East coast USA road trip: New York to Charlotte along the coast and back th
Replies: 28 - Last Post: Mar 2, 2013 8:42 AM Last Post By: liz1204
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East coast USA road trip: New York to Charlotte along the coast and back th
Hi all,2 friends and I are travelling to the US for a friend's wedding. We plan to fly to NYC on Friday 6th Sep 2013 and fly out of NYC two weeks later on Saturday 21st. Our friend is getting married in Charlotte, NC, 1 week into the trip on Saturday 14th. Our plan at the moment is to travel down the coast to Savannah and then cut inland to Charlotte for the wedding before staying inland for the second week and heading back up through Asheville and the Shenandoah NP.
A very rough route so far is NYC, DC, Annapolis, Salisbury, Tangier Island, Smith Island, Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Savannah, Charlotte, Asheville, Shenandoah NP, NYC.
I'd like to know if there is anything you think we should cut out or slot in? And any tips for fun times to be had along the way.
A bit about us: we're 3 guys in our mid 20s, 2 British army, we love adventure and the outdoors so any hikes, boat trips, bike trips, fishing trips, surf schools etc are all good. We don't mind roughing it and although we're all fairly well off plan to camp and stay in youth hostels where we can meet like minded others. We like the cities, but only fleetingly, and don't mind spending the money here to pack in as much as possible and some good night-life. We'll have a hire car. We love sport so would like to take in a bit of baseball, american football (doesn't have to be major league stuff in fact the minor league stuff is often a better atmosphere), play some golf etc. We love meeting the locals, so if you know of any fun local tour guides etc that would be awesome. And we love the strength of American patriotism so would love it if there were any festivals/ parades etc that we could get involved in.
Just throw out the ideas?
Cheers
Steve, Oli and the G Unit
1
You're planning to do all of that and the wedding in 2 weeks? That's a bit crazy in my opinion. I would suggest writing out an itinerary with travel distances for all 14 days so you can see how much time you really have after driving. How long are you planning to spend in NYC? I would suggest a minimum of 5 nights/4 full days if you haven't been before, which means you only have 9 nights remaining.It may make more sense to do this trip one way, i.e. stay in NYC Sept 6-11, then drive to Charlotte for the wedding and then drive south along the coast as far as you can make it before flying back to NYC.
2
Thanks SmartcookieeAt the moment, the list is really just a 'possibles' list to select a few things from. I hate rushing, so if there are 3 or 4 good locations en route then I'm happy to do big drives and stay longer in each place. What do you think are the 'must see' locations on my list and have I missed any? I don't think NYC would suit us for 4 days not because we wouldn't have a good time but because we tend to have a better time enjoying the great outdoors.
3
Chesapeake Bay Bridge
I assume you mean the Bridge-Tunnel.The "Bay Bridge" crosses at Annapolis.
2 British army
This nation is much bigger than yours. I would take some time with Google Maps, Mapquest, etc., and see how far these places are from one another. (NYC to Savannah, for example, is over 12 hours of non-stop driving.)We don't mind roughing it and although we're all fairly well off plan to camp and stay in youth hostels where we can meet like minded others.
See FAQ 235.We love sport so would like to take in a bit of baseball, american football (doesn't have to be major league stuff in fact the minor league stuff is often a better atmosphere)
Baseball, in order you should go:Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies.
Football, same:
(pro) Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers
(college, no particular order) Virginia Tech, University of Virginia, North Carolina, Duke, University of Maryland
Of course, football only plays on certain days, so timing may be against you.
Each has websites.
See FAQ 251.
I'd like to know if there is anything you think we should cut out or slot in?
Drop Salisbury, either Smith or Tangier Island (largely redundant), Myrtle Beach, and Savannah (too far).And that's still likely have too much on your plate.
Instead of Salisbury, consider a half day around Chincoteague and Assateague.
So maybe
6 - DC
7 - DC
8 - Chincoteague (after day in Annapolis)
9 - Virginia Beach
10 - Charleston
11 - Charleston
13 - Charlotte (stop in Congaree NP)
14 - Charlotte
15 - Asheville
16 - Floyd
17 - Lexington, VA, with a stop in
18 - Charlottesville
19 - Shenandoah
20 - Gettysburg
21 - NYC
It's a little rushed at times, but not horrendously so.
4
#1 gave you pretty good advice, in the sense that travel involves choices and you'll have to make some. As long as you understand that you can't do everything, you'll be okay. Your itinerary looks like it will involve about 2,000 miles, maybe 2,500 miles, of driving.I guess my first question would be this: How much time will you be spending in Charlotte? A wedding can involve the "rehearsal dinner" the night before, plus the reception the day of, and maybe a hangover the day after. Is that about the size of it for you guys? If that's about right, then it looks like you'll have 11 proper days for that drive, realistically speaking. That's a lot of ground to cover in that amount of time, especially if you plan to hang out in New York.
