Collect your hire car upon arrival at Savannah Airport and make your way to the Hotel Bardo, a chic urban retreat in a fanastic location. Shaded by old oak trees draped in Spanish moss, perfumed by magnolias and filled with historic buildings, public squares and pretty gardens, few American cities are more arresting than Savannah. Many of its attractions are in the highly walkable Historic District, including the Owens-Thomas House, one of the best examples of Regency architecture in America, and the tall brick warehouses of the waterfront, many of which have been tastefully transformed into seafood restaurants and riverfront bars. Guided walking tours come highly recommended, as does a visit to old Fort Jackson, which has stood in Savannah’s skyline for nearly two centuries.

Head north across the border into South Carolina and enjoy the scenic drive up to Montage Palmetto Bluff, a former hunting lodge on the May River set in 20,000 acres of protected maritime forest. It’s the ultimate Lowcountry retreat and your base for the next two nights, allowing ample opportunity to explore its lagoons and secret beaches, to relax with a massage, or to try your hand at anything from kayaking and golfing to clay pigeon shooting.

Continue to the coast and check in for three nights at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa. One of the most popular resort areas on the eastern seaboard, Hilton Head Island is a seaside playground with over 20 championship golf courses, some 200 tennis courts, numerous spas, quaint museums, historic buildings, shops and art galleries. A wide range of bike and nature trails criss-cross its sea marshes, lagoons, forests and sandy beaches, all of which can be explored in the island’s warm, subtropical climate.

Enjoy the scenic drive up the honeycombed coastline of South Carolina – past peninsulas, channels and subtropical sea islands – to the colonial city of Charleston and check in for three nights at The Charleston Place. Oozing with charm and dripping with history, Charleston’s famed Historic District contains one of the nation’s largest collections of antebellum architecture, and a fair share of distinctive Victorian buildings as well. Walking tours are a wonderful way to get to know the city. Almost all visit Fort Sumter, where the Civil War started in 1861, and Rainbow Row, a terrace of bright pastel houses dating back to the 1740s. But they also dip down back alleys and explore cobbled streets, revealing hidden gardens and courtyards, graveyards, churches and antebellum mansions. Charleston also boasts a lively entertainment scene with a great choice of music venues, bars and excellent restaurants, while just beyond the city are some magnificent plantations that are well worth a visit. Return your hire car at the airport on day 12 in time to catch your flight home.