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Getting There

Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah and Brunswick, Georgia have airports served by major airlines. Amtrak trains serve Charleston and Savannah. For Beaufort, train service is at Yemassee, South Carolina, about 20 miles inland. For St. Simons Island, Brunswick and St. Marys, passengers must use stations in Jesup, Georgia or Jacksonville, Florida.

The larger towns such as Charleston and Savannah have city bus services, but a car is necessary to get the most from touring the region. Interstate 95 provides fast, easy access to much of the Low Country. It runs parallel to the coast. U.S. Highway 17, also running north-south, with its 1950s motels and cinderblock road houses, intersecting with hundreds of secondary roads, affords a more picturesque and warts-and-all view of the Low Country.

Weather

Summers are very hot and humid, and deer flies join mosquitoes and no-seeums in some areas in May and June. Winters are mild and normally pleasant. For example, in Savannah, high temperatures in December, January, and February average in the 60s. At night the temperature there drops into the high 30s. August temperatures hit 90 or higher during the day, and drop into the high 70s at night. Be sure to take insect repellent, even in fall and spring.

A recent Thanksgiving weekend spent in the Low Country was sunny, with daytime temperatures in the 70s. I've walked along the beaches of South Carolina and Georgia on many a Christmas or New Year's Day in a tee-shirt or a light jacket. (Then again, check the weather forecasts. Freaky weather does occur occasionally. I'll never forget the Christmas when temperatures dropped to 8 degrees above zero!) Take light clothing for April to November visits. A hat for sun protection is a good idea, as is sun screen for your skin. Insect repellent is recommended in spring, summer and fall.

Contacts

Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau

Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce

South Carolina Division of State Parks

Savannah Area Convention and Visitor's Bureau

Brunswick-Golden Isles Visitors Bureau
St. Simons, Little St. Simons, Jekyll and Sea Islands

Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites