My family (husband, 2 children 12 & 10) & I are travelling back to the US this winter for 6 weeks, & would love some advice on how we can incorporate Vegas, New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Florida. We all loved the 2 days we had in Vegas last year when we were in the US, but didn't get an opportunity to see the Canyon. We have been thinking of a combination fly/drive style holiday, but have no idea on what the best way to do this is so that we don't zig zag across the country and unnecessarily waste our spending money. We fly in & out of LAX. Advice also on the best places to spend Christmas and New Year Eve so we all enjoy would be appreciated. The inclusion of golf courses along the way will definitely keep one of the travellers extremely happy!!
All the research is starting to confuse us, there is just so much to see & do! Thank you....

Welcome to Fodors, Shell_E.
If by "the Canyon" you mean Grand Canyon, It will be too cold to visit during our winter. You have plenty of time and could even consider driving in a rental (hire) car. That way you could afford to zig zag and still stop at the golf courses you want. You would pretty much follow Interstate Highway 10 West to East from LA-Las Vegas-New Orleans-Florida. From either Tallahassee or Jacksonville, you could then head south to whatever Florida destinations you desire. If you want to go to Memphis & Nashville, consider flying since they are not in a straight line with the others. You could also run into hazardous winter road conditions should you try to drive yourself.

Alternatively, if you are a member of your state's automobile association, see if they have reciprocity with the American Automobile Association (AAA). That way, you might be able to get professional trip planning services by experts at either end. For example, before my recent trip to the Top End, I was pleased to learn that as an AAA member, the Automobile Association of the Northern Territory would extend reciprocity to me upon presentation of my current AAA membership card.

_______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

What dates are you traveling?

Early December to mid-January will make a difference compared to Christmas through early February.

It is not TOO cold to visit Grand Canyon in winter. True, there can be snow, but it is also a very specially beautiful vista. The park certainly isn't closed, and accomodation is more available. I wouldn't miss it, if you want to make the drive.

The problem with driving is also the one-way drop-off fee.

Frankly, it makes more sense to spend a couple of days in Las Vegas and visit Grand Canyon, then fly to maybe Florida and make a round-trip out of driving to New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville.

Our visit to the Grand Canyon was in February. There was snow on the ground. We put on a sweatshirt and tremendously enjoyed our visit. The canyon is awesome in any weather.

Check this option; we enjoyed this trip and think the kids would, too.

http://www.thetrain.com/

FYI - the NORTH rim of the Grand Canyon will be closed at that time; the south rim will be open.

I think placename may be right; you can drive from LA to FL, but you might not be speaking to each other by the end. When I was young, my mother drove my girl scout troop from Pennsylvania to Utah, by way of Tennessee and South Dakota; we came back by Texas, Arkansas, and Virginia, in four weeks. It was wonderful, but I am amazed she survived. Even Las Vegas to Florida is pretty far. In winter, driving across the heartland is going to be pretty uninteresting, all snow, flat country, and no good places to get out and walk around. I think you'd do better to fly as much as possible, and drive when you can't fly. As far as Christmas and New Year--well, I wouldn't spend them in Florida. One really fun place for Christmas, not on your list, is Williamsburg, VA--all dressed up, not frigid, very American. Plus they have lots of golf courses there! Have fun.

Hey there... personally I think it makes sense to just start one end and head to the other, but keep the driving to a couple of shorter bits with flying in between.

If you're not seeing LA itself, it's probably best to just connect from your inbound flight onward to LAS. Rent local there to drive out to the Grand Canyon and maybe Mount Charleston and some ghost towns and what ever else you want to day trip too.

Then fly to New Orleans and so on. A cross country trip from LAS can be cool, but it's a major trip in and of itself...

At some point, you may want to start the driving portion, depending on what's in between that you want to see. For instance, if you want to see Natchez and Clarksdale and things like that, start with the car in N.O. Otherwise, do another flight to Memphis and start there. Memphis to Nashville is a relatively short drive at 3 hours. Personally, after making that drive a number of times after living in Memphis the last 10 years (we now live in Melbourne VIC as of this year), I can't say there's a lot in between to see, but it's probably still faster and cheaper than messing with flights and security and all that.

Then from Nashville to Florida. First, I find the Chattanooga and Northern Georgia areas pretty to drive. Distance depends on where in Florida - it's a very, very long state. But on a long day, you could go from Nashville to St. Augustine, which I highly recommend, just for the old Spanish Fortress if nothing else. The drop off fee, regardless of where you start, is worth checking, as Placename said. I'm not sure if you'll end off better or worse with the drop fee or the added flight/driving time to complete the circle.

Oh, one point to add - in Winter, Tennessee and even points further south CAN get hazardous weather and road conditions. Tennessee tends more towards ice storms than snow. Not constantly, but it does happen so if you did get a car in N.O. and didn't pre-pay hotels, you could always cancel the northern portions and change your routing to a coastal path to FL. Flights are harder to do that with.

With six weeks, you have plenty of time for your list of cities... I would recommend a connecting flight to Las Vegas for your first few days where you can rent a car and drive to the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Plenty of world class golf there... continue on to sedona, flagstaff and the grand canyon in Arizona and either back to Vegas (longer drive) or Phoenix...

