Jacksonville, FL to Los Angeles, CA

Hello Everyone,

First timer on this site. I'm checking to see if anyone has any recommendations on the BEST route to drive from Jacksonville to Los Angeles. I did a quick search about this and found people asking the fastest route and what not, but I'm seeing what's a good alternative to just taking the 10 all the way. We basically have 5-7 days to do whatever. It's a one way trip. I'm flying out to Jacksonville next week and driving home with a friend that's moving back home. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

This site was a great find! I do love you can find all kinds of stuff to see/do within X miles from any route. If there are no better alternatives, I'm sure we will find plenty to see/do down the 10.

Thanks!

Welcome to RTA!

If you just get up on I-10 and press on, it's a full 4 day drive, so you have some (but not a lot of) time to explore alternates. You need to keep at least one day in reserve in case you encounter bad weather - and this applies to any cross country route. I'm assuming you can visit the western attractions any time on long weekend trips out of LA, so what sightseeing you do could probably be best applied to the southeast. You could take a couple of days leisurely driving the Gulf coast to New Orleans and spending a day there. If weather permits, you can make it to LA in 3 days from NO on I-10. Another city worth exploring would be San Antonio. If you are interested, you could visit the Space Center near Houston.

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Since it takes a bit over four days to get to L.A. from JAX by the shortest possible route (I-10 all the way) with no appreciable stops, having only five to seven days at your disposal means that you can't wander far off the direct route or spend too long visiting sites along the way. What I'd suggest than is that you head 'cross-country' to Memphis and from there follow I-40 to I-15 for the last leg into L.A. By 'cross-country' I mean using US routes such as US-1/US-82/GA-520/US-280/US-78. Taking a little extra time, especially right at the start of your trip, will give it a bit more of an adventure feel. Then when you're out west and may have to make a little bit better time, the scenery and new sites to see will 'make up' for sticking mostly to a single Interstate. On the eastern half of your journey you'll be passing relatively close to Okefenokee Swamp, FDR's Little White House, Elvis' birthplace, and Graceland. West of the Mississippi, you'll be passing by the Oklahoma City Memorial, Petroglyph National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, and of course the Grand Canyon. Should be fun, but your 'extra' time is going to get chewed up pretty quickly.

AZBuck