Photo: East Battery, Charleston · Chris Pruitt · CC BY-SA 3.0
🏖️South Carolina: What to Know Before You Go
Destination Intel / United States / South Carolina
Culture, Food and Etiquette
- Lowcountry boil (frogmore stew), shrimp, corn, crab, potatoes
- She-crab soup, roe-filled crab soup, Lowcountry specialty
- Barbecue with mustard-based sauce (South Carolina style)
- Shrimp and grits, creamy grits with fresh shrimp
- Charleston colonial history and antebellum architecture
- Myrtle Beach resort culture and golf courses
- Fort Sumter, Civil War starting point
- Gullah Geechee culture, African-American heritage and communities
South Carolina Lowcountry dialect; Gullah Geechee language in Sea Islands communities.
- Respect for Civil War and Reconstruction history
- Tipping 18-20% is expected
- Gullah Geechee culture is important heritage. Approach respectfully
- Southern hospitality is real and warmly given
Best Time to Visit
South Carolina is humid subtropical; spring and fall are warm and pleasant, summers are hot and humid with a coastal hurricane risk, and winters are mild.
- Peak: April to May, October
- Shoulder: March, November
- Off season: June to September, the hot humid months and hurricane season
Source: ncei.noaa.gov
Getting Around
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What moves the cost: Charleston and the Greenville area are the main hubs.
Common Questions
When is the best time to visit South Carolina?+
The coast and the upcountry are a drive apart.
Source: ncei.noaa.gov
The spring in Charleston and the summer beach season cost the most, while the humid peak of summer is quieter inland.+
Spring and fall are the most comfortable; the coast is a summer draw with hurricane risk in late summer.