Best Time of Year for a Charleston Sunset Cruise

I've watched more Charleston sunsets from the water than from land at this point in my life, and I'll tell you something the brochure photos won't: they are not all the same. The sky you get in late September is a different animal from the one you get in July. Both are worth seeing. But if you're planning a trip around it, you might as well stack the deck.

The honest month-by-month

• April through early June — the sweet spot. Warm enough for a sundress, cool enough that nobody's sweating through photos. The marsh grass goes electric green and the dolphins are everywhere.
• July and August — gorgeous, but humid, and the haze can flatten the colors. Book the latest departure you can. Afternoon thunderstorms usually clear out before golden hour, and the skies after a storm are some of the best of the year.
• September and October — the locals' pick. The first cool front knocks the humidity out and the horizon goes glass-clear. Soft amber light, emptier water, shrimp boats heading home. If I had one cruise to give a friend, it'd be the last week of September.
• November through February — underrated. Crisp air, deep reds and purples, and you'll have the harbor nearly to yourself. Bring a jacket; the breeze on the water runs ten degrees cooler than downtown.
• March — a coin flip. Some evenings are stunning, some are foggy. Still beautiful, just less predictable.

What time does the boat actually leave?

We push off about ninety minutes before sunset, which means the listed departure moves through the year — close to 8 pm at the height of summer, closer to 4 pm in December. The cruise runs two hours, so you get the full arc: golden hour on the way out, the show itself with the Ravenel Bridge or Fort Sumter as a backdrop, and the city lights coming on as we ride back up Shem Creek. Check the live schedule on the sunset cruise page for the current departure time.

A few things people don't think to ask

The colors usually peak ten to twenty minutes after the sun is actually down — every cruise has a moment where half the boat starts putting phones away too early, and the sky promptly goes nuclear. Stay on deck. Also: the harbor stays much calmer than the open ocean, so if anyone in your group worries about seasickness, a sunset cruise is the gentlest trip we run. And yes, it's BYOB — cans and plastic, we bring the cooler and ice.

"People ask me if I get tired of the same sunset. I've been doing this for years and I still haven't seen the same one twice."

— Captain Keith

Frequently Asked