16 days East coast USA August

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We're thinking of summer hols & 3 teenage kids on East coast - thinking a mix of Washington and somewhere chilled. Know it might be hot further South, but open to suggestions of New York state / Florida. Can either drive or train once there. A bit of sightseeing & a lot of well nourished relaxation would be the ideal!

I don’t quite know why you would start in Washington and then go to Florida or NY State. However I think you are missing a trick by not exploring Virginia. You can head out to the Blue Ridge Mountains, visit historic cities such as Williamsburg and then head to the coast for Chesapeake Bay. This has smaller seaside towns if you look or you could go to Virginia Beach which has everything!

I don’t know the area at all, hence throwing out random suggestions & asking for ideas. Your itinerary sounds great, thanks, will do some research!

How about the New Jersey coast? We travelled 3 hours by car south of New York and found Wildwood NJ. Plenty for teenagers to do (boardwalk with loads of rides/rollercoasters/waterparks etc and huge beach. We rented an apartment through Airbnb which was lovely.

I would also recommend the Jersey Shore with the exception of Atlantic City which is a shithole. Alternatively the Outer Banks of North Carolina or the Virginia coast as pp suggested

Fly into Washington, have a few days exploring DC (loads to see) then drive over to the Delaware beaches (Rehoboth, Bethany Beach). Then from there take the ferry over to Cape May, NJ and start heading up the Jersey Shore back to New York and fly home from NY. Could even take a little detour to Philadelphia. That would give a great mix of cities and beaches.

Virginia is amazing - Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive where we saw bears. Bear in mind the weather - we were in DC in late July and it’s basically a swamp - SO hot, muggy and overcast with frequent downpours. Mosquitoes are also horrendous. Don’t let that put you off - it’s an amazing place! We actually spent 16 days driving through Virginia, NC, Tennessee and down to New Orleans. It was brilliant, but probably more driving than you’re looking to do.

I love Virginia - I used to fly into DC and drive down to Charlottesville a lot, and it is just stunning. Great scenery, vineyards, fab food.

I'd do a few days in Washington and enjoy the museums, then pick up a car and do Skyline drive, civil war stuff, president houses etc and then go through Richmond and then to Norfolk naval base to do a tour, and Virginia beach. On the way back, keep time for the big Space and Aviation museum near Dulles which is amazing

We did a trip which was a week in Orlando and then a flight to Washington, was an hour I think, couple of nights there and then train up to New York for a weekend, flew home from there. Very easy and great mix of things to do.

If you choose to go to Florida, I can’t recommend St.Augustine, highly enough. The city is 500 years old and has so many beautiful places to explore.

I assume you know August on the East Coast is very hot and humid. We experienced a particularly brutal summer last year in New England and it was dreadful up and the coast. Sun cream, lots of fluid and plenty of rest in shade and air con are a must.

We are doing the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway in April. Plus lots of other towns. I am so glad posters are recommending it! Cannot wait. We might be a bit early for bears though but not the wild flowers.

CMOTs suggestions look good. I think Williamsburg is a little nicer than Richmond maybe!

Thanks for ideas. Here's where we are so far, hoping for inspiration!
3 nights NY
4 nights Washington, then pick up car
Maybe 2 nights Charlottesville
Drive up Skyline drive & through Amish country
3 nights spare (?Philly / Virginia beach / Western forests)
5 nights somewhere beachy - maybe Cape May.
Back home from NY