East Coast Drive from Miami to New York
 

Hi all,

Just wondering if you could offer advice on a road trip for myself and my boyfriend for our honeymoon in September this year, we are from the UK? We are planning to drive from Miami to Florida, fly from Florida to Washington DC and then drive through Baltimore and Philadelphia to New York. I have started planning the trip to take in sights such as Everglades, historical sights in Washington DC etc though very little else. I see from forum posts already that Naples and the Keys are good places to visit? We are interested in most things, but mainly wildlife and relaxing for me and historical places of interest for my boyfriend. As this is our honeymoon we want to make it a really good trip and plan to spend two - three weeks on our whole trip. We have been to Disney, so are ok to miss this out this time. Any help / advice you can give would be very much appreciated. Thanks

Hi Ruth.

History = St. Augustine, FL; Savannah, GA; Charleston, SC and Williamsburg, VA.

If you belong to the UK's Automobile Association, I believe you have reciprocity with our American Automobile Association (AAA). If so, they can help plan your route, give you a bunch of maps and even make motel/hotel reservations if you like.

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

Since you are planning to FLY from Florida to Washington that completely eliminates those towns Orlando_Vic has suggested, unfortunately so now for the questions so we can help you further.

Why are you driving from Washington to New York? Are there places along the way you've heard about and want to see? If not, then that's the segment I would either fly over or take the train through.

Wildlife? Plenty in the Everglades but also along the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas. Interested in going to the beach at all, especially preserved/unspoiled ones?

Give us some more info please.

Dukey and Orlando Vic have it right, drive the southern portion then fly to NY.

If you really want to drive up to NY (where you really won't want to have a car), then from DC, back track a little and go down to Williamsburgh, then to the Bay Bridge tunnel, then up the DelMarVa to Chincoteague/Assateague then take the ferry from Lewes, DE to Cape May, NJ and up the Garden State Pkwy to NYC where you should turn in the car and use public transportation.

Driving from Washington to NY has all the charm of driving the M25 and just as much traffic, and parking prices are in the neighborhood of $50 a day in NY and $40 in Washington and Philadelphia. Take the train from Washington north, and you needn't take the high speed Acela, which isn't enough faster to justify the higher price.

On the other hand, there is a great deal of charming countryside and many lovely small towns and cities between Florida and Washington.

A week's drive from Miami to Washington:
Day 1 -- Miami to Savannah, Georgia via I-95 motorway. A long, miserable day.
Day 2 -- Savannah and environs
Day 3 -- Savannah to Charleston via Beaufort, SC on US 17
Day 4 -- Charleston
Day 5 -- Charleston to Beaufort, NC on US 17 -- lunch in Myrtle Beach, the Brighton of the South, stop in Wilmington
Day 6 -- Beafort, NC to Ocracoke Island (Outer Banks)on to Nag's Head, NC (two ferries)
Day 7 -- Nag's Head to Washington, DC Nicest route via Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel and Eastern Shore of Maryland

Once you hit Savannah, none of this is on motorway. Roads are equivalent of UK A routes with dual carriageway, and most bypass town centers, though it is easy to get into any town that strikes your fancy. You will see some of America and possibly eat a lot of good fish and barbecue on your way. Ask the police what they recommend.

Thanks for all your responses. We planned to drive from Washington to New York to go through Philadelphia and Baltimore as we had been told these were good places to visit - though I guess from your responses, this is not the case, and certainly the thought of being somewhere similar to the M25 does not appeal :-)! The honeymoon was about the adventure really, staying in unusual places and seeing more of America rather than just the usual tourist destinations. We were originally going to drive it all and leave the car in New York on arrival, however reading posts on the forum I got the impression that driving between Florida and Washington was just wasting time as we would not see much and we want to spend around 5 days in Washington.

Dukey1 - we are not really beach people as in sitting there sunbathing all day, but do appreciate the beauty of unspoilt beaches, so if you can recommend any that would be great.

Many thanks for all your help.