LeslieC

My 28 y/o daughter and her boyfriend will be driving a car back to Ventura, CA (near Los Angeles) after spending Christmas with his family in Asheville, NC leaving approx. Dec 26th. Can anyone recommend the best driving route for safety and interesting things to see or places to stay. They have about 5 - 6 days max to complete the trip. Alternatively, can you recommend a website that helps with such roadtrip planning?

sludick

You might try trippy.com. Here is a link referencing route from Asheville, NC to Ventura, CA: https://www.trippy.com/distance/Asheville-to-Ventura

Dukey1

First of all, you might be considerate and tell us which route they plan on using to get to Asheville in the first place.

TDudette

DH and I often drove from Western Kentucky to Maryland over the Christmas holidays. We normally drove across KY, north in WVA and east through the Maryland mountains. Once, when the weather was bad, we decided to go south through Tennessee and up through NC and VA. The roads were a huge mess in NC because they didn't normally experience freezing and snow on the roads. Cars were all over the road in NC. Once in VA, roads were plowed and clear.

I realize this doesn't address west of Kentucky, but I'd have your daughter and friend simply pay close attention to the weather before they commit to any route. They might consider joining a hotel network (or 2?) so they would be guaranteed a room.

Does AAA still provide mapping routes? If the owner of the car doesn't have a highway assistance program, they should join AAA.

jamie99

Yes AAA still provides TripTiks, you can either get one in their office along with maps, tour guides, etc. or print it at home. You do have to be a member, and they should join if doing a x country trip in winter.

sludick

So this is Trippy's suggestion with stops; it makes the trip in 5 days, which seems to fit the bill:

Itinerary

Start in Asheville.

Drive for about 5 hours, then stop at Loveless Cafe and stay for about 1 hour. Next, drive for another 3.5 hours then stop in Memphis. Stay overnight.

The next day, drive for about 4 hours, then stop in Ozark and stay for about 1 hour. Next, drive for another 3.5 hours then stop in Oklahoma City. Stay overnight.

The next day, drive for about 4 hours, then stop in Amarillo and stay for about 1 hour. Next, drive for another 4 hours then stop in Albuquerque. Stay overnight.

The next day, drive for about 5.5 hours, then stop in Sedona and stay overnight.

The next day, drive for about 6 hours, then stop in Barstow and stay for about 1 hour.

Finally, drive for about 3 hours and arrive in Ventura.

tomfuller

If a stop for lunch in Barstow doesn't thrill you, you could stop in Primm Nevada (Exit 1) and fill the gas tank and then have lunch at Buffalo Bill's casino. In Primm you could also see Bonnie & Clyde's death car.

starrs

Here's the route I'd take -
Asheville to Memphis - 7 h 34 min (505 mi)
Memphis to Oklahoma City - 6 h 46 min (466 mi)
OC to Santa Fe - 7 h 52 min (534 mi)
SF to Flagstaff - 5 h 35 min (384 mi)
Add in a day to see the Grand Canyon
F to Ventura - 7 h 56 min (526 mi)
(From the Grand Canyon, the drive would be 8 hours, 35 minutes.

I'd get early starts to start the drive and/or see things in each location the following morning -
Memphis - music at night, Graceland in the morning BBQ anytime
Oklahoma City - memorial
Santa Fe - wander around and soak in historic Santa Fe. Eat good food.
Flagstaff/ Grand Canyon - try to get a room at the south rim

Not "best" if that means fastest, but not too much slower than the fastest route but so much to see and enjoy along the route.

emalloy

starrs route is a good start. Just a couple of practical ideas.

When stopping in a city, look for lodging west of town when you will be heading out that way to avoid the morning traffic into the city.

Keep a cooler with drinks, snacks, etc. in the car in case you get hungry and are between places to eat.

Get out and walk a bit every few hours.

Use the restroom even if you don't think you have to because if you don't, a half hour down the road you will need it.

Relax and enjoy the trip.

MichelleY

“Amarillo By Morning” 🎶🎶🎶

TDudette

emalloy, staying west of a city is inspired. DH and I switched every 2 hours. Person driving chose radio station or book on cd, etc.

starrs

I have spent many a night in Amarillo.

Yes! Great advice (when driving west) = stay on the western side of a city to avoid morning commute traffic.

Obviously, reverse the strategy when driving east.

LeslieC

Thanks to everyone for great suggestions. For Dukey1- they are flying to Asheville to pick up the car from boyfriend’s family.

My my daughter is wanting to veer south via Nashville and then New Orleans to see those place and also avoid snow as this will be after Christmas. Any route suggestions after that?

mlgb

I agree with your daughter,.

Day 1 get down to New Orleans by the fastest route possible (probably doesn't really matter although starrs could contribute). One day's drive (a long one).

Day2 maybe to San Antonio via I-10. (7-8 hours)

Day3 Carlsbad Caverns from San Antonio is about 7-8 hours. Or if they want to see Grand Canyon instead, keep going on 10 as far as they can for the day..maybe Las Cruces?

Day 4 to Carlsbad to Phoenix or Las Cruces to Williams (8 hours). Once they are in New Mexico it gets more interesting, they can pick up 10 again in El Paso If they stay in Las Cruces, the White Sands Monument is worth a detour. They should be able to see some saguaro cactus between Tucson and Phoenix. There are two Motel 6's in Williams, the good one is "West". To get to GC for sunset, they would need to be there by about 4pm..difficult I think unless they can get closer than Las Cruces.

Day 5 Sunrise at the Grand Canyon and start heading west (have them take at least part of old Route 66 as a detour to Seligman.) Possible places to stop include Kingman, Needles and Barstow..none of them great! Another reason to do this is that driving west in the afternoon is difficult due to the sun in your eyes. So stopping early may be worth while.

Day 6 Continue Drive to Ventura can be done via I-10 and add in an detour via Joshua Tree National Monument if they have time.

One route from Williams to Ventura they can drop down through Amboy and connect to Joshua Tree, and then pick up the 10 near Palm Springs. That would give a little extra time to sightsee between GC and Ventura.

jamie99

We did the route from San Antonio to the LA area a few years ago but in summer (my husband drove from NO and I flew in and met him in Austin) and stayed in Tucson which we preferred over Phoenix which looked like a really sprawling place. In fact we dropped down to I8 to avoid Phoenix. If you did stay in Tucson you would probably want to add another night somewhere, maybe San Diego or Palm Springs area.

mlgb

Assuming they will not be sightseeing around Phoenix.. it's a place to find motels/hotels along I-10. This August I had good intentions of making it all the way from Portal (Az/NM) border to Palm Springs but started nodding off and found a nice cluster of lodgings in West Chandler next to the I-10. ..that Motel 6 looks like a new one although I stayed at the Comfort Inn next door.

If they are going to end in Ventura I would stick with I-10, not I-8.

Going through snowbird country in December it might be a good idea to book a Motel 6 in Arizona along their route (since they have good cancel policies).

For some of the rest of the route they can probably book as they go with an ap like hotels.com or on the Motel 6 website.