S.E. United States trip
 

We're planning to fly from Denver next May to Atlanta and then taking a road trip to see Asheville NC, maybe Mt.Airy, NC, Charleston SC and Savannah Ga (maybe 1-2 nights at main cities); We're interested in historic places, good eating, and even some touristy siteseeing like Mt Airy to take a squad car tour. Is Atlanta the cheapest/best place to fly into and start our road trip from there? Any route or site seeing suggestions?

These threads cover our experiences in Asheville, Atlanta and Savannah this past July:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...aig&fid=27
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...aig&fid=27
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...aig&fid=27

Nicit...how much time do you have...it is about 4 hrs from Atlanta to Asheville and the same from Asheville to Charleston and then about 2 hrs from Charleston to Savannah...don't know about Mt. Airy. Atlanta will probably be your cheapest to fly into though you should check out Greenville, SC (gsp), Columbia, SC (cae?) and maybe even Asheville(avl)...Charlotte, NC tends to be pretty pricey but check it out as well. CHarleston and Savannah are somewhat similiar - though I am sure writing that will provoke a bit of controversy. If you end up going from Atlanta you may want to take a route through the mtns and check out some of the small towns along the way to Asheville.

Leahinsc is right. If you fly in Atlanta, you can drive up I75 to Chattanooga, get on I believe Hwy 64 Bypass to Hwy 64 which runs east towards the Ocoee River whitewater rafting area and into NC. Hwy 64 continues through the little rural town of Murphy (I have a place there) then through the Nantahala River whitewater rafting area, past Bryson City, Great Smoky Mountain National Park/Cherokee Indian Reservation w/Harrah's Casino), Waynesville and on to Asheville, all driving through the beautiful mountains and little towns, etc. It is approximately a 2 hour drive from Murphy to Asheville. It will be a beautiful time of the year in May, many wildflowers, lush green forests, etc. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Linda

While the 75 route out of ATL towards CHattanooga and then across on 64 to Murphy and then on to Asheville would be pretty it would add a considerable amount of time to your drive. I'd go Atlanta and then up 985 towards Gainesville and on to 23 north. Stop at Tallulah Falls, Clayton and maybe do a side trip to Helen to check out the American-ized version of a Bavarian village. Once you get into NC stop in Dillsboro for coffee and a little shopping and maybe take the scenic train ride that goes to Bryson City or just drive on to Waynesville and stop and peruse the galleries in this cute little town. From Waynesville you are only about 40 minutes from Asheville.

You can do Mt. Airy in a couple of hours. Have lunch at Snappy's lunch counter. For a scenic drive, take the Blue Ridge Parkway north from Asheville up towards Mt. Airy. Along the way stop at scenic overlooks and the Moses Cone house.

I think Mt. Airy has a Mayberry Tour, but I'm not sure. The Mayberry Days festival is in September. And recently TVLand put up a duplicate statue from the Andy Griffith show in town (don't know where).

I would suggest you fly to Charlotte instead of Atlanta. USAirways, United, or even AirTran fly there and there are often good sales. You can make a sort of "circle"--Asheville, Charleston, Savannah (if you must--Charleston is much nicer), then up to Mt. Airy and back to Charlotte. Coming all the way from Atlanta with the destinations you have mentioned is just a lot more distance.