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Road Trip From Miami to New York, Ideas please!

Road Trip From Miami to New York, Ideas please!

Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 07:58 AM
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Road Trip From Miami to New York, Ideas please!

Hi guys,

We are planning a road trip from Miami to New York in may, we have just over three weeks to complete it and plan on hiring a car so we will be mobile, obviously I can find lots of suggestions of things to do in the major cities (Philadelphia, New York, Washington, Orlando etc but I was just trying to gather some tips and suggestions of other great things to stop and see/do on the way!

Any advice you can give me would be really appreciated it’s our first time visiting the USA so we are super excited!

TIA
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 08:27 AM
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I might suggest you block out the time you will want to spend in the major cities you've mentioned and then you'll know some stops.
I KNOW I would not miss spending a couple of days in Charleston.
Then you might want to spend a day or two on a beach in SC.
There are great places to play golf, if that is a love of yours. And there are good bird watching areas.
So maybe you get the drift of blocking out days--and then there is a LOT more to be super excited about!!
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 09:22 AM
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If it were my trip (and without thinking about how much time in each place:

FLA--take AIA:
Cape Kennedy
Saint Augustine
Fernandina Beach

GA: US 17
St. Mary's/Cumberland Island
Jekyl/St. Simon's Islands
Savannah

SC US 17

Charleston
Beaufort

NC US 17

Wilmington
Outer banks


VA:

Colonial Williamsburg,
Jamestown
Yorktown

Maryland--

Baltimore

Also lots of US Civil War sites around this area
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 12:41 PM
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Thankyou for your replies, this is my first forum post so I'm still learning at the mo!

Well the first nine days are written off for disney/universal/the usual Orlando stuff, Other half is insisting on that,

Would love to spend some time bird watching, had sort of pencilled in charleston simply because it seemed like a nice halfway-ish stop to rest for the night. Some advice on what to do in the area would be great

Would also be keen to just really soak up the culture and try to step away from the typical fast food/retail areas that are just the same as back at home

I've been struggling to find much in the way of information on the lesser visited cities (by tourists) and also can't quite decide if it's better to follow the coast road or head inland slightly to get the most interesting route.

I will have a look in the morning at the roads you have suggested thankyou

Also may be worth mentioning we are planning to do as much of the trip as possible in our tent so that may be a factor in overall route selection too.
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Old Mar 2nd, 2015, 01:10 PM
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In Charleston, the National Park service takes a boat out to Fort Sumter, if you are interested in history. The city is lovely and has lots of antebellum homes along the waterfront.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 03:23 AM
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For Charleston, start with this link:
http://www.charlestoncvb.com/visitors/

I also recommend a visit to Beaufort and Hunting Island in SC.

There's also a Beaufort in NC. I recommend a night there too.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 03:32 AM
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Nine days in Orlando!! To each his own, but that will take a big bite out of your vacation time. Are there children? Not that adults don't like these also. LOL
Hopefully you will be spending multiple days in NYC, DC and Philadelphia also. That could get to 18 days real quick leaving you 3 days to go up the coast. Hence my suggestion of blocking out your trip.
Hopefully Suewoo will come along and advise about the Charleston area 'cause I get the names mixed up, but I think there is camping at Hunting Island near Charleston--and birding.
A little way up the coast is Huntington Beach State park with camping (this is at Litchfield/Pawley's Island).
You should probably get a KOA book for campsites and you'll do very well along the way I think.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 03:38 AM
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For your road up the coast in North and South Carolina, Route 17 will do just fine for following the coast (but not ON the coast).
But now we are seeing your time layout and you are referring to Charleston as "a half way point" (to where) so I am feeling you need to come back with some clarification.
We can all give you GREAT ways to see Charleston and for even "out of the way" places, but your time may be going to be limited. You really won't want to visit "the lesser visited places by tourists" and bypass the real treasures of Charleston, Beaufort, etc. etc.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 03:53 AM
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Dwdvagamundo's suggestions of stops and routes cannot, to my mind, be improved upon -- A1A, US 17 rather than I 95 are spot on. For birding, the Sea Islands (Fernandina Beach through St Simons) have marsh birds galore and are pretty much on the Eastern Flyway, though the population depends on when you are there.

I would spend a night in Richmond, VA after Wiiliamsburg, leave the car, and take the train to Washington, DC. Your experience from that point on will be vastly better if you go from place to place by train.

If you are from the UK, think the M1 and M25 all the way from Washington to NY and $40 per day to park.

Every minute you can take away from Orlando will increase your chances of seeing something of the architecture, scenery, history, and culture of the United States.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 04:57 AM
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Thank you all for your responses, yes I realise that sounds like a large chunk of the holiday, but broken down the plan is to spend the first day around key largo and adjusting to the jet lag and then travel up to Orlando then pretty much a theme park a day which is how I got to the 9 days figure.

Cant shorten this unfortunately, I wasn’t interested in going to Florida at all for a few years (we're a couple of twenty-something’s with no kids) and he wanted to spend the whole three weeks there so we decided this way was a good compromise

Sorry Gretchen, Charleston seemed to be about 6 hours out of Orlando and 8 hours to Washington DC that’s what I meant by halfway point. However long distance driving isn't an issue for us so if we would be better stopping closer to Washington or nearer Orlando for a better experience then more than happy to

Thank you for that Ackislander can’t think of anything worse than reliving the M1 whilst on holiday! Will definitely look at the train option instead. We are tied with the flights as they have been booked but everything in between is all open for new options.

