Welcome to the coast-to-coast road trip travel guide! The USA is one of our favourite countries in the world thanks to the diversity of landscapes, which amazes us every time. From big cities to some of the most beautiful National Parks… this country won’t let you down. If you want to complete this Coast to Coast trip, we suggest you to do this over 2 months (and preferably 3 if you don’t want to rush).
Planning a roadtrip in the USA can be difficult sometimes, especially when you want to see as much as possible! This 2 month roadtrip schedule will help you tick a lot of the must-sees on your list and at the same time you’ll get to explore some hidden gems you didn’t even know existed.
If it’s impossible for you to go on a 2 month trip, the following itineraries might be better:
THE ULTIMATE 2-WEEK WEST COAST USA ROADTRIP
THE PERFECT 3-WEEK WEST COAST USA ROADTRIP
GETTING AROUND
The best way to explore this beautiful part of the world is by car or by campervan. Although we personally opted for renting a car with t USA and sleeping in motels, renting a campervan can be amazing, too. The freedom of stopping everywhere you want is just the best feeling there is!
We have done this Coast-to-Coast Roadtrip with an SUV (Mercedes-Benz GLC or BMW X3). It’s important to have a quality car that’s plenty comfortable because of the many miles you will be driving. While the higher clearance of an SUV was useful once or twice, it’s definitely not necessary and a regular car will do just fine.
For our hotels and motels, we always booked very last minute (like 8pm the day itself) and booked everything through booking.com, which always has great prices and an easy reservation system. We never had any problems finding accommodation this last-minute and for us the total freedom of booking our rooms this late was much more important than the few dollars we could’ve saved by booking months in advance!
Disclaimer: by clicking one of the links hereunder we might receive a small commission on your booking. While for you it changes nothing and you still get the best price, for us it generates a small extra income which we use to keep this blog alive and running! The more booking via our links, the more time we can spend on writing articles like this for you! Appreciate it!
WHAT DO I NEED?
While the obvious things like a car, a credit card and some cash come to mind, what you will definitely need on this 3-month Roadtrip is a pass to visit the National Parks, as you will be doing plenty of those. Luckily, the ‘America the Beautiful National Parks Pass’ is very easy to purchase. At the welcome booth of the first park you visit, you can ask for an annual pass. It costs 80$ and will give you and up to four people in your vehicle access to over 2000 sites! The pass has space for 2 signatures, so once we get back home, we mostly give it to a relative or friend who’s traveling to the USA in the upcoming months and who can re-use it! You could even re-sell it to a stranger theoretically, although we’re not sure that’s allowed.
For additional items you definitely should have with you, we created a list of things you need for a USA roadtrip.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW
This itinerary is just an indication. Note that in every national park you can spend days or just a few hours, the same as for cities. This is completely up to you! Some people will want to do every single hike and some will only do the viewpoints and stay in their car most of the time. What we always do: choose one hike and do all the viewpoints. That way we have seen every major view and we’ve still done a hike!
If you decide to do some medium to long hikes, especially during summer, make sure to always bring lots of water with you!
WHAT WILL YOU SEE?
This 2-month roadtrip will take you on one of the most interesting trips in the USA! Be prepared to drive each day, but don’t worry, it will be worth it. The views alone will make the drives feel much shorter than they actually are.
The trip includes some of the following highlights:
– Los Angeles
– Palm Springs
– Joshua Tree National Park
– Sedona
– Grand Canyon
– Antelope Canyon
– Monument Valley
– Arches National Park
– Canyonlands National Park
– Santa Fe
– Austin
– Marfa
– New Orleans
– Nashville
– Savannah
– Charleston
– Washington DC
DAY 1 – 4: VANCOUVER, CANADA
Fly into Vancouver! We really wanted to see Vancouver but we were mostly there to visit our friends @emmaleger and her boyfriend. They showed us around and took us to some really cool spots!
Vancouver has some great neighbourhoods such as Gas Town. It also has some of the best vintage shops I’ve ever been to and we all know I love vintage shops! Another place where you really need to go for the best vegan ice cream is Earnest!
During our time in Vancouver we also visited some places that are a bit out of the city centre. We went to the following spots, but you can of course decide if you want to go yourself: White Cliff Point, Fort Langley, Lynn Canyon park, Whistler and Vancouver Island.
