Florida & Chicago in April
 

Hi all,

This is Kiran from India.
Am spending a month in Florida mid March to mid April on a short exchange program.
My wife would be in Chicago at the same time.

Would love to get suggestions / ideas on how to make the most of the last week of April.

I am looking at Miami and/or Chicago as the base cities.

Thanks

Kiran

Kiran,
Are you trying to decide in which place you will both spend the last week of April? Do I understand that correctly?

A lot will depend of what you want to do. Both are great but very different places.

And they also are extremely different from one another- so you'll have good opportunity to see difference here. Make sure both of you spend some time in both if you can.

Hi,

We are looking at spending a week to 10 days between Miami & Chicago. We are 28 and can pack it in.
What would be a good itenarary?

Thanks

Kiran

Day 1: Drive from Miami to Savannah (8 1/2 hours)
Day 2: Savannah, GA
Day 3: Drive to Charleston, SC (2 hours) and explore Charleston
Day 4: Charleston and drive out to a nearby plantation, maybe Middleton Place
Day 5: Drive to the North Carolina mountains and stay at a resort, maybe near Lake Lure or else at a bed and breakfast in the Montrose section of Asheville (if you prefer more of a small city than a country setting). The Mast House near Vale Crucis looks nice for a country bed and breakfast. (The drive from Charleston will be about 8 hours I'm guessing)
Day 6: North Carolina Mountains
Day 7: North Carolina Mountains

At this point I'm no longer an expert. Maybe Lexington or Louisville Kentucky. But I've never been to either. Those first 7 days should work out nicely for you.

Definitely do Florida. Chicago will be very cold and probably rainy.

Miami, FL Keys, Ft Lauderdale, for less hectic try Ft Myers and the islands nearby!

March and/or April in Chicago are fantastic. It can be so changeable and so glorious as well. If you are from India and hot weather, you might like to see Spring in a temperate climate. You may hit tulip time on Michigan Ave. You would have last year. And the Lakefront area will be filled with fisherman on April 1 with their nets.

Instead of spending it driving, I would slot 3 or 4 days together in Chicago just for architecture, views, museums, and definitely the Art Institute. At least do the Chicago Architectural F.'s river tour (it will be open then, I'm sure)together. This place, Chicago, is a city built in the era of robber barons and is like no other city in the world for the legacy of building. And all the museums are world class.

And I would spend time in FL as well- but rotating around Miami to see as much as you can from a home base. I wouldn't spend time driving great distances as much of your time will be in your exchange programs, I bet- and closer to your base cities. The last week- some of the ideas above are quite good.

What are you interested in particularly?

Thanks JJ, the chicago suggestions sound good, could you / somebody give similar ideas for Miami too. We would not be as interested in spending time driving between places, more of the cities...

Thanks again,

Kiran