Is this the company you were referring to Gretchen? http://koa.com/tent-sites/

Yes I would say around three days would be an accurate conservative guestimate of the free time we've left for the middle bit, I had hoped for at least three days in NYC, I'd accounted for 2 in Washington and one in Philadelphia. Sort of provisionally booked in a day and night in Atlantic City and a day in Baltimore but happy to change things around.

I realise I've left things a little open ended but it’s because I am still going through this "oh my gosh that’s it! We’re really doing it! I want to see it all!" New excitement phase at the moment.

We're not afraid of really cramming things in; our last holiday of this scale involved 26 Cities in 14 Countries in 30 Days so more than happy to not account for any downtime on the trip!

Thanks again for all of your suggestions and advice I am taking it all on board
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 05:12 AM
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Unless you are very keen to gamble, do not stay in Atlantic City. Rather, for beautiful beaches, stay in one of the many nearby towns such as Ocean City, Cape May, Sea Isle City, etc. I believe there is camping in Wildwood Crest. You will need a car in this area.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 06:50 AM
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I don't know if you're camping to save some money, but if you are, you might want to calculate the cost of nine days visiting theme parks in Orlando.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 07:09 AM
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For bird watching, do stop at Jekyll and St. Simon's Islands, Georgia. The state of Georgia has a "Coastal Birding Trail" with several sites on the islands. http://georgiawildlife.com/sites/def...ngTrailMap.jpg

There's also a campground on Jekyll Island.http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...a_Georgia.html

Edisto Island, SC, just south of Charleston has a nice state park where you can camp. We camped there many, many years ago, and woke up to the sound of waves.

http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/ed...h/camping.aspx.

Carolina Bird Club shows three birding sites on the Island. This is very interesting part of the southeastern US--home to some Gullah people.

Given your tight time frame, I'd skip Atlantic City as msteacher advises or, if you must, stay outside it.

I also would think twice or three times about visiting each and every theme park around Orlando, especially if you are interested in stepping away from the fast food/retail areas. A few of them would give you a flavor; I'd be glutted if I visited more than one or two (and broke, to boot)

Here's a list of birding locations, many of which are along the Florida coast:

http://floridabirdingtrail.com/index...p/trails/east/

You can easily visit Kennedy Space Center (Camp Canaveral)from Orlando. There is a birding trail on the Canaveral National Seashore.

http://floridabirdingtrail.com/index...outh_Entrance/

Do at least think about taking the train once you leave Baltimore.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 07:14 AM
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Since "we" are young adults: skip Williamsburg. It's dull. No reason to spend an overnight in Baltimore - just visit during the day en route from DC to Philly. Skip AC.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 08:37 AM
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Another vote for Edisto, just stay at this house for a week

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p171417

We do, every October. Incredible place and easy to reach Savannah, Beaufort or Charleston.

The wildlife is great. Kayak with dolphins every day from the house.

Charleston is just too good to miss at the moment. Incredible food scene.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 11:00 AM
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Thanks guys edisto's in and williamsburg's out.

Kayaking with dolphins would really be a dream come true and thankyou dwdvagamundo the campsite you suggested on the island looks great! That's definitely a must stop.

Just to clarify the option to camp is because we much prefer it to staying in hotels, not for the monetary benefit. Although I would quite happily skip orlando completely this part is set in stone, hubbys insisting on that
(He's a massive kid at heart!)

Am seriously considering the train option however I think this is going to have to be one of the last parts of the plan because if it turns out that we are spending alot of the trip in very basic campsites then this is going to affect how much camping equipment and clothes we need to bring which we would then need to carry and although we have backpacked extensively like this before before I have found in larger cities that by the time you factor in the price of locker hire for the bags and train tickets it can sometimes work out dearer than parking :/ this is something I'm going to have to read into a little more
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 11:34 AM
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Singlegrouse--

The train suggestion is not just a money-saving suggestion. NYC, DC and Philadelphia are like London in that having a car is a positive handicap, and public transportation--both intercity and intracity--is more than adequate.

Good point about the camping equipment and what to do with it. Not practical to camp north of about North Carolina. Could you air freight or otherwise ship the camping gear back home when you reach DC? It would seem you wouldn't have to worry about breakage nor would you probably need it immediately when you returned home, so you could ship it the slowest, least expensive way.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 11:35 AM
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The dolphins always seem to hang around the head of the Edisto river on the south side of the island, two hours after high tide.

Stay on Edisto and you must visit here

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attract...to_Island.html

Simply magical at sunrise.

There are also many historical houses and churches on the island and an interesting museum of local history.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 11:36 AM
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You could also consider renting the camping equipment when you are ready to leave Orlando--logistics of pick up and return might be tricky.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2015, 12:02 PM
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Camping is fun--and time consuming to set up and pack up.
Plead with the kid at heart that 9 days of whoopee at Disney will be overload--plus incredibly eyewateringly expensive. BUT it is your trip.
So you now have 3 days to get to DC.
one in Charleston (not Edisto--that suggestion was for a WEEK).
Take your choice for the other two--or spend them all in Charleston.
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