While we stayed at Emma and Steven’s place, here are some nice options if you don’t have friends in Vancouver where you can crash:
Budget accommodation – 37 Boutique Suite
Luxury accommodation – Fairmont Pacific Rim
DAY 5: SEATTLE
Leave Vancouver and take the train or bus to Seattle! We don’t recommend renting a car in Vancouver and crossing the border with the USA in a rental car. Big chance you won’t be allowed to rent it in Canada and drop it off in the USA, and if you do the one-way fee will be huge! We opted to take the bus and picked up our rental in Seattle, which was really easy. Once arrived, we rented our car at Sixt in downtown Seattle and they were very helpful.
We didn’t stay in Seattle very long but you should definitely visit some of the attractions the city is famous for such as Pike Place Market and the very first Starbucks in the world.
Sleep(less) in Seattle. (Have you seen that movie? Worth it!)
DAY 6: CANNON BEACH
Drive time today: 4,5 hours – 270 miles
Start driving from Seattle to Cannon beach/Ecola State Park. Stop at Astoria, Oregon, which is a very cute town with cool vintage shops. Keep driving until you reach Cannon Beach: an incredible place to relax or take a couple pictures. Make sure to take some time to walk around in the little town as well.
Drive further until you reach Cape Kiwanda: one of our favourite places to watch the sunset (and another great spot for taking pictures).
We did not have time to visit Portland, but if you find the time, it’s a must visit apparently! You can easily add in a day or two to this itinerary to visit Portland!
Budget accommodation – Inn at Cape Kiwanda
Luxury accommodation – Headlands Coastal Lodge & Spa
DAY 7 – 8: DRIVING THE OREGON COAST
Drive time the next 2 days: 10 hours – 630 miles
The complete coastal drive is absolutely breathtaking. The drive itself will probably take longer than expected because you will stop multiple times! Make sure to take a pitstop in Bandon: the beach here is incredible! Another wonderful place is Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor.
Sleep somewhere in the middle of this long trip before arriving in Napa Valley, where you will arrive in the afternoon of the second day.
Budget accommodation – The Bergson
Luxury accommodation – Auberge du Soleil, an Auberge Resort
DAY 9-10: NAPA VALLEY
Drive time on day 10: 1 hour – 60 miles
Time for some relaxing wine tastings after a busy first week! Napa Valley might be the most famous place, but we can definitely recommend Sonoma Valley as well if you’re into good wines. Drive around the beautiful wine country and visit as many wineries as possible ;-). Don’t forget to take a little stroll in the cute town of Napa in between the tastings!
After a day or two of wine tasting, have the designated driver drive towards San Francisco and settle into a nice hotel or airbnb for the next 3 nights.
DAY 11-13: SAN FRANCISCO
Time to discover San Francisco and there is so much to see! If you don’t have lots of time, we recommend the ‘hop on hop off’ bus! I know it sounds silly but it can be easy sometimes to get around and see all the highlights in one day!
Make sure to drive by the famous Lombard Street, the Fisherman’s wharf and of course Golden Gate Bridge! A nice place to see the bridge and take some pictures is from Baker Beach or Marshall’s beach, where we took the above photo.
Don’t forget to cross the bridge and head into Sausalito, which is a cute little town just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge, worth the visit!
Another must: go to Black Sands beach in Sausalito! The views on the city of SF are also incredible from here!
Budget accommodation – The Metro Hotel San Francisco
Luxury accommodation – Four Seasons San Francisco or San Francisco Proper Hotel, a Design Hotel
DAY 14: BIG SUR
Drive time today: 3,5 hours – 180 miles
Roadtrip heaven today! Start your drive down Big Sur, which is a very exciting drive and one of the most beautiful scenic routes in the world!
Because of all this beauty, you should definitely stop at the following places:
– Monterey/Carmel-by-the-Sea/17 mile drive/Pebble Beach
– Montana De Oro State Park
– Morro Bay
– McWay Falls (hike) /Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park
– Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park
You will probably stop along the way a hundred times because every view is so beautiful, but don’t worry about it because today you’re in no rush.
