Montgomery, AL? I lived there for 6 years. I would never recommend anyone spend a precious vacation night there with so many other fabulous cities nearby. There are definitely some sites to see in Montgomery, but it would still be at the bottom of my list with the other cities that have been discussed.

Hi,

I knew planning wouldn't be easy.
Will try to add Atlanta to the trip and skip Birmingham and Montgomery.

Memphis and Nashville are also back on our list now.

Looks like flying in and out from Atlanta looks like the best option.

Haven't booked the tickets yet because the Delta website is having troubles at the moment.

to be continued...

I am still thinking you should fly open jaw. Even with free vouchers, you can probably do it. If not, then get the round-trip airfare on the vouchers, but consider flying from your furthest destination back to your departure city. Fly into Atlanta and out of New Orleands, for example.

If you like being on the road a lot, and checking in and out of hotels, then your itinerary is ok. For me, it would be awful. I'd definitely stay put longer in spots like the Florida coast, Charleston, New Orleans. I think you need to ask more questions and focus more on select places, rather than being all over the map. I'd skip Tennessee, for example, to narrow it down. Just IMHO.
:)>-

Hi Bertorelli,
You will have a wonderful time in the SE U.S., whatever you choose. Other posters have given some great advice. Don’t spread yourself too thin. There is, of course, a lot to do and see, depending on what your interests are. It can be overwhelming, but after some more fine-tuning and recommendations from this board, I’m sure you’ll end up with a great itinerary.

Since you’ll be flying from AMS, the Delta direct flights to ATL probably make the most sense. If you fly into/out of another city, you’ll likely connect in ATL anyway. Take this into account when planning your route. This is one good reason to include Atlanta in your trip, in addition to those already mentioned by other posters.

The SE U.S. has many wonderful cities, and obviously you won’t be able to fit them all in. All of the cities you are considering are easily accessible my major interstates, and others are also accessible by more scenic routes, so you should first decide on which places you want to visit, then map your route.

I will comment only on cities/states that I’ve spent a lot of time in and know well.

Alabama: I live in Birmingham, and while it is a wonderful place to live it really isn’t much of a tourist destination. Certainly not when you’re traveling so far and are trying to cover the Southeast in 3 ½ weeks. I also know Montgomery fairly well. I agree with dropping them both. I would keep Mobile only if it fits in with the route you ultimately choose.

South Carolina: I have spent a lot of time in Charleston on business, and agree it is a must. Since you’ll be driving from Charleston to Savannah, I would definitely go to Hilton Head Island on your way. I know this just adds one more place to your list, but it is only about two hour’s drive from Charleston to Hilton Head, and then another hour from Hilton Head Island to Savannah. June/July would be a great time to be on Hilton Head Island, and as I mentioned, it is on the way to Savannah. There are direct flights from Atlanta to Charleston, so you could start your trip with this piece of the itinerary.

Florida: I don’t think you should skip Florida, and I’m not sure I agree that you should only visit the panhandle, although other than the Florida Keys the panhandle is my favorite place in the entire state. However, most other parts of the state are going to increase your driving distance dramatically. I agree with the previous posters who said to go to St. Augustine instead of Jacksonville. I do a lot of business in Jacksonville, and find the city rather boring. St. Augustine, on the other hand, has a lot more to do and see, as other posters noted. While it’s only about a 3 hour drive from Savannah to St. Augustine, once you are in St. Augustine, you have a fairly long distance to cover before you’d get to your next destination. The closest next stop would be the panhandle, or Atlanta, either of which would be a 5 -6 hour drive. The Florida panhandle (and even the AL piece of the panhandle for that matter) has some of the most beautiful beaches in the country. Destin and Seaside are both fantastic, as is Rosemary Beach, but for the exact same beach and at lesser cost, I’d stay in Seagrove Beach or Grayton Beach. Seagrove Beach is literally right next to Seaside and is a little quieter than Seaside although you can walk or ride a bike from many parts of Seagrove to the Seaside shops. Grayton Beach is in the same area also, and is a little more eclectic, in my opinion, than Seagrove or Seaside.

Mississippi: Like AL, MS might be a great place to live, but as a tourist destination I don’t think you need to include it at all unless you need a layover en route. In that case, I’d agree with Vicksburg or Natchez, but you are right to skip Jackson.

