Charleston is a great city for getting a group of friends together. The problem is getting everyone to the same place.
Between downtown parking, beach traffic, crowded event weekends, and the inevitable friend who arrives 30 minutes late, coordinating several cars can turn a simple outing into an operation.
For the next group adventure, consider leaving the caravan behind. Here are seven Charleston outings that are considerably more fun when everyone can ride together.
1. Make a Day of a Charleston Concert
Whether you're heading to Credit One Stadium, The Refinery, Charleston Music Hall, or another local venue, getting a group together for a concert sounds easy until everyone starts asking where they're supposed to park.
Meeting at one location and riding together means the night starts before you ever reach the venue—and nobody has to disappear halfway through the encore to beat traffic back to the parking lot.
2. Plan Your Own Charleston Brewery Tour
Charleston's brewery scene makes it surprisingly easy to build your own brewery-hopping itinerary.
Pick three or four breweries, grab a group of friends, and turn an ordinary Saturday into a tour of the city's beer scene. More importantly, having transportation arranged ahead of time means nobody in the group has to volunteer to be the designated driver.
3. Take the Whole Crew to a RiverDogs Game
A Charleston RiverDogs game is already one of the better group activities in town.
Instead of coordinating a half-dozen cars, arranging transportation for the whole group beforehand means everyone can arrive at The Joe together. It works particularly well for birthdays, company outings, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and larger family gatherings.
4. Turn a Beach Day Into an Event
Sullivan's Island, Folly Beach, and Isle of Palms are fantastic places to spend a summer Saturday.
Finding parking for eight separate cars? Not quite as fantastic.
For larger groups, reserving a shuttle or charter bus rental can simplify the trip considerably, especially during the busiest weekends of the year. Everyone gets dropped off together, nobody circles the island looking for parking, and nobody has to end the day walking six blocks back to their car carrying a beach chair.
5. Go to a Charleston Food or Wine Festival
Charleston certainly doesn't suffer from a shortage of food and drink events.
From major festivals to smaller oyster roasts, wine events, and neighborhood celebrations, these events are practically designed for groups. Organizing transportation beforehand also eliminates the end-of-night scramble for rides when thousands of other attendees are trying to leave at the same time.
6. Actually Enjoy the Wedding
Charleston weddings frequently involve multiple locations: the hotel, ceremony, reception, after-party, and sometimes even a next-day brunch.
If you're attending with a large group of friends or family, booking wedding transportation together removes one surprisingly annoying part of the weekend. Nobody gets lost, nobody arrives late, and everyone can enjoy the reception without worrying about the drive back.
7. Create Your Own Charleston Day
You don't really need an event.
Start with brunch downtown. Head out to a brewery in North Charleston. Catch a RiverDogs game or spend the afternoon near the water. Finish with dinner and drinks somewhere you haven't tried before.
Charleston has enough going on that sometimes the best group outing is simply putting together your own itinerary.
And when nobody has to worry about parking, directions, traffic, or who's driving home, getting there can become part of the fun instead of the least enjoyable part of the day.