When?

I don't know of any peach farms that will let you pick your own. By the time the peaches are really ripe it's hot. If you're coming in spring you could look for a pick your own strawberry field.

Typical southern life is getting up, and going to work. What are you hoping to see? Pretty old architecture? Look at Newberry, Sc, and Cheraw, SC. You should also google Pearl Fryar in Bishopville. Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia is nice but it's not sleepy.

Hendersonville NC just south of Asheville is a good small Southern town. While interstate driving is usually boring, I'd just take interstate 26 from Asheville straight down to Charleston. Both of those places are much more interesting and than any of the towns along the way.

Greenville, South Carolina is AMAZING. I just drove through there and I wanted my group to drop me off and leave me there. Looks like a very vibrant little city with a lovely downtown. We also drove around Lake Toxaway which looked stunning. Charleston was also wonderful. You will have a great trip - spent a week in South Carolina and Western NOrth Carolina (Asheville) and loved it!

Interesting! I had read on another forum that the I26 trip is so dull and misses out little villages ( as we'd call them).

Our trip is mid September. We leave Nantahala Forest on 9th Sept.

I26 is not exciting, but it's certainly the quickest way to travel. Stop off in Newberry for lunch on your way.

The economy has done a real number on many SC small towns. They may not be as fun as you'd think. However, seeing Pearl's place in Bishopville might be something you won't see any where else.

It may still be hot here (Charleston) in September so prepare for that. It's much cooler in the mountains.

http://pearlfryar.com/

YES! For your Question #1 - Head south on 441 toward Franklin, NC and then Clayton, GA. Along the way *Mountainside Chocolates (if you want handmade chocolates) - 27 miles south of Bryson City, on the left as you come down the mountain - http://www.mountainsidechocolates.com/ If you want great ice cream, (or milk or cheese) fresh from the cows in the hills above - http://inthesmokymountains.com/springridgecreamery/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spring-Ridge-Creamery/143686148996422 Continue on south. If you like antiques (or juntiques) stop in Dillard and wander for a while. If you want southern, all you can eat breakfast or lunch, eat at the world famous Dillard House - http://www.dillardhouse.com/ The valley it is in is one of the prettiest valleys around. The beautiful Rabun Gap- Nachoochee school is across the road. http://www.rabungap.org/page.cfm?p=1199 If you need to walk some laps around the lake, there's no better place to do it. Unless it's around the lake at Black Rock Mountain state park. Drive up the mountain to the highest state park in Georgia to look at some gorgeous views - http://www.gastateparks.org/BlackRockMountain/ If you want to see how mountain folk lived in days gone past, stop at the Foxfire Museum (halfway up the mountain) - http://www.foxfire.org/museum.html Head on down the mountain and then south on 441. Detour to the right to old 441 and the little town of Clayton GA - http://www.exploregeorgia.org/Listing/Overview/67018/Clayton?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=clayton%20ga&utm_campaign=Explore%20Georgia%20%20General Wander the picturesque little town. Shop for everything between fishing lures and furniture for the mountain and lake houses at the (almost) block long Reeves Ace Hardware - an award winning hardware store. Check out the tables set up for the wedding registry - a table for each couple. I haven't seen that anywhere else in the last 30 years - http://www.reevesacehardware.com/ For fine antiques, stop at Butler's Galleries or for fine to midrange decorative items, wander through Butler's II - http://www.butlergalleries.com/ If you are hungry, eat at Zeppelin's next to Butler's II, the Universal Joint across the street, the classic Clayton cafe up a few stores, or a classic soda fountain/diner at the Clayton Drugs. If you want great local, organic food eat at Grapes and Beans or more classic brunch items, try Fromage. If you are ready to continue on, head out of town on Hwy 76 on yet again a beautiful drive to SC, going over the Chattago river. If you have a few more minutes before you head out of town, drive south for just a few miles to Tallulah Gorge and walk the rim trail along a gorgeous gorge with waterfalls and kayakers during water release weekends. http://www.gastateparks.org/TallulahGorge/ The route from Bryson City to Clayton is just about an hour's drive (56 miles) but takes you to some of the prettiest areas in the south. As you go into SC you can drive through Clemson, etc. to connect to the interstate at Greenville. If you are tired of slower driving, head south out of Westminster SC (highways 20/11) to 85 and then Greenville. That drive along Hwy 11 is one of the prettiest pasture drives I know. You could spend an hour just driving it, to several hours or all day...but there's no prettier country to drive through - IMO anyway.

From Savannah to Panama City? Several ideas if you wanted to stop and see more, but they would add to your driving day. Taking the ferry to Cumberland Island is amazing, but you need most of the day to do that. You could drive to St. Mary's anyway and eat at the riverside inn where the ferry picks up. You could detour to St. Simons or Jekyll Island. Jekyll would be great for a walk along the beach and a drive through the "cottages" of the historic districts. If you haven't seen the Spanish town of St. Augustine, you could detour a bit to see it. But if you want to get most of the drive done, then go the fastest route and dip down to Apalachicla and wander that pretty little town. Get an idea of what life was like along the coast back in the turpentine days. I love the drive from Apalach to PCB along the coast. And if you like oysters and seafood, stop at the Indian Pass Raw Bar. It's in an old general store, the opposite of fancy but one of my favorite places anywhere. I'd spend the night on that side of PCB - but then again I'm not a fan of PCB.

