3 weeks and no idea
 

So, in three weeks time we land in LA and really have no idea. The trip was booked yesterday on impulse and now I am panicking. We is my husband, 19yo wheelchair son and me. We fly in and out of LA and I'm hoping the good people of Fodors can help with the itinerary. I'm, keen on New Orleans and hubby would like to go to Memphis and Nashville. We have already been to the States a few times so have done the Disney lands/worlds, NY, San Francisco, Vegas etc. I wouldn't mind doing a few days in Washington DC and my husband said maybe Boston?

So, Im guessing one night in LA to get over the flight then fly to New Orleans for 3 or 4 nights, then head to Memphis. There doesn't seem to be any direct flights from NO to Memphis, everything goes through Atlanta, is that right? What would be the best way to get to Memphis?

Then head to Nashville, how many days would you recommend in those two cities? Then should we head to Washington DC and then on to Boston? Is there anywhere in the Southern part that we should absolutely go to before we head up?

Lots of questions I know, sorry we have three weeks in the US and were thinking of heading back to California in time to have 3 or 4 days at the beach somewhere to relax before heading home. Any suggestions for a good wheel chair beach resort?

Thank you in advance !I really look forward to any advice you may have.

If you have three weeks and want to spend ca. half a week in Los Angeles, I'd spend at least one week in New Orleans -- there's lots to do and great food also.

Five days is plenty for Memphis and four plenty for Nashville. Note that Memphis is a barbecue mecca.

That gets you pretty close, at least.

Are DC and Boston must-dos? I could see 5 days in NOLA, 3 days each Nashville and Memphis, but that's almost two of your weeks right there if one adds in travel time; half a week or so back in California doesn't leave enough time for DC as well as Boston. Given that Boston is much farther, you could do DC. Or Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA instead. It's going to super hot and humid in all of these places!

Yes you should be panicky, you're visiting very popular tourist areas at the height of the summer tourist season...and you'll need wheelchair-accessible rooms?

New Orleans averages 32C in August and it's muggy, doesn't cool down in the evening. Memphis about the same. Flight tickets in the U.S. are generally most affordable if you book 14 days in advance, so you'll need to arrange your trip and book your air tickets this week.

There is train service from New Orleans to Memphis or you can rent a car and drive 6 hours. You'll probably need the car to drive to Nashville.

Some of your internal flights will be via Southwest Airlines which includes 2 bags per person in their fares. Other airlines are now charging per bag. Southwest does not show up on most air-search engines so you'll need to access Southwest.com Also nice about Southwest is that their fares are a bit more changeable in case your plans are altered once you're here.

You've got too much on your agenda. You have 4-5 nights in Los Angeles. You have 6 days that are air travel days, or 8 if you're including your overseas flights. That leaves you 8 days of actual visit/ relax/ sightsee days for 5 major cities, it's kind of ridiculous, you're going to need to trim/revise/re-think.

Agreed that saving Washington and Boston for another time makes sense. You could easily spend two weeks in the former and a week in the latter if you include day trips. Including six jam packed cities in three weeks is way too much.

Also agree with DDD that a downside to seeing NOLA and the two Tennessee cities this time of year is that they will be horribly hot and humid. Hope that's okay.

Rent a car. See NOLA, Nashville, Memphis, drive over to the Smokey Mountains, down to Charleston and fly back to LA.
You can go to the beach on the EAST coast--and actually, see a different ocean than you are used to!! LOL

I gather (though I don't know why) that you might be from Oz. if you have been to Cairns, you will love the weather you are going to have in NO and Memphis. The good news is that you will be on your way home by the time hurricane season starts ��.

The scheduling tips above are all good. You don't have time for Washington and Boston, though they will make a great pair to visit another time.

I would not have a car in NO, but I would book day trips to Cajun country and the plantations on the Mississippi.

I would rent a car when I left NO and leave it in Nashville. I would drive from NO to Memphis via Natchez, Vicksburg, and the Mississippi Delta -- the towns of Greenville, Greenwood, Clarksdale and the Blues Tral that connects them and the smaller towns in the area. Except for the first and last few miles, this should keep you off the interstate highways.

