Andrealovestotravel

Hi everyone,

It looks like our summer vacation plans have to be changed as a family member has moved to Florida and we are going to meet them in Sanibel for a few nights.

Our kids want to take a road trip (we live in Montreal) and we have decided to take 18 days and visit some interesting places along the way (even those places that may be out of the way).

Our initial itinerary includes the following:

Drive to New Orleans, 2 day drive to get there and stay 4 nights
Drive to Sanibel, 1 day drive, stay 5 nights
Drive to Charleston, SC, 1 day drive, stay 3 nights
Drive home to Montreal, 1 day drive

What do you think? Should we also visit Savannah? Are there any other places we should visit? Should we leave out New Orleans and concentrate on other eastern places? Should we stop in Nashville or Memphis if we do decided to go to New Orleans?

This is our first draft so please let us know what you guys think. We love to drive so the miles do not concern us that much.

Thanks

Andrea

Orlando_Vic

The drive from New Orleans to Sanibel is not a one-day drive. It is approximately 800 miles.

Yes, you should visit Savannah and St. Augustine too.

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

suewoo

I would stop in Memphis, but I am a hopeless Elvis fan. I always stop in Memphis.

Orlando Vic is right. You'll likely need to stop on the way to Sanibel. I just got back from there. It's beautiful. And I agree, you should see Savannah and St. Aug too.

In between Savannah and Charleston, after you exit off 95 onto 17, you'll see signage for Old Sheldon Church Ruins. It's a nice photo op just off your route.

chucktown_dobbs

Hey, Andrea.

As a Charlestonian, I'm glad to see that you have 3 days devoted to Charleston. Many folks think that 1 day is enough to see and experience this lovely city - it is not.

Be prepared for the heat and the humidity of the southeast - it's killer in the summertime.

If you're driving up the coast from FL (to Charleston), some nice spots to stop and break up the trip and stretch your legs would be: St. Augustine (FL), Savannah (GA), and Beaufort (SC).

That final leg of your trip, Charleston to Montreal, seems like a LONG way. It really only takes a day? If it were me, I'd look to find somewhere to break that segment up.

Happy Travels!

Robbie

Andrealovestotravel

Thanks guys,


We are of course going to stop over somewhere as we drive home from Charleston to Montreal.

Is New Orleans worth the extra mileage? It seems like that we can spend that time (6 days) seeing some of the other places you mentioned and save quite a bit of time in the car driving.

Let us know and we appreciate all of your help.

Thanks.

tarfan24

What are the ages of the children? If they are under say 21 (or maybe 18), NO will hold less appeal for them. Granted there are shops, great food and southern plantations to see other than the bourbon street area. Only you can decide what is there that is of interest to you and your family and if it is worth the side trip to get there.

Andrealovestotravel

Hi Tarfan,


They are 16 and 13, but they love music and love to see new things. I understand that they may not be able to fully enjoy what NO has to offer, especially from a music standpoint (because of their ages) and now I am not sure if everything else in NO makes it worthwhile to travel all the way to there, when they could enjoy Southern hospitality in places like Savannah and Charleston.

Andrea

Gretchen

NOLA is a great town, but for your trip it IS "over there". It's inclusion makes for VERY long days getting to it and to where your major interest is (Florida). There would be plenty to do just on the southeast coast and Florida.

tarfan24

Andrea...you've got it exactly.

Andrealovestotravel

Hi everyone,

Would you suggest either Savannah or Charleston for a 2 or 3 night visit as we travel south?

Thanks


Andrea

Orlando_Vic

If you must make a choice between one or the other, my vote goes to Charleston.

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

Katzgar

spend some time with gmaps street walk looking these places over.

Andrealovestotravel

I have actually thought of taking a virtual vacation and google map walking through all of the destinations.

Great way to save money and travel from the comforts of home.

chucktown_dobbs

My vote is Charleston! I feel that the city offers so much more than Savannah.

Robbie

Gretchen

Another Charleston. And you might even add a day and go to the beach since you are sort of "inland" at home. I think your kids would enjoy Charleston more than NOLA. And you can at least drive around savannah on the way down.

rizzo0904

If I were cutting out an above mentioned city, it would be St. Augustine...keep Savannah and Charleston.

willowjane

I would keep Savannah and Charleston on the trip. I liked St. Augustine, but the two sc cities are just spectacular. Have a great trip!

Andrealovestotravel

Hi,

You guys are great. Thanks for the responses.

We have decided to keep New Orleans but to maybe include some southern state places to replace Charleston.

We are considering Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Gatlinburg and then stay for a few days on the Gulf Coast. If you think there are other places in the southern states worth visiting, please let us know.

What do you think?

Can you also suggest some 4 or 5 star beach resorts on the gulf coast (Alabama, Florida Panhandle, Mississippi or Louisanna), as we may meet up here so we do not have to drive all the way to southern florida.

Thanks so much.


Andrea

Gretchen

Please omit Gatlinburg. It is wall to wall kitsch, and the GSMNP deserves much better. Go through the Park if you want, but you are pretty much meandering all over Tennessee.
Orange Beach, Pensacola Beach, Destin would be Gulf beach possibilities.

chucktown_dobbs

You're replacing Charleston???

Just this week it was voted by Travel & Leisure magazine as the #1 city in the US/Canada! I'd re-think that decision if I were you (can you tell that I really love my city?).

Like Gretchen says, Gatlinburg sucks.

I'm not the most familiar with Gulf Coast resorts, so I can't help you there.

Happy planning!

Robbie