So now that I finished posting about Asheville, Charleston, Savannah, the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains, I thought I would share my itinerary. This was my route: Maryland>Roanoke>Asheville>Cherokee NC (The Smoky Mountains)>Savannah>Beaufort>Charleston>Selma NC (halfway point)>Maryland. It still can be useful as a guide of what to do for a couple of days in any of those places. I did a lot of research on the best things to do in Charleston and Savannah so what I picked belong was sort of the most unique places/things to do in those cities. I know they both have great bars and nightlife but my focus when traveling is on what makes the city unique since I can party in my own city ;-)
Day 1—Washington DC to Roanoke Virginia
Drive 259 mi/3hr 55min
Stops
Virginia Safari Park and Natural Bridge in Natural Bridge Virgina
Hike McAfee Knob near Roanoke, about 8 miles
Dinner at the Home Place Restaurant
Day 2—Roanoke to Asheville
Drive 248 mi/3hr 39min
Stops
Driving through Blue Ridge Mountains
Blowing Rock lunch stop at Bistro Roca
Grandfather Mountain which has Mile High Swinging Bridge, hiking, museum and animal habitats (takes AAA discount)
Check in at Asheville hotel
Day 3— Asheville to Smokey Mountains NC
The Biltmore (make sure to go to the winery there!)
Optional: Black Balsam Knob hike near Asheville
Drive the Biltmore to Cataloochee Valley 45mi/1hr 25min
Stop at a gas station for boiled peanuts
Cataloochee Valley which has elk and an old historic preserved town
Drive Cataloochee Valley to Airbnb in Whittier, NC 53mi/1hr 34
Dine at The Dining Room at the Fryemont Inn in Bryson City
Day 4— Smoky Mountains
Sassy Sunflowers Bakery and Café in Cherokee for breakfast and lunch to-go to eat in Smokey Mountains
Drive to Clingmans Dome 32mi/54 min
Clingman’s Dome Hike
Drive through Smoky Mountains and have picnic lunch
Oconaluftee Visitor Center (historical village, Mountain Farm Museum), Mingus Mill
Oconaluftee Valley Overlook
Optional: Peter’s Pancake in Cherokee; Mingo Falls; Balsam Mountain road near Cherokee—Heintooga Overlook.
Day 5— Smokey Mountains NC to Savannah
Drive 293mi/4hr 31min
Stops
Lunch-- Sierra Nevada Brewing Co
Optional depending on route-- Waterrock Knob (milepost 451.2)1.2 mile round trip; Chimney Rock 84mi/1hr 46min; Pisgah Inn (through South Mountains, Graveyard Fields (milepost 418.8, )
Check In to hotel. We stayed at the B. Historic Savannah. Pro tip—if you park yourself you can park across the street for $10 a day
Park across the street for $10 a day
Walk the squares and head further from town to Forsyth Park
Dinner at Crystal Beer Parlor (the crab stew and peach cobbler are both amazing! Its also haunted)
Day 6— Savannah
Breakfast at Mrs. Wilkes (this place is a big deal. You have to get in line about an hour before it opens to get the first seating)
Drive to Wormsloe Plantation
Drive to Bonaventure Cemetery
Drive to Tybee Island
Lunch options- North Beach Grill or Crab Shack
Optional activities—lighthouse; beach; oatland wildlife center; Fort Pulaski
Drive back to historic Savannah
Ghost Tour. We did Savannah Walks Ghost Tour (pro-tip—Groupon has a lot of ghost tours. We got this one for $5 each)
Leopold’s Ice Cream
Day 7— Savannah
Breakfast at Savannah Coffee Roasters
Owens-Thomas House
Davenport House Museum (They had this available to buy on Groupon)
Forrest Gump Square!
Savannah Riverwalk
Walk the waterfront
Get pralines at Savannah’s Candy Kitchen
Free samples at The Peanut Shop and RMC Boutique
Lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack (I know its ridiculous to go to this chain when you’re in Savannah, but it was right on the water! And we only wanted to grab some soup)
Optional—food tours are popular in Savannah. I always feel like you can do your own food tour for much cheaper! I would recommend going to the following places and grabbing something small to split for doing your own food tour:
Smith Brothers Butcher Shop (good sausage), Cha Bella, Walls BBQ, Kunzis Express (chicken sandwich), Our Daily Express (pimento cheese), Mirabella Café (dessert waffles)
Dinner at The Olde Pink House (this place is amazing)
Day 8— Savannah to Beaufort to Charleston
Drive to Beaufort 42mi, 56 min
Lunch at Plums Restaurant
Stops
Angel Oak Tree
Charleston Tea Plantation
Firefly Distillery/Irvin House Vineyard Tasting Room
Arrive in Charleston and check in to hotel
Happy hour—Bin 152
Shop at King Street
Dinner at Husk
Day 9— Charleston
Breakfast—Callie’s Biscuits
Nathaniel Russell House (Budget tip—if you buy the Heritage Pass at the visitor center, it includes all of the historic homes, museums and several plantations)
Palmetto Carriage Ride
Charleston City Market
Lunch—Charleston Farmers Market (Saturdays only)
Shop King Street
Rainbow Road/Battery
Aiken Rhett House
Dinner- Peninsula Grill
Optional—Charleston is a great place for a food tour. Again, you can do your own food tour for much cheaper. I’d recommend going to Another Broken Café (grits); Spice and Tea Shop; Noisy Oyster (Collard Greens); Callie’s Biscuits; and the Sugar Shop
Day 10— Charleston to Selma NC (halfway point to Maryland)
Breakfast—Hominy Grill
Plantation—Drayton Hall
Plantation and Lunch—Middleton Place Gardens
Drive Middleton Place Gardens to Selma NC 254 miles/3 hours 39 min
Day 11— Selma NC to Maryland
Drive home (308 mi/5hrs 2min)
Tip—i95exitguide.com has a list of rest stops, hotels, and restaurants organized by exit and state
Hopefully this is helpful to y'all planning a trip to any of those places! I love road trips, though, since you have the freedom to visit as many places as you want. I am leaving for Mexico for my first 2018 trip and will likely make a post about visiting the pink lake! This year I also have trips planned to go to Colombia, South Africa, and Banff/Jasper in Canada so far so look out for some posts about them as well. I'll also finish writing about Meissen Germany and Prague for my Eastern Europe trip last year and share an itinerary for that as well. Happy new year!
I've been planning a road trip with almost exactly this same route and I love this guide!! It seems we have the same taste in places to go as well as ideas about pacing :'). Found lots of little things to add to my list even though I've done so much research already. Thank you!