Beaufort Shrimp Festival
- Dates
- Oct 2 to 3, 2026
- Status
- Confirmed
- Venue
- Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park
- Price
- Free
- Camping
- None on site
- Last checked
- Aug 23, 2026
Beaufort Shrimp Festival returns to Beaufort, SC, Oct 2 to 3, 2026. Froligo tracks free-entry details, attendee feedback and travel details.
The experience
What's special
The Beaufort Shrimp Festival is a free, two-day waterfront celebration of Lowcountry seafood held each October at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort, South Carolina, pairing fresh local shrimp dishes from area restaurants with live music and an art and craft market. Food and beverage tickets are sold for a dollar each
Last time around (2025)
The most recent edition, the 31st annual in October 2025, drew thousands over its two days to sample fresh local shrimp, take in live music and enjoy the fall weather by the waterfront
Listen
No official playlist linked yet. Find Beaufort Shrimp Festival on Spotify.
Lineup
Lineup not yet announced. Email me the day it lands.
Getting there
Nearest airport SAV.
How do I get to Beaufort Shrimp Festival?
By car
Most people drive to Beaufort Shrimp Festival. The nearest major airport is SAV, and from there it is a straightforward drive to the venue. Check current road and traffic conditions before you set off, and see parking below.
By train
Not practical as a primary route but recorded for completeness: the nearest Amtrak station is Yemassee, SC, about 24 miles from Beaufort. There is no public-transit onward connection from Yemassee to Beaufort, so it only works if paired with a rental car or a pre-arranged pickup. Most fly-in attendees will use SAV rather than rail
Book / info →By bus & public transit
Greyhound runs a direct intercity coach on the Savannah-Beaufort corridor (roughly one departure each way per day, ~55 min). It does NOT start at SAV you must first get from the airport to Greyhound's Savannah stop (rideshare/taxi), and at the Beaufort end the stop is about 3 miles west of downtown, so a final taxi/rideshare leg to Waterfront Park is needed. Practical mainly for budget-focused fly-in travelers, not for door-to-door convenience
Book / info →Taxi & rideshare
Uber and Lyft both operate at SAV (designated rideshare pickup at the Ground Transportation area) and will run the ~46-mi trip to downtown Beaufort, though it is a long, out-of-city fare so availability of a return ride from Beaufort can be thinner. Pre-booked private car/shuttle services (Palmetto Car Service, Savannah Airport Shuttle and similar) are the more reliable option for this distance and are widely marketed for the SAV-Beaufort run
Book / info →Taxis and rideshare such as Uber and Lyft can be limited near the venue, especially late at night or in rural areas. Agree a pickup point and time in advance and keep a backup plan.
🅿 Parking
On site parking available. Cost This is a free, downtown waterfront festival at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park with no festival-operated lot attendees use the City of Beaufort's public downtown parking. Over 500 public-access spaces are spread through downtown (on-street metered spaces plus public lots). Payment is via the ParkMobile app or pay-by-text to 30202, or directly at the meters no advance prepay is required. Metered enforcement runs 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; parking is free on Sundays and recognized holidays (the festival runs Fri-Sat Oct 2-3, so Saturday is enforced, Friday is enforced). Arrive early on festival days as downtown fills up. Use the official Downtown Beaufort parking map to locate lots. Prepay via ParkMobile.
🚙 Car hire
Compare car hire at SAV
Car hire is a strong fit for fly-in attendees here: SAV is ~46 road miles out with no direct airport transit, the only intercity bus (Greyhound) requires two connecting rideshare legs, and rail (Yemassee) is 24 mi from town with no onward transit. A rental car picked up at SAV is the most practical door-to-door option, and once in Beaufort the festival itself is walkable from downtown parking/lodging
Search car hire →Live price search coming soon.
Where
Venue
The venue has its own page with capacity, accessibility and parking.
Camping & Accommodation
Where can I stay near Beaufort Shrimp Festival?
No on site camping. Here is where to stay nearby.
Hotels nearby 5
1203 Bay St, Beaufort an 1811 antebellum inn overlooking the Harbor River, 'just steps' from the waterfront; roughly 0.2 mi / ~4 min walk east along Bay St to Waterfront Park
Link coming soon809 Port Republic St, Beaufort in the historic downtown a couple of blocks back from the water; roughly 0.3 mi / ~6 min walk to Waterfront Park
Link coming soon607 Bay St, Beaufort boutique waterfront guest rooms in the center of downtown, 'less than a block' from the main Bay St stretch and a short walk (~0.1-0.2 mi) to Waterfront Park
Link coming soonDowntown Beaufort's historic Point neighborhood, a short walk from Waterfront Park and the Bay St shops/dining
Link coming soon301 Carteret St, Beaufort a modern boutique hotel in downtown Beaufort within easy walking distance of Bay St and Waterfront Park (~0.3-0.4 mi); listed among downtown Beaufort hotels. Verify exact walk distance/availability for festival dates
Link coming soonAirbnb & private camping
Beaufort's historic downtown and the surrounding Sea Islands (Lady's Island, Port Royal, St. Helena) have a healthy short-term-rental supply cottages and historic-home rentals within walking distance or a short drive of Waterfront Park. Because this is a compact, popular fall festival weekend in a small tourist town, downtown inventory is limited and books up
Search Airbnb →Downtown Beaufort itself is urban/historic, so there is no Hipcamp-listed site within walking distance of Waterfront Park. However, the surrounding Lowcountry / Sea Islands / ACE Basin area does carry Hipcamp private-land camping and glamping listings (waterfront farms, wooded acreage) within a drive of Beaufort a viable alternative to a hotel for attendees who prefer camping and don't mind driving in on festival day. Verify current listings and drive times for the specific dates
Search Hipcamp →Accessibility & comfort
What the organiser or venue publishes about getting around, and what they do not.
Crawled beaufortshrimpfestival.com on 3 Sep 2026 including the vendor, sponsor, t-shirt, 5K and shrimp race pages, and keyword searched the whole site for accessibility, ADA, wheelchair, terrain and parking wording. The organiser publishes no accessibility page and nothing on ground surface, accessible parking or toilets, and gives no accessibility contact. The only question channels listed are the Facebook and Instagram pages
Confirm your specific needs with the organiser's access team before you travel.
Pricing
Got fresher info? Tell us, a real person checks every tip, and we love fresh info.
