When is The Best Time to Visit Charleston?

You decided to go to Charleston for the first time, good for you. Charleston is a wonderful city that every American should see. The food, the culture, the history, I would say it still is one of the most underrated cities in this country. The question is, when is the best time to visit Charleston? As in most places certain months are better than others. Weather plays an important role in one’s decision, and this is especially true of Charleston, but it is not the only factor.

So, when is the best time to visit Charleston? A three to four-day trip in the time frame from early October to mid-November is the ideal time to visit Charleston. March and April would be my second consideration. Both make outside activities more pleasant, due to the preferable climate. Avoiding the heat and humidity is key for this city. To get the best memories from your trip you need to be able to walk the area easily, something that is not pleasant to do in the Summer months. A rule of thumb for all these regions is Deep South + August heat = misery. Ok, maybe misery is too strong of a word, but it may feel miserable at times.

I have traveled to Charleston in all seasons, I love it in all seasons. The fall is just my optimal time to visit the city. Most activities are more enjoyable in this period. Summer is only good if you are going specifically for the beach. Let me break down why I think that October – November is the best time to visit Charleston.

Why October – November is the Best Time to Visit Charleston

Weather…there article done. Oh, wait I have about half a page more to write. Seriously, if you never have been in the deep south during the summer, than you have never knocked on the door to hell. It is funny, I go to New Orleans every summer, and the pure volume of alcohol makes it a bit easier to take the heat. Charleston is not New Orleans; the heat can get down right overbearing in the summer. It is also less socially acceptable to be drunk at 10:30am.

The average high temperature in July and August is close to 90 degrees. That is only half the story. Add to this heat a humidity that makes it feel like you have a 100-pound safe strapped to your back. The combined southern heat and humidity is a special kind of awful. It makes even the smallest things uncomfortable.

Let us compare this to mid fall temperatures and it is much more reasonable. The average high for October is 75 degrees, in November that falls to 67 degrees (source). This is the perfect weather to enjoy Charleston. To make things even better the humidity is (mainly) gone at this time. This is important for reasons I will get to in a moment. One last note about Charleston’s weather in October. Rainfall is also considerably less in the fall than the summer. Average rainfall in the summer months can reach up to 9 days a month. In October and November that falls to about 4 days. So, when is the best time to visit Charleston? The searing heat of summer shows why we should push your Charleston trip off to fall.

Outdoor Activities in Charleston

It is especially important to avoid the heat of Charleston in the summer because of the plentiful outdoor activities to enjoy in this city. As mentioned, unless you want to spend the weekend on the beach many of your experiences will be better with less heat and humidity. Let me just name a few.

Carriage Rides in Charleston

It is bad enough I am making these poor horses cart my fat arse around, now I am going to double down on this and am making them lug me in the dead of Summer? Take my advice, give you and the horse a break and go in October. I enjoy a good carriage ride around town, you learn a lot of history and get to see the city. Take my word for it is better in cooler weather. You feel more comfortable at this time. One bonus certain body functions of the horse aren’t as tough on your nose in the cool months of October or November.

Plantation Tours in Charleston

One late spring while staying in Charleston, we chose the Middleton Place as our home base. We stayed in an interesting room on the plantation. The atmosphere was amazing, the environment was beautiful, it was great to just explore. Except…once again the heat was overbearing. We could not walk more than 10-minutes in some areas due to the heat. I believe that was in May, I can imagine how bad it would have been in August.

Just Exploring the Streets

As anyone who has visited this site knows, I love walking the streets of any city. Strolling from one café to another to enjoy a cold drink. Here again, the heavy humidity doesn’t lend well to this. I do not like eating in the heat, unless it is New Orleans and I am too drunk to care. October is the best time to visit Charleston because it lends well to doing just about nothing.

I can go on, but you get the point. Any outside activity besides a beach is no fun in crippling heat. Fall just has better weather, which makes for a superior time.

Festivals in October/November

The cooler weather also allows for some great festivals and events. I will go by last year, but nothing is guaranteed in 2020 travel. Events such as the Charleston Gallery Association Art walk and the Charleston Greek Festival occur in October. After 2020 I am confident we will get to a more normal schedule, but double check the dates.

Given we are entering into the holiday season in October you can also enjoy many Halloween related activities such as the Lowcountry Halloween Fest, among others. In November Christmas starts to pop its head out a bit. Besides the decorations, the Festival of lights starts on or around November 15th. Once again I would double check these dates. You get nice weather and that warm and fuzzy holiday feeling.

There are also great festivals NORMALLY in Charleston in the springtime frame. If you are a runner in April, they have the Cooper bridge run. Hotel rooms are not easy to come by at this time, but the run itself looks great to those who like running. Unless there is She-Crab soup at the other end I will watch.

Why Not December in Charleston?

The weather is still nice in December, but it can get colder especially by the water. It can also be strangely hot. I have been to Charleston, on Christmas day no less. The main reason I prefer October and November to December is I am a Christmas nut. When we got there on Christmas day it was 75 degrees, people were in shorts. Nothing kills the Christmas buzz more than a warm Christmas. I am not drinking hot eggnog or hot chocolate while getting a tan. This is my preference; you may think differently.

March-April

I touched on this before but let me reinforce that if you can’t come to Charleston in October or November, April and March also usually have great weather. April more so than March, March is a bit unpredictable in Charleston, with a little more rain than the fall and a bit cooler. Still both months are a great time to visit Charleston.