Road Trip Georgia, North and South Carolina in 7-10 days
 

am planning trip for either sept/oct this year or march/april 2010 for my husband and I.

Fly into Atlanta, rent car, drive to Savannah, Charleston, Asheville, back to Atlanta. 2 or 3 nights each city.

any comments welcome. We are from West coast and only trip to east coast was Washington (in 1990!)

We went directly to Savannah after landing in Atlanta also. We spent time in Atlanta at the end of the trip & then flew out. I didn't prepare a trip report but I do have a list of the things we did (restaurants too):

SAVANNAH, GA:

Savannah VC

Savannah History Museum

Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace

SELF-GUIDED WALKING TOURS:
All historic squares on Abercorn & Bull Sts
Forsythe Park
Colonial Park Cemetery
Trinity Methodist Church
Independent Presbyterian Church
Riverfront Plaza/Factors Walk/Waving Girl Statue/Olympic Torch
Customs House
City Hall
Victorian District

Mrs Wilkes Dining Room

Ghost Talk/Ghost Walk

Wassaw Sound Seafood Restaurant

Fat Pat’s Pizza

River St Sweets

Leopolds Ice Cream

CHARLESTON, SC:

Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center

Charleston Museum

Drayton Hall

St. Michael's Church

Old Exchange Building

Old Slave Mart Museum

Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church

East Battery Promenade/Charleston Harbor/Battery Park/White Point Gardens

Rainbow Row

City Hall

Custom House

Patriots Point Naval Marina/USS Yorktown

Mount Pleasant

Gullah Cuisine Lowcountry Restaurant

ATLANTA, GA:

State Capitol & Museum

State Supreme Court/Judicial Building

Chip’s Southern Cookin’ Meat & Three

Stone Mountain Park

Margaret Mitchell House Museum Tour & VC

Jimmy Carter Presidential Library

Atlanta History Center

Martin Luther King Jr NHS & Birthplace House Museum & Tour

Martin Luther King Jr Center for Non-violent Social Change

Coca Cola World

Centennial Olympic Park

The Varsity (famous for hot dogs)

JR’s Log House BBQ Restaurant

Unless you have an interest in Atlanta, your time would be better served to fly straight into Charleston or Savannah & stay on the Coast. An alternative might be to include some of the barrier islands or visit Amelia Island &/or St. Augustine. Asheville - Savannah is @ least 300 miles, so at least 2-3 days would have significant amounts of driving. Just a thought. If you plan to visit Asheville in October, you need to make plans ASAP. Asheville is a favorite locale for the leaf-peepers. October is the absolute best time to enjoy the Carolina beaches (barring any hurricanes of course) as the weather is perfect & the water is still temperate. (If you plan a Spring visit, the water will be a crap-shoot & too cold for most). Best of luck w/your plans.

My favorite east coast places are Savannah GA, Beaufort SC, Charleston SC and Asheville NC. When I visit the lowcountry (Savannah, Beaufort and Charleston) I like to stay in a cottage with kitchen at Palm Key on the marsh near Beaufort so I can relax on the porch in the evenings, and then take day trips to historic Savannah, Beaufort, historic Charleston, the Ashley River Plantations (outside Charleston - Magnolia, Middleton, Drayton Hall) and to either the wild sand beaches and lighthouse at Hunting Island State Park or the broad sand beaches at Hilton Head Island. It is about a 4 hour drive from Palm Key to Asheville, which is surrounded by the beautiful mountains. Downtown Asheville for great dining, walking and history and then drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, www.Asheville-Mountain-Magic.com, and visit Biltmore House.