I assume you are not going to have a car the night you spend in Richmond. It would be best to stay downtown--Jefferson Hotel (pricey, but wonderful) or Marriot.

"Staunton (via waynsboro entrance to skyline drive) to Washington DC ? I could do a section of it, then take an exit onto the #81 & to DC that way - any thoughts on which part of the skyline would be the best?"--Skyline Drive with stops is 5 hours. to DC- best guess is 8 hours. Skyline Drive is 105 miles and the speed limit is 35 miles per hour. Best part is probably around Skyland.

p.s. make sure you take a train which will let you off at Main Street Station.

The leaves will be long gone unfortunately. And the speed limit on the Skyline Drive is 35MPH and the distance is 105 miles total
.http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/driving-skyline-drive.htm

I haven't been on it recently but further down on the Blue Ridge Parkway you sometimes run the risk of the clouds totally obscuring the views--and you riding over the clouds. Just a thought to watch the weather a little.

We are used to driving great distances too. That's why I recommend you keep the car and drive from Charleston to Richmond rather than take the train. It will take you half the time and you can go 70 mph on parts of I95. The trains here are slow and often late.

Gretchen is right. The leaves will be way long gone by November. It's a pretty drive though.

I think you may be hard put to get a train from Savannah to Richmond that stops at Main Street Station, but I could be wrong. We generally are going north from Staples Mills Station, and I know the Florida trains stop there. It is an easy taxi ride to Staples Mills from the center of the city, where, I presume, you will be picking up your rental car.

Downtown Richmond is often pretty boring and sometimes sadly declined, but people usually get good rates at the Omni on Priceline.

The Museum District is worth a visit for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, a very fine small museum, free to the public, and the Virginia Historical Society Museum and Library. Between the two is the United Daughters of the Confederacy Museum. Also well worth seeing, though in an odd neighborhood, is Holywood Cemetery, with outstanding views over the James River and lots of historic graves, including Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, and General J.E.B Stuart, the cavalry leader who died a legend at 33.

On Boulevard, across Broad Street from the museums, is Buzz 'n' Ned's Barbecue, the best local purveyor of BBQ and traditional side dishes. For dinner, the area between the museums and downtown is full of small restaurants. Pick up a copy of Style, the local arts and entertainment weekly paper, for recommendations.

There is lots more, but you really don't have time to do it.

Nov 9 is way too ambitious. It is an hour and a half minimum from Richmond to Monticello, and you can only tour at designated times, beginning around 10. You can get there earlier, but you are more likely to get behind school groups, who come early. Allow 2.5 hours at Monticello, and it is absolutely worth every minute. Each guide prepares his own talk, so you can go again and again and have a somewhat different tour each time. Parking is not easy in Charlottesville owing to the University being in session, but it is worth finding a visitor's lot to see the Rotunda and Lawn.

I prefer Lexington to Staunton and both to Harrisonburg. Lexington is a charming town that is home to both Washington and Lee University (burial site of Robert E Lee) and the Virginia Military Institute. The mountains in this area are lovely. I would overnight there; there are plenty of good places to eat.

On your drive to Washington, I would alternate among the mountaintop Skyline Drive and the valley routes, US 17 and Interstate 81. If you got to VMI, be sure to stop while traveling north at the site of the Battle of New Market. There the cadets of the Institute, 15 TO 21 years old, marched into withering fire from Union forces and with raw courage broke the Union advance and turned it into a retreat. See the article in Wikipedia for a quick overview. It was a kind of American Rorke's Drift.



From Monticello into Charlottesville itself, at least to the University area, is another 25 minutes.

The earlier the better on the Skyline Drive. Train from New York to Washington, rent the car and make the loop West on I66 to Front Royal VA, south on Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Pkwy to Buena Vista and Lexington. Stay in Lexington or Staunton. There should be no problem finding lodging that late in the season. Take the car back to DC and continue on the train to Savannah and rent you car there for the southern part of your trip.

we stayed at the Old Staunton Inn http://oldestauntoninn.com/ a very nice B&B in the historic district--lots of nice restaurants,and very close to the Shakespeare theater in Staunton-- we were there off season as well and got a room below market by waiting till last minute to stay there--you may not have that luxury.We also loved Monticello pronounced "montichello" and loved it.You could just drive a section of the Blue Ridge--it is a tediuos drive , and drive 81 mainly. I think leaves will be gone by then.
you should try and stop by beaufort between Sav and Chareslton Its soo differnt than the bigger towns,and gives you a definite Deep South feel to it "the movie "the Great Santini" was filmed there--you could rent it to get a feel for the areaI agree with suewoo-keep the car,forget the train.I dont think theres much to see in Richmond--youd enjoy a day in Beaufort more. One more bit of advice, youre kind of rushing thru seeing savnnah and charleston--if this is your first trip, id pick one of them and stay longer--id pick Savanah, its such a unique town--stay at Planters Inn, eat at the Pink house, have breakfast beignets at Hueys on the river, go to the graveyard,visit a few old houses--most of all have fun

bigbomoho, you may not think there is much in Richmond, but you are wrong.

What you see of Richmond from I-95 and I-64 in no way represents the riches of this fascinating city. I have now visited regularly for six years and have spent Jan-April there for the past three years and still have two dozen sites and probably 35 restaurants on my must-do list.