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I've planned a trip to the East Coast starting 07 July 2010 till 22 July 2010.
I arrive in Miami and depart from Philadelphia.
I would like to stay a couple of days in Miami, then visit the Everglades. Hop to Orlando for Disney and Universal. Leave Florida via St-Augustine.
And now comes the problem : what is there to see and visit between Florida and Washington.
What about reservations for hotels or park tickets in general?
Any advise is welcome.
Hi Frank,
There are lots of interesting things between Florida and DC. Since you've posted this on the NC forum, I'll try to help with that part. Here are a few suggestions (google for more info):
The Outer Banks--great beaches, lots of natural beauty, history (including pirate lore!), fresh seafood. See www.outerbanks.org
Wilmington area beaches--you could stay on the beach, then drive 10-15 minutes into Wilmington for shopping, restaurants, etc. A visit to the USS North Carolina battleship memorial is fun for the kids and interesting for the adults. There's also the NC aquarium and nearby Fort Fisher.
If you don't want to do the beach thing, you could visit our beautiful mountains. Asheville is a great town to visit, and from there you can drive north on the Blue Ridge Parkway towards Boone, NC for some incredible scenic views and points of interest. The Parkway will take you from there far up into the Virginia mountains if you want to stay on it that far, or you could get off on I-77 for easy access into the DC area via I-81. See www.blueridgeparkway.org or www.exploreasheville.com for more info.
although I live in NC I have to recommend
that you check St. Augustine , Florida
never been to Savannah ,Georgia but everybody loves that town,
Charleston , SC is another must see.
Lots of history in those 3 places.
I would also second the idea of spending some time in
the mountains of NC , Virginia and West Virginia.
I ditto the Charleston SC visit. You really must visit the historic downtown area and the beaches, which the ocean is within minutes of downtown. I stayed in the Mills House Hotel (rather costly but worth every penny), it's right in the middle of the historic area, you should make reservations, tell them you want a room with one of the little balconies, they have parking in the back. Wear cotton clothes cuz it'll be hot, bring little plastic bottles of water in a small backpack. Take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, wander thru the side streets, sit on a park bench, and enjoy laying out on the beach on a towel and wading in the surf. If you can, ask the concierge at the hotel how to get to the Boone Hall Plantation, its centuries-old avenue of live oaks will blow you away.
As for the Outer Banks, it takes some extra time to get out there, and you'll be lucky to get a reservation, but try to stay in Nags Head, because that's the locale of the giant sanddunes known as Jockey's Ridge Park, it will be one of the most memorable parts of your trip. Folks hangglide and kite up there, and simply walk all over them. Wear shorts, plus socks and sneakers for good footing in the sand, close to sunset is best time to go up there cuz it's cooler and the sun going down is pretty to see from up at the top of the higher dune. There's a little hangglider shoppe across the road from the dunes, it has souveniers in there, T-shirts. You can go across the Sound to Manteo, which in their little downtown area they have a replica of one of the early ships to cross the Atlantic... also, stop into the Christmas Shoppe just as you come into Manteo on the main road from the beaches, really fun experience going in there. Be very careful with the surf at the Outer Banks, rip tides are dangerous and they usually put up flags that tell people not to go in the ocean when those currents are active.
I also agree with Williamsburg VA, another interesting place to visit, blocks of original buildings from Colonial times, and Busch Gardens is a water park type place nearby. And if you want to go to D.C. thru Charlottesville in Northern Virginia, President Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is pleasant enough, a little crowded inside his house but well worth the tour. In D.C., just concentrate on the Mall area where all historical stuff is located within a long, long park, and the must-sees are the Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and possibly the Air and Space Museum.
I've planned a trip to the East Coast starting 07 July 2010 till 22 July 2010.
I arrive in Miami and depart from Philadelphia.
I would like to stay a couple of days in Miami, then visit the Everglades. Hop to Orlando for Disney and Universal. Leave Florida via St-Augustine.
And now comes the problem : what is there to see and visit between Florida and Washington.
What about reservations for hotels or park tickets in general?
Any advise is welcome.
Hi Frank,
I will be going on a holiday to Belgium soon, so I feel compelled to help.
If it were me - I would make my way up the coast from Florida, and visit Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. From there I would go northwest, to the mountains of North Carolina, in the general direction of Asheville, North Carolina.
Leaving Asheville, I would plan to see the sights of the Appalachian Mountains, headed North/Northeast, until you get to Charlottesville, Virginia, which is in the vicinity of Washington.
Without naming specific sights, I would say that this route would be the most fun.
Hey Frank, well....the outer banks of N. Carolina are not really a tourist hot spot, not a lot of flashy light shows, not much neon, no vast areas of beach inhabited by women in bikinis. In fact, for the most part if you are on the beach, odds are no one will be close to you. It is vast stretches of mostly deserted beach and some of the best fishing on the East Coast of the U.S. Atlantic Beach N.C., across the sound from Morehead City, N.C. does have an old antebellum fort from the U.S. war between the states days, and an aquarium, but, mostly the draw is fishing, a lot of boats, both charter and head boats. On the off chance you do not understand the terminology, a charter is a boat chartered out by the day or half day for five or six people, or one or two serious fishers. A head boat is larger and charges a flat fee (usually a bit less expensive) per person to fish for a stipulated amount of time, trips in excess of 12 hours usually produce the better fish. (Side note here-----my family came to N. America in 1680, Huguenots from Belgium)
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Thanks to everyone who assisted
