NYC - Miami in 2 weeks!

[the bear]

Hi,
Me and a friend fly into New York on 15th August to start our world trip, the first leg of which is to get from New York to Miami in just over 2 weeks.

We will be spending a few days in New York before setting off via Greyhound bus. The only certain stops we have to make are a couple of helicopter schools in Florida since my friend is considering it as a career after the world trip.

Other than that we are free and easy. I have had a look at distances and times which has made me a little worried that we won't have time to see much as we will be on the greyhound too much. I think it sensible to pick 5 or 6 places en route to spend a couple of nights at.

At the moment I am thinking Washington, Richmond, Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville.

Just in case you suggest it, we fly from Miami to New Orleans from which we have to get to Dallas so we may be able to see Memphis on that route.

Please can I have anyones suggestions about must see places and realistic journey times. Also, if you have any further suggestions for New Orleans to Dallas that would be great.

Thanks

[Mark Sedenquist]

Me and a friend fly into New York on 15th August to start our world trip, the first leg of which is to get from New York to Miami in just over 2 weeks.

Two weeks would be ample time for most of us, but since you are traveling by Greyhound bus, you really need to use their time tables. Those buses stop periodically during a day's travel and it would be hard to extrapolate travel times without knowing those stops.

I think it sensible to pick 5 or 6 places en route to spend a couple of nights at. At the moment I am thinking Washington, Richmond, Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville.

That does seem reasonable but again, we really can't help much because we don't know how fast the buses travel. If I was to hazard a guess, I would think that you could figure an average speed of 40 mph over an eight hour travel day to accomodate the "time-outs" at the various bus stops along the way.

Just in case you suggest it, we fly from Miami to New Orleans from which we have to get to Dallas so we may be able to see Memphis on that route.

Memphis is almost due north from New Orleans and would be a significant detour if you were headed to Dallas...

Once you get to these stop-overs -- how are you planning to get about? Public transportation? rent a car? Walk?

Mark

[the bear]

We are buying a 60 day pass so it will be greyhound all the way. That pass will cover us until we eventually get to L.A.

Greyhound helpfully supply a table of expected travel times between major cities. From this I can roughly work out the travel times between the places I want to go.

NYC - Washington 4.5hrs
Washington - Richmond 2hrs
Richmond - Charleston 10hrs
Charleston - Savannah 2hrs
Savannah - Jacksonville 2hrs
Jacksonville - Miami 8hrs

These are estimates but shouldn't be too far off the mark.

I may fit in another stop between Richmond and Charleston and also between Jacksonville & Miami.

What I am really after is people to point out any glaring errors regarding the time it will take, and amazing places I will miss.

Please also consider that we are on quite a tight budget. it will be hostelling all the way, or maybe even travelling overnight.

[Mark Sedenquist]

We are buying a 60 day pass so it will be greyhound all the way. That pass will cover us until we eventually get to L.A.

OK, so the major distances will be covered by bus. It will be an adventure that few of us, (active on this board) have ever done (traveling that far and long by bus).

The part we still don't know, is how are you planning to travel around (sight-see) in the cities you are stopping at. Bus terminals tend to be in some of the least scenic locations in American cities and you will still need to get out and explore. Some American cities have great public transportation systems (Washington DC, and San Francisco come to mind) most are not nearly as well routed for travelers.

Most of us on this Forum rarely, if ever, stay at hostels and even fewer of us travel by commercial bus --so it is hard to provide personal recommendations to you. I am sure there are other such discussion boards on the Web that would be a better match -- but it is outside of our experience. I guess you will have to be OUR pathfinder and tell us what you find out there.

Mark

[azo]

Thats an 8 hour trip

Its about an 1 1/2 hours from New Orleans to Lafayette
Then 3 1/2 hours from Lafayette to Shreveport
Then 3 hours from Shreveport to Dallas

I have done this trip a few times in the past years, ask if you need to know anything about it...