washington (George actually did sleep here!), Nathanial Russell (with one of the grandest staircases you will ever see), Edmonston-Alston, (a gorgeous mansion right on the waterfront), and Aiken-Rhett, (decorated for the season by local designers).
- Free time is factored into your schedule for you to see museums, Ft. Sumter, Patriots Point, the other two tour homes, and other sites of your choice.
In addition to all of the above, the tour package includes four nights at THE PLANTERS INN located in the heart of the Historic District.
Among the many significant awards earned by the Planters Inn:
- #1 Best U.S. Small City Hotel (Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards)
- Top 100 Hotels & Gold List (Conde Nast Readers Choice Award)
- AAA Four Diamond Award
- Top U.S. Boutique Hotel Award Winner (Departures)
- Top U.S. Hotel Award (Forbes)
- Top Hotel in the United States Award (U.S. News & World Report)
Two lunches, two dinners and a post-concert dessert reception are also included in the tour.
Tour leadership by Byron Cain, UT MBA ‘75, former SMU lecturer on Charleston history and architecture.
This tour is for Texas Exes Flying Longhorns only. It will not be combined with any other groups. All Flying Longhorns travelers must have an active membership in the Texas Exes. Memberships start at just $50.
This tour has a maximum of only twenty people which ensures a small-group exclusive experience.
Click here to download the tour policy and liability release document in PDF format. This must be filled out and returned at least fifteen days prior to tour embarkation. The PDF form can be downloaded, filled out in any recent PDF reader software (we suggest Adobe Acrobat Reader DC) by typing your name(s) and date at the bottom, then you can save and return it to the email address shown on the form. Alternately, you may print the PDF out, sign it conventionally and mail it to the address on the form. You may also scan the signed form and email it back.
Payment And Registration
Due to the pandemic and security concerns, we are currently exclusively using PayPal to accept payments for both the deposit and remainder of the tour price. No PayPal account is required – you may pay using Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express without a PayPal account. Click here for instructions on how to use our payment system if you don’t have a PayPal account and wish to pay with a credit or debit card. If you have a PayPal account, you can also pay using your PayPal balance, direct debit from your bank account or an electronically-processed check. We will not record or retain your payment information; PayPal manages the security of the payment process. We are no longer accepting paper checks; if you do not wish to pay online, you may contact us to make other arrangements such as paying by credit card over the phone.
The price of the tour is $2716 per person double occupancy or $3471 per person single occupancy. Gratuities for coach driver, hotel luggage assistance, restaurants and speakers are included in this price. A deposit of $500 per person is needed to reserve a space.
To register and pay now, follow these steps:
- Click the PayPal “Pay Now” button immediately below.
- Proceed through the PayPal deposit checkout process. You can pay for multiple persons’ deposits at one time if desired.
- Once you have completed PayPal checkout, please make sure you click on the “Return To Merchant” button at the bottom of the page. You will be taken to an online form to register for the tour – so please don’t close out of the window when you finish checkout! Complete the form, hit submit and you’re done with the deposit and registration.
If you have problems with this process, please contact us.
PayPal – Deposit Checkout And Tour Registration: