Week trip from Philly to Ft. Worth (and back)

[karenj2]

Hi all - I'm new here, just found this place, but it looks like it has some great information!

My younger sister just relocated to Ft. Worth, and I'd like to take a road trip from the Philly area to visit her. The folks going would be either just my hubby and I, or hubby, me, and my older sister, her hubby, and nephew (8) and niece (4). We'd probably only have a week to get down there, hang out and come back.

I've a few questions for you folks, if you don't mind helping me out...

1) What's a reasonable amount of time to drive each day (including pee breaks and meals, not including any side trips)? (Are there any sites that break up a road trip like that??) How many hours should a person drive before switching off?

2) Can you recommend any particular routes, or sites to help me with routes? Although the goal is to get to visit my younger sister, I don't want to miss out on the parts of the country I haven't seen just to get there quickly...

3) Should we rent a vehicle, or drive our own? (I'm also trying to decide if we should make it a camping/RV trip, too.)

4) Are there any other good sites out there for help? (I already have AAA bookmarked...)

Thanks in advance!!

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

Basically, at over 1,500 miles one-way, you're looking at 6 days just to make the round trip drive with time for a reasonable paced day and time to see one or two things each day. Now if by a week you mean 7 days, then I'd have to say that it really doesn't make sense for you to do all that driving for one day with your sister. If, however, you mean 9 days (with an extra weekend) then it makes more sense: 3 days down, 3 days there, 3 days back. Even at that you'll need to plan on spending about 9-10 hours a day on the road. You can split that up however you're comfortable, but generally it's a good idea to take a break for a little exercise break every 2-3 hours and that can be a convenient place to trade driving chores.

Your basic route would be I-81/I-75/I-59/I-10. That's fairly scenic route in its own right and will also bring you close to some national parks, historic sites, and great cities. Cost-wise, nothing is going to beat using your own vehicle. If you don't think it's up to the trip, then a rental would make sense, but an RV is simply not going to be cost effective for a trip this short.

AZBuck

[karenj2]

Thanks for the info... I could probably go up to 10 days (2 wknds and one week), but I only get 10 weekdays total vacation at work, and I've got other things I've got to take off for.

I have driven 8-11 hours (with breaks) with no other drivers, so we could make the trip down shorter, spend 3-4 days with my younger sister, then take a bit longer driving home (to see the sites). That wouldn't be possible if my older sister and her family comes, 'cause they have young kids (and we'd need more potty breaks.)