Memphis to New orleans 3 weeks .

castlebarian

I wanted to plan a trip for around 21 days . it is as follows

New York for 3 days then fly to Memphis

Memphis for 3 days then to Nashville

Nashville for 3 days then to Atlanta

Atlanta for 3 days then to Jackson

Jackson for 3 days To New Orleans for 3 days .


Is this a realistic trip in that time frame ? There will be a few going 4-6 people what would be the cheapest and most efficient way of doing it travel and accommodation wise?. Eg Camper or buses and hostels ? Ive done research and the longest distance is Atlanta to Jackson 381 miles.

Is there anything anyone can recommend to add to it or things to do along the way I have given a extra 3 days space incase things don't goto plan and maybe stop off in places along the way like small towns in Alabama etc

How much round trip would it cost don't plan on drinking every night but a good few nights doing activitys etc

Is there anywere we should spend more/less time ?

And please let me know if thiere is things to do for a group of 4-6 males 26-30 years old .

ProudDUB

I'd spend longer in New York and/or New Orelans. I wouldn't spend nearly half your trip in Memphis/Nashville/Jackson. Two days each is plenty for both Nashville and Memphis. I'd skip Jackson completely.

Is there something in particular that you want to do/see/experience while you are there? For example, are you really into country music or blues music? Do you want to see lots of civil war/antebellum plantation stuff?

I've lived in both Tennessee and Atlanta and without really knowing what you are into, its hard to offer up any suggestions for how best to spend your time, or offer up alternatives.

Will you have a car or a camper van? Don't even try to do it by bus. Not only is traveling intercity on Greyhound a nightmare, it will all be on the interstates. You won't get to see a thing.

castlebarian

ProudDUB wrote: »

I'd spend longer in New York and/or New Orelans. I wouldn't spend nearly half your trip in Memphis/Nashville/Jackson. Two days each is plenty for both Nashville and Memphis. I'd skip Jackson completely.

Is there something in particular that you want to do/see/experience while you are there? For example, are you really into country music or blues music? Do you want to see lots of civil war/antebellum plantation stuff?

I've lived in both Tennessee and Atlanta and without really knowing what you are into, its hard to offer up any suggestions for how best to spend your time, or offer up alternatives.

Will you have a car or a camper van? Don't even try to do it by bus. Not only is traveling intercity on Greyhound a nightmare, it will all be on the interstates. You won't get to see a thing.

Thanks for the reply

Havent decided mode of transport yet just weighting up the options. Maybe rent a car and stay in motels ? Or even a camper van which ever works out more efficent and cheaper am open to options to change up the trip if there is any other citys along the way in which you would recommend .

We would be intrested in just visiting lakes maybe a spot of fishing , swimming . Hiking , Seeing local attractions graceland etc . drinking in local bars mixing with the locals , rodeos of whatever is on offer the time of the year will be end of may-june ?

I dont know alot about the deep south but its always somewere i wanted to visit ive been to east coast and west coast already.

Would it make more sense maybe to leave out atlanta and jackson and head over texas way instead maybe start at nashville ?

Would like to mingle with locals and enjoy some of the southern hospitality and food on offer aswel smaller towns along the way aswel would be ok.

Its still in planning so am open to changing anything .?

There will be a few night we will want to be going out on the town and enjoying the nightlife in the citys aswel .

ProudDUB

If you want to go to rodeos, go fishing, hiking etc, you will need your own transport, be it car or camper van. There is no way you'll be able to do any of that via public transport. If rodeos are your thing, yes head to Texas or Oklahoma.

castlebarian

ProudDUB wrote: »

If you want to go to rodeos, go fishing, hiking etc, you will need your own transport, be it car or camper van. There is no way you'll be able to do any of that via public transport. If rodeos are your thing, yes head to Texas or Oklahoma.

Just something i would like to go and see while i am in that part of the world is there anything else you could reccmomend that is worth seeing in that part of the world we will be pretty open and up for doing whatever

so how does this route sound

New York (Visiting friends and Family)-Nashville -Memphis- (Then somewere in arkansaw ?)- Dallas -Austin -Heuston -New Orleans ?

If we need a car or camper then we will go with one the more experianced advice the better

Thanks

ProudDUB

Thing is "that part of the world" is pretty damm big. Nashville is about 800 or miles from Heuston. That is a pretty long trek to go and see a rodeo. You will find very little authentic cowboy stuff in Nashville. It is the financial & commercial capital of the country music scene, but not much more.

If you are really into your music, do Nashville and Memphis. I think Nashville is very touristy and Memphis very seedy and run down, but each to his own. The BBQ is really, really good in Memphis.

If you want to do outdoorsy stuff, Arkansas and Louisiana have some of the best fishing in the country. We have a regular poster here who lives in Arkansas, who may probably weigh in on that soon.

There is not much in Dallas or Houston to attract the tourist imo, but Austin has a cool, eclectic vibe to it, that a lot of people like.

New Orleans is a good place to base yourself, if you want to see sights of the city itself and use it as a base to do day trips of the plantations along the Mississippi, or do a tour of the bayous to see the 'gators.

castlebarian

Ya fishing would be a big part of the trip even just trecking around and bbqs maybe a bit of camping aswel along the way chilling on lakes and the odd night out in a big city . Very easy going on about which big citys we visit would be a big fan of music aswel . Rodeos isnt something we have to see but i would definetly like to see one if it wasnt to far out of the wa on the trip i wouldnt drive a couple hundred miles just to see one . Ive quoted a car a suv with aircