Charlotte is within a few hours of mountain towns, coastal cities, foodie destinations, and some of the prettiest small towns in the Southeast. These seven trips are close enough to leave after work on Friday and be home in time to rest and prepare for the week ahead!
Starting Point: Charlotte, NC
Drive Times: 1 hr 45 min–4 hrs
Best For: Easy weekend road trips
01 | Greenville, South Carolina
About 1 hr 45 min from Charlotte
If you want maximum getaway for minimum drive time, Greenville is hard to beat. Downtown is walkable, there’s genuinely good food and coffee, and Falls Park makes the city feel much more like a destination than somewhere less than two hours from home.
STAY: Grand Bohemian Lodge Greenville
EAT: Jianna
COFFEE: Nine of Cups
DON’T MISS: Walking Liberty Bridge and Falls Park on the Reedy
THE WEEKEND LIST: Leave Charlotte Friday after work, have dinner downtown, spend Saturday exploring Greenville and head home after brunch Sunday.
→ Read our Greenville Weekend Guide
02 | Asheville, North Carolina
About 2 hrs 15 min from Charlotte
Asheville can be a brewery weekend, a food weekend, a mountain weekend or all three! Stay downtown if you want to park the car and explore on foot, or book somewhere outside the city if the Blue Ridge Mountains are the main event.
STAY: The Radical
EAT: Curaté
BREWERY: Burial Beer Co.
DO: Blue Ridge Parkway + downtown Asheville
THE WEEKEND LIST: Give yourself one city day and one mountain morning instead of trying to squeeze every Asheville attraction into one weekend.
→ Read our Asheville Brewery Guide
03 | Beech Mountain + Banner Elk, North Carolina
About 2 hr 30 min from Charlotte
Our pick when we’re craving a mountain escape without sacrificing half the weekend getting there. Winter is all about Beech Mountain Resort, while warmer months bring hiking, wineries and long afternoons outside.
Stay around Beech Mountain or Banner Elk and treat the two towns as one weekend destination.
STAY: A mountain cabin or condo near Beech Mountain Resort
EAT: Stonewalls Restaurant
DO: Beech Mountain Resort + downtown Banner Elk
BONUS: Stop at the make-your-own-shirt shop at Banner Elk Shirt Company on your way home.
THE WEEKEND LIST: Grocery shop before heading up the mountain if you’re staying in an Airbnb. Selection gets more limited once you’re up there.
→ Read our Beech Mountain Weekend Guide
04 | Highlands, North Carolina
About 3 hrs from Charlotte
Highlands combines waterfalls and mountain scenery with boutique shopping, great restaurants and beautiful hotels. It feels polished without losing the tiny mountain-town charm that makes Western North Carolina so good for weekend trips.
STAY: Highlander Mountain House
EAT: Madison’s
DO: Dry Falls + Main Street
BEST FOR: Couples, anniversaries and cozy fall weekends
THE WEEKEND LIST: Highlands books up quickly during peak fall color. This is one trip where we’d reserve the hotel and dinner before worrying about the rest of the itinerary.
→ Read our Romantic Weekend in Highlands Guide
05 | Charleston, South Carolina
About 3 hr 15 min from Charlotte
Charleston might be the ultimate Charlotte weekend road trip. You can leave after work Friday and wake up Saturday morning surrounded by palm trees, historic homes and approximately 400 restaurants you suddenly need to try.
STAY: The Dewberry
EAT: Leon’s Oyster Shop
COFFEE: Babas
DO: South of Broad + King Street + The Battery
THE WEEKEND LIST: Don’t over-plan Charleston. Pick your dinner reservations and one or two things you really want to see, then leave time to walk.
→ Read our Charleston Weekend Guide
06 | Wilmington + Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina
About 3 hr 30 min from Charlotte
Wrightsville gives you the beach while Wilmington gives you restaurants, coffee shops, the Riverwalk and enough to do after the beach. Combining the two makes a much better weekend than treating either as the entire destination.
STAY: ARRIVE Wilmington
EAT: Seabird
BEACH: Wrightsville Beach
DO: Wilmington Riverwalk + historic downtown
THE WEEKEND LIST: Stay in Wilmington if restaurants and nightlife matter more; stay around Wrightsville if your perfect Saturday starts with walking directly onto the sand.
07 | Savannah, Georgia
About 4 hrs from Charlotte
Spanish moss, historic squares, rooftop cocktails, ridiculous food and streets made for wandering make this one feel much farther from Charlotte than it actually is.
STAY: Perry Lane Hotel
EAT: The Grey
COFFEE: The Coffee Fox
DO: Forsyth Park + River Street + wander the historic squares
THE WEEKEND LIST: Have an extra day? Add Tybee Island to the trip. It’s an easy drive from downtown Savannah and gives you a completely different side of the area. Spend your extra day exploring Tybee, then head back to Savannah for dinner.
→ Read our Savannah Weekend Guide
Thanks for coming along! Whether you follow the whole itinerary or just steal a stop or two, we hope this makes planning your next weekend away a little easier. Save this guide for later, share it with your travel partner, and check back for more places worth adding to your list.
See you next weekend,
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