flatfeet2

We will have a total of 12 nights in April for this round trip road trip.

Is it worth stopping for 1 or even 2 nights in Hilton Head or Savannah for a resort break, or just find a no-thrill hotel to sleep and try to drive through? The resort we have in mind are the Omni or Sonesta in Hilton Head. or any other nice place to stop?

We are 2 adults and one 6 year old. This is a nature/wildlife and relaxing beach trip for us. We don't really care for disney or antique/planation type attractions for this trip.

In FL, we plan to visit the Everglades, Cape Canaveral/Kennedy Space Center, and spend some time in beaches in Miami and/or Sarasota. Thinking we will spend 7-8 days in Florida and total 4 days/2nights driving to and from NJ-FL.

Are there any nature/wildlife spot worth stopping for on the way? Thank you very much!

Ackislander

April is too early to go via the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley. The leaves won't be out yet.

Charleston and Savannah are too far to drive safely, and the Outer Banks are too far of your route, thoug full o' nature.

I would stop in one of the usual places like Florence, SC, then spend a night or two at a place like St ?Simons Island, Fernandina Beach, or Amelia Island, then take FL A1A south to Cape Kennedy.

OR (What I would really do) book a flight from JFK to FLL on JetBlue, rent a car, and start your trip there.
Drive across to Sarasota, down to Naples, across the Everglades to Miami on US 41 through the Everglades, then up the East Coast of FL.

emalloy

If you want something different, take the Garden state to Cape May and then take the ferry to Lewes, DE. Drive down the DELMARVA to Chincoteague and visit the National Park. Look for the wild ponies and do the loop road. Lots of deer and interesting birds there too. It's early to go swimming, but walking along the beach if fun too

Then continue south and go across the bay bridge/tunnel and decide if you want to head across to 95 or continue south and visit the outer banks.

Gretchen

Ack's suggestion sounds good. There are a lot of motels around Florence/Darlington on I95 and my NYC friend usually stops there on her trips to FL.
Some other beach than Hilton Head as Ack also suggested.

flatfeet2

Hi, thanks very much for helpful replies. We have never done this drive so let me make sure I understand the suggestions:

Don't drive all the way to Hilton Head coz that's too far, yes? Even if we have 2 people driving?

Do stop earlier than Hilton Head, maybe in Florence or Darlington. Don't choose a beach resort there, just do a simple motel to sleep in, then stop the next night in St Simon Island/Amelia Island etc. once we get to Florida, correct?

Thanks for the Chincoteague suggestion. I looked it up and it looked incredible. But we might be too eager to drive as far as possible on the first day that we won't want to stop after just 4 hours from NJ. We might do Chincoteague on the return drive instead.

Thanks!

Ackislander

My father was a guy.
I am a guy.
You are a guy.

Every one of us would drive past Chincoteague in the interest of getting somewhere.
It is a guy thing.

How about being the one who breaks the stupid guy chain?
Buy your kid the book "Misty of Chincoteague", read it with them, and then go have a magic experience.

When your kid is 16, 18, 36, s/he won't remember whether you made it to Forida in three days or two or didn't get there at all. The memory will be of sharing an idea and its execution with a father. Not a girl? Not Chincoteague? What about a mailboat to tangier Island, where the watermen bring in the shellfish and the ladies bake pies?

Doing the big things is important. I loved showing my granddaughters some of my favorite places in the Everglades last week. But don't let the gotta-get-there, gotta-see-the-sites get in the way of experiencing places with you family or friends. At the beginning of every trip, I have to relearn "Don't ever let the journey get lost in the destination."

Gretchen

I think Assateague and Chincoteague would be accessible to these folks for a different vacation--closer to home, etc.

Don't go to Hilton Head because there are MUCH more beautiful beaches on the coast or florida--and it is too far for the first night. So go as far as you can the first day (maybe even further than Florence) and then go on to the places Ack has suggested for a nice stay