USA Road Trip

[crystalblue01]

Hi , we’re planning on a 3 week Road trip next July starting in New Orleans and heading down to Chicago . Has anyone done this trip any advice on routes please ? I’ve been reading that New Orleans isn’t a nice place to stay we have an 18 year old .

New Orleans is a nice city to visit for a couple of days and the National WW2 museum is located there. That is certainly worth a visit.

I would ensure beforehand that you are not penalised financially for leaving the hire car in Chicago post road trip.

If I recall correctly only BA fly direct into New Orleans from the UK so this particular routing can be very expensive.

New Orleans and drive North to Chicago? So up to Chicago surely? NO will be hot sticky and horrible. I would look at Philadelphia or Washington to Chicago. Lots of things to see in both those cities before you start and Chicago is fantastic! It’s a gem.

I agree there's a lot to see in Washington and Philadelphia, but I think New Orleans can be fun as well.

Chicago is a beautiful city, I've lived here for 8 years and love it. Happy to help @crystalblue01 with tips for Chicago if you need any.

@Ilovelifeverymuch Just maybe not in the summer?

I've done a lot of driving around the US when I lived there. Some info we need (or at least points for you to think about while planning):

1. Are you hiring an RV or are you hiring a car and staying in motels/hotels? My advice would be car/hotels for security reasons, some parts of the US are less safe than others. Also be sure to get a vehicle with air con, it's not just the southern states that are ridiculously hot in the summer!
2. Have you made a list of the places you want to see between Chicago and New Orleans? How long do you want to spend at either end and how long do you want to spend driving per day (bearing in mind the 18 year old is unlikely to be allowed to drive a hire vehicle over there, as you usually need to be over 25 unless it's a really basic "compact" car).
3. If you're hiring an RV are you going to proper campsites or planning on parking on the road? I'd advise against just parking at the side of the road TBH.
4. Are there any special events you want to catch? E.g. when I was in Oregon I caught a Renaissance Fair which was an... interesting experience.
5. Pack light. I found one carry-on was enough for 3 months in the US for one person as the shopping is so good over there.

General advice on shopping: For shopping, Wal-Marts are the easiest place to shop for most things, but they are huge! Go in with a list or you may well spend hours browsing everything in all the different sections if you've never been to one before. Some of them don't let you take trollies into certain sections for security reasons. Other supermarkets to know about include Safeway (I think these are only on the West Coast) and Target. Target are more manageable. Dollar Tree are their version of the £1 shop, good for cheap mugs, tupperware etc. Walgreens are like Boots and you can buy a ridiculous amount of stuff just on the shelves like strong medications.
For petrol, if you don't have a US credit card registered to a US zipcode you have to go into the kiosk and pay in advance. $25 is plenty of fuel for a normal car, your tank will probably be full before you hit $50 at which point if you overestimated, you have to go back in, queue up and get a refund on the rest. Also the colours on the fuel hoses are different to in the UK so always read the labels!

Oh and paracetamol is called acetaminophen, if you need it.

NO will be very humid but it’s a cool city to visit for a couple of days. Don’t get your car until you’re ready to leave NO though as parking will be very expensive and it’s a very walkable place. Agree with the recommendation for the WW2 museum and also a cemetery tour. You can also just spend time wandering around the French quarter, it’s cool to look at. Bourbon street is an “attraction” but a bit boozy. There’s really good music on Frenchman’s Street if you like music.

Going north, you could visit Memphis for a couple of days. I don’t have recs, but my daughter goes there (her friend lives there) so she probably has some.

Then you could opt for going towards Nashville or St Louis, both have lots to offer. If you go towards Nashville, next stop could be Louisville or Lexington, home of bourbon and racehorses.

And Chicago is chock full of things to do, but again, parking costs will be colossal downtown, so plan on ditching the car as soon as you’ve seen the things that you need to drive to. You can cover a lot of ground around the city by foot or public transport. And the El goes straight to the airport when you’re ready to go home.

I’ve travelled from Nashville, Memphis, Clarksdale, Vicksburg, Natchez to New Orleans - you could obviously do this in reverse.

New Orleans is a great city with lots to see and do. WW2 museum as others have said, garden district, riding the streetcars, cemeteries, ghost walks, swamp tours, Segway tours, lovely streets to wander around, drive out to a plantation. There are plenty of nice places to stay, but I’d probably avoid Bourbon St as it will be a bit on the rowdier side.

From there head north on the Natchez Trace Parkway passing through Natchez, Vicksburg & Clarksdale towards Memphis. Maybe stay a night in the Shack Up Inn.

Spend a few nights in Memphis. Go to Graceland, Sun Studios & the fantastic Civil Rights Museum. Eat fried chicken at Gus’s and BBQ at Central BBQ. Go see the Peabody Ducks.

Nashville is also amazing but I spent a lot of time in the honky tonks, not sure if they allow children at any time but still lots to see & do. Go see the Grand Old Opry, visit Bluebird Cafe, Country Music Museum, spend some time in 12 South area.

From Nashville you could head east towards Pigeon Forge & go to Dollywood, spend some time in the Smoky Mountains.

Then north towards Louisville, Ky before heading to Chicago.

@Vanillalime Nashville is not Chicago. What you describe is a traditional southern route. Loads of holiday companies suggest exactly that route. Going all the way up to Chicago is quite unusual. Although perfectly possible. Nashville could also be a starting point. Or Atlanta.

I am somewhat against the suggestion of buying stuff you don’t intend to keep in the USA just because it’s cheap. Take your own clothes and what you need as far as possible from the uk. Buying stuff to ditch at the end of a holiday is just adding to
waste.

@TizerorFizz I’m well aware Nashville is not Chicago, having visited both in recent years 😂😂😂

I suggested the OP may want to do a similar trip to one I’ve done in the past (in reverse) but also add in a visit to Smoky Mountains & Louisville which would take her towards her end destination of Chicago. It is a traditional route offered by holiday companies for a reason.

Nashville or Atlanta would not be a good starting point at all, since New Orleans is to the south & Chicago to the north. And I assume when you suggested Washington you meant Washington DC?

@Vanillalime ok. But most of your post wasn’t about getting to Chicago. Your basic itinerary is fine for me though.

I’d leave out NO and start in Nashville and head up via Smoky Mountains too. The Blue Ridge Mountains are also possible. I think there’s so much to see in the south, I’d do it separately and not then rush off to Chicago. Three weeks would not be enough to see everything or anything in much detail. Depends how long you like spending in a car too. We are more into savouring what we see and not rushing on through.