Roadtrip: Houston, TX to Niagara Falls, Canada (hotel, hotel, attractions)

[reyesj226]

We are planning a 12-day road trip in June 2012.
We are set to leave Houston on Wednesday and need to arrive to Canada by Monday for a wedding. We plan on leaving Niagara Falls on Tuesday and stay in NYC for a day and a half.

Tues: Depart Niagara am; arrive NYC at night
Wed: NYC
Thur: Arrive Hershey, PA in the am and then head out to DC

After Thursday/DC - we don't have any plans.
We would like to be back home by Sunday the latest.

Any ideas suggestions on what is a must see on the way.
The majority of our stops and visits will be a few hours each day – therefore allowing us to visit many states along the way.
We will be traveling as 2 families with a total of 4 kids (Ages 13, 10, 4, & 2)

[Willsson]

After DC head towards Tennessee to access the Blue Ridge Parkway

The Parkway connects Shenandoah National Park near Waynesboro, VA (Milepost 0) with Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Cherokee, NC (Milepost 469). There are entrances and exits at all major federal and state highways and part of a Parkway experience is getting into the towns and communities of the region. Asheville and Boone, NC and Roanoke, VA are the largest cities along the way. In Virginia, Interstates 64, 81, and 77 all have directions for accessing the Parkway. The same is true for Interstates 40 and 26 in North Carolina.

The website includes a PDF map of the Parkway.

You can even manage a stop by Nashville, or head on down to New Orleans for I-10.

[jlawrence01]

One reminder.

You need a passport for each person in order to enter Canada. If you do NOT have passports (and they are $100+ EACH), save yourself some time and don't go to Niagara Falls as the New York side does NOT give you a good view of the Falls.

You can no longer enter Canada using a voter registration card, a birth certificate or a drivers license as you could in the past.

Check the state department website.

[reyesj226]

Originally Posted by tofurkey

After DC head towards Tennessee to access the Blue Ridge Parkway
The website includes a PDF map of the Parkway.

You can even manage a stop by Nashville, or head on down to New Orleans for I-10.

Thanks for this info!
Really interested in Blue Ridge Pkwy.
We will probably skip NOLA as we've been there and it's 6 hrs away

[reyesj226]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

One reminder.

You need a passport for each person in order to enter Canada. If you do NOT have passports (and they are $100+ EACH), save yourself some time and don't go to Niagara Falls as the New York side does NOT give you a good view of the Falls.

You can no longer enter Canada using a voter registration card, a birth certificate or a drivers license as you could in the past.

Check the state department website.

Thank you - we all have our passports since we travel to Mexico at least every other month.

[reyesj226]

These are the places we plan on seeing going up:
* Houston
* Hot Springs, AZ
* Ozark, MO
* St Louis, MO
* Chicago, IL
* Detroit, MI
* Toronto
* Niagara Falls

Then coming back:
* Buffalo, NY
* NYC
* Hershey, PA
* DC
* TBD.....

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by reyesj226

These are the places we plan on seeing going up:
* Houston
* Hot Springs, AZ
* Ozark, MO
* St Louis, MO
* Chicago, IL
* Detroit, MI
* Toronto
* Niagara Falls
.

You are adding a LOT of miles (and a lot of traffic)by going through Chicago. You would be better off with a stop in Indianapolis, IN where there are a lot of family friendly things to see:

Children's Museum
State Capitol
Indianapolis Speedway

Also, if you are stopping in the Detroit area, stop in Dearborn and see the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village and the Ford Rouge Tour (in that order).

[stillkit]

One suggestion: In DC, park at a Metro station in VA or MD and take the train in to the Mall. Parking is at a premium in DC and it's very, very, VERY easy to come home with $100 worth of parking tickets, or more.

But, if you decide you don't want to take the train, park in the garage of the Union Station. It's about as cheap as anywhere in the city and the busses to everything else come right to the front door.

There are 3 ways to see the attractions on or near the mall:

1. Walk, but it can be a LOT of walking.

2. Catch the red Circulator bus when it comes by and get off wherever you want.

3. Buy an all day ticket on the blue busses (about $40).

If you want to go inside the Capitol, you'll have to buy a tour ticket from a vendor or get a free one at the office of one of your Congresscritters. Their offices are in the various office buildings lined up on both sides of the Capitol building. All you have to do is pass through a metal detector to get in.

If you plan to tour the White House, do some research before showing up and eliminate any forbidden objects. For instance, you cannot take a pocket knife or tobacco products (? The President has cigarettes in HIS pocket!) on the tour, nor can you take a baby stroller. If you have any items on you when you arrive, you'll be required to ditch them or not go in. I can't say if security will hold them for you until you come out.

[flyonpa]

I think you are trying to do to much in 1 trip, Done a few road trips with my son, He does better in the mornings when we need to see things. Then do the driving in the afternoon, and we have a hotel in the next place, so we have target to where we are going.

Suggested;
Depart Houston AM - Arrive Hot Springs Wed Night
Thr See/Do Hot Springs, Depart by noon
Thr Night in St. Louis, Fri Day See Stl Louis Depart by 2p.
Fri night Detroit, Sat Day See Detroit, Depart for Niagara Fall, Ont. Sunday All day see Niagara Falls, (Was there in July will take a full day). We stayed @ the embassy suites, 34 floor great view of both falls, little pricy, but worth it.
Monday Wedding
Tuesday Depart Falls, Buffalo is nice,
Wed night Hershey PA
Thr Full Day @ Hersey Park
Thr night Hersey
Fri DC (check parking / hotel rates for in DC ) otherwise do Hotel in VA or MD on the Metro line. And take train in
Sat See DC
Sun See DC
Mon See DC
Mon Night Depart DC
Tue Mt. Vernon or maybe Colonial Williamsburg.
Wed Night in Williamsburg
Thr Drive to Charleston
Fri all day in Charleston SC
Fri night Try to get near Atlanta (5hr drive)
Sat All day drive back to Houston,
Sun relax/recover




Packing: If you can pack the 2&4 and 10&13 into 1 Carryon suitcase each, also 1 carryon per 2 adults. Plan to do some wash 2x (maybe 3) Don't Pack alot of T-shirts you will pick them up as you go along. If you can put the 2/4 in 1 car the 10/13 in the other
Port DVD player, REDbox DVD pickup/drop off as you go along headphone for all, Earphone splitter, a 12vdc to 120vAC converter to charging stuff along the way (also a cigarette plug splitter) take a Driving break every 2-3 hrs to let the kid run around,. a snack, games, books, electronic bag per car.

[mikeyyc]

The Natchez Trace is a nice drive if you want to relax a bit, and it should be pretty this time of year. Starts/ends in Nashville to Natchez, MS, then a short hop across the top of LA to home.