Travel to Clemson

Montegut · 07-21-2009, 09:54 PM

Those of us not too close driving distance, how do you recommend travel to Clemson?

For instance, those from the Northeast, how did you get to Clemson? Pierre?

Those from the Deep South, LA, MS, AL, how do you get to Clemson?

What is the nearest airport, and is there transportation from the airport to the campus?

Mookie1969 · 07-21-2009, 10:49 PM

We are from NJ and we fly into Charlotte, NC. It is about a two hour drive to Clemson from Charlotte. Greenville airport is much closer but the cost from EWR or LaGuardia is steep. You can book transportation to/from the campus to both Charlotte and Greenville airports but I would not say it is cheap. If I remember correctly, it is about $130 to Charlotte airport from Clemson.

pierre0913 · 07-21-2009, 10:58 PM

Montegut, where do you live? it would give me a better idea of how you would travel.

The closest airport is the Greenville-Spartenburg Airport. However, let me warn you, airplane trips to GSP is VERY expensive because the airport probably charges a lot for planes to fly there. In addition, there is an airport shuttle to the school but it costs $45 each way so that can be costly.

Here's how I am planning to get to Clemson from Boston
a) Take the Amtrak train from Boston to Washington DC (leave at 7:30 AM, get to DC between 3-4 PM) and then switch to the overnight train from DC to Clemson (leave DC at 6 PM arrive in Clemson at 5:30 AM).
b) Fly to Atlanta airport and take the train to Clemson (I think it leaves atlanta at 8 PM and gets to clemson at 10 PM) or take the Greyhound bus (leaves at certain times during the day, like 3 times a day?)

In my opinion, flying to Charlotte is not practical because I would have to rent a car to drive to Clemson. Atlanta is a much better option because of the Greyhound and Amtrak train options. Greyhound will take you to Anderson, Amtrak will take you right into downtown Clemson.

At orientation, I took the Amtrak train (yes, I got to orientation at 5:30 AM haha) and it worked well, trains were on time, it was very comfortable and the conductors wake you up when it's time to get off the train (since you may be sleeping)

Montegut · 07-22-2009, 03:20 PM

Thanks, Pierre. We live in New Orleans. How are you going to take a train from the Atlanta airport? Is there a train station at the airport, or will you have to take a cab to the train station? Also, how close to campus is the Amtrak train station?

Wow, that is a long train ride, but don't blame you. I guess we could take the Amtrak from New Orleans to Clemson. Have to look into that. I took a train from New Orleans to Atlanta once. Long ride. Saw such poverty along the way.

pierre0913 · 07-22-2009, 04:20 PM

Montegut, the train that I take from Washington DC goes to New Orleans. The train leaves New Orleans at 7:05 AM and gets to Clemson at 10:30 PM (I think?). The train was on time when I took it and it seemed like it's a safe way to travel. The train does save me money though.

One thing you may want to look into if you take the train is to get a Student Advantage Card. It costs $50 for a 4 year membership. With the student advantage card, you get 15% off Amtrak and Greyhound tickets. I bought one of those in April and with 1 trip have nearly covered the cost of that card in savings on my amtrak ticket

From the Atlanta airport, you would need to take the subway from the airport downtown and the train station is downtown. From the Clemson campus to the train station is about 1/4 to 1/2 mile I would say. It's not a long walk though, about 10-15 minutes.

NintyFresh · 07-23-2009, 09:01 AM

I'm not going to Clemson, but my younger sister is. She became interested in it after I went on a tour of Clemson back in 2005 during my college search. My family lives outside of Philadelphia, and fortunately for her and my parents, I live in Rock Hill, SC.. They'll be driving down on Friday the 14th and staying at my apartment, and then we only have about a two hour drive to Clemson in the morning.

For during the breaks, I'll probably go to Clemson and pick her up (or my fiance's brother will just drive her back here, since he'll be a freshman at Clemson from Clover, SC). I usually drive up to Philly during my breaks to see my family, so most likely she will join me on my long car rides.

If she feels the need to see family during the short breaks like Thanksgiving (after my freshman year, I didn't bother with the travel nightmare for that), then she can take the shuttle from Clemson to GSP since its cheaper to fly to Philly from there than it is from CLT.