From there, fly to the east coast (orlando, florida is probably the cheapest) Christmas at Disney is fun because its fully decorated and warmer.... You could then head north to Memphis and Nashville... then New Orleans then back to Orlando... your longest drives would be Orlando to Memphis (11 hours) and New Orleans to Orlando...This would be a circle of driving over a few days... You could also fly to Atlanta as it is central to all of your cities and each would be a shorter drive... plenty of golf around Orlando and at Disney... have fun

Thank you all for your replies...the driving is making me nervous, not only getting used to the other side of the road, but the road conditions in winter also. As it is a holiday for the kids also, I think we will avoid the long haul car trips and take advantage of flight specials. Our dates are late November to mid Jan, I guess we better find some winter clothes to take with us!!

Can anyone give me feedback on a cruise from Miami for New Year...what sort of weather can we expect?

Probably a good idea. I moved with my wife in December to Australia and it took awhile to get completely comfortable driving on the other side everyday. Not a long time, but longer than a vacation.

A couple of ideas for saving on flights:

1) Southwest Airlines is a budget carrier, but well run. It doesn't fly everywhere though. They don't fly to Memphis, for instance

2) Depending on what carrier you fly from Oz to the US, you may be able to justify a AirPass. Say, when we used to visit family in Australia, we'd often fly Qantas and could buy an Airpass in conjunction with that trans-pacific ticket that would allow cheap domestic flights inside Australia. American Airlines is Qantas's partner in the OneWorld airline alliance and I believe has a similar sort of deal coming the other way.

http://www.oneworld.com/ow/air-trave...-north-america

If you were flying Air New Zealand or United, then you'd likely be able to look into a similar deal with the Star Alliance.

"Can anyone give me feedback on a cruise from Miami for New Year...what sort of weather can we expect?"

Miami is not your only cruise port option. There is also Fort Lauderdale about 25 miles north of Miami and also Port Canaveral, East of Orlando (near Titusville and Kennedy Space Center). The Disney ships sail from Port Canaveral. Tampa also has a few cruises. Daytime highs "should" be in the mid-60's(F) to low or maybe mid-70s.

_______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

RE: Driving on the "other" side. When we visited Australia, I didn't have so much trouble driving on the right side, it was when I came to an intersection that gave me trouble -- and remembering which way to look first. In the US, we always look left to see if any traffic is coming.

It's do-able.

I like the idea of heading south from Grand Canyon to Sedona, Phoenix, Tucson, AZ areas. Lots of great golf courses and the weather will be milder Tucson could be a very lovely place for Christmas, as it would have a decidedly Mexican flare. Then loop back to LA and fly to Florida or New Orleans.

You have a generous amount of time. Arizona can be quite lovely in places and has a very distinctive culture.

Don't worry about the road conditions. It's possible that the South will have ice storms, but in your time frame, it's unlikely. If we do have ice, it's usually more in January and February (and it's VERY unlikely you'd have it in Florida). We all pretty much shut down if that happens and stay inside for a day or two while the transplanted Northerners make fun of us. If for some reason there is that possibility while you're here, watch the local news and plan accordingly, but honestly I wouldn't worry about it as a major issue. There's always a chance that the weather will go nuts, but most likely you'll be fine.

There's no reason to fly from Memphis to Nashville - it's a three-hour road trip. Not a very exciting route, but I don't see any reason to fly instead. Nashville is a Southwest hub, though, so if you wanted to drive from New Orleans -> Memphis -> Nashville and then catch a flight to Florida (there are nonstops available to Ft. Lauderdale, as Orlando_Vic suggested), that would definitely be doable. Buy your tickets early (southwest.com) to get the best prices. And I'd avoid flying on Dec. 23 or 24 if you can - those are traditionally very busy traveling days, as is the time around Thanksgiving (especially Nov. 24 and 28).

College football bowl games might be a consideration with some of the places you want to visit, as tens of thousands of fans come to the host cities and lodging might be scarce and/or expensive.

The cities on your itinerary where that is a possibility include

New Orleans (2 games, December 18 & January 4)

St. Petersburg, Florida (December 21)

Orlando (2 games, December 28 & January 1)

Nashville (December 30)

Memphis (December 31)

Tampa, Florida (January 1)

Pasadena, California (near LA; 2 games, January 1 & January 10)

Miami (January 3)

I MOST DEFINITELY would avoid New Orleans around December 18 and especially the stretch from about December 26 through January 5, as it will be filled with football fans who are in town to party.

Also, Disney World (which I assume you will visit) will be crowded around the Thanksgiving holiday, less crowded the first couple of weeks of December, crowded again later in the month (especially between Christmas and New Year's), and then not as crowded in early to mid-January once school starts again.

Also keep in mind that the Thanksgiving holiday is November 25, and almost nothing is open that day other than restaurants. Many people will also be off work on November 26, the day after Thanksgiving, which is one of the biggest shopping days of the year,

You have a lot of work to do. On the Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans part of your journey I suggest you include a drive along the Floridan panhandle and that, while there, you spend a night in Apalachicola, Florida (Water Street Hotel is good place to stay). Also, in this region, include visits to Charleston, Savannah, Asheville, and the Great Smokey Mountains.

Check out typical weather conditions before venturing forth.

HTTY