My wife & I (from Scotland) are hoping to do a self drive tour from D.C. round various CV sites then via the Smokies, Charlotte, Savannah, Charleston etc. Does anyone have ideas of routes to take ,places to see and/or stay, local knowledge, distances, problems?
Ta

Your best bet is to buy a map of the Southeastern United States. Amazon probably has many. There are also numerous guidebooks on the southeast.

Depending on the time of year you are going to be visiting, if it is May-Sept, you may want to stay close to the coast and skip Charlotte. Asheville, NC is a town you should add.

The two questions that come to mind when reading your question are, when will you be here and how long will you have?

Knowing that could help those of us who live in the area you plan to visit come up with more helpful tips.

Hey George welcome! An interesting place that we enjoy is Williamsburg, Virginia. Lot's of history.

Lily

Hi George. Although you come from a beautiful country that would be hard to beat, you might like to tour the Biltmore estate in Ashville, NC during April or May. Home and garden tour. They also have a hotel right on the grounds and a well-rated restaurant. They have a website (try www.biltmoreestate.com) and see if it pops. They report on their website as to when their gardens are in bloom with what. Also, you can go on Skyline drive by Ashville (the smokies) and there are certain points of interest that you can drive to. There is a great artist's shop just a short drive away if you're interested in seeing some local art. The mountains won't be in bloom with the rhododendruns, dogwoods and redbuds until late May I believe, but once all of the trees and bushes are out, it is very pretty to drive up to one of the restaurants on the drive for a lunch and beautiful view. There are also several waterfalls and streams within driving distance worth going to. All marked on a good map.
I took my mother and friends to Charleston and was disappointed. IIf you go, just go for the day to see some historic homes and a good meal.
Savannah is worth spending a day touring the historic homes and the harbor(if that is what you're into).
Other than those, I'm with Lilylace; head to Williamsburg
Enjoy!

HI George! I am not sure what CV stands for. Did you mean charlottesville VA or Civil War? There is an online site for the Virginia Department of Transportation with maps, construction notices, etc at www.virginiadot.org
Also you might want to check out www.civilwartrails.com for info on Virginia Trails. Also go online and search for state and national park information in the region. Also please post again and let us know when you are coming, your interests, kinds of places you definitely want to see. I live between Richmond and Williamsburg VA and can give you local driving tips if you are coming this way.

georgec, our experience is a bit dated, but you'd probably enjoy a visit to Colonial Williamsburg. You can stay the night at an inn there, then cut back to Richmond and head west to the Blue Ridge Parkway (via Appomattox if the Civil War interests you), then south to Asheville, NC, which as another poster says is worth a visit. From there you can go to Charleston, which we enjoyed more than Savannah (take a walking tour, enjoy the eats, learn something of the low country culture). If you do go to Charleston, and if it's still operating at the same location, the Hawthorn Suites Hotel, Church St (cnr N. Market St) offered very good value and a great location.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is beautiful, but after a couple of hundred miles the scenery does get repetitious, and later we wished that we'd explored some byways - especially when I found that we'd passed not far from the legendary singer Doc Watson's home town.

If you go to Savannah, my advice is to avoid the decidely un-scenic river cruise, spend the time walking around the historic town instead. Can't comment about Charlotte.

If there's any way you can add New Orleans to your itinerary, do so. OK, it's touristy, but it's still a very enjoyable city with a unique culture, good food and, critically, good coffee.

Not sure what you mean by CV either, but if you do mean Civil War, I would choose one of two routes. Of course all depends on how much time you have and how much time you want to spend in the various locations you mentioned. You could drive directly south from D.C. and stop at Manassas, Virginia to see the sites of First and Second Bull Run battles (allow one day); then at Fredericksburg for the sites of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, and the Wilderness battles, along with the "Jackson Shrine" where Stonewall Jackson died(allow two days); then Richmond for the Museum and White House of the Confederacy; then Petersburg for the battlefield (you should allow 1-2 days for Richmond and Petersburg). Pamplin Park at Petersburg has a good museum and reenactors giving demonstrations. Then head west to Appomattox and through the mountains from there. Alternatively, you could head west from D.C. to Gettysburg, Antietam, and Harpers Ferry - then down the Shenandoah Valley on your way to the Smokies. You can veer eastward to see Appomattox.

