KittyKat5

Hi everyone,

This is my first post so sorry if this is not the right spot!

I am planning a holiday for a family of five Aussies (everyone is 20yrs +) for 29 days starting on the 19th of December. Wondering if the below is feasible and if there is anything we should be aware of considering we are traveling during winter/Christmas/New Years? Will the roads be busy/icy etc.?

Day 1: Arrive in New York City
Day 2 - 7: Full Days in NYC
Day 8: Take train from NYC to Philadelphia
Day 9: Take train to Washington DC
Day 10 - 11: Full days in Washington DC

Road Trip Starts
Day 12: Pick up hire car in Washington and drive to Charlottesville
Day 13: Drive to Asheville - find something to do for NYE
Day 14: Full day in Asheville - Visit Biltmore Estate
Day 15: Drive to Charleston
Day 16: Full day in Charleston (Maybe see a plantation?)
Day 17: Drive to Savannah
Day 18: Drive to Cape Canaveral via Saint Augustine (for lunch)
Day 19: Kennedy Space Centre
Day 20: Drive to Universal Studios Orlando Resort (Have the morning/early afternoon free - any suggestions for things to see around Orlando?)
Road Trip Ends

Day 21: Universal Studios Orlando
Day 22: Universal Studios Orlando
Day 23: Fly to New Orleans
Day 24 - 25: Full days in New Orleans
Day 26: Fly to San Francisco
Day 27 - 28: Full days in San Francisco
Day 29: 11.30pm flight home

thursdaysd

Why so much time in Orlando and so little time in Charleston and Savannah?

marvelousmouse

I'd take SF or Universal off and add time to your other destinations. You're short of time just about everywhere except Universal (you can do that in two days easy). You have essentially no time in Philadelphia and D.C., both of which I like more than any thing in Orlando (although Universal is pretty cool and I'm a sucker for Disney).

I don't know Orlando all that well, but if another theme park of interest, Christmas is a big thing at Disney's Magic Kingdom, so if you have the budget, why not?

Depends on your preferences of weather though, and what you're interested in. I love SF but I'd probably do LA given the time of year. (Assuming you haven't bought your tickets and the point is to do a west coast layover).

If you provide more about your budget and interests, you may get more specific feedback. I'm sort of curious about your interests because I don't think I've seen Asheville on either a NYE or Australian itinerary before. And I'm assuming you've got a generous budget, especially if you are under 25- that rental can't be cheap!

marvelousmouse

Reread and did some math. Never mind about Disney, I think most Christmas stuff is over by your dates. And I had assumed you were fairly young, but now I think you mean your youngest "kid" is over 20? I think you basically need to give us a who's who. I'm guessing a group of diverse ages given the destinations but could be wrong.

KittyKat5

Hi Marvelousmouse,

We do have a diverse group of ages. We are traveling with my brother (21), me and my boyfriend (26,29) and my parents (both late 40s).

We have actually been to Disney in LA before on a 2 day layover when traveling back from Vancouver. This time we are planning on spending two full days at the Universal parks (most likely staying at Hard Rock hotel) to experience Harry Potter world (My parents are big Harry Potter fans).

Is there any reason why SF isn't as good at that time of year?

We all have a massive range of interest which is making this planning hard! Just experiencing life in American is exciting for all of us.

Underhill

LA might be warmer than SF, but these days, who knows? I'd still opt for time in SF, which is a beautiful city with lots to explore (and eat, too).

Dukey1

OK, exactly what are you planning for that 1/2 day in Philadelphia?

be sure to reserve a time at Biltmore on 1 January.

Weather COULD be an issue for your drive to/from Asheville; notice I said could and not will be.

I'll say this: Disney in Florida is VERY different from Disney in Anaheim.

KittyKat5

Thanks for the tip Dukey1 - we will book our Biltmore tickets online well beforehand

We were planning on leaving NYC very early and leaving for Washington mid-afternoon to maximise our time in Philadelphia.

We would love to see the Liberty Bell, Rittenhouse Square, Reading Terminal Market, and potentially take the hop on, hop of bus if the weather isn't great.

marvelousmouse

SF is going to be colder than LA most likely and LA is very different from east Coast. But apologies, thought it was your first US trip! If you've been to LA, I'd do SF.

In general...weather really could be anything. I spent early January in NYC and it felt almost like spring...flew through Chicago, clear skies...landed in Seattle during Snowpacolypse. (It rarely snows in seattle at all, but previous winters I've been grounded on both the east coast and in Chicago.)


If your main interest is HP, 2 days is kind of overkill for Universal in my opinion. I rode pretty much everything in both parks in one day except water rides (and it may be too cold for those in winter- Florida does get cold snaps). Disney is very different on the east coast but totally understandable if you're not into it.

Given your interests, I'd want at least a full day in Philly. It would give you more time to see stuff like the liberty bell- if there is a line there, you might spend your whole time in Philly just on that. I spent most of one day just eating my way through reading Terminal Market. No need to do a hop on hop off in Philly. It's really pretty small. You may want to do one in SF or NYC if the weather is poor. (It's pretty useless in DC.)

And I'd definitely want more time in DC. You can get a really good sense of the country there through the monuments and Smithsonians. Whoever wants to visit the KSC could probably spend half a day in air and space museum alone. The smithsonians are huge.

I don't know...if you weren't Aussie, I'd probably recommend picking either north OR south east coast. You'd get to see more in either area. But I know it's a long, expensive trip for you guys! And at least this way you get to sample a bit of everything

gmoney

Kittykat, that is an awful lot of traveling and not much time for actually seeing the places you are traveling to. Holiday traffic can be a nightmare, flights can be delayed/cancelled by weather. You have very little wiggle room in your schedule. If it were me I would stick to the east coast and drop 2 or 3 of your destinations. Two of my favorite places are Savannah and St. Augustine and you have allotted almost no time to see them.

gmoney

OH and I would also just avoid Cape Canaveral (nothing there but cruise ships anyway). Just stop at KSC on your way from St. Augustine to Orlando if that is a must see.