Jersey City, NJ to New Orleans LA: 7-day loop around Xmas time

[Ket_Kim]

Hello there!
My husband and I are planning to take a road trip to New Orleans from Jersey City in our Honda City this Xmas. Although not music buffs, we are County / Jazz enthusiasts and would like to listen to some great music on this trip. We are also interested in Arts and Crafts, theater, as well as nature's unending beauty. Basically, pretty much anything that captivates a curious mind. We can spare 7 days for this journey, and would like to spend at least 2 days in New Orleans. This is our first trip in the Deep South, and we would love to soak up the flavor of the place. We are both comfortable driving in winter, but would like to avoid stepping out in cold as far as possible.

So what do you think? Is this adventure doable in the time we have? What towns/Cities should we cover? Since we are doing a loop- we can stop by different places on the way back.

Advise, suggestions and recommendations are most welcome.
Thank you!

[Lifemagician]

Hi Kim, and Welcome to the Great American Roadtrip Forum.

At more than 1300 miles by the fastest route, you are not going to have too much time to seek out many sites. It is a good two days of hard driving (more work than pleasure) each way. Add two days in NOLA leaves just one day to spread out over the journeys. Should you strike some unexpected winter weather that day may come in handy to sit out a storm while the road crews clear the roads.

For planning purposes, you might find this paragraph handy:

Start with maps. Not GPS, not software, not Google, but real honest-to-god paper maps that show you your entire route, that you can mark up (and erase), that you can stick pins in, and that show something about the land you'll be driving through. Those are your essential tool in any RoadTrip planning process. Start by marking all the places you know you want to visit. Then connect the dots. Then look for more places of interest and scenic routes along the lines connecting the dots. Repeat until you've got as many sites and roads as you think you want.

Most of the attractions along the way - natural, historical, touristy - are marked on good maps, such as those you get from AAA. Maps are invaluable during the planning and essential when on the road. Don't be tempted to rely on your electronics.

Lifey

[AZBuck]

With only seven days, your time is pretty much all used up already. If you keep your driving days to a safe and reasonable 550 miles or so, you'll need two and a half days to drive down and two and a half days to drive back. That plus your two days in New Orleans takes up all of the time you have for the trip. And even at that, one of your 'days' in New Orleans will be split between an afternoon/evening on the day of arrival and a morning/lunch on the day of departure, leaving you with only one full uninterrupted day in the city. About all you'd have time for on your drive down would be stops at a few parks near the Interstates, in your case I-78/I-81/I-75/I-59.

AZBuck

[Ket_Kim]

Thank you, Life magician and AZBuck! So I'm guessing I need 2 more days at the very least to be able to do any site seeing along the way. The map tool on this website has been in credibly helpful in finding places of interest along the most straightforward route. Will do a bit more homework and return with questions. Thank you!