Hi all,
I'm planning a 3 week fly drive trip to the US next year with my wife and would appreciate any comments.
Our interests are
-3-5 days in Washington DC- museums, white house, Capitol, etc
- National Parks
- History esp the civil war
- Elvis Presley!

Basically we were thinking of the following route: Washington DC- Memphis - New Orleans - Georgia - Washington
Is there any particular time of the year to avoid ? Will Washington be closed down for August?
Is New Orleans too far a drive?

Tanks for your help in advance

Depending on your interests, 3-5 days may not be enough in Washington, especially if you're adding civil war sites to your itinerary. That said, DC can either be unbearably hot and humid in August, or there can be days that border on pleasant--but "closed down" is not a term I'd used to describe the area. All museums and tourist sites are open and the crowds are just slightly less than June and July.

Hope that helps!

Wahsington will not be "closed down" in August..the museums will be open and there will be a LOT of visitors here. Undoubtedly the weather will be hot and humid.

Since you are traveling by road from Washington to Memphis you would probably enjoy a drive down the Skyline Drive in Virginia and onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Smokey Mountain National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Doing that route woulnd;t be the fastest but would be more scenic than taking I-81 to I-40.

If you have time you could drive (from Washington to either the Antietam Battlefield in Maryland, Gettysburg Battlefield in south central Pennsylvanis, or to Bull Run (Manassas) just outside of Washington.

Your route looks great. HOWEVER, all the places you are seeing are best avoided during the sumer months (especially New Orleans).

If you have the flexibility, I would come in March, Aril, early May, late September, October, or November to the parts of the US you are interested in.

DC to Memphis is about a 13 hour drive, consider stopping overnight somewhere along the way (Knoxville?).

The drive from Memphis to New Orleans is about 6 hours.

I would strongly consider coming back a slightly longer (but much more interesting) route: From New Orleans, head due east along the Gulf Coast toward Jacksonville, Florida (but don't stay in Jacksonville, maybe St. Simons or Jekyll Island Georgia), then head up along the Atlantic Coast, stopping in Savannah Georgia, Charlseton South Carolina, Richmond Virginia, and back to DC.

There are civil war and other historical sights all along the eastern coast of the southern USA you will want to see.

As mentioned before, DC is never closed down - but the summer months are the ones I would try to miss due to the hot, humid weather - and the huge crowds (summer vacation for kids - people come to DC from all over). I agree with March - and you might be able to see the cherry blossoms in DC - really pretty. If not then, April/May is a wonderful time for all the places you have mentioned....

If not then, April/May is a wonderful time for all the places you have mentioned.

Although it's best to avoid "spring break" because that's when thousands and thousands of 8th graders descend on Washington in hordes (school trips).

Do you really need to drive all the way back to Washington? Why not fly into DC and out of a southern city, Atlanta or New Orleans? An open jaw ticket should price about the same as a simple round trip, and you'd save all that gasoline expense.

If you come to the U.S. very often, you might want to keep the Washington, D.C. part to include in another trip that would include the Northeast, and that would leave you with 3 great weeks to see an absolute ton of stuff!

For example, if you flew into Atlanta and went north into the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina & Tennessee...worked your way over to Memphis, then down to New Orleans. From there take I-10 to Jacksonville, FL and maybe take a couple of days in St. Augustine, just south of JAX, then work your way north on I-95 to Savannah, then back to Atlanta. You'll find more national/state parks, Civil War sites and history than you could put in a 6 week trip.

You'll save at the very least 1500 miles of travel and fuel cost, and end up with a lot more quality time.

If you want some great travel ideas and tips, go to www.lightninrv.com and then click on Rentals. Then look at our 'Special Events Calendar' for a lot of great ideas...it is being updated for 2008 as I write this, so keep looking at it. But, don't just look at it for the time period you're planning on being here, as the sites we post are good destinations almost all year round.

Then go to 'Travel Links' for lots of great ideas and helpful tips.

Have a great time!

Hi all,
Many thanks for your replies- very informative. I would like your comments re the following:

May-June or Sept-Oct- which is better?
Washington DC- would an internal return flight to Memphis or New Orleans be a better option than driving between Washington and further south ? In other words pick up the car in a southern base

Many thanks

I'd choose the September-October option. The weather during that time is usually very nice--bright blue skies and warm, dry weather. It's actually my favorite time of the year here.
I'd also consider skipping the drive south and fly and pick up your car in Memphis or New Orleans. I've done this trip and the drive across Virginia and Tennessee can seem interminable!

If you aren't at all interested in the scenery or sights between Washington and either New Orleans or Memphis (and don't forget, there are many of them)then certainly a flight onward for the car pick up would save time and driving.

You would also have no trouble flying into those two cities first through another hub such as Atlanta (Delta), Detroit(Northwest), Philadelphia(USAirways), Washington (Dulles)(United).

May-June or Sept-Oct- which is better?

Both are very good times to visit and each has it advantages. May-June will be spring and everything will be in bloom. Sept-Oct will be a little less crowded and have slightly cheaper hotel rates.


Washington DC- would an internal return flight to Memphis or New Orleans be a better option than driving between Washington and further south ? In other words pick up the car in a southern base

That's very good idea. Consider the same driving route as before from Memphis to New Orleans to Florida and then up the Atlantic coast, but just skip the long, boring drive from DC to Memphis. Don't fly into New Orleans unless you are dropping Memphis or you will have to do some serious back tracking (twice!) just to see Memphis.

I would also stay in DC (or DC area dpending on which airport you use) one night after arriving in the US and continue the flight south to Memphis the next day.

Not only will you be tired from a trans-Atlantic flight, but your flight into the US may be delayed and you will be out of luck if you miss your connection on from DC to Memphis.

Also, a round trip ticket is usually cheaper even if you are only going one way - just don't use the return portion.