Driving from New York to Miami

[frostyfingers]

There is a possibility we will be doing this trip next year. Has anyone done this? I've never been to the US so have no idea about the roads/driving/accommodation en route, good places to see etc. I have done a bit of research but there isn't much info that really helps as yet.

Ideas welcome!

Smithsonian, Lincoln Memorial, capital hill, bits of Appalacia, Charlotte NC, JFK space centre.

I've done Washington to Central Florida several times. We go straight down I95 all the way, which you could also do from NY but it's not really the way to go if you want scenery on route, but it is a breeze to drive on.

We don't book hotels in advance, there are hundreds of places to stay just off I95 so we just stop when we feel like it. Each turn off is marked with signs showing you what hotels are avalible there (along with gas stations and places to eat). We have only once had trouble finding a room and then it only took us three hotels to eventually find one, I wouldn't leave it to chance like that in the UK or Europe but the U.S. seems awash with hotels.

I'd recommend spending a day or two in Washington, the Smithsonia museums are worth a visit and there's so much to see you'll need more than a single day. In Florida obviously you'll go past Orlando so if you're so inclined you could visit the theme parks. There's also Kennedy space centre which is a good days worth of a visit, the beaches (I like Cocoa beach) and plenty of places offer airboat tours of the swamplands.

HTH, if you want any more detailed info feel free to PM me.

Fab, thank you. I'll enjoy planning this I think, and will make a note of what you've recommended. I was thinking of allowing 5 days - we're meeting someone in Miami on the Friday night, does that sound doable without rushing too much? It won't be our whole holiday, just the beginning bit as we're staying in Miami for about a week then moving on for another week to somewhere as yet unknown!

Agree with leaving a bit of time for DC as it is museum and monument Central. The Holocaust Museum is really worth while - emotional as you'd expect - but extraordinary.

Yep! It's a very straightforward drive. But DO NOT speed as you'll presumably have a car with NY plates and the i95 is literally crawling with police pulling over the New Yorkers from Virginia onwards!