virtuosi

I'm going to be driving from Savannah to New Orleans. I'd like to drive through small towns, and am planning on including a stop in the city of Demopolis, AL to see a rather untouristy plantation (I hope), Gaineswood.

I'm getting a little concerned that the route (essentially Savannah to Montgomery then on to Demopolis) is largely agricultural, and I'm not too keen on seeing 8 hours of forests or farming.

I'm hoping my concerns are misplaced, but that's what it looks like on Google Earth.

Any advice? I tried to avoid-10 because of traffic concerns, but perhaps that would prove more interesting, though it would eliminate Gaineswood, Demopolis, AL.

I have 2 days (would prefer 1.5) to drive from Savannah to New Orleans.

Thanks!

starrs

"I'm not too keen on seeing 8 hours of forests or farming."

That's pretty much what you'll see.

We can suggest places to stop, but you're driving across former ocean flats with virtually no hills to speak of. It's good for growing cotton, soybeans and pine trees.

Kind of like driving the desert SW and expecting different scenery. You're going to have to get above the fall line to see something different. But it's easy driving

virtuosi

I guess I was hoping for a few more towns sprinkled along the route! Oooops.

There are quite a few "warnings" about I-10 and traffic, and I was hoping to see some "old South" along the way? Can that be done on I-10?

Thanks for the tip!

starrs

There are lots of places to see along the way. Do you want to stop and do things or do you just want pretty scenery?

starrs

I10 is not more interesting.
One routing is I16 through Georgia to Columbus and then over to Montgomery and down I65 to NO. That's 9 hours 43 minutes of driving.
Adding Demopolis = 10:46. You'll see small towns along the way.

If you want to sightsee more, then some ideas in GA include:
FDR's Little White House at Warm Springs
http://gastateparks.org/LittleWhiteHouse/
Callaway Gardens -
www.callawaygardens.com
Erosion gone awry in farmland at Providence Canyon State Park -
http://gastateparks.org/ProvidenceCanyon/

Drive through a pretty antebellum town at Eufala, AL and then over to Demopolis
As you head south, you may be interested in Monroeville, the setting for To Kill a Mockingbird and still the home of Harper Lee

If you want to see a gorgeous beach, stop at Pensacola Beach
If you want to see a beautiful coastal town, stop at Fairhope, AL

The routing for all of the above is 17 hours and 7 minutes.
You won't want to do it all but could pick and choose from the suggestions.

Savannah to Pensacola Beach to NOLA is 10 hours on I10. You could still add on Fairhope if you wanted.
http://www.beautifulfairhope.com/

virtuosi

I guess I'm interested in small towns and culture such as antebellum sites rather than natural scenery. I was interested in Demopolis (and Eufaula) because of the architecture.

I particularly am attracted to Gaineswood (plantation), Demopolis, rather than Oak Valley Plantation as the latter, though beautiful, appears to be awfully touristy- I'm afraid I might let out a guffaw here and there with a tour guide in a hoop skirt. Gaineswood appears to be magnificent, but it really is in the middle of nowhere preceded by a rather lengthy, and I fear boring drive.

Because I am/was trying to arrive on Friday by 2pm at Gaineswood in a day's driving (due to it's being closed on Saturday), there won't be much time to polk around on the way, but I'm not interested too much in natural scenery on this trip. If I change the route to I-10, I can split the the Savannah/New Orleans trip into a more even 2 days with a bit more time to polk around.

I confess I'm now leaning toward I-10 after your comments and Google Earth!

virtuosi

The bugabooo is that I may be trying too hard to fit it Gaineswood (plantation), Demopolis, which closes at 5 pm Friday and is unfortunately not open on Saturday...so, I have to drive from Savannah to Demopolis, apparently an 8 hour drive (via Google maps). I'm beginning to think that trying to fit in Gaineswood is, sadly, impacting the route too much.

I am planning on driving thru Eufaula on the way...

And gosh, Gaineswood sure looks interesting!

starrs

Do you know about the "cottages" on Jekyll Island?
http://randygodwin.hubpages.com/hub/...ub-The-Cottage

What about Greyfield Inn and/or Plum Orchard on Cumberland -
http://greyfieldinn.com/
http://ameliaislandliving.com/fernan...land-island/2/
http://spencerhouseinn.com/2011/08/0...ded-van-tours/
http://www.nps.gov/cuis/planyourvisi...acies-tour.htm

Others on the coast -
http://gastateparks.org/HofwylBroadfield
http://gastateparks.org/ReynoldsMansion
http://www.n-georgia.com/sapelo-island-state-park.html

virtuosi

All great, particularly Sapelo. I won't have time for them, but I'm happy to now know about them...! Thanks.

Cranachin

Going from Savannah to New Orleans in 1.5–2 days AND stopping to see things along the way is pretty ambitious. The scenery (whether on the Interstates or on the back roads between towns) will be lots of farms and piney woods. It comes with the territory.

If you want interesting small towns, take US 90 instead of I-10.

http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/ar...llahassee.html

You'll have to pick and choose, as there's no way you can see everything. But I would not miss DeFuniak Springs, Florida. It's post-bellum, but it was a Chatauqua site in the 1800s and has lots of neat architecture.

DeFuniak Springs is about 7 hours from Savannah, without stops (plus you gain an hour going from Eastern to Central Time). If you can get a room at the Hotel DeFuniak, you might want to pick that as your stopping place for the night. http://www.hoteldefuniak.com

It would then be another 6 hours to New Orleans (avoiding I-10; less time if you use the Interstate).

Also consider visiting Thomasville, Georgia. You could see your plantation at Pebble Hill. http://www.thomasvillega.com/Content...tractions.html

On your second day, you could stop in Fairhope, Alabama (as starrs suggested), and/or Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, among others.

For your route, pick up US 84 south of Savannah and take it at least as far as Thomasville. At Thomasville you could do one of three things:

- Take US 319 down to Tallahassee (also a worthwhile stop) and pick up US 90 there. This takes you a bit out of your way, though, but maybe not too much.

- Continue on US 84 to Bainbridge, Georgia, and then take GA-97 to US 90.

- Continue on US 84 past Bainbridge and turn off on GA-91 (which becomes FL-2 when you cross the state line). You can take either US 231 or FL-79 to US 90.

Then you can take US 90 all the way to New Orleans, if you want.

US 90 is close enough to I-10 that you could get on the Interstate at any time if you want to go faster. In particular you might want to use I-10 between Pensacola, Florida, and Mobile, Alabama. Although both are worth visiting, you will make much better time on the Interstate. US 90 will also be slow going along the Mississippi coast between Pascagoula and Bay St. Louis.

There are lots of cities and towns along this route that might be of interest to you. I have tried to point out the ones that I think are most worthwhile.

virtuosi

...and you've done a great job! I appreciate it and am looking at these locations now! Thank you so much!