Itinerary Help - Let's start at the very beginning..........

In 2006 the TA site helped us plan our awesome US trip including San Fransisco, Pacific Coast Highway, LA, Las Vegas and New York. Now I%26#39;m looking to plan next summer%26#39;s trip and looking for help to plan a route. There are just a few provisos.

1. We must fly in/out of Washington or Chicago (Air Miles)

2. The trip MUST include Nashville and Memphis

3. I would like to visit South Carolina

4. We would like to be in the US for 2/3 weeks and this will include 4th July

As we have never visited these states before can anyone suggest a route that would allow us to visit them all? Internal flights are fine as is car rental for some of the time. Any other places of interest en route?

I%26#39;ll post this on both the South Carolina and Tennessee sites. Thanks in advance for your help

Itinerary Help - Let's start at the very beginning..........

';That%26#39;s a very good place to start';.

Wow - that%26#39;s a lot of real estate - more than you did in your California-Las Vegas trip.

What is your checklist of must-do%26#39;s??? (ie: specific beaches, museums, etc as it%26#39;ll help us figure out how long you%26#39;ll need in each city - tell us what interests and doesn%26#39;t interest you. Two weeks will be out of the question, and it would be helpful to know which part of the trip you expect July 4th to fall (first few days, middle, or last few days?) And...are you a ';thick of things'; traveler (don%26#39;t mind crowds and the associated traffic - ie - Washington DC would be the obvious choice for Independence Day celebrations, but some might prefer a smaller city with fewer traffic woes)

Next, IMHO Washington DC is the preferred into/out of (I think, by a long shot)

Also...is it ok with you to hit a different city every 2 days? That will be a rush in a lot of places. And what is a reasonable ';drive time per day'; for you? Distances b/w some of these cities are huge. Oh - one more question - would you consider flying into/out of Washington but taking any domestic flights if needed?

Preliminarily - considering 3 weeks -

Washington DC - 3 days - get used to new time zone

Knoxville, TN - 1 day

Nashville, TN - 3 days

Memphis, TN - 3 days

Atlanta, GA - 2 days

Savannah, GA - 3 days

Charleston, SC - 3 days

Asheville, NC - 2 days

Fly 1-way Charlotte, NC to Washington DC (under $100 pp)

Keep in mind some of these driving days will be long days, so although you may not need 3 days in Knoxville I%26#39;m factoring in driving time to Knoxville (etc). Suggesting you get a GPS for your trip!

Re: 4th of July - Washington would be good, but Charleston would be my second choice (esp. if you want a good show with not the traffic nightmare)