Budget accommodation – Treebones Resort Big Sur
Luxury accommodation – Ventana Big Sur – An Alila Resort or Post Ranch Inn
DAY 15 : SANTA BARBARA
Drive time today: 3 hours – 160 miles
Continue driving down the coast and end your drive today in Santa Barbara! Do some shopping and eat some amazing sushi at Arigota Sushi.
Budget accommodation – Marina Beach Motel
Luxury accommodation – Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore or Santa Barbara Inn
DAY 16 – 20 : LOS ANGELES
Drive time today: 1,5 hours – 100 miles
There is so much to see in and around Los Angeles: from hiking to the Hollywood sign, to the beautiful beaches of Malibu, the most luxurious shops on Rodeo drive and the vibe in the Venice Beach Area. Depending on how much time you have, we really recommend to stay at least 3 days in (and around) Los Angeles. We would even recommend to stay a full week, but on a roadtrip, you have to keep going ;-). PS: don’t forget to try Inn-n-out burgers!
Budget accommodation – Mama Shelter Los Angeles or Freehand Los Angeles
Luxury accommodation – Malibu Beach Inn (have dinner at Nobu right across the street) or Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills or Hotel Bel-Air by the Dorchester Collection
READ: 11 awesome things to do in Los Angeles
DAY 21: PALM SPRINGS
Drive time today: 2 hours – 130 miles
Today you will drive from Los Angeles to Palm Springs. Spend some time driving around the 60’s neighbourhoods of Palm Springs to see all the cool houses and get an ice cream at Shop(pe).
Depending on how important accommodation is for you, you can stay in Palm Springs in a nice hotel, or drive towards Joshua Tree National Park in the late afternoon, which is a 50 minute drive and where you won’t find many good hotels.
Budget accommodation – Skylark Hotel or The Palm Springs Hotel
Luxury accommodation – L’Horizon Resort & Spa or The Parker Palm Springs
READ: Things to do in Palm Springs (Coming Soon)
DAY 22: JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK
Drive time today: 7 hours – 400 miles
Today you will wake up early to start driving through Joshua Tree National Park. Stop wherever you want and don’t forget to take lots of photos!
Continue the drive towards Apache Junction in Arizona . Before you start driving the Apache Trail, make sure to stop at Goldfield Ghost town, which is a really cool spot! Driving The Apache Trail might take a lot longer than the fastest road to get in Sedona but, but the views and landscapes are beautiful! Make sure to check if the Apache Trail is open! It closes from time to time. So there’s no point in taking this long road if it’s closed.
Once you arrive in Sedona, stop by ChocolaTree for dinner, which is an amazing vegan restaurant.
Budget accommodation – Sky Rock Inn of Sedona or Casa Sedona Inn
Luxury accommodation – L’Auberge de Sedona or Enchantment Resort
DAY 23 – 24: SEDONA
Drive time today: 50 min – 30 miles
Rise and shine! Sedona is full of incredible hikes! It’s hard to choose which one to do but we would suggest the following two: Cathedral Rock and Devil’s Bridge Trail.
Make sure to stop at Bell Rock as well! The views are amazing!
After finishing a day of hiking on day 24 in Sedona, watch the sunset and drive to Flagstaff. In Flagstaff there’s this small bar where we always go, The Annex! The live music and the cocktails are amazing and the food is quite decent, too! If luxury accommodation is important to you, stay another night in Sedona, as you won’t find much in Flagstaff.
Budget accommodation – Little America Hotel
DAY 25: GRAND CANYON
Drive time today: 1h30 – 75 miles
Wake up early (again) and have breakfast followed by a little walk around the town of Flagstaff. This will only take an hour or so, just to feel the vibe.
Drive towards Grand Canyon. Ready for a hike?
There are a lot of hikes you can do and depending on the weather (if it’s too hot, don’t take risks!) you can go for a long or short hike. Even if you decide to just do the viewpoints, Grand Canyon is amazing and you will definitely like it!
A hike that we can definitely recommend is the South Kaibab Trail! The views are incredible! Don’t do the hike all the way down if you’re not an advanced hiker because a lot of people don’t make it back up on the same day. We did only a little part of the hike and we both absolutely loved it!
Little reminder to bring LOTS of water!
