irishk

We're on our third trip to the U.S. next September. We plan to fly to Boston, hire a care and travel to Niagara Falls, Chicago, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Cocoa Beach, Savannah and Atlanta. Yes, it's a lot of mileage but we know from the past two years that we can cope with that. What we would like to know is what is there that is interesting along that route (other than the places I've mentioned) that we should stop and see, or go a little out of our way to see. All help would be appreciated. If we have travelled from Ireland, it's well worth our while to go a little (or more) off the beaten track to see what is worth seeing!

rnc

Just curious..how long of a trip. This seems like an awful lot.

irishk

Sorry, forgot to give that information! Three weeks. AND, I've just seen a glaring misspelling - we are obviously going to hire a CAR, not a CARE!!!

Patrick

Well, then you must realize that you will be spending roughly nine full days out of your 21 just driving. So in the 12 remaining days, you have less basically one day to spend in each city you've mentioned.
To put this in perspective, it's like asking what to see and do in a three week driving trip from Copenhagen to Nice, but also visiting Madrid, Paris, Venice, Rome, Vienna, Munich, and Amsterdam. It is possible, but just plain not advisable if you want to actually see anything other than highways.

Patrick

Sorry, re-read that word "less" as "left".

My first suggestion would be to cut out New Orleans, Savannah, and Cocoa Beach. That would cut out at least four full days of driving and give you a reasonable amount of time in the other destinations, but still flying low.

gocats2002

Nashville and Atlanta are only about 5 hours apart....Are you keen on country music? Otherwise, I'd pass on going out of the way like that. I'd go for a loop down the Mississippi River, after Chicago and then across the heart of the south, heading for Atlanta. You could visit St. Louis, then Memphis (maybe not for long in Memphis, though), then Nachez (with lots of beautiful anti-bellum homes), then to New Orleans and up to Atlanta. I agree with other posters - too much driving otherwise.

GoTravel

I'd skip Atlanta and leave in Savannah. I would also dump Cocoa Beach and head to one on the Panhandle if you are going to New Orleans. That really is too much driving for 21 days.

Patrick

I was guessing that irishk was planning on flying into Boston and out of Atlanta. Right?

By the way, another comparison would be to say, I have five days in Ireland. I want to see Dublin, Cork, Galway, and and a drive on the North Ireland coast and see Belfast. Any idea of what is off the beaten path?

GoTravel

Looking at a map, how about flying into Boston, spending three or four days there and then fly to Atlanta. From Atlanta a more managable and relaxing trip would be New Orleans, Florida Panhandle (Seaside is nice), St. Augustine, Savannah, Charleston, and then back to Atlanta to fly home? I know you were talking about Chicago, Memphis, Nashville, and Niagra Falls but that is going to be some BRUTAL interstate driving. Trust me, the interstates are so boring.

amandaamanda

Atlanta thoughts-

1) Downtown

Braves Stadium see some baseball: Is money an issue? If yes, you can get $10.00 tickets the day of the game.

2) Midtown

Goto a play
We have
Fox Theatre
Agatha's Dinner Theatre (dinner and murder mystery) and lots of theatres in between

3) Visit Orange & Scarlett's Cafe
For a great panini sandwich
A fantastic mocha
European desserts and more
(Located just behind 805 Peachtree Street, between 5th and 6th in midtown, lots of free parking too)

4) Goto Dantes Down the Hatch in Buckhead (on peachtreee street across from Lenox Mall and Swissotel, behind the big yellow house) at least go for a drink and see the crocs in the moat of this nautic ship fondue experience with live jazz... sit on the ship...it costs more but is worth it.

5) Savannah
Visit Savannah (but know it is a 5-6 hour drive from Atlanta,,, like driving two countries)
Stay at a bed and breakfast there, Savannah is known for them... and take a bus tour of the city... actually gets you a good overview to walk the city later... See the sqares, eat fried chicken southern style, spend a day here... then drive to one of two places
Myrtle beach (an ocean community) or Tybee Island (15 minutes from Savannah, great beaches, stop at the "Crab shack" on your way for some beer and good time, down and dirty crabs...

Play on the beach, take a boat out to see the dolphins...

_______-

Cocoa Beach

Ron John;s Surf Shop open 24 hours is a must see... the beach is nice too... but do you guys like Disney... Orlando, goto Disney World and Epcot center...Disney if you have imagination and will have fun, Epcot if you are an adult... visit the worlds..

Oh crap, i just heard you say along the route... goto AAA and ask them... i dont know...

LilMsFoodie

I'm interested in how Cocoa Beach became a destination. Perhaps to see the Kennedy Space Center?

There is about nada in Cocoa Beach except the beach and it is not particularly great there. Ron Jon's Surf shop is not a destination, just a monument to beach schlock open 24 hrs. a day (amusing, but not worth a special trip).

The St. Augustine area could give you a taste of Florida, if you haven't been, and an interesting perspective on North American development.

irishk

LilMsFoodie

Thank you for your reply - I just want to explain that on our first visit to the U.S. two years ago we spent our last three days relaxing in Cocoa Beach before flying home and we just have to go back because of some wonderful people we met there!

JungleCat

I would agree that you should chop down some of this trip so you can spend more quality time off the highways. I would recommend cutting out Chicago, first since it's so out of the way of the rest of your itinerary and second, it's a trip in itself, maybe something you can leave for another time?

Anyway, something nice to do on your way to Niagara is spend a few days relaxing in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the beautiful, mountainous countryside of the state. You might be lucky to get great weather and the fall leaves.

Chicago_Heather

I'm too biased to suggest chopping Chicago off of your itinerary, so I would suggest flying into Boston, skipping the Falls, flying Boston to Chicago, and taking the train (or flying) to Memphis or Nashville and *then* getting a car when you're ready to move on. I grew up in southern Illinois and can tell you that the long drive from Chicago through downstate Illinois won't be a lasting memory.

If you do decide on Chicago, please drop me an email or I'll try to remember to check back to offer suggestions on what's going on in the city during September.

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