Miami to Houston!

I'm planning a two person road trip in early May (Around the 12th or 13th)
I would be flying in, and helping my girlfriend drive back to Houston.
I was hoping for some suggestions on how often to stop, or which cities we should look to stop in.

Also, if possible, some nice attractions we might want to check out.
We're planning on staying in simple hotels that we find near the road.

Further, if you could help by showing me a good way to estimate costs for food, lodging, gas, and recreation, those would be excellent.

Note*
While I don't drive cross-country often, I drive delivery for two jobs daily.

Finally, feel free to e-mail me directly if you have helpful information.

Hi, and Welcome to the The Great American RoadTrip Forum.

Most of the information you are seeking, can be found in these forums. You might like to start with this thread of a recent trip between the same cities.

It is difficult to point out any attractions etc. without knowing anything about your interests, nor how long you plan to be on the road. But you might like to start by checking out the roadside attractions on the green navigation bar above.

For fuel calculations try our fuel cost calculator link to the right.

And the 'Saving Money on Your Trip' forum, has some great information on budgeting for a roadtrip.

Enjoy the planning.

Lifey

My husband and I usually budget $65/night for overnights, and are thrilled when we find something less expensive than that.

For food: we tend to eat out two meals on the road, breakfast and dinner, so we budget $60. We have snack food in the car for "lunch". If you stay at places that have a continental breakfast, you can save money on food that way. Some of the really budget places either don't have a continental breakfast, or it's small (coffee, juice, sweet rolls or donuts).

There's a fuel cost estimator on this site -- very handy! I always add a bunch of extra miles when I'm estimating, to allow for sightseeing, detours, and mileage calculation errors.

Recreation -- well, that depends on where you stop. If its a scenic state or national park, there's usually a nominal entrance fee (but don't forget to calculate for the fuel to drive around and see everything). If you're hitting a theme park, you can look up the prices online. They usually run $45 - 85/day.

How often to stop -- you can do that drive in two very long days on the road, or 2-1/2 more comfortable days, without sightseeing. My husband can tell you that driving delivery and driving long distance are two different things. (He's done both.) During the actual road time, you'll have to stop at rest areas, for fuel, meals, just getting something from the back of the car, or you just want to stretch! For us, this is every couple of hours at least. Your mileage may vary.

Take a good look around the website -- you may find lots of things of interest to you, to see along the way.


Donna