<p>Flying from California...any travel(airports/hotels) recommendations? Thanks for any help.</p>
<p>Closest airport is Greenville/Spartenberg, about 45 minutes from campus. You may find more fights at better prices going into Atlanta or Charlotte. They are both about a 2 hour drive to campus (check mapquest). We visited campus with S twice and stayed at the Marriott Courtyard. It is very clean, great service, good value and 1 mile to campus. There are other hotels nearby but I have not tried them. Good luck! We are waiting on S to decide between Clemson and USC.</p>
<p>MAX812, I would recommend flying into the Greenville/Spartanburg Airport (nice airport that is easy to get in and out of) and staying in downtown Greenville- the Hampton Inn and the Marriott Courtyard (both downtown) are in a great area surrounded by tremendous restaurants and a park in a bustling area. You would be a 32 mile or 45 minute drive to Clemson. Good luck.</p>
<p>Nbkmsta and DadQuestion- Thanks for the fast response and good info. We are deciding between Clemson and a couple of University of California schools…Clemson has the edge so far.</p>
<p>Yes, closest airport is Greenville/Spartanburg about an hour away from campus (there is a shuttle service for students for about $30/each way). As for hotels, the Holiday Inn Express, Courtyard Marriott, Hampton Inn, and Sleep Inn are pretty nice in Clemson.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any questions about travel or visiting! (I live in Boston so I understand a lot of the problems involved with traveling to Clemson)</p>
<p>We are visiting Clemson soon, for us it was <em>much</em> cheaper (almost half as much) to fly into Charlotte. Plus I could not get a non-stop flight to Greenville, and I could to Charlotte. </p>
<p>So it is worth the extra hour’s drive for us.</p>
<p>yeah if you can get a ride to Charlotte (tons of people live in NC that go to Clemson), it is so much cheaper to fly out of there</p>
<p>We’ve tried every option over the years. If you’re going to be renting a car anyway, it is likely just as fast (probably faster) and definitely cheaper to fly into CLT (or ATL) and drive to Clemson. Often the layover to get a puddle-jumper to GSP combined with the 45+ min drive to campus can result in a longer delay than the 2 hour drive from CLT. Big plus of GSP is it’s size (2 terminals) - so easy to get in and out of! One caveat about travel to/from CLT is that there can be traffic issues on Route 85 depending on when you’re on it, so you need to factor that into the commute.
I would also recommend Marriott Courtyard in Clemson, if available. It is a new addition to the accommodation options and is very convenient to campus. (Impossible to get reservations during football season and the prices quadruple however!)</p>
<p>Just got back from Clemson a week ago and stayed at the college owned James Martin Inn at the Golf course and Conference center just off campus. It was perfect! We got a “parent” rate as our son had been accepted. We stayed in a suite with a king bed and pull out couch for less than the Holiday Inn and Marriot double rooms. I called the day before we arrived and lucked out on getting this room. Highly recommend it and ask if you can get the parent rate. We’ll be going back as I just sent in the deposit for Fall!</p>
<p>yes I remember getting a postcard after I was accepted to Clemson telling me about the parent rate at the James F Martin Inn. Definitely give them a call and ask about that. It’s a pretty nice hotel.</p>
<p>The Inn is very nice, we stayed there last summer.</p>
<p>This trip we are staying in Greenville. As the nearest “big” city, D wants to check it out.</p>
<p>Notrichenough, I live in Greenville and my S is going to Clemson next year. Per my earlier post, downtown Greenville is a fantastic place to stay. Every visitor raves about downtown Greenville. The downtown Hampton Inn is across from scenic Falls Park and is a safe place to walk around and is surrounded by great restaurants and shops. The Marriott Courtyard is a few minute walk from there up Main Street and is a little nicer but more expensive. The Pointsett Hotel is also on Main Street and is a classic older hotel in the thick of the downtown scene. The 4th choice should be the Hyatt at the other end of Maine but it is being re-modeled. Clemson is an easy 45 minute drive to Clemson on HWY123. Good luck.</p>
<p>Nbkmsta,</p>
<p>Thanks for the pointers. Those hotels are all crazy expensive, though. We are staying a few miles out by the Haywood Mall. Less than half the price if I drive a few miles, we are ok with that.</p>
<p>We will be getting there Sunday afternoon, do you have any recommendations for “can’t-miss” things to do in Greenville? Any good web sites I can research?</p>
<p>Falls Park, Greenville Zoo, walk through downtown and catch a Greenville Drive game (if you’re a red sox fan there’s a mini green monster! haha)</p>
<p>Notrichenough</p>
<p>Haywood road exit is 4 miles to downtown on I385. I would park somewhere free (First Presbyterian Church is one block off Main and has a big lot) and walk down Main Street 1/2 to Falls Park and have lunch somewhere along the way. Once in the park you can follow the Swamp Rabbit trail to Cleveland Park where the zoo is and walk back. </p>
<p>You could drive 5 miles to check out Furman University which is beautiful. You may get some ideas from the link below. I don’t know when you are visiting but trees are beginning to bud and the weather will be great I’m another 30 days or so. The baseball stadium is less than a mile from Falls Park. Have fun!</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.greenvillesc.gov/Culture/FamilyThingsToDo.aspx[/url]”>http://www.greenvillesc.gov/Culture/FamilyThingsToDo.aspx</a></p>
<p>Max812: From CA also…have done every possible combo of flying: into Charlotte, Atlanta, GSP.
I personally like non-stop, so that means CLT or ATL (prefer CLT–smaller, easier in and out), but ATL seems to have better on time arrivals. But, ATL security lines are always longer that CLT.<br>
My soph S prefers GSP, even though he has to change planes somewhere: He’s flown thru Chicago (not in winter!), Dallas, Houston, DC…his frosh year, he flew where H had miles and what was most cost effective. We have noticed that prices are more competitive into GSP now that Southwest is flying there (gotta love the 2 bags free!).</p>
<p>Hotels: we prefer Clemson Marriott (new, closest to campus, H has points). Have stayed at Martin…nice, quiet, on Clemson golf course. Restaurant is so-so.
As others have mentioned, prices skyrocket if there is a football game going on…
Have also stayed in Anderson, 10 miles away. A number of new, relatively inexpensive hotels near the freeway. (Anderson also has the closest Target, BB&B, etc.–which you’ll get quite familiar with during move in :)</p>
<p>Enjoy and Good Luck! My surf/ski/golf lovin’ San Francisco boy has not regretted his choice in Clemson one bit…</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for all the good info.</p>
<p>We also like the Hampton Inn & Suites Greenville RiverPlace Downtown and the Courtyard by Marriott Greenville Downtown. Both are centrally located at downtown by the river.</p>