Houston to Orlando via Memphis & Savannah - HELP

Hi everybody!

I'm new here, although have been a longtime reader looking to get some inspiration on a trip my boyfriend & I are taking next April. Our rough itinerary is below.

Nights 1 & 2 - Houston, TX
Nights 3 & 4 - No booking, but planning on New Orleans.
Night 5 - Clarksdale, MS
Night 6 - No booking (we're thinking Tunica)
Night 7 to 13 - Memphis, TN
Night 14 - no booking
Night 15 - Savannah, GA
Night 16 & 17 - Orlando.

Between Houston & New Orleans we're planning on taking I-10 and making a few stops along the way (we know it'll be a long day).
From New Orleans we're heading to Natchez and then getting onto the Natchez Trail Parkway to Jackson, where we'll hop off and then I think onto US49 and I-40 unless there is a more picturesque route that won't take mega hours longer?

From Clarksdale to Memphis via Tunica we are fine as we have done this drive many, many times.

The thing we're struggling with is a good place to stay for 1 night between Memphis and Savannah. We know its a super long drive, and we want to get a reasonable amount of the journey knocked out on the first day, to maximise our time in Savannah. We have thought about Macon but are open to suggestions!

We are also fine from Savannah to Orlando. As first time multi-state roadtrippers we're welcoming suggestions for good eats, must-see locations on routes and other things that shouldn't be missed. The highways will be fine, but we'd prefer more picturesque routes if anyone can suggest them? We don't mind if it takes a couple hours longer in most cases!

Thanks!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

First: Congratulations on designing a well-paced RoadTrip. You have left yourselves lots of time to actually explore and appreciate the countryside you'll be driving in. So let's see if we can't clear up a few of those remaining questions.

Between Jackson and Memphis, one obvious alternative that would fit in with your other pLans is simply to take the Natchez Trace all the way to Tupelo, and then US-78 into Memphis. It's certainly the most scenic, but because of the Trace's lower speed limit would take a little over an hour longer than US-49/US/61. Whether that constitutes 'mega hours' or not is your call. Tupelo is also the site of Elvis' birthplace and boyhood home if that's of interest to you. And you wouldn't have to re-do the Clarksdale to Memphis route yet again.

(Note: It's probably not too late to change your Clarksdale reservations.)

From Memphis to Savannah, I'll suggest the following. Retrace your route back to Tupelo (sorry!) on US-78, then continue on to Birmingham and US-280 to Columbus GA. Cross Georgia using US-80/GA-96/I-16. This would put your halfway point around the college town of Auburn AL. If you wanted to press on a bit farther on the first day, there are several good-sized towns along GA-96 including Junction City, Butler, Fort Valley, or Warner Robins where you should have no trouble finding accommodations. If you do find yourselves with a bit of time, FDR's Little White House in Warm Springs would be worth a detour and visit.

You didn't raise it as a question, but one place to perhaps get off I-10 for a bit is in south central Louisiana to follow the Creole Nature Trail for a little while.

AZBuck

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AZBuck

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

First: Congratulations on designing a well-paced RoadTrip. You have left yourselves lots of time to actually explore and appreciate the countryside you'll be driving in. So let's see if we can't clear up a few of those remaining questions.

Between Jackson and Memphis, one obvious alternative that would fit in with your other pLans is simply to take the Natchez Trace all the way to Tupelo, and then US-78 into Memphis. It's certainly the most scenic, but because of the Trace's lower speed limit would take a little over an hour longer than US-49/US/61. Whether that constitutes 'mega hours' or not is your call. Tupelo is also the site of Elvis' birthplace and boyhood home if that's of interest to you. And you wouldn't have to re-do the Clarksdale to Memphis route yet again.

(Note: It's probably not too late to change your Clarksdale reservations.)

From Memphis to Savannah, I'll suggest the following. Retrace your route back to Tupelo (sorry!) on US-78, then continue on to Birmingham and US-280 to Columbus GA. Cross Georgia using US-80/GA-96/I-16. This would put your halfway point around the college town of Auburn AL. If you wanted to press on a bit farther on the first day, there are several good-sized towns along GA-96 including Junction City, Butler, Fort Valley, or Warner Robins where you should have no trouble finding accommodations. If you do find yourselves with a bit of time, FDR's Little White House in Warm Springs would be worth a detour and visit.

You didn't raise it as a question, but one place to perhaps get off I-10 for a bit is in south central Louisiana to follow the Creole Nature Trail for a little while.

AZBuck

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Hi there! Thanks so much for the helpful reply! The thing is, we've never stayed in Clarksdale before, so we really want 1 night there to visit Ground Zero (its somewhat of a blues homage trip) but we definitely wanted to get some of the parkway into the trip. I had toyed with going from Jackson to Vicksburg and getting onto the 61 but it seems like unnecessary driving.

The suggestion for the Creole Nature Trail looks fantastic, and it looks like something we could build into our itinerary very easily - so thanks very much!

I love the idea of stopping off in Warm Springs is a brilliant idea, it looks beautiful, just the sort of quaint place we're after!

Really appreciate it! :)

Hi all, sorry if this is in the wrong place as I’m having trouble getting used to the way forums work (I know... its 2014, I need to brush up my communication skills).

Basically my Boyfriend & I are visiting the USA on a road trip next April and have scheduled 2 days to travel from Memphis, TN to Orlando, FL.
The sensible route seems to be SouthEast through Alabama which is great, but we wanted to touch Georgia if possible too. We’d originally looked at going from Memphis right to Savannah but the drive feels a bit overwhelmind.

We want to keep each daily driving session to a maximum of around 6-7 hours so we’re looking for somewhere great to stay in Alabama and Georgia for one of the nights each.

Here’s the kicker. I’ve been looking at Mentone, Alabama. I like the idea of staying somewhere cabin-like, a mountain village sort of location. Mentone is a little too far East and not far enough South to make sense for the journey.

Does anyone have any suggestions for somewhere similar to Mentone that would get us a little further SouthEast toward Orlando?
Also, can anybody recommend somewhere to stay in Alabama which would be along the same route? (we’re pretty flexible with which roads to take). We’re not really big city people, so the more remote the better!

Thanks in advance


Yes, please keep all comments about a single trip in a single place. - Mod

Actually, the most direct route from Memphis to Orlando goes right through Georgia, so there's no need to go out of your way to enjoy the Peach State. Indeed, your halfway point would be around Columbus GA. The direct route is US-78 southeast through Tupelo MS to Birmingham AL. From there, US-280 will take you as far as Richland GA where you'd get on GA-520 to Dawson GA. Picking up US-82 gets you to Phillipsburg GA and I-75 and eventually the Florida Turnpike which will take you the rest of the way to Orlando.

As noted, your halfway point, where you'd spend your single overnight stop, would be around Columbus. And I know of no better option by your criteria than the cabins in F. D. Roosevelt State Park. They may be a bit too well equipped for your tastes, but the setting is spot on.

AZBuck

Thank you so much! That place looks absolutely beautiful and pretty much exactly what we were after! Much appreciated!