I am not sure why you are going to Charlotte. I would suggest the Asheville, North Carolina area as an alternative. You will probably love Charleston. It is a very nice place to visit for history and food. Spend at least two days in Charleston and at least one in Savannah. My personal Web site has lots of information on Charleston and many Civil War sites (if that is what CV means) - www.oneeyed.homestead.com.

Agree about Charleston vs. Savannah--Charleston is a great destination for history and gastronomy! You don't say how long your stay will be either. There are some pretty long distances in there but all are doable. The Parkway is beautiful for a partial day drive, for example, but the speed limit is 45 so it is limiting. I think getting an atlas and marking the places you want to get to will reveal an itinerary. Even though I live in Charlotte I don't think it is going to fit into your plans very well, particularly if you go to Asheville and environs. From Asheville you can hit the interstate and get to Charleston in about 5 hours, for example--and you wouldn't miss any big sights. You also don't say if you need to return to DC for your return.

You definitely need to understand distances, which are longer than you'll probably be expecting. Driving time from DC to Charleston is around 8-9 hrs.; from Asheville to Raleigh is about 4.5-5 hrs.

Be aware also that driving along scenic mountain highways like the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive can take much much longer than it looks on a map because the speed limit is lower than on main highways, they wind and turn and twist and have long upgrades, the weather can be iffy (rain, fog), and you'll stop often for views if the weather's good.

I personally like Savannah more than Charleston but it's a little like deciding you like one style of garden over another. But you might also find you enjoy Wilmington, NC. -- a smaller coastal city with similar history (which means mix of both Revolutionary and Civil War history) and some interesting sights nearby.

You seem mostly to be interested in history -- and you'll need to clarify the "CV" reference. If so, you might want to include Pennsylvania (Gettysburg). No interest in visiting the glorious shore areas of these states, such as the Outer Banks?

Sorry folks, hope to travel in May/June for three weeks
Yes CV does mean civil war
Our interests are very general,good sightseeing,good local food/resturaunts,civil war sites and generally to get the 'feel' of the area

Old Salem in Winston Salem, NC is a great place to visit. Much of the same as Williamsburg but no where near as crowded. If you go on the Blue Ridge Parkway stop for lunch at the Black Dog restaurant in Chateau Morrisette near Meadows of Dan, VA.

George, you will be here at a nice time of year, not too hot and the weather is usually nice. Lots of Virginia had damage from Hurricane Isabel last Sept (a bizillion downed trees!) but most all the parks will be cleaned up and open. I definitely recommend you go to the www.civilwartrails.org site and click on Virginia trails, then go to info on northern and central Virginia. Like Dan, I recommend you working your way south from DC via Manassas, Fredericksburg, to Richmond then Petersburg and Hopewell. Richmond has Museum of the Confederacy, and the White House of Confederacy with some period furnishings, also Richmond has Civil War medical museum at Chimborazo and the main visitors center is at historic Tredegar Iron Works. Many of these sites in Richmond and Petersburg are operated by the National Park Service, and you can save money by purchasing a pass at the first National Park service attraction you visit. It costs $50.00 for an annual pass that covers entry of the signee and a single vehicle and all passengers into any national park that charges on a per vehicle basis, if it charges on a per person basis it covers signee and spouse, children, parents. info is at www.nationalparks.org You will absolutely want to visit Petersburg and Hopewell which was site of huge Union installation at City Point. The house that was Grant's headquarters there is the visitor center at the City Point site. A really nice place to stay near Richmond but in the country and really historic - www.northbendplantation.com The owners are really nice and it is not too much different than in the Civil War days. have a great trip! Email me at [email protected] if you want more detailed Richmond/Petersburg info.

Well, if you're coming in May or June and plan to spend three weeks, you've picked a really great time of year to be in this region. I can help you out with North Carolina!

You've said you wanted to travel from Washington, DC down through North Carolina and into South Carolina and Georgia, correct?

What looks to me to be the most direct route would be to take Interstate 95 south to Petersburg, VA, then access Interstate 85, which runs soutwest of there into North Carolina.

