Road trip east coast USA
 

Four adults are looking for a 7-10 day road trip from NJ, going south. We would like to drive no more than five hours each day and want things to see on our way to either Charleston NC , or Savannah GA. What is the most scenic route with places to stop. We enjoy adventurous and fine dinning.

Are you saying you have 7 to 10 days to get to Charleston or Savannah or do you mean 7 to 10 days for the entire round trip?

If the latter, how much time do you want to stay in Charleston (or Savannah)?

From NJ it is about 16 to 18 hours drive time to Charleston. That means if you only want to drive 5 hours a day it will take you about 3 days to reach Charleston and 3 days to get back (a bit longer if you go to Savannah instead) leaving you 1 to 4 days in Charleston (or Savannah) depending if your total trip lasts 7 or 10 days. Is that what you had in mind???

Please clarify!

Sorry for the ambiguity, The entire trip will be 7-10 days. If this is too aggressive, are there other road trips in that area that make more sense for the number of days we want to spend and are still exciting for the time of year we are considering.

Sorry, your posts are still ambiguous.

You asked: <<...are there other road trips in that area that make more sense for the number of days we want to spend and are still exciting for the time of year we are considering..>>?

Well, what time of year are you planning to travel?

What do you consider "exciting"? Are you looking for adventure activities like white water rafting, sky-diving, Thrill rides at amusement parks, bungee jumping, etc.? Or are you thinking more along the lines of visiting historical sites, national parks, zoos, museums, etc?

What are the types of "things" you want to see?

Do you have any budget restraints?

Perhaps you should just make one stop for a couple days on the way to Charleston and one stop on the way back.

If you are serious about "fine dining" make your first stop at the Inn at Little Washington, VA (not Washington, DC) - www.theinnatlittlewashington.com. It's about a 5 hour drive from central NJ. A wonderful B&B locate in a sleepy village on the edge of the Shenandoah National Park. They have one of the best fine dining restaurants in the USA currently being considered for a Michelin Star. While there you can spend a couple of days visiting Thomas Jefferson's Home, Monticello and James Madison's Home, Montpelier and for some scenic interludes travel along the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Park and visit other revolutionary and civil war historical site.

Then make your way to Charleston for 4 or 5 days. It will be about a 7 to 8 hour drive to Charleston so if you don't want to drive it all in one day you could, if you wish, make an intermediate stop for the night in Charlotte or Greensboro just to break up the drive.

After your visit to Charleston on the way back to New Jersey stop in Colonial Williamsburg (about a 6 hour drive from Charleston) for a couple of days. You'll only be about 6 hours from NJ so you can easily drive home in one day.

Is this to be a round trip or one way?

You might want to head down to Cape May and take the ferry to Lewes DE. Then drive down the DELMAVA to Chincoteague NP in VA.

Spend the night then continue south and take the Bay Bridge Tunnel. Visit Williamsburg, then head to Charleston.

That time is fine for the trip--10 days.
I'd block out 3 days for Charleston and maybe not even do Savannah, depending on what you want to do.
You could drive DOWN the coast to Charleston and then from there go up to Asheville for a day.
So if you total up those days, then think about a stop on the way down to Charleston--

If you stop in DC/Virginia area and want another stop before Charleston, consider Kinston, NC, where you can eat at one of Vivian Howard's restaurants - the Boiler Room or Chef and the Farmer!

Make reservations. Also be sure to eat some NC BBQ on the way down. Goldsboro, near Kinston, is known for its two stores--Wilber's and Scott's.

Take the Bridge Tunnel and spend the first night in Elizabeth City, NC, with dinner at a rustic seafood restaurant: Quality Seafood. (Possible lunch stop either at Exmore Diner or Metompkin Seafood)

http://www.exmorediner.com/


https://roadfood.com/restaurants/metompkin-seafood/


Next morning drive from Elizabeth City to Ayden, NC for lunch at the legendary Skylight Inn BBQ.

http://www.skylightinnbbq.com/welcome

(If you want beer, swap Skylight for its sibling, Sam Jones BBQ in nearby Winterville which is less rustic but I liked Skylight better for the atmosphere, or lack thereof)

http://www.samjonesbbq.com/#about-marquee

From there, drive to Kinston and stay at the new boutique hotel, The O'Neil, with dinner (you can book 90 days ahead) at Chef and the Farmer.

http://www.the-oneil.com/

http://www.vivianhoward.com/chef-the-farmer/



From there, next morning, continue on 5 more hours to Charleston.