Book tickets on Amtrak’s Palmetto or Silver Meteor to reach historic Charleston, South Carolina. Trains on these routes stop in cities along the East Coast from New York City to Miami. If your starting location is not near a station on these routes, you’ll need to ride more than one train to reach Charleston. Common transfer points are New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C.

Use the Find Trains feature on the Amtrak.com homepage to view all your travel options, and view information about each Charleston Amtrak route below to best plan your trip.

Palmetto

The Palmetto is a daytime train that travels between New York City and Savannah. Southbound trains arrive in Charleston in the early evening and northbound trains arrive in the morning.

Choose from coach seats and business class. Perks of business class include a reserved seat, fully-refundable ticket and complimentary non-alcoholic beverages. If you are traveling in a group, selecting business class tickets will ensure you can sit together. Otherwise, coach seats are unassigned.

For food, there is a café car with light bites and snacks. We recommend bringing food on the train.

Silver Meteor

Silver Meteor trains have coach seats and sleeper cars. You can book a roomette or bedroom on this train — a great option if you want privacy, a bed and free meals (the food is better than what is in the café car).

Arrival time in Charleston is early in the morning on southbound trains (you’ll spend the night on the train) and in the evening if you’re traveling from Florida or Georgia.

More Information

Photo credit: Brian Zinnel

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