10~14 drive from Chicago
 

Looking for a good family vacation destination for the last week in March around 10-14 hour drive from Chicago. We have a 10 year old son and a 6 year old daughter and need to keep them entertained when we get there. We are looking for someplace maybe near the coast. Somebody suggested Charleston, SC.

Do you have a question? I'm not sure how far Charleston is from Chicago.

You could do Charleston. How long is the total vacation. You could come to the coast just above Charleston--Pawley's Island, south of myrtle beach, and have a beach time--and a good day trip to Charleston.
Or just go to Charleston, and have a beach trip from there. Charleston would be GREAT for your kids on a lot of levels.

We have from March 23-31. We are looking to only drive 10-14 hours and spend a couple of days at the location. Somebody suggested Charleston but we are open to any other suggestions.

What do you like to do? What do the kids like to do? There's lots to entertain in Charleston, but much of it has to do with history, architecture, and gardens. Have you googled Charleston? There are nice beaches. Are our kids entertained by playing on the beach or do you need puttputt, etc.? Help us help you.

There's a lot of family entertainment in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg TN area. You can rent a cabin with pool table, air hockey, etc. Visit Dollywood (amusement park), ride go-carts, go hiking or fishing in the Great Smoky Mtns national park, shopping, etc.

Kids would like puttputt, aquarium or a museum. They would really like the beach if it's warm enough out. I would love the architecture and history but I think the kids would get bored of it pretty quick. I would also like some places to take some scenic pictures.

It is more than 10-14 hours to get to a warm beach from Chicago. Weather at the end of March can be iffy. You might get spring, and then again, you might have winter still hanging on!

You could reach Pigeon Forge and/or Nashville area. You could also make it to the Missouri Ozarks, Lake of the Ozarks or maybe Branson.

I'm not sure how many hours it would be to go straight down I55 to New Orleans... probably closer to 18-20 hours.

If you do a mapquest search ("directions") you will get an estimated driving time from Chicago to your selected destination.