Southern States Roadtrip
 

Hello fellow Travelees!

My boyfriend and I are starting to brainstorm for our Southern States Road-trip for September 2016.
We are from Vancouver, Canada and haven't spent as much time in the America as we'd like to. I am a Flight Attendant and get to see beauuuuutiful places but having said that, it's time to explore our neighbour country. We plan to take several trips over the next few years- breaking up our travels of the many States.

Our timeline: 3-4 weeks

Starting point: Houston, Texas (I've got an Uncle there) ..that or Austin, Texas.. but most likely Houston

Where else??
South Carolina, Georgia

The 'we would be interested in going here but have yet to research more about these places (also time permitted)':
Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina

There are also States that we have not included for this trip as we plan on spending time there for a one off trip; eg. New Orleans... :)

This is a broad list- I know. We are just beginning our planning process but any tips for charming towns, interesting- rich food, art, festivals (wine...beer:)), nightlife, architectural and historical sites as well as outdoor activities...would be much appreciated!

Thanks friends!

For a first trip of 3 weeks you could stay in Texas flying to either DFW or Houston with stops in San Antonio and Austin in between.
The next trip fly to New Orleans and see for at least 6 days before taking the Amtrak Crescent to Atlanta to rent a car for Georgia, South Carolina and maybe the panhandle of Florida. Return the car to Hartsfield in Atlanta to fly home.
The Crescent leaves New Orleans at 7AM everyday and gets to Atlanta before sunset.

Well, I'd forget amtrak because its suck factor is high.

What types of reciprocity and partner benefits do you get as a flight attendant? I'd use those as much as possible.

Note that unlike Vancouverites, Southerners don't riot over hockey.

I would do

Dallas/FW 3-4 days
New Orleans 3-4 days
Savannah, GA 2-3 days
Charleston, SC 2-3 days
Ashville, NC 3-4 days
Blue Ridge Parkway + hiking (NC) 4-5 days
Shenandoah Mtns + hiking + Charlottesville, VA 4-5 days

Emphasis on charm, history, architecture, and outdoors.

Is the going to be road trip or will you be doing some flying, too?

Thank you for your replies! What a delay in response on my part... we have finally bought our tickets are starting to buckle down on researching.

Here is our rough guideline. We are skipping New Orleans as we want to that on a separate trip and utilize our time in some of the less as easily accessible cities during this roadtrip.

Sept 27- 28: Houston 2 nights
Morning of Sept 29th: Drive Houston to Lafayette 4-5 hrs
Sept 29th- Oct 1st Lafayette, Orleans, Mississppi 3 nights
Morn drive to Memphis of Oct 2nd 3 hrs
Oct 2nd and 3rd: Memphis 2 nights
Morning of Oct 4th drive to Birmingham/Alabama 4 hrs
Oct 4-5th: Birmingham/ Alabama 2 nights
Morn of Oct 6th drive to Nashville 3 hrs
Oct 6th-8th: Nashville 3 nights
Morning of Oct 9th drive to Smokey park (?)
Oct 9th whole day in Smokey park
Oct 9th-Oct 10th Smokey park/Ashville 2 nights
Morning of Oct 11th Ashville to Charlotte (?)
Oct 11th Charlotte 1 night
Oct 12th- Coastal Drive Charleston (Long scenic drive)
Oct 12th-14th Charleston 3 nights
Early morn Oct 15th drive to Savannah 2 hrs
Oct 15th-17th Savannah 3 nights
Oct 18th @ 8:00PM Atlanta
Oct 19th HOME:(

ANY recommendations would be helpful. For example, should we spend the day hiking in Smoky National Park and then spend the night in Ashville? If so, what hikes would you recommend as we are intemediate- challenging level hikers. Thanks!

Hello,

That sounds like a great itinerary! We just made our way through Shenandoah & Great Smoky Mountains. I would recommend...

1. Bearfence hike (scramble)
2. Hawksbill Mountain hike (we got rained out, but I heard that the summit view is beautiful).
3. Upper Pigeon Whitewater River Rafting - (Rafting in the Smokies) - great time!!
4. Roaring Forks Motor Trail (Smokies) - saw a black bear & lots of great scenery
5. Clingman's Dome hike (get there early - gets crowded)
6. We stayed in an awesome cabin - 'Unbridled Memories' with lots of amenities & a great view from deck (w/ hot tub) of Mt LeConte

Hope that helps. I haven't built these pages yet on our website (link in bio), but I've posted some pictures to Instagram (@fun_family_vacations).

Have a great trip!

- Mike

I think you could drop Birmingham without sacrificing too much. If you go through Montgomery there is a spectacular Civil Rights memorial at the southern Poverty Law Center designed by Maya Lin.
You could probably drop Charlotte also and go to the coast directly from Asheville down to Charleston.
There is a lot to enjoy along the coast that could fill your days out.

If you drive to the Smokies from Nashville on October 9, you'll have at most half a day in the park - it's a 4+ hour drive depending on exactly where in the park you want to go. I would cut Charlotte and/or Birmingham and give more time to GSMNP; that will be a lovely time of year to be there, and the main attractions are spread out.

If the main interest in Birmingham is civil rights, the Montgomery stop is a good idea if you happen to be there, but Memphis also has an excellent civil rights museum.

This trip is fast approaching and they haven't been back.

I suspect they may have had a crash since they thought they were going to drive from New Orleans to Memphis in 3 hours.