Louisiana: New Orleans is a must. I lived in New Orleans for 8 years, and now I travel there on business regularly. There is so much to do and see in the New Orleans area, that you should keep it on the top of your list.

Tennessee: Nashville and Memphis are both decent choices if you have time, but they aren’t as close to one another as you think. However, if you go from New Orleans to Memphis, via Vicksburg and Natchez, MS, that would be a nice way to break up the trip the Memphis. You could then drive from Memphis to Nashville, and from there onto Atlanta. I prefer Nashville over Memphis if you have to choose only one.

Georgia: I agree with others that you can’t come to the SE U.S. and not include Atlanta. You could start or end your trip with a couple of days here. I have lived in Atlanta also, and while I prefer living in Birmingham to Atlanta, Atlanta is far superior as a tourist destination. There is definitely a lot to do and see in Atlanta. Savannah is nice, and I think one full day there is plenty, but many others disagree with me on this. I think I’m in the minority about Savannah.

The order of your itinerary is obviously going to depend on which areas you choose, and which flights you can get, but MaureenB is right. You should either fly open jaw, or do a round trip AMS-ATL and add on a one way flight at the beginning or the end depending on the route you take.

Cheryllj's itinerary looks pretty good to me, but you might consider ending with the Florida panhandle beaches and drive from there back to ATL. Or, you could continue on to St. Augustine from the panhandle (although it is a bit far). You could fly home from there, and while there would be a connection in ATL, at least you wouldn't have to drive all the way back. I definitely would not drive back to Charleston.

Good luck with your planning. After you have firm dates and flights, let us know and we can perhaps offer more advise.

Bertorelli,

If you visit Atlanta, be sure to take in a Braves baseball game if they are playing home those dates.

I took a European friend to a baseball game just to expose him to something different, and he absolutely loved it.

Tickets are cheap and you don't need to buy them in advance. It's a quintessential American experience, and I can think of no better place than Turner field for taking in a game.

Thanks all for your tips and advise!

I tried to book some tickets thru the Delta.com website but that didn't work because some technical troubles there.
Will try it again in a day or 2.

We will try to plan at least 2 night in most cities so we have a full day to explore them.
I don't want to book all hotel/motels in advance to have a little more freedom.

We decided to skip Florido because i'm quiet sure we will visit that part another time.

As soon as we booked the tickets I will let you folks know.

Bert & Hilda
The Netherlands

Can you call Delta? Sometimes it's better to redeem vouchers on the phone, especially since you've had so much technical difficulty with the website.
:)>-

Take Cheryl's schedule but replace Jacksonville with St. Augustine and stay on Crescent Beach, and you've got it (I think). Actually don't they charge the same for 1 way tickets now (round trip is just 2 1-way), so I don't really understand why you have to go back Charlston? It may be more convenient to start in Charlston and end in Orlando. Actually just start in Tennessee and end in Florida or vice versa, so you don't have to drive in a circle at all; this might give you alot more time in each place. Also it's a shame to be in Orlando and not see any themeparks. I recommend staying at the Universal Royal Polynesian Hotel and going to Universal. You Hotel Key card serves as a go-to-the-front-of-the-line pass for the rides at Universal.

There is a great air & space museum in Pensacola. Destin which is near Pensacola has been consistently rated one of the top beaches in the world. The Alabama Gulf Coast Beaches are beautiful also. I would visit Charleston and skip Savannah. With so much focus on the "old south" go to Atlanta for a taste of the new south: Georgia Aquarium, CNN Studio Tour, Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, Six Flags over Georgia(amusement park) World of Coca Cola. And of course for some real americana -baseball and hot dogs at an Atlanta Braves Game. If the Braves are playing July 4th they will have fireworks. Stone Mountain has a great laser light show at night.

one more thing - Air conditioning made the south what it is today - in other words, July in the south is hotter than you could imagine.

Hi,

Tickets are finally booked by phone.

We start and end in Orlando and will
try take the route 'cheryllj' and others adviced.
We picked Orlando so we can visit one of the parks. Besides that, flying in and out of Orlando instead of Atlanta was about $240 cheaper. ;-) (yes we're Dutch)

Don't want to make too much hotel reservations so we probably do that while we travel.

