East Coast Trip itinerary

[bostonlouie]

We are planning an east coast road trip later this summer with our Motorhome and tow.  We plan on leaving on a Thursday night after work and will drive until 1 am or so.  We will have about 16 days to make this trip.  We will be leaving Massachusetts and was thinking about going south through the Blue Ridge Parkway rather than hitting some of the larger cities (Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, etc.)  would this route take us too far out of the way with the amount of time allotted for our trip? 

Thursday Night Overnight somewhere south 949 Miles
Friday Charleston
Saturday Charleston
Sunday Charleston to Daytona  328 miles
Monday Daytona to Everglades 260 miles
Tuesday Everglades
Wed  Everglades to Key West 209 miles
Thursday Key West
Friday Key West
Saturday Key West
Sunday Keywest to St. Augustine 460 miles
Monday St. Augustine to Myrtle Beach 400 miles
Tuesday Myrtle Beach
Wed Myrtle Beach
Thursday Myrtle Beach
Friday Myrtle Beach to Ocean City 470 miles
Saturday Ocean City
Sunday Ocean City to home 422 Miles

 

[Pugapooh]

It looks like most of your trip is driving.  How much time do you want spend actually seeing the sights?

I can really only speak to the MD/VA plan.  The Blue Ridge Pkway is hours and hours from the coast. 

Is it Ocean City, MD?  Much as I love it,it hardly seems worth it for an overnight.  It is still an hour from RT 13 through Salisbury and then you have to find your camp,disconnect the toad,etc.  you can drive a MH into OC but you can't park anywhere. 

Bear in mind,it is not just miles per day,but how many others are trying to reach the same places for their vacation. 

 

[Gizmo100]

Welcome to the RV Forum jhall6688

That's a lot of driving and you will be very lucky to average 60 MPH ( 50-55 is more likely). And of course  driving a motor home is more stressful than driving a car.

You may need a vacation once you get back home.

 

[bostonlouie]

We've been cross country twice with the Motorhome (once to Grand Canyon and once to Yellowstone from Massachusetts) in just over two weeks each.  We don't mind putting in the miles as for us, that's part of the adventure.  Our main goal is to spend a few days in Key West and a few days in Myrtle Beach.    Tough to spend too much time in any one place until retirement and vacation time isn't an issue any longer.

 

[Hfx_Cdn]

As for the Blue Ridge, most of it is not accessible and/or conducive to a Motorhome pulling a toad.  Several steep hills, twisty curves and low overpasses.  The route works, but as others have said, you will be spending most of your time driving.  We have travelled south to Snowbird in Florida for many years, and there is way too much to see and do, and you will end up driving past it all/

Ed

 

[jackiemac]

Hi and welcome to the forum.  Might be wise to change your profile name so it is not your email.

 

[bostonlouie]

thanks Jackimac... i just made the change. 
In light of everyone's suggestions not to take the Blue Ridge and our ultimate goal of Key West, what would the suggestions be for a two week road trip from Boston to Key West as far as itinerary. 
Thanks all for your assistance.

 

[HappyWanderer]

The last couple of times we went south, we took Route 301 to avoid I-95 and Philly/Baltimore/DC. We picked it up just over the Delaware/New Jersey border, through to Virginia. We just scheduled around DC rush hour.

We loved Charlestown, and could easily spend several days there. A return trip via Nashville is a possibility.

We're kinda thinking about a similar trip from Connecticut this fall, to Virginia and North Carolina. My wife might need foot surgery, and we might spend some of her recovery time on the road.

 

[Pugapooh]

I'm curious what things you like to do when not driving.  I've never been to Myrtle Beach or Key West,so I'm wondering why there and not beaches closer to home. 

Personal recommendations- Ocean City boardwalk,Chincoteague,VA and Assateague,Island. 