Budget accommodation – Best Western Premier Grand Canyon Squirre Inn
DAY 26: ANTELOPE CANYON, HORSESHOE BEND AND LAKE POWELL
Drive time today: 2 hours – 110 miles
Drive towards Page. This is the place where you can see the famous Antelope Canyons, Horse Shoe Bend and Lake Powell.
This place used to be so empty! I remember visiting this place over 6 years ago, there were no fences ruining the beautiful nature, ‘waiting lines’, or big groups… a lot has changed unfortunately! I used to be completely alone at Horseshoe Bend, this is unthinkable these days. But don’t worry, even with the hordes of tourists these spots are still breathtakingly beautiful.
Start your day by visiting Antelope Canyon. We highly recommend booking your tour through Antelope Canyon as far ahead as possible, because tours fill up quickly these days, especially in high season! If you get the chance, definitely do both upper and lower canyon! Just beware that Antelope Canyon is a Navajo site, which are not included in the national parks passes, so you’ll have to pay an additional entrance fee. The best timing is when the sun is at it’s highest, to see the light rays in the canyons but these are also the most crowded times…
Now drive to Lake Powell just to see the views, and if the weather’s nice and you like what you see, you can rent a boat for a couple of hours and just enjoy the lake.
From there, it’s just a 5 minute drive to horseshoe bend, which is absolutely stunning and just a very short hike from the parking lot! Ideally you’ll be here a little before sunset and watch the colours of the rocks change while the sun is setting.
Budget accommodation – Hyatt Place Page Lake Powell or Red Rock Motel
Luxury accommodation – Amangiri (the most expensive resort in the USA)
DAY 27: MONUMENT VALLEY
Drive time today: 4h30 hours – 270 miles
Drive towards Monument Valley and stop at the famous Utah sign on the road! After a quick photo, continue driving towards Monument Valley. You will have to pay an entrance fee here as well as this is Navajo land. Only cash will be accepted, so make sure you have some $$$ with you! The 17 mile loop is a drive in Monument Valley that will take about 2-4 hours depending on how long you stop everywhere. It’s a 100% dirt road, but accessible with a regular car if you don’t drive too fast. Should you wish, you can also ride a horse in Monument Valley if you like! We haven’t done it yet, but it would definitely make for some stunning pictures.
After Monument Valley you will be going to a lesser known but VERY beautiful ‘small’ Monument Valley: Valley Of The Gods! Way less crowded and maybe equally as beautiful, it’s also a self-drive loop on unpaved roads that will take you about 1 or 2 hours.
After all this beauty, it’s time to drive to Moab, where you’ll be staying for the next 2 nights and more beauty awaits.
Budget accommodation – Castle Valley Inn or Under Canvas Moab (Glamping!)
Luxury accommodation – Sorrel River Ranch
DAY 28: ARCHES NATIONAL PARK
Wake up early (here we go again…) and have breakfast at Moab’s diner. Please do us, and yourself a favour and order pancakes: they are THE BEST we ever ate! (According to Laura – Nicolas decided the ones at Hotel Café Royal in London were even better)
Drive through Arches National Park. Like in any national park you can spend days or just a few hours, up to you! Again, it’s Team Hike vs Team Viewpoint.
We would highly recommend hiking to ‘Delicate Arch’. It’s only a 3-mile hike with 500ft. elevation changes but it’s an incredible one. Just don’t do it when temperatures are too high because there’s no shade at all! And make sure not to miss all the incredible viewpoints!
Make sure to check out some of the beauty of Arches NP in our USA vlog!
DAY 29: CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK
Today we’re visiting Canyonlands National Park! For Canyonlands NP, we mostly did the viewpoints, which include a few very short hikes (10min) to places like the famous Mesa Arch.
After visiting this beautiful place, you can always choose to visit Dead Horse Point State Park if you have the time. Please note that this park is not included in the National Park pass, so you will have to pay an extra fee of $20. But similar to almost everywhere else, it’s definitely worth it!
Budget accommodation – Castle Valley Inn or Under Canvas Moab (Glamping!)
Luxury accommodation – Sorrel River Ranch
DAY 30: SHIPROCK & ALBUQUERQUE
Drive time today: 6 hours – 365 miles
Start driving towards Albuquerque. Today is a long drive and the landscape in New Mexico is quite monotonous. But there are a few places that are worth seeing! You will drive past Shiprock. You can’t miss it really, it’s a huge rock in the middle of nowhere! Once you’ve arrived in Albuquerque, we recommend you to visit the Old Town. It’s really nice to just stroll around here. For the luxury travellers, there’s not much luxury accommodation to be found though!
