Honeymoon trip from NYC to Miami!

Afternoon all,

This is my first post here after a recommendation from a friend to post on this site.

So, my partner and I are currently living in the UK and getting married next July.

We are hoping to do a roadtrip from NYC to Miami spread over two weeks. It will not only be our first time in America but obviously a special occasion!

I guess I'm posting here to just chat hopefully with people that have done similar or have some good tips on things to see and do en route!

So far we've not planned anything, it's a fresh slate with lots of exciting possibilities so all comments and tips welcome!

I guess so far all we know is that we'd like to fly to NYC, tour the city for a couple days then rent a car and drive to Miami where we spend a few days before flying out from there.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to reading anything that people recommend!

Mike and Jo x

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. Let's start with a couple of things you've already done, or are planning to do, right. The first is to hold off on renting your car until you are ready to leave New York City. There's no point to picking it up at the airport (more expensive) and paying to park it (also expensive) for the few days that you'll be in New York City where public transportation (relatively cheap) is available, mostly the subway. You can probably also get the one way drop-off fee (and young driver fee?) waived if you book the car through a European consolidator such as Europcar or Rentalcars. The other thing you got absolutely right was to give yourselves enough time to relax on this RoadTrip and take your time seeing some of the many places worth visiting rather than just driving helter-skelter to places, taking a few snaps, and moving on to the next.

With all that said, there are two possible honeymoon worthy routes down the east coast. I described them previously here. Of the two, I would probably recommend the 'inland' route for you. The coastal route will be fairly clogged with summer tourists in July and the more genteel pace of the Appalachians and South are more in keeping with the tone of a honeymoon. Once you've had a look at those basic routes, we can perhaps suggest some specific sites that might cater to your particular interests.

One decision you'll have to make no matter which basic route you choose is whether you want to visit any of the other major cities of the Northeast (Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington) at the start of your southbound RoadTrip. Doing so doesn't preclude either route south of there, but if you don't want to see them they are best avoided altogether.

AZBuck

If you rent your car after seeing NYC, I suggest you check out and compare the cost of renting from New York and New Jersey. It is often considerably cheaper renting from Newark in New Jersey.

Should you wish to visit any of the places Buck mentioned - especially DC - You may consider not renting the car until you are ready to head to Miami. Like NYC, DC is not particular car friendly, and has good transport. You can take the train from NYC to DC.

Lifey

Wow! Great tips, thanks AZBuck :) and thanks for the car rental tips! All these things I'm leaning is great!

In terms of routes I was kind of hoping we could do a bit of inland and s bit of coastal? I like the whole mountains, lakes and trees thing while Jo loves the beaches and sea :) guess we're going to have to start learning how to compromise!;)

We love our good food and good beer (Ale) so would love to stop in places where they like it just as much as we do!

Ideally we want to relax, see some awe inspiring scenery, eat great food and take it easy. We're not keen on rushing nor are we party/clubbing people.

What would suggest for a mix of two routes?

In answer to your question regarding Philadelphia/ Washington etc. Nothing major is jumping out at me. I guess we're more interested in seeing some different scenery to the UK.

Since you have no desire to see the major (port) cities of the northeast, the northern Appalachians come relatively close to New York City and then gradually work farther west, and you're going to finish in Florida which has hundreds of miles of warm, sunny beaches, it would seem that the best 'compromise' that includes both quiet, wooded scenery and seaside beaches would be to head inland first from New York, and then return to the coast after you've skirted the more urban areas. Specifically I'd look at something like I-80 or I-78 west to the Appalachians, I-81 south to Virginia and the Blue Ridge Parkway, I-77/I-26 south (and east) back to the coast at Charleston SC (a romantic town in its own right) and then down I-95 stopping at some of the many national seashores and wildlife refuges on your way to Miami. Note that the Interstates (Motorways) listed are just for reference purposes. You have the time to use slightly slower US and state highway systems that will get you closer to state parks, forests, lakes and small towns. As your planning progresses, we/you can get into more specific routing and stops.

AZBuck