 

[ChasA]

I would drop Myrtle Beach. Definitely go to Charleston, Daytona, and Key West. When you say Everglades,  are you speaking of Everglades City, which is on the west coast of Florida?  Or are you speaking of Flamingo whichis in Everglades  National Park and accessed from Florida City, south of Miami.?  There really isn't anything to see in Flamingo  and it may not be open as it is closed for part of the summer. If you're just wanting to see alligators,  you can drive a few miles into the park to the Anhinga Trail where there are many.
I would recommend that you make several stays in the keys. Key Largo, Islamorado, Marathon, and Key West.

 

[bostonlouie]

We've been all over the country with our Motorhome.  My husband loves driving, i enjoy visiting new places and i'm always amazed at how different the country can be just going from one state to another.  We make lots of weekend/long weekend trips locally (NH, Maine, VT, Cape Cod) over the summer but always try and plan one long trip somewhere new each year.  We've been cross country twice, done the smoky mountains (my personal favorite), Virginia Beach many times, Outer Banks, Poconos, Wildwood, Ocean City, etc.  We have very good friends who retired in Myrtle Beach and want to visit with them and see their new home.  We've been to Key West a couple of times on cruises but always wish we could be there for a sunset and check out the area for more than a day.  We travel with our Boston Terrier who absolutely loves the Motorhome and camping.  He makes every trip with me while loading the camper and won't get out of the camper when we get home until my husband backs it in the Barn.   
Made the trip to Florida 34 years ago on our honeymoon.... that time we were in a rented car (neither one of ours would have made that trip) and a pup tent in the trunk.  Thank goodness this time it's with a motorhome towing the mustang convertible just for fun. 

 

[steelmooch]

Hello! 

We did a Pittsburgh-to-Key West loop two years ago over 24 days in June. 

Your >400 mile days would honestly be a concern to me. 

I had the good fortune that some of the folks on here encouraged me to take another look and to re-think my itinerary...our trip was all the better for it. 

1-nighters are tough.  2-nighters are really 1-nighters in terms of getting out to tour/explore. 

The meat and potatoes of our long-distance RV trips so far are the 3-night and 4-night stays.  That's when we forget about driving, forget about setting up and tearing down camp, and really enjoy ourselves. 

Over the course of a full travel day, we end up averaging 50 mi/hr, without fail.  (Granted, that's with low maintenance kids, dogs, and towing a TT.) 

For us, anyway, those 460 mile days would mean between 9 and 10 hours towing, which is a lot.

Depends on the person/people, though.  I dislike very much doing more than 300-350 miles in a day.  We have friends who think nothing of driving 2,000 miles from Pittsburgh to Arizona over 3 days, which would be a "no-go" for us. 

Good luck and have fun! 

 

[steelmooch]

I might also caution you about planning to purposefully take the Blue Ridge Parkway instead of interstates, given the distances involved in your trip. 

We drove on the BRP two summers ago.  (We drove one of the steepest parts outside of Cherokee, NC and it terrified me because I'm afraid of heights...the winding parts without guard rails really messed with me.) 

The BRP is great for 35-45 mi/hr sight seeing...pulling over to check out overlooks.  At least the part we experienced...probably not the best choice for trying to "make good time" or to "get to the next place". 

Good luck! 

 

[HappyWanderer]

I've driven the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive in a passenger car and really enjoyed the ride. I'd never dream of doing it in an RV.

 

[magothy1]

Spent a whole lot of time in Ocean City, Md in my reckless youth and then as a commercial fisherman. It's goofy crowded in the summer, but most places on the east coast are.

As far as a route south, how about down the eastern shore of Md/Va to avoid DC.  Or go down US 301 instead of around DC on the beltway. There's ways to go south using I-81, too. Blue Ridge Parkway would be a white knuckle drive, as has been said.

I live in Beaufort, SC, nice place to visit. Charleston has a lot to see, as does Savannah. If you didn't have friends in the Redneck Riviera ( Myrtle Beach ) I'd say avoid it like the plague.

That said, it's your trip, hope it goes great for you.

Steve