aulop

Hello everyone

I知 on the very early stages of planning a road trip from Detroit, Michigan and travel on Interstate 75 and Interstate 65 highways to either Florida or Alabama. The final destination is somewhere between Panama City Beach, Florida and Gulf Shores, Alabama. This destination will be used as a base to explore the surrounding areas and for that reason I知 leaning towards Gulf Shores, Alabama which is closer to Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Southbound trip will take between 1 and 2 weeks which will allow to visit attractions along the way such as the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, any attraction visit will require an overnight stay at location thus allowing a more relaxed visit and drive. Will be using hotels for this portion of the trip. Do not wish to drive too far away from the Interstate highways on the Southbound trip.

At Southern destination will be using either an apartment or house rental for a minimum of 4 weeks.

The return trip from the Southern destination will either retrace the Southbound trip but in the opposite direction or travel Easterly to Interstate 95 Northbound passing thru Atlanta, Georgia, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

This road trip will take somewhere between 6 to 8 weeks with the possibility of extending by 4 weeks.

Car rental is not an issue for this trip and I will be using GPS.

I知 asking for advice on which roads to use and which ones to avoid, same for hotels and restaurants.

Which attractions are really worthwhile and which ones to skip.

What precautions to take for personal safety and security, areas or towns to avoid for security reasons.

Which websites to use for hotel bookings and apartment / house rentals, and any apps / websites for the road trip.

Any other advice that may be useful for such a road trip.

I appreciate your advice and thank you for it.
Happy travels

thursdaysd

Rather than interstates, have you considered using the Natchez Trace Parkway to the west, and the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive to the east?

https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/

https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvis...line-drive.htm

Gretchen

Get a paper map and stick pins in ti and connect the dots. Always my first step/advice in planning an extensive trip.

I would only have one piece of advice for the return trip--or 2. With the amount of time you have allocated don't just do a turnaround. Do a loop.
And while Myrtle Beach is worth a drive by just because it is sort of like las Vagas in being an icon of "something" there are many nicer places on the southeast coast to enjoy a beach.
Booking.com is a good hotel and maybe vrbo site. When are you doing this? If in summer, beach areas will be heavily rented already.

aulop

thursdaysd, thank you for the great scenic road links, I'm checking them right now and they will be a consideration in the trip planning.
Gretchen, I forgot to mention that the trip will be in the cold weather months so snow and ice are a possibility in the Northern States.
A loop trip might be the way to go with more to see and do. Beaches are not important of themselves on this trip but checking the beach areas for future fair weather trips is a consideration. Thank you for your suggestions.

thursdaysd

If you're going in winter the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive are probably out too, although you may be OK before Christmas. Not as scenic then, either.

Gretchen

I think you need to identify the "place" you will spend a month--and why. Is there enough there to be the place. And since it is winter maybe you do need to think more about Florida lower southeast coast if you are escaping the messy Michigan winter.
Yes, the Blue Ridge will not be ideal. Even if it is open the cloudy weather may make the vistas unseeable because of clouds settling in the valleys.
Of an area I know I might choose some place like Winston Salem NC for a base of a few weeks with nice day trips from there and a nice place to explore on its own merits. Maybe someone familiar with Alabama etc. could suggest the same.