Manhattan to Charleston Winter Drive

Hi everyone,

My boyfriend and I are planning a little roadtrip between Christmas and New York. We're driving from Manhattan to Charleston and spending a few days there. Then we want to drive to Savannah and stay there for two days before heading back up to Manhattan. We plan on leaving Christmas morning, driving all day and stopping for the night before finishing the rest of the drive to Charleston. We're also setting aside about two days to drive from Savannah back up to New York.

Does anyone have any tips for the drive to and from Manhattan, good places to sleep en route, and interesting things to see (or good food to eat!) from NY-SC and GA-NY? It's our first trip down south so any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

In Charleston, the Best Western King Charles at 237 Meeting Street is a nice moderately priced place to stay. Just down the street at 213 Meeting, Hyman's Seafood is a great place to eat. One of their specialties, Crispy Flounder, is very good.

Also just down the street is the City Market. When we were there the last time, we took a guided walking tour that was fun. I don't recall the name of the tour but I'm sure they would be able to tell you at your hotel.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The First thing you need to note is that there is only about 45 miles difference in the mileage between New York and Charleston or Savannah. So I'd be more than a little leery of thinking of one as a day-and-a-half drive and the other as a two day drive. Given that many other people will also be on the roads at this time, your route entails some of the most crowded highways in America, and there is the distinct possibility of inclement weather at that time of year, I would plan on at least two full days for the drive in each direction. Then, if everything falls your way (early starts, good weather and light traffic) you can actually make an interesting and enjoyable stop or two each day. But more importantly if timing, snow or too many other people trying to get home slow you up a bit, you'll have some cushion so that your holiday is not ruined.

As for places to stop along the way, these can range from taking a few short stops for R&R that don't require a lot of time out from your driving to more time consuming and rewarding stops. Among the later (I wouldn't expect anything to be open on Christmas Day) are things like Congaree National Park in South Carolina, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, the Historic Triangle in southeastern Virginia, the National Mall in Washington, and Independence Mall in Philadelphia. But note that all of those will take a bit of time to get to and even more to explore in any depth

AZBuck

The one thing that jumped out at me about this thread was the departure on Christmas Day. Be aware that you may encounter some services that will be closed. You may not have as much choice for food and fuel, perhaps relying on the places that serve commercial traffic such as truck stops which are open 365/7/24. OTOH, you may encounter less traffic on Christmas Day itself.


Donna