Road Trip from Dallas to Miami

Old Jul 15th, 2017, 07:02 PM
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Road Trip from Dallas to Miami

Hi - my husband and I (in our mid 60s - but young at heart) would like to plan a road trip (in a hire car and staying at hotel accommodation) from Dallas via Houston, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Naples, Fort Lauderale to Miami. We are Australian and have never been to these areas of the USA before. Sooo - would love some input as to what to see, where to stay along the way and really staying 2 or 3 or 4 nights in which towns and would it take 3 -4 weeks. Places of interest en-route would be appreciated. Also what is the best time of year to travel through this region - ie not vacation time - not winter - perhaps your spring or autumn??
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Old Jul 16th, 2017, 11:03 AM
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Why Jacksonville?

This is a serious question - the NFL has been asking itself that for two decades. Is hubby a golfer? Are you? Other than the TPC course, there's not a real reason to go out of your way for it.

Plus, going to Jacksonville means going to the eastern edge of Florida and then back to the Gulf Coast to Tampa and then east again to reach Miami. Fort Laudy is thisclose to Miami, so they're functionally not different destinations because you can see one from the other.

I'm guessing you're coming to the US on the SYD-DFW direct flight. In that case, based on your plans, the easiest option for you may be to fly to Dallas, rent a car (that's "hire a car" in Aussie), drive to Houston or wherever, then drop the car and fly on Southwest Airlines to New Orleans. Once you're in New Orleans, you could get another car but don't need it - NOLA is both walkable and has decent public transportation and has excursions to areas of interest (swamp tours, plantation tours, etc).

Since visiting Gulf Coast cities (e.g., Biloxi, Gulfport, Mobile, Pensacola) seems irrelevant, you should get a flight from New Orleans to Orlando or Tampa. Hire a car there. You should definitely hire a car separately in Florida.

THIS INFORMATION IS CRUCIAL: Florida has an extensive network of toll roads that, unlike Texas's, are basically unavoidable. To travel the state, you need a sunpass. The best deals on rental car toll tag requirements are found at https://www.sunpass.com/index.
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Old Jul 16th, 2017, 04:43 PM
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Yes - we would be on the direct flight from Sydney to Dallas. Thank you No - no golfers here - basically just looked at the map and thought that would be a good route to take - I really appreciate your advice - and will take it on board - especially - you don't think it a good idea to drive all the way? - We are looking at about 4 weeks for this trip then fly on to Cancun and Mexico City then fly back to Dallas for our direct flight home.
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Old Jul 16th, 2017, 05:27 PM
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I live in Fort Lauderdale. That "extensive network of tollroads" is TOTALLY and quite easily avoidable if you wish to do so. It is much more "extensive" in Central Florida than it is anywhere else in the state.

I would ask why you are picking ANY of these Florida cities and knowing THAT I think we can help you decide which ones might be more important (for what YOU want to see and do) than others might be.
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Old Jul 16th, 2017, 10:34 PM
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I just looked at the map and thought - oh well - but we are definitely open to lots of hints and great places to see. Last year after spending time in USA New York Boston Maine New Hampshire we then flew to Buffalo and went to Niagra and then took the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver stopping off a few days in Jasper and Banff - after Vancouver we took the train to Seattle and after 4 days there we rented a car and had an amazing 10 days - Ceour D'Arlene, Helena, West Yellowstone, Black?? then Salt Lake City, Winnemuka, Reno, Carson City and into San Francisco then after 4 days flew to Las Vegas, then after another 4 days flew to LA then home - so we now would really like to see the south of America over a 4 week period??? Even though people said to us our road trip would be boring we never felt that way - we saw beauty in all the landscape, even the salt lakes with mountains reflecting and the snow capped mountains along the way - so hopefully this will give you an insight as to the way we like to travel. thank you for any hints our routes you can assist with. cheers
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Old Jul 17th, 2017, 07:13 AM
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Orlando is Orlando - it has the various theme parks and tourist attractions (and proximity to Disney, which is NOT technically in Orlando) that millions flock to visit, which is why it has international transatlantic flights despite its size and location (close to Tampa).

Tampa has ... whatever it has. If you read The Given Day by Dennis Lehane, it's a multiculti melt that may have various historical reasons to visit.

The better question may be: what do you want to see? If you want a bit of southern history plus big cities and culture, then flying to Dallas means visiting the city's JFK self-flagellation and the downtown arts district (which is good) and maybe a trip to Fort Worth to see the Stockyards (then contrast that with the FW Modern Art Museum); Houston means NASA and the local MFA and humidity; New Orleans can mean a week or more for its indigenous charms and the surrounding areas and plantations. You can easily do a sojourn through the Louisiana River Road that takes you to various plantations (see Whitney, which is effectively a museum of slavery dedicated to the memories of slaves; Laura, which was a working plantation; Oak Alley, which you probably have seen in movies; and there are far more going north up to Mississippi), battlefields, and the Angola Prison Museum (which is worth a visit if you're in that area - to their credit, they don't paper over the past).

This is not based on your trip outline, but it's stuff to do in Texas and Louisiana that can be interesting. And I'd still fly from NOLA to Orlando (which is in central Florida, which is shot through with toll roads). The drive may not be boring (I-10 should be far more interesting than I-20, which is deadly dull), but it does take time away from other activities and the intervening spots don't seem high on your list.
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Old Jul 18th, 2017, 01:57 PM
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I would skip Jacksonville and substitute St. Augustine.

I would also skip Houston and substitute San Antonio. You can fly to New Orleans from there.

Why Tampa? It is not a major tourist destination.

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie
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Old Jul 20th, 2017, 01:31 PM
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Thank you Big Russ and Orlando_Vic - we will take this all on board
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