Over at Loyalty Traveler, Ric Garrido is documenting his drive up the coast from Jacksonville to Virginia via Savannah, Charleston, and the Outer Banks. So far he’s written up Jacksonville and St. Augustine, and he’s doing all this with a $15 per day car rental. He checked and yes, you could drive it cross country if you wanted to for $15 per day. His early verdict: “Day one of this road trip was all I could hope for.”
Toward Ric’s point, I think this part of the country is a gem and worth seeing if you’ve never been before. Just as there’s a lot to be said for driving up Route 1 from Los Angeles to San Francisco, there’s also a lot to be said for a trip up the southeast coast along I-95 (or Highway 17, or A1A, etc). I’m glad Ric is taking his own advice and taking advantage of that amazing car rental deal.
I lived in Jacksonville for a couple of years a while back and I’ve lived in North Carolina ever since then, so I’m somewhat familiar with this area. Savannah, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach of course get plenty of publicity and visitors, but there’s more than that to see. My take on what’s worthwhile on a trip like this:
Jacksonville: If you’re in the area, I highly recommend a stop at St. Augustine. Founded in 1565, it’s the nation’s oldest city and it’s got a compact, walkable downtown plus a lot of history. The Castillo de San Marcos is pretty neat, as is the St. Augustine Gator Farm. In the Jacksonville area itself, the St. John’s River is pretty neat to see up close from the Riverwalk and/or the Cummer Museum. I’d also recommend Little Talbot Island State Park if you want to have a stretch of Florida beach pretty much to yourself (unless it’s gotten a lot more popular since I lived there, anyway).
- Little Talbot Island State Park: five miles of beach like this
I like the sleepy nearby town of Fernadina Beach as well. For the Maldives crowd, there’s a Ritz-Carlton close by on Amelia Island which you can stay at for a few days with a Marriott / Ritz-Carlton sign-up bonus or two.
- Fernadina Beach
Savannah: On your way to Savannah, don’t miss the Golden Isles of Georgia. I like the bike trails on Jekyll Island, plus it’s neat to stop at the Jekyll Island Club (currently a hotel–you can book rooms here), which once boasted J.P. Morgan, William Vanderbilt, and Joseph Pulitzer as members.
- Jekyll Island Club (courtesy of historichotels.org)
You might enjoy the lighthouse at nearby St. Simons Island as well. The gorgeous marshland in southeast Georgia makes this one of the more scenic parts of I-95 (a backhanded compliment, but still). In Savannah itself, you should of course visit the famous downtown, with its parks, river frontage, and of course The Place Where They Filmed That Scene In “Forrest Gump”.
Charleston: By all means enjoy all the history and attractions of Charleston, but on your way there give a thought to stopping in the quiet, scenic, also somewhat historic town of Beaufort, SC. (Trivia: Beaufort, SC is pronounced “Byew-furt”, while Beaufort, NC is pronounced “Bo-furt”.) Beaufort was founded in 1711 and is the second-oldest city in the state after Charleston.
With that said, I’m tentatively planning on a family trip to the Savannah area for a week this summer and I look forward to exploring the area more, as much as you can do with four young ‘uns anyway.
So do any of you live near underrated travel destinations? I’m always adding places to my “I’ll get there someday” list, so speak up now.
I prefer Charleston over Savannah. I also prefer Hilton head island over Myrtle beach (or the NC coastal region). Why? If you’re a family with small kids, the ocean can be a bit rough in some area of the carolinas. I was surprised to find that the water was remarkably calm in the HHI area. If you’re into points, there are “affordable” hotels right on the beach on HHI. We’re going there again this summer. My favorite place is the HHI sea shack, great affordable sea food (hole in the wall).
On the west side of Michigan, the beach towns on the shore of Lake Michigan are great in July and August after the lake has warmed up (although I doubt it will get very warm this year because the Great Lakes were 93% covered in ice this past winter – the most coverage in many generations). Our family enjoys the Holland and Grand Haven areas because they have nice beaches/facilities, but there are also other nice towns along the shore to explore. It is like being on the ocean but without the salt – the lake is freshwater and you cannot see across it from the shore. Most years the air temp is typically in the high 80s/low 90s, water temp in the 70s-80s. If you are a points collector, there are not a lot of high-end chain hotels, but Holland has a decent Doubletree which is located about 10-15 minutes drive time from the beach. Further north up the shore near the top of the Michigan mitten is a Marriott golf resort located right on the lake at Bay Harbor. Trivia: Michigan is often called the “third coast” – it has more shoreline than any other state in the lower 48. Check it out if you’re looking for something different!
Agree on Charleston over Savannah.
Filed away to my “places I’ll visit someday” file, thanks!
Both Edisto and Hunting Islands are great stops along the drive. Charleston has wonderful restored houses and gardens. In Savannah, the SCAD area is definitely worth a visit.
We did a great road trip through many of these places, south from NYC as far as Tallahassee, then over to New Orleans for New Years and back up on the diagonal hitting Tennessee on the way home.. fantastic stops and the food was out of this world.
Agreed ABC, we are huge Sea Shack fans, we go many times in our annual HHI trip. We are trying Charleston this July for the first time. Only 1 night on the way. Any tips on what hotel is best for a family of 5?