Which leads to my second question: Can you get an "open jaw" ticket that would have you arrive in New York and leave from Charlotte or Washington-Dulles airport? Better yet, how about flying round trip to Washington Dulles rather than New York, or are your flying arrangements set in stone?
5
Your itinerary is very busy, but you plan to drive right past Great Smokey Mountain National Park. The Smokies are one of the Jewels in the Crown of the national park system. More people visit the Smokies than the next two or three busiest national parks put together. That does not mean that the park is overcrowded. Walk a mile off the roads and you may not meet anyone. You do mention Shenandoah National Park. You can drive through Shenandoah on your way back to New York from the Smokies.Have you considered flying into Atlanta, or even better, taking an internal flight to Knoxville or Richmond, instead of New York? That could save several days worth of driving.
In general, you need to cull your itinerary. You don't have the time pure and simple. I also suggest that you pay careful attention to the drive times and the distances. Those numbers on our maps are statute miles, not kilometers.
Have a great time.
Have a great time.
6
Even if you want to spend most of your time elsewhere, you can't even see the basic sites in NYC in under 3 days/2 nights, so that's absolute minimum. It's one of the best cities in the world. While I like #3's itinerary, I really don't see the point of flying to NYC if you're not spending any time there. And if you have to choose between NYC and DC, NYC is much more interesting and unique in my opinion.I think the highlights from the places you listed are Savannah, Charleston, Asheville, and NYC. None of the beaches are something I'd go out of my way for, but they'd be fine for a stop here and there on the way south.
Here's another possibility:
6 - DC
7 - DC
8 - Chincoteague (after day in Annapolis)
9 - Virginia Beach
10 - Charleston
11 - Charleston
13 - Charlotte (stop in Congaree NP)
14 - Charlotte
15 - Asheville
16 - Floyd
17 - Lexington, VA, with a stop in http:www.dday.org
18 - Shenandoah
19 - NYC
20 - NYC
21 - NYC
7
Wish there was still an editing function. Ugh.6 - NYC
7 - NYC
8 - DC
9 - DC
10 - Shenandoah
11 - Asheville
12- Asheville
13 - Charlotte (stop in Congaree NP)
14 - Charlotte
15 - Savannah
16 - Savannah
17 - Charleston, SC
18 - Charleston, SC
19 - Floyd/Lexington, VA
20 - NYC
21 - NYC
9
British army? Patriotism? MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) Parris Island, SC. I don't know how stringent security is these days, but tours should be available. A lot of military history. View a graduation if you're lucky. You may even appreciate the simple EGA (Eagle, Globe, and Anchor) ceremony where a recruit becomes a Marine. Immediately after completion of The Crucible, the recruit receives the EGA pin and a few words of praise from his drill instructor (likely for the first time in 12 weeks). Tears flow.See how long you can stand the sand fleas.
10
British army? Patriotism? MCRD (Marine Corps Recruit Depot) Parris Island, SC.
Easier to access: The Citadel, in Charleston.
11
I don't view it as backtracking. They have to leave NYC and then come back to NYC, via Charlotte one way. So I'm just providing another way to go back north after the coast, skipping upper parts of the coast which I don't think are musts. Also, making daily travel times reasonable.12
I'm sorry, but it's backtracking.It's not that hard to overcome though:
6 - NYC
7 - NYC
8 - Gettysburg
9 - Shenandoah
10 - Lexington, VA/Floyd
11 - Asheville
12- Asheville
13 - Charlotte
14 - Charlotte
15 - Charleston, SC
16 - Charleston, SC
17 - Williamsburg/Jamestown
18 - Chincoteague
19 - DC
20 - DC
21 - NYC
I took out Savannah because I still believe it's too far for this trip, and shares a lot with Charleston anyway.
I also cut down the NYC time because the OP says they don't need much time there:
I don't think NYC would suit us for 4 days
Clearly there are plenty of ways this trip can be done.
13
Wow! I really appreciate all the replies and advice.It definitely seems that I need to cut the schedule down or indeed rethink the flights. I've also facebook and old friend from Virginia; the first thing he said was that I should drop Salisbury and the islands and go direct from DC to Richmond or Virginia Beach so I think that is my first cull!
As for flights, we haven't booked yet but when we looked into taking internal flights the cost really started to ramp up but I will check again tomorrow when I have calculated some distances and looked at fuel cost vs flight extras. I didn't look at direct to Dulles or Atlanta so I'll take a look.
I'm going to re read and consider all the points and look at the links tomorrow (it's passed my bedtime now!), as well as get some distances worked out. Thank you again and I'll reply to each and everyone of you brilliant people tomorrow. Night
14
the first thing he said was that I should drop Salisbury and the islands and go direct from DC to Richmond or Virginia Beach
Salisbury has little for the casual tourist, and the islands are time-consuming due to ferries.However, I would really try to get to Chincoteague and Assateague if you could. It's a nice area, and you drive south via US 13 and the Bridge-Tunnel rather than congested I-95.
But of course, it's all up to you.
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