I've visited Louisiana before in august 1995, so i've experienced the sticky heat before. So we will slow down, and bring a extra dry t-shirt :)

Thanks to you all for giving the tips and advice.
If you have tips for nice placed to stay along the way we would appreciate it.

Greetings

Bert & Hilda

I'm really glad you've decided to include St. Augustine. You'll love it!

As to places to stay..you have a choice of the beach or in the historic district.

I agree with SkaiSW's recommendation of visiting beautiful Crescent Beach, about 15-20 minutes south of the historic district. Beachers' Lodge <http://www.beacherslodge.com/> is oceanfront with great views from the upper (3rd and 4th floor) units. If you are coming up (North) on I-95 from Orlando and Daytona Beach, simply exit the highway at State Road 206 and proceed about 6-7 miles east all the way to the ocean.

In the historic district, there are many good B&Bs. One of my favorites is Old City House <http://www.oldcityhouse.com/>. They have a superb location and an excellent restaurant. Check out their menus on the web site to see exactly what I mean.

Bertorelli,

Since you'll be flying in and out of Orlando, I recommend that you stop at Seaside, Destin, or Grayton Beach, FL in the Panhandle on the return trip back to Orlando. That way you end the heavy touring with some great beach time. The beaches there are out of this world, some of the best you'll ever see.

Visiting a theme park or two is definitely advised while in Orlando.

If you are starting and ending in Orlando, here is a suggested itinerary:

Orlando (3 nights)
St. Augustine (1 nt or stopover)
Savannah (2)
Charleston (3)
Atlanta (3)
Nashville (2)
Memphis (2)
Natchez (1)
New Orleans (4)
Destin (or Seaside) (2)
Orlando (1)

If you are going to visit one or more of the Disney World parks in Orlando, I would do it at the beginning of the trip rather than later because you will be tired at the end of the trip and won't want to deal with the heat and the crowds and the lines and all that.

If you spend at least 4 nights in New Orleans, that should give you time for day trips to take the swamp tour and also visit the plantations on River Road (Oak Alley is great).

Also, when you are driving from New Orleans to Florida, about two hours outside of New Orleans, stop at The Shed at Exit 57 in Mississippi to eat great southern barbecue. (I can assure you they don't have anything like this place in the Netherlands!)

www.theshedbbq.com

Obviously, cheryllj doesn't care about the whole Vicksburg/Natchez area. Spend the better part of a day driving from Memphis to Natchez, spend a night and leave the next morning for New Orleans? Kind of defeats the point of even going to that whole part of the south.

Actually, I do care about that area! MS is my home state. I was just taking into consideration the stated preferences of the OP and the time constraints of the trip as a whole. But earlier I suggested visiting Greenville as well as Vicksburg and Natchez, and I've also suggested stopping in Biloxi after leaving NOLA.

I absolutely recommend more nights in Natchez and/or Vicksburg if you can afford the time. (Just don't stay in Jackson.)

Another thing to see in MS is the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.

www.deltabluesmuseum.org/high/index.asp

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/getaw...birthplace.ap/

Cheryl

If we take your last posted itinerary that leaves us 2 days somewhere in between.

We don't want to visit just the cities but like to see some of the nature too.
A swamptour in Louisiana is on the top of my list.
So was a trip thru the Smokey Mountains.
If we want to see all the placed you people mentioned over here we need 3.5 months instead of weeks ;-)

We still have 7.5 months to read this forum and prepare our trip.
There are 1 or 2 great forums in the Dutch language about traveling to the US and we read those too.

Thanks everyone for tips and advise.

WARNING WARNING WARNING!!! If you are coming on 4th July you will NOT find any hotel rooms available when you travel, certainly not any off the highway. YOU absolutely must make hotel reservations in advance! I know - I got stuck that way. Even if you are coming at a quiet time, a convention in one of the cities can wipe out rooms. Please go through your itinery and make reservations somewhere if even at a Motel-8 (A sort of gross bottom of the barrel motel at $35. a night - but at least its a bed and shower.)

This is fabulous. I have travelled a lot in the world and in the U.S., but not much in the southeast. I live in Maryland, and will be following some of this advice!
Thank you all.