Road trip: Charlotte to Niigata falls

[Sanjogjain]

Hi,
I am planning a road trip from Charlotte to Niagara Falls in mid June.

We are 4 adults and two kids around 3 years of age and planning for 3-4 day trip including travel days. Can someone help on below points
1. Best possible route
2. Attractions that can be visited along the route
3. Things to do at niagara and any cost saving tips

Best regards,
Sanjogjain

[DonnaR57]

Welcome to RTA!

By the shortest route possible (I-77, I-79, I-90), this is almost 700 miles, which is a little long for a one day drive there, especially with three year olds and a group of 6 people. You'd best take a day and a half to get up there, and at least another day and a half to get back. Plan on 2-3 days there to be able to see the falls in their glory. Do all the adults have passports (and the birth certificates for the preschoolers)? You'll need them if you want to see the Falls from the Canadian side.


Donna

[AZBuck]

As Donna has pointed out, it really is a full day and a half - by the shortest possible route with no sight-seeing stops - to get from Charlotte to Niagara Falls. So that's three full days for the round trip. If you only have three days for this adventure then you literally would be driving those three days for not much more than a quick look at the falls and then back in the car. With four days, you could spend a day at the falls, but that's still three driving days for one day's relaxation. And trust me, as one who has done it, six people cooped up in a car for three days is not relaxing. If you really do only have four days at the most, then you should be looking for some nature sites much closer to home such as Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Mammoth Cave National Park, The Outer Banks, the Grand Strand, Congaree National Park, Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, Shenandoah National Park, or the Historic Triangle of Virginia. All of those are considerably closer than Niagara Falls; would save you time, effort, and gas to get to; and would allow you to do something besides just drive.

AZBuck