Charleston, Savannah and en Route
 

I'm tinkering with the idea of driving from Ft Lauderdale to Savannah/Charleston.

We don't want to be driving more than about 4 hours or so a day so this is what I've thought of.

Leave Ft Lauderdale and get to St Augustine by about 2PM. Spend the rest of the afternoon and evening wandering around St. Augustine.

Leave the next morning for Savannah and spend the rest of that day and 2 more there.

The next day would be for the drive and stops between Savannah and Charleston.

After spending 3 days in Charleston we'll leave for the return to Ft. Lauderdale.

I'm looking for an interesting stop 4 - 5 hours from Charleston on the way back.

Ideas?

Basic framework sounds fine. What time of year. There is not a whole lot to see between Savannah and Charleston - an entire day for the drive is a little much.

gail,

I was thinking of late March or early April.

For the drive between Savannah and Charleston (sort of between) I thought Hilton Head and Beaufort might be an idea for a nice day out of the cities.

Myer-
Five (5) hours from Charleston would put you in St. Augustine. Four and one quarter (4¼) hours from Charleston would put you in Jacksonville. Without a doubt, I would vote for St. Augustine for a short return visit. The overnight stop you plan on your way north is not enough to fully appreciate what this unique historic city has to offer.

Vic,

Are you suggesting we stop in St Augustine going both ways? If so, that could be an idea.

I really didn't look into the sights there yet. Is there enough for parts of 2 days?

Myer,
Yes, two nights (or more) is exactly what I am suggesting. St. Augustine is filled with history, good & reasonable restaurants, art galleries and good (outlet) shopping.

Here is a brief introduction to what St. Augustine has to offer:

<http://www.oldcity.com/>

<http://staugustine.com/visit/>

<http://www.historicstaugustine.com/>

<http://www.visitflorida.com/st_augustine>

Intrigued by the possibilities?

Give me some more specific questions and I'll do my best to help you.

Vic,

Thanks.

I'll look into those links.

lare March/early April is a good time for this area. Just avoid week surrounding St. Patrick's Day for Savannah (big, drunken street scene). Easter 2009 is 2nd weekend of April - as is Passover. We have been to Savannah at Easter and found hotels were more fully booked.

Fernandina Beach!! We just left Palm Coast(Dec 26) for two nights in Savannah, then went to Charleston for 5 nights. We only live 20 minutes south of St. Augustine, but still wanted to stop on our way home as well, we chose Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island, it was a wonderful little town, much like Savannah and Charleston, we only spent a day there, but now that we have a taste of it, we plan to return for a long weekend.

I did a very similar trip last March. Started in Charleston (4 days, including 3 plantations), drove to Savannah stopping in Beaufort (only took an hour or two to "see" it, was kind of boring), Savannah 3 days, drove to St. Augustine (3 days).

My photos of the trip are at: http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/char...ah_staugustine

I thought the amount of time we spent in each city was just about right.

I will just mention Beaufort, SC, which is a lovely town. If you are interested in the old houses there is a very good house tour planned for the end of March which you might like.
http://www.sthelenas1712.org/current...cwspringtours/

An Amelia Island stopover looks very interesting.

Thanks.

On the way back I would stop at Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach.

My family is from the lowcountry so we spend much time there. I have lived in Charleston and Savannah.

Hilton Head is not really an island you can drive around and look at. They have done an excellent job with sign and building ordinances as well as natural buffers so it looks like you are just driving around looking at pine trees. Most beaches are back in private plantations with a security gate. For public beach to to South Forest Beach.

I would stop in Beaufort. It is a lovely town with much history. Excellent dining and if you want to spend the night look into the Beaufort Inn. Forest Gump and the Big Chill were filmed there. Many of Pat Conroy's novels were based there as he is from Beaufort.

Jecykl Island or Saint Simons