The highway from Memphis to Nashville is extremely boring interstate, but the speed limits are high so the time passes.

If you are from Oz presumably you are used to heat, but are you used to humidity? There is no way that I, who live in the south east, would visit it as a tourist in the summer. From LA I would go north, likely to Canada....Or possibly the western National Parks. Boston and DC would be pretty hot too, although perhaps less humid - I was in DC last weekend and it was better than NC.

DC has the smithsonians and a lot of indoor stuff, so that would be my pick. The rest sounds sweltering. But the south would almost certainly be cheaper than Boston...

Just a note that Washington DC and Boston can definitely swelter in July and August.

The itinerary suggestions without DC and Boston you're getting is a good one.

Oh DC and Boston are sweltering, for sure. But the south is worse. It all sounds hot though. I've been to DC and Florida in summer. DC was gross but Florida was hellish.


DC is actually one of my favorite summer destinations because of the free indoor attractions.


You know, OP...it occurs to me that you may actually have an easier time of finding a wheelchair friendly beach on the east coast. I'm not a beach person but from what I've seen, the east coast resorts a much more developed and tend to be flatter, easier to access. Taking my grandmother to Cape Cod was a lot easier than taking her to LA.

Well, I think DC summers are worse than Florida, and I grew up in DC and now live in Tampa, so... take my opinion for what it's worth, haha! It's true that DC offers many ways to stay indoors, and the monuments can be seen at night by taxi or Uber.

<The good news is that you will be on your way home by the time hurricane season starts >
Not quite--hurricane season started in June.

I assume the OP knows about the weather, and she said she already booked the trip, which I assume means air tickets from Oz, so the die is cast. And it will be fine.

You don't need a car in NOLA, but it isn't the albatross it can be in bigger cities, and it might make transporting a wheelchair easier. And having a car for touring will help mitigate the heat situation.

On the other hand, if the heat sounds alarming, you could just stay on the West Coast and do the South another time.

Oh--one more thought. Boston will be hot, but less so than the south and DC, and from there you could drive north and see the coast. You have enough time to make it to Acadia in Maine. And the weather will be much more tolerable. And it's lovely! Lots of history, beauty and good food.

So, any interest in ditching New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis and heading straight to Boston from L.A.?

I think skipping Washington DC and Boston is the first step to making this trip happen in a workable fashion!

Los Angeles at both ends of the trip, with flying to New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville is plenty for a 3-week trip, allowing 4-5 days in each place once you subtract travel days.

I agree with Ackislander about driving to Memphis via Natchez and Vicksburg. NOLA is lovely, we had a car and it stayed parked part of the time then we drove over to see Laura and Oak Alley plantations, lovely.

Thank you all very much. Yes the die is cast and we are flying into NO> Yes we are from Australia and we are used to the heat and humidity (temps last summer were in the 40's for weeks with high humidity) I know it wont be pleasant but its the only time we could take this trip and we really want to go to New Orleans.

Excuse my ignorance but I hadn't even thought of beaches on the east coast but I've been madly doing research and see that there are some amazing beaches so the 4 days in LA is off the menu, we will stay in the east side and just fly back to pick up our connecting flight.

We've picked NO, Memphis, Nashville, Birmingham/Montgomery as places that we really want to see, my husband is still keen on DC so we thought we could drop our hire car in Atlanta and the fly to DC for a few days, but I can see that most of you think that its not feasible so we will keep refining our plan.

Thank you all for the great advice.

You can see everything worth seeing in Montgomery and Birmingham in one day each.

The civil rights attractions take up about a half day in Birmingham, while the very good art museum would take up the other half day. The civil rights attractions take up a good half day of Montgomery, while miscellaneous attractions such as the rather blah capitol building, Confederate White House, and Hank Williams Museum can take up the other half day.

Neither city will tempt you to linger, guaranteed. But they're interesting to spend a day in.

Yes you can absolutely add DC now that you have dropped the 4-5 days in Los Angeles plus flying day to or from Los Angeles.
4 nights New Orleans
3 nights Memphis
3 nights Nashville
2-3 nights driving Nashville to Atlanta (via Birmingham)
3 nights Atlanta
3 nights Washington
That leaves you 2-3 days for flight days.