Budget accommodation – El Vado Motel
Luxury accommodation – Hotel Chaco
DAY 31: SANTA FE
Drive time today: 1h30 – 75 miles
Drive to Santa Fe via ‘turquoise road’ also called NM-14. It’s a scenic route that takes you through a lot of cute old mining towns such as ‘Madrid’ and ‘Los cerrillos’ and amazing views!! Once you arrive in Santa Fe, park the car and start walking around. Santa Fe really feels like you’re in a Western movie or something. It has a really special vibe to it.
Budget accommodation – Drury Plaza Hotel in Santa Fe
Luxury accommodation – Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi or The Inn of the Five Graces
DAY 32: WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
Drive time today: 5 hours – 300 miles
Today we got a pretty long drive ahead of us! Drive towards El Paso. A place where you definitely need to stop is ‘White Sands National Monument’.
There aren’t any standout hotels or places to stay in El Paso. You will find plenty of average accommodation from big chains such as Marriott and Hilton.
DAY 33: MARFA
Drive time today: 3 hours – 200 miles
Drive towards Marfa. A really small town that became very famous in the seventies, when artist Donald Judd moved there. It’s also known for the Mystery Marfa Lights!
The first stop on the way to Marfa will be the ‘Prada art installation’. It’s literally a Prada shop (not a real one of course, it’s art) in the middle of nowhere. After taking a few photos, drive to the centre of Marfa. It’s hard to describe the vibe of this town but it was one of our favourite towns ever!
Must-do’s: Go for some vintage shopping at Raba Marfa. Go see the oldschool ‘Palace”. Eat lunch at Food shark. And sleep at El Cosmico.
DAY 34: HILL COUNTRY
Drive time today: 6h20 – 420 miles
Wake up early and start driving towards the Hill Country. Your first stop will be Alpine, not far from Marfa. Just take a little stroll around for half an hour. Keep driving towards the ‘Hill Country’.
Our next stop is Fredericksburg. You will notice a lot of German influences here. Just park your car and stroll around! Next up is Luckenbach. A really small town where they play daily live music. Make sure to check the website to see who is playing and at what time! We stayed here for HOURS!!!
Drive to San Antonio and stroll around The River Walk in the evening.
Budget accommodation – Hotel Gibbs Downtown Riverwalk
Luxury accommodation – Hotel Emma at Pearl on the Riverwalk
DAY 35: SAN ANTONIO AND GRUENE
Drive time today: 1h – 35 miles
Visit San Antonio in the morning. We were personally not really crazy about this place but it’s worth a little stop.
Head to Gruene in the afternoon, a really small town as well. A really nice typical cowboy vibe. In the evening, go to the old Gruene Dance Hall. Check the website to see who’s playing. Sometimes you need to buy tickets ahead!! It’s worth it!!
Sleep at the Gruene River Hotel & Retreat
DAY 36 – 37: AUSTIN
Drive time today: 1h – 50 miles
Drive towards Austin and make a stop in Wimberley. It will just take you half an hour to stroll around. Once you arrived in Austin, check into your hotel and start visiting!
Some things to do/eat:
– Alamo drafthouse
– Texas state capitol
– Broken Spoke
– Watch the bats fly out from the Congress bridge
– Shop on South Congress (MUST!)
– El Alma
– Veracruz
– Allens boots
Budget accommodation – The EPIC Austin Motel
Luxury accommodation – The Driskill
DAY 38: BATON ROUGE
Drive time today: 6h40 – 430 miles
Drive to Baton Rouge. On your drive towards Baton Rouge you could stop in Houston. A place you definitely need to stop now that you’re still in Texas is Bucee’s. Just stop there and buy some snacks. You won’t regret it 😉
Budget accommodation – Hampton Inn & Suites Baton Rouge Downtown
Luxury accommodation – Watermark, Autograph Collection
DAY 39: PLANTATIONS
Drive time today: 2 hours – 100 miles
Drive down from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, take the road that follows the Mississippi river and visit some plantations. One that’s definitely worth a visit is Nottoway Plantation and Oak Alley Plantation. Please remember that what happened here is horrible.