North of Petersburg, by the way, you could access Interstate 64 and take it east to Williamsburg, if you'd like to see that.

At Durham, NC, Interstate 85 merges with Interstate 40 and become Interstate 85/40 as it runs west to Greensboro, NC. At Greensboro, if you continue west, I-40 separates from I-85 and runs by itself west to Winston-Salem.

I really would recommend Winston-Salem for a visit because of its outstanding colonial district, Old Salem, which actually has more authentic restored colonial buildings than Williamsburg. Also in Winston-Salem are some truly fantastic museums, including the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, the Museum of Anthropology, the Southeaster Center for Contemporary Art, and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. Downtown Winston-Salem is another treat, with lots of streetlife, public art, and historic buildings, including a building built as a prototype for the Empire State Building in New York!

From Winston-Salem, you can take US Highway 421 west from the rolling hills of the Piedmont region of North Carolina up into the mountains. Near the town of Boone you can access the Blue Ridge Parkway and take it south to Asheville, or you can take I-40 directly from Winston-Salem to Asheville, if you'd like a quicker route. In Asheville, where I live, there's lots to see and do, and if you perform a search here on Travel Talk plenty of information will come up if you'd like to take a look. However, in Asheville, you can access the Blue Ridge Parkway, which runs through the city, and take it east to Mt. Mitchell, which is the highest mountain in the eastern United States and is preserved in a state park, or you can go west and see sites like "the" Cold Mountain, or take it further along to Cherokee, where the fascinating Museum of the Cherokee Indian and a restored Cherokee Indian village are located. There's also a casino there, and a tourist trap downtown, if you'd like a taste of real American kitsch.

I recommend that you perhaps access the Blue Ridge Parkway from a central location like Asheville and take to a couple of nearby destinations, because as a way of getting from place to place, the Parkway is exceedingly slow, and even I, who live here and wouldn't live anywhere else, can burn out after a while. The stunning scenery eventually begins to look ordinary. It's like taking a cathedral tour in Europe, and burning out after about the sixth or seventh church.

From Asheville, you can take Interstate 26 southeast all the way to Charleston, passing through Columbia, where there are some nice state-maintained museums there in the capital of South Carolina. Further on, when you get to Charleston, you'll be in the one of the most beautiful and interseting cities in America, and again, if you perform a search here plenty of information will turn up if you're in need of suggestions on what to see and do.

From Charleston, US Highway 17 will take you west to Interstate 95 near the town of Pocotaligo, where you can head south to Savannah. Or, from Chareston, you can backtrack on I-26 until it crosses I-95 and go south from there.

And of course, when you've reached Savannah, you'll be in another fascinating and enchanting city with no shortage of things to see and do. And a search here will turn up information on those sites to see and things to experience. However, the main attraction in Savannah is their magnificent downtown with its historic squares and beautiful parks.

According to a quick search at Yahoo! Maps, it takes roughly 5 hours to get from Washington to Durham, an hour and forty minutes to get from Durham to Winston-Salem, 3 hours to get from Winston-Salem to Asheville, 5 hours and ten minutes to get from Asheville to Charleston, and 2 and a half hours to get from Charleston to Savannah. All told, that's about 17 hours, twenty minutes of travelling getting from place to place, which sounds quite reasonable if you've got almost a month. Bear in mind, of course that if you want to see Civil War sites, you'll be spending more time on the road, because this direst route doesn't take you to or through many good places to experience that period of American history, besides Richmond, Petersburg, and the other towns and cities of Virginia you'll be driving through. The best sites are mostly in Virginia, though South Carolina is no slouch, especially in Columbia and Charleston, both of which are on the route I've suggested.

I'm sure you'll want to do more research for yourself, but it's always good to have a place to start! Ask if you have any more questions. I hope you have a great time when you're here!

I'd like to piggy back on this post I will be visiting a college friend who lives in Ashville on May 25-28 (4 day weekend), and would like the must see sites around the area. She and I talked about going white water rafting, but other than that, I am interested in seeing scenic routes for a drive, historic/cultural sites, great places for food and souvenir shoppings. I dont think that we're going to do any side trips to any nearby towns if the drive can't be reasonably done in the same day. Thanks!