Gosh! Thank you, all of you. I'm going to need a bigger map and a smaller pen. So, not Social Circle or Madison or Aiken or Abebville? Too much of a detour?


Starrs - I'm not sure we will stay at PCB. Maybe Destin or elsewhere quieter. We just wanted to have a couple of sunbathing days on your gorgeous white sandy beaches, but not a huge fan of casinos and neon.


Suewoo - completely sympathise with the effects of the recession. I always encourage visitors to the UK to get out of London and see the rest of England. London has enough money and elsewhere needs the tourism £!

I'm a big fan of Madison with a stop to eat at the Blue Willow in Social Circle...but when you are in the area. I wouldn't detour up that way just to see them. If you are headed to Atlanta, yes. Otherwise, no. You will have seen so many antebellum homes in Savannah and Charleston already. If you haven't made your reservations yet, consider the Indian Pass/ Cape San Blas area - if you just want beautiful beaches and pass on tacky. Stay at the Turtle Beach Inn - http://www.turtlebeachinn.com/thingstodo.cfm It's not a typical B&B. BEAUTIFUL rooms opening to outside wraparound porches with a clean, uncluttered nautical/cottage style. They serve breakfast. You'll have to drive to find someplace to eat lunch and dinner, but there are options within a few miles and you'll be in one of the most peaceful, gorgeous places in the states. That section of Florida is called "The Forgotten Coast" and it gives you a glimpse into what FL used to look like. If you need more action, then stay on St. George Island. 100% better than PCB.

Thanks starrs, your knowledge means a lot to me.
On a general note, how far in advance would you recommend we book accommodation? We're sorted for Asheville - Nantahala, and New Orleans at the end, but haven't planned the middle bits (largely because we are conscious it's storm season).

Would you advise booking Charleston and beach accomm early? Or is it possible to turn up and find somewhere? We won't be looking for anything too fancy.

Thanks

Mid-September? You can show up and find something IF you aren't looking for anything too fancy. The summer and October are VERY busy times of year. Mid-Sept is a perfect time to travel for weather and no crowds.

Charleston folks may know of a special festival/weekend event in the fall that may cause a problem. I don't.

Sept 5-16, 2012, is another "restaurant week" in Charleston. Always popular with locals. Some restaurants fill up fast, others don't. You could look at the menus on on-line then periodically check if reservations are still available. Most are very good restaurants, some are fantastic.


http://www.charlestonrestaurantassociation.com/charleston-restaurant-week/

It's always busy in the HD in Charleston and with the addition of cruises out of the port, places get booked early. While the hotels there may seem pricey, I recommend you spend the extra money so that you can walk right out your door into the thick of things. If you stay elsewhere, you'll spend precious tour time traveling and parking. If you don't want to stay in the HD, you could just show up and hope for the best. You'll want to look at places in Mt Pleasant or West Ashely to do that. If you book the HD in advance, you'll get a better rate.

Restaurant Week is excellent. I make reservations early for the places I want to eat. My favorite, FIG, doesn't participate. At least they haven't in the past.

If anyone in your party is a motorhead, the BMW museum is an hour south of Asheville in Spartanburg. It is directly on the interstate. Some times of the year they give tours of the manufacturing plant. From Spartanburg you can do Greenville if you like the falls park is lovely but chances are you say waterfalls in the mountains. Personnaly I would drive from Spartanburg to Newberry since you wanted to see town squares.Newberry is a straight shot down I-26 and is just four miles from interstate exit 76.

Newberry has a turn of the century opera house and a pair of old courthouses. There are a couple good options for lunch. (My favorite Delimaters is in an old bank building.)Several good antique stores for rambling in.

You mentioned Aiken or Abbeville. Both would put you a least an hour out of the way. Aiken may be worth it. Not so for Abbeville. It was a fantastic small town a decade ago but the economic downturn has taken its toll. The best antique shops have closed and several of its landmark restaurants are gone. (I love Abbeville, but just wouldn't recommend a hour detour to visit.)

Thanks again to all, very helpful!
I'm guessing traffic out of Bryson City is going to be a nightmare right? Can never tell how much extra journey time to plan...

Traffic in Bryson City? What traffic? You won't have to deal with any traffic issues. Bryson City is a very small town.

I meant leaving the mountain area. I thought that there might be tailbacks as lots of tourists leave the Park each day. No?
Maybe I'm too scarred by England's national parks!

That is funny. The only way you would get into significant traffic is if your visit coincided with a football game.I once forgot Clemson Univerity had a home game and had to abort a picnic in the mountains, but I can't think of any large football venue that you would come close to.

Use Google maps or Mapquest for timing your trips. They usually pad the times a little bit.