Hello! This August (yes, I know…hot and humid) my family is making this road trip from
northern NJ (Newark area) to visit my Aunt and Uncle in the Latitude Margaritaville housing complex near Hilton Head. We live in Italy, I am American, but my family has not traveled much in the US, mostly just visited our family in NJ, so I’d like to make this road trip scenic and fun. One stop is definitely Washington DC because they’ve never been (my kids are 14 and 17). After that I’m not sure, and I’d love to take a different route/different stops on the way back. Any suggestions would be great! Thank you!

I used to drive to and from Florida every year, from New York City.
I hated driving along I-95.

The two routes we used were I-81 through Pennsylvania and Staunton, Virginia, which is a great Shenandoah Valley town with interesting architecture, little shops, food market, and some great restaurants, as well as the Woodrow Wilson Home. That takes you new the Blue Ridge Mountains.

We'd alternate that with the route through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and south into eastern North Carolina, where there are handsome towns like Edenton to visit, and an array of shacks serving barbecue and other local foods......eventually finding our way onto I-95 for the stretch from around Benson, NC to the Sea islands.

Is it essential that you are flying into Newark? You can just as easily fly into Washington DC and spend some time touring but with the understanding that it will be very hot and humid and then head south.

Yes, my parents live in NJ and we will be spending time there before and after the trip.

Wilmington, NC. Reportedly this antebellum Old South town has the largest historic district in North Carolina with many buildings dating from the 1840s. It features a vibrant riverfront. It is an authentic Southern town with good beaches and better water and waves like at Wrightsville Beach.

Charleston exudes Old South atmosphere with a Gullah culture flare. Its historic homes dating from the early 1800s and late 1700s line brick streets and are surrounded by lush foliage,

Beaufort, SC. This historic town has lovely antebelleum homes and trees dripping with Spanish moss and a fairly lively downtown. There is the Spanish Moss Trail, a rail-trail for bicyclists and walkers, which goes to Yemasee. Very near Hilton Head.

I like this except the first route would need to include DC per the OP. Stop at Gettysburg on the way to DC. Head west from there to the valley and maybe Skyline Drive.

Does the second route use the Cape May - Lewes Ferry or drive through Delaware going via Wilmington? That route made me think of a stop at Kitty Hawk on the way.,

IDK how much the August beach vacation traffic would affect the trip.

I would prioritize Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown. I also think Gettysburg is stunning and fun.

If you decide to swing west, then Harpers Ferry and New River Gorge National Park have great hiking, ghost towns, and many varied actiivties. Whitewater rafting is on the New River. When they release water from the dam (there is a schedule) , then reservations are necessary well in advance.

Small spots you might never have heard of include Hagley in the Brandywine River Valley (Delaware) too see the Dupont's gunpowder mills, Doylestown, PA, and New Hope, PA.

For the trip south consider taking the Garden State Pkwy to the ferry from Cape May to Lowe’s DE then down the DELMARVA to Chincoteague. Visit the National Park and beach check out the ponies etc. Then go south across the bay bridge/tunnel where you can stop in the middle and have great views of the ocean and ships a the area. This ends in Virginia Beach which is close to Williamsburg for some colonial history and a Six Flags for some amusement park fun.

This could be done in the reverse on the way back if that works better for the rest of the trip as it does bypass DC but that could be gone through on the way down or back.

There are other options depending on what you and the kids want to see, but we find getting off the interstate for a while is nice,.

have fun planning and traveling