Jikke

Hi all,

My husband and i, huge USA fans for the last 10 years, are planning a road trip to the east coast in the coming last week of May till the first week of June (2 weeks). Our itinerary looks roughly like this;

- Washington 3 days
- Norfolk, Hatteras, Wilmington, Georgetown 4 days
- Charleston 2 days
- Savannah 3 days
- Jacksonville beach 1 day
- flying home from Jacksonville

Since we've only been to ny on this side of USA, we would love some tips on great things to do and see, good places to eat (and drink), small (boutique) hotels to stay and fun stuff that locals like. We're not very into the big tourist 'traps', and are more interested in where the locals go. Our taste in restaurants, hotels, bars but also in things we would like to do are very divers; we love a good night of 'hip clubbing' but also enjoy a local lowbrow pub, a tour in an interesting museum or a 'ridiculous' Americana themeparc. In short; any tips are welcome!
About us; were from Amsterdam (Holland), are 37 and 45 years old, no kids, loads of friends, love living the good life, hard working but going on holiday is most important!
Thanks in advance for you're tips, and if you're ever in Amsterdam.....

tomfuller

If you have a choice of airports, fly to DCA (Reagan National) instead of Dulles. Reagan has a Metro station to give you direct access to Washington. You don't need a rental car until you are ready to leave the city.
For a theme park look at King's Dominion in Virginia.
https://www.kingsdominion.com/

Gretchen

Near Georgetown you could stay at the Litchfield Plantation house--the original one.
I would add a day to Charleston and one off of Savannah.
In another thread about Savannah a trip to Cumberland Island is described and that looks like a WONderful idea for a day trip.
Maybe go to Ponte Vedra instead of Jax.

Gretchen

I should say Litchfield Plantation is at Pawley's Island more precisely.
Georgetown IS and interesting little town/stop. The historic district of Pawley's is also very interesting for a drive through--Revolutionary War times for the rice planters from Charleston.
Brookgreen Gardens at Litchfield/Pawley's is also lovely and worth a stop.
I don't know much about Norfolk and that area north, but coming on down to the Carolina coast may be more scenic. Wilmington is an interesting old city with a nice waterfront--and Wrightsville Beach for the seaside/coastal aspect.
Hatteras can be a "fer piece" as we say down here.

jamie99

Have only driven through Norfolk, it's not really very scenic. I would recommend the Eastern Shore to you but not sure if you have enough time - lots of cute inns in places like St. Michael's, etc.

Dickie_Gr

I have done this twice (from Scotland).

Would make the following comments

Cumberland : beautiful well worth a visit.
Savannah : fist time I visited ten years ago, I just fell in love with the place but over the years it seems to have taken more of a battering by the recession than other areas. We were last there in October 2013 and both the city and Tybee Island seemed quite sad and in need of investment, just too many empty retail units.

Beaufort SC : heaps of Southern charm and architecture, good restaurants.
Edisto : we normally stay here for the incredible wildlife, marsh land and natural beaches. Botany Bay Plantantion has incredibly pine forests which have sunken into the sea. Great for shell and fossil hunting.

Charleston : has weathered the recession far better than Savannah, huge food scene and good shopping. Sullivans island has a good beach house scene. We loved the unrestored

http://www.draytonhall.org/

We don't give fluffy lectures about dinner parties in the 18th century but prefer to give truthful insights into life on "concentration camp" plantations.

In NC we loved "the other" Beaufort, sleepy little place with good restaurants and easy access to the outer banks. New Bern is closeby and has Tryon Place which is a reconstructed Georgian house with impressive gardens.

http://www.tryonpalace.org/

What's your budget for hotels?

Jikke

Thanks for all the tips people! Dickie_Gr we don't really have a budget for hotels, usually we switch during the holiday between expensive luxury hotels and cheaper ones, money is not that important; if the hotel is small, boutique like and has a nice concierge service we're happy campers....