Once you arrive in New Orleans, the fun can begin! There are 2 main streets where you should go for music in the evening: Bourbon street and Frenchman Street. Just stroll around and enter wherever you like the music! Fritzel’s European Jazz Bar was one of our favourite places!
Budget accommodation – HI New Orleans Hostel
Luxury accommodation – Maison de la Luz
DAY 40 – 41: NEW ORLEANS
The next two days you will discover New Orleans. There is so much to see and do here! We couldn’t get enough!
A little list of things to do in New Orleans:
– French Quarter
– Jackson Square
– Taste a beignet at Cafe Du Monde
– Shop at the French Market
– Grab a drink at the Carousel bar
– Visit The Garden District
– Bayou Swamp tour
– Bourbon street
– Frenchman Street
Sleep in one of the above recommendations!
DAY 42: MOBILE
Drive time today: 4h30 – 300 miles
In the morning you can still take your time to visit New Orleans. In the Afternoon, start driving to Mobile. Make a stop in Mobile and just drive around this town to see the typical Alabama houses. If you watched the movie ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, you know what I’m talking about 😉
Continue your drive towards Seaside. Sleep in Seaside or somewhere on the way there.
Budget accommodation – La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Miramar Beach
Luxury accommodation – The Pearl Hotel
DAY 43: MINI 30A ROADTRIP IN FLORIDA
Today is a little roadtrip day within a roadtrip 😉 Drive the 30A road and visit different coastal towns such as: Seaside, seagrove, alys beach, rosemary beach, intel beach, Watercolor, Grayton Beach, Gulf Place… The cool part about this road is that every coastal town has a totally different vibe and architecture!! One town makes you feel like you’re in Germany, another one like you’re in Greece.
Sleep at one of our recommendations above!
DAY 44: JACK DANIELS DISTILLERY
Drive time today: 6h40 – 400 miles
Drive through Alabama towards Tennessee. A few you stops you need to take in Alabama: Birmingham and Mooresville. Just take a little drive or stroll around these places and hit the road again.
Once you’ve made it to the state Tennessee, drive to the Jack Daniels Distillery. Even if you don’t like whiskey, it’s a must visit!! The little town ‘Lynchburg’ at the Distillery is super cute as well so make sure to take a little walk around. Sleep somewhere around this place or go straight to Nashville!
DAY 45 – 46: NASHVILLE
Drive time today: 1h30 – 75 miles
Drive towards Nashville and check in to your hotel. I had been waiting all my life to visit this place and it did not disappoint! If you love music like I (Laura) do, you will adore this place!!
During the day you can visit some museum, like the Johny Cash museum. Or you can take a line dancing class!
A must do is lunch at Pinewood Social and do some bowling!
In the evening we recommend you to just stroll around main street and hop into different bars. One evening you need to go to Santa’s Pub. You will need to take an uber there but it’s so much fun!!! Definitely in the weekends! It’s a dive bar where everyone can sing karaoke. Even people like Ed Sheeran come here from time to time.
Budget accommodation – Hyatt House Nashville at Vanderbilt
Luxury accommodation – Noelle, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel or The Bobby Hotel
DAY 47: ASHEVILLE
Drive time today: 4h30 – 300 miles
After two days in the capital of country music, start driving to Asheville. We took a scenic road through the mountains. Asheville was not on our original itinerary but everyone told us we had to go here, so we did. And it did not disappoint! Our first stop was the River Arts District. Full of artsy shops and a really cool vibe.
Something else you can do is visit the Biltmore estate. And of course just stroll around Downtown Asheville.
We also went to the movies at Fine Arts, a really cool oldschool movie theatre.
Budget accommodation – GLō Best Western Asheville Tunnel Road
Luxury accommodation – The Windsor Asheville or Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville, Autograph Collection
DAY 48 – 49: SAVANNAH
Drive time today: 4h45 – 310 miles
Today we’re driving to Savannah. Your first stop is Wormsloe historic site. A really beautiful place known for its typical tree tunnel. After this stop. Head to Savannah and check into your hotel for the next 2 nights.
