Savannah To Charleston By Train

Small pets in carriers welcome, fee applies

Train travel is a good way to make a day trip to Charleston out of Savannah, with convenient morning departure and evening return times. The inverse, a day trip to Savannah out of Charleston, is also feasible if you don’t mind an extremely early start!

Amtrak provides direct train services between the two cities, with two trips in each direction daily. The journey takes around 1 hour 45 minutes (not including travel time to the respective stations), but please note that delays are possible.

Advance purchase internet-only fares start at around $22 each way ($44 round trip). The walk-up, single-trip fare is usually $28 ($56 round trip). Tickets can be bought at the station immediately prior to travel, or in advance through Amtrak.

More about traveling to and from Savannah by train, including travel info and ticket types

Savannah To Charleston

Two trains, one morning and one evening, leave Savannah northbound for Charleston daily. The morning Palmetto service departs Savannah at 8:20am, arriving in North Charleston at 10am. The evening Silver Meteor service leaves Savannah at 7:31pm, arriving at North Charleston at 9:17pm.

Charleston To Savannah

Two trains, one early morning and one evening, leave Charleston for Savannah each day. The morning Silver Meteor service departs Charleston at 4:51am and arrives in Savannah at 6:34am. The evening Palmetto service leaves Charleston at 7:19pm, arriving in Savannah at 9:04pm.

Station Addresses & Connecting Transport

Train travel between Savannah and Charleston is between the following locations:

Savannah Amtrak station at 2611 Seaboard Coastline Drive, 3 miles west of the Historic District. See location on map Taxi and limited bus services are available to and from the station. Read more about getting to Savannah’s train station

North Charleston Amtrak station at 4565 Gaynor Avenue, North Charleston, SC 29405. Please note that this station is in the separate city of North Charleston, 9 miles north of historic downtown Charleston. Taxi and bus services are available to and from downtown. See on map

Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA)’s Route 10 service provides bus transport between the train station and downtown Charleston. Buses depart from adjacent Rivers Avenue, a couple hundred yards from the station, not from the station itself.

Buses run up to every 30 minutes on weekdays, 6am-12pm. A less frequent service operates on weekends, with shorter operating hours. Ride time to Charleston Visitor Center is around 35 minutes.

A taxi from the train station to downtown Charleston and vicinity will cost $20-$35 (including tip), depending on your destination. Travel time to the Visitor Center is 15-20 minutes.

Savannah To Charleston By Bus

!Most bus services between Savannah and Charleston are currently suspended.

No pets allowed, service animals only

Current bus schedules between Savannah and Charleston, which have been amended on account of the coronavirus pandemic, do not permit convenient travel between the two cities.

A previous, direct service took a little over 2 hours, but now travel between the cities requires a connection in Columbia, SC, which adds significantly to total journey time.

There is one bus route daily from Charleston to Savannah, with economy ticket prices in the range of $18-$24, depending on the day of travel.

The bus departs Charleston at 10:30am, arriving in Savannah at 6:30pm, with a 3 hour 5 minute connection in Columbia, SC. Part of the journey is with Greyhound’s regional affiliate Southeastern Stages.

A return journey from Savannah to Charleston is not currently available.

→ Read more about traveling to and from Savannah by bus

Station Addresses & Connecting Transport

Bus travel between Savannah and Charleston is between the following locations:

Savannah Greyhound station at 610 West Oglethorpe Avenue, Savannah, GA 31401. Savannah’s bus station is right next to downtown, and easily reached by public transit, taxi and rideshare, or on foot. View location on map

North Charleston Greyhound station at 4565 Gaynor Street, North Charleston, SC 29406. Please note that this station is in the separate city of North Charleston, 9 miles northwest of historic downtown Charleston. Taxi, rideshare and local bus services are available to and from downtown. See on map

Savannah To Charleston By Taxi

Regular metered taxi fare between Savannah and Charleston will be around $220 excluding gratuity. The fare may vary according to traffic at the time of travel.

Many companies also provide flat rate transport between the two cities, including Savannah Airport Shuttle ($150 Savannah airport to Charleston, contact directly for rates from downtown) and Savannah Yellow Cab (Savannah to Charleston $203, $180 with advance reservation).

Driving Between Charleston & Savannah

If you have brought or rented a car for your vacation, driving is the cheapest and easiest way of traveling to Charleston from Savannah (or vice versa), but it offers little in the way of time savings.

In good traffic, the drive of just over 100 miles should take 2 hours or so. In morning and evening rush hour traffic, expect to spend 2 hours, 30 minutes or longer.

Parking in Charleston can be difficult, with many resident-permit-only areas downtown. One of the city’s several parking garages will usually be the easiest place to find a space. Fees are $1 per hour. Parking locations in Charleston

More Things To Do Near Savannah

– Lowcountry seafood festivals
– Wildlife refuges and state parks
– Historic Midway, GA
– Ossabaw Island tours
– Fall food festivals near Savannah
– Kayaking near Savannah
– Beaches near Savannah
– Hilton Head dolphin tours
– Ebenezer creek blackwater swamp
– Fort Pulaski