Augusta GA to Charleston SC drive: Distance, time & best stops
The distance from Augusta GA to Charleston SC by car is 151 miles, with a 2h54m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Augusta to Charleston drive are Orangeburg SC, the UFO Welcome Center and Givhans Ferry State Park.
Planning an Augusta to Charleston road trip itinerary
The Augusta GA to Charleston SC drive connects northern Georgia to the South Carolina coast.
Augusta is, famously, the home of the US Masters golf tournament.
Augusta’s top attractions are the Augusta Museum of History, the Laurel and Hardy Museum and the Augusta National Golf Club. You can also take a jetski tour along the Savannah River or take a stroll along the garden-lined Augusta Riverwalk.
Charleston SC is one of the most attractive historic cities in the South.
Highlights of a visit include plantation tours – take your pick from the Boone Plantation and the Magnolia Plantation. Most visitors will also take the ferry to Fort Sumter, where the American Civil War started.
Other classic Charleston activities include a horse and carriage tour, history cruises on the harbor and night-time ghost walks.
For less conventional options, try a dinner cruise with live music, a Downtown food tour and a speakeasy cocktail-making class.
Augusta GA to Charleston SC distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Augusta GA to Charleston SC is 151 miles. You can expect a driving time of around two hours and 54 minutes. The quickest route goes along US-278, SC-39 and I-26.
The best stops to add to an Augusta GA to Charleston SC road trip itinerary are Orangeburg SC, the UFO Welcome Center and Givhans Ferry State Park.
Augusta GA to Charleston SC road trip attractions: Orangeburg SC
Orangeburg bills itself as the Garden City, and it comes as no surprise to learn that gardens are the highlights here. Top billing goes to the Edisto Memorial Gardens, which have been tended since the 1920s. There are more than 4,800 roses, from more than 120 different varieties, on display here.
For wildlife as well, try the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens. For a slightly bizarre combination of art and space, head to the I.P. Stanbeck Museum and Planetarium.
Best stop between Augusta and Charleston: UFO Welcome Center
In Bowman SC, the UFO Welcome Center is a classic roadside oddity. It’s an entirely home-made affair, put together with scrap metal and other assorted junk. It consists of two habitable flying saucers created by local resident Jody Pendarvis. The idea is that when aliens pay a visit, they’ll make them fly with special alien technology and take off to a faraway galaxy.
Augusta to Charleston drive: Givhans Ferry State Park
Givhans Ferry State Park is primarily of interest to kayakers, who can head along the 23 mile Edisto River Canoe and Kayak trail from here. For non-kayakers, swimming in the river is permitted, although there is no lifeguard service.
If fishing is more your thing, there’s a good chance of hooking flathead, striped bass, catfish and eels. Otherwise, you can walk the 1.5-mile River Bluff Nature Trail.
More Augusta road trips
Augusta GA to Asheville NC | Augusta to Atlanta | Augusta GA to Charlotte | Columbia SC to Augusta | Columbus GA to Augusta GA | Augusta GA to Greenville SC | Augusta to Jacksonville | Augusta to Myrtle Beach | Augusta to Orlando | Augusta to Savannah.
More Charleston road trips
Asheville to Charleston | Atlanta to Charleston SC | Charlotte to Charleston | Charleston to Greenville SC | Jacksonville to Charleston.