A few things to do while you are in Savannah:
– Forsyth Park
– River Walk
– Stroll through Historic District
– Dinner at The Olde Pink House
Budget accommodation – Sonder, Drayton Apartments
Luxury accommodation – Kehoe House, Historic Inns of Savannah Collection
DAY 50 – 51: AREA BETWEEN SAVANNAH AND CHARLESTON
Drive time the next 2 days: 4 hours – 200 miles
The next 2 days, you won’t be doing a lot of driving but a lot of different stops. If you’ve seen Nicolas Sparks movies like The Notebook, The Choice etc. you will definitely like the coming part of your trip. We advise you to just take your time and sleep somewhere in between. Maybe a certain town will take your breath away and you will want to stay a bit longer…
Our first stop is Hilton Head Island. It’s absolutely beautiful to drive around here and take a little walk around Harbour town.
The next stop is Beaufort, a cute town with beautiful houses. Definitely worth stopping! We slept here and took some time to relax and had a picnic by the river.
Our next stop is the Old sheldon church ruins. This stop won’t take long but it’s just really cool to see.
Next up is Driftwood Beach/Edisto beach. This is a beach full of driftwood, a really special place! It is hard to show it on photo but it has something really special.
The last stop before we arrive in Charleston is Angel Oak Tree. One of the oldest Oak trees. Really worth a stop!
Our next stop is Charleston! Check into your hotel and take a walk in the city!
Sleep in Charleston for the next 4 nights.
Budget accommodation – Hyatt House Mount Pleasant Midtown
Luxury accommodation – Belmond Charleston Place
DAY 52 – 54: CHARLESTON
The next few days you will stay in Charleston! A beautiful city with lots to do. We also advise you to do at least one day of a ‘day trip’ to some places outside the city.
Some things to do in Charleston:
– Rainbow row
– Pineapple fountain
– Charleston City Market
– Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon
– Historic Homes of Charleston
Some daytrips:
– Boone Hall Plantation (this is a must!)
– Cypress Gardens
The ultimate Notebook locations:
– The American Theatre
– Boone Hall Plantation
– Cypress Gardens
– William Aiken House
– College of Charleston
See our recommendations above!
DAY 55 – 56: WILMINGTON
Drive time today: 3h30 – 180 miles
Drive towards North Carolina! Stop at some places like Georgetown,SC on your way there.
Once you’ve arrived in Wilmington, it’s time to start going to some One Tree Hill places. If you are not a One Tree Hill fan, Wilmington is still an incredible place! It has everything from beaches to a riverwalk, to historic houses…
There are tons of blogposts about all the OTH spots in Wilmington so I won’t copy that 😉
A few things you definitely need to do while you are here:
– The Riverwalk
– Market St
– Airlie Gardens
– Bellamy Mansion
– Wrightsville Beach
– Carolina Beach
Budget accommodation – This amazing Airbnb hosted by the sweetest of people!
Luxury accommodation – Hotel Ballast Wilmington, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
DAY 57 – 58: OUTER BANKS NORTH CAROLINA
Drive time today: 5h30 – 300 miles
Start driving towards the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It’s quite a long drive. But if the weather is good, the Outer Banks are perfect to get some relax time.
Some things to do:
– explore the many lighthouses
– visit Corolla
– Picnic on the beach
– Catch a sunrise at Kitty Hawk Pier
– Jockey Ridge State Park
– Downtown Manteo
– Roanoke Island
– Cape Hatteras National Seashore
– Rodanthe Inn (from the movie ‘Nights in Rodanthe’)
Sleep at Sanderling Resort
DAY 59 – 60: WASHINGTON DC
Drive time today: 5h15 – 310 miles
Drive to Washington DC today.
Once you arrive, start with visiting Alexandria old town. Park you car and just stroll around the streets.
The next stop is Georgetown. Our favourite neighbourhood in DC. Lots of shops, beautiful residential houses, a cute waterfront. Just stroll around and enjoy!
The ‘centre’ of DC speaks for itself, you have to visit all major places such as The White House, The Monument, The Capitol, etc. There are also tons of incredible museums!
Budget accommodation – Pod DC Hotel
Luxury accommodation – Park Hyatt Washington D.C. (or the Rosewood once it re-opens!)
DAY 61: HOME
It’s time to say goodbye to this incredible country and grab a flight home! What a trip!!
PIN THIS FOR LATER
