Charleston · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
A two-mile peninsula you can walk end to end, with free trolleys and one real hostel.
Cannonborough and Upper King
The single long-standing hostel sits in this pocket just above Upper King, close to the cheap restaurants and a fifteen-minute walk from the waterfront.
What a day costs
Bed 40–65 USD, food 15–35 if you eat lunch specials rather than dinner tasting menus, and transport near zero on foot.
Getting around cheap
The DASH trolleys loop the peninsula free of charge, CARTA route 5 runs from the airport for a couple of dollars, and bike share fills the gaps.
Free by day
The Battery and White Point Garden, Rainbow Row, the pineapple fountain at Waterfront Park and the old City Market all cost nothing to walk through.
Where travellers meet
Upper King Street after eight, where the bars run the length of four blocks and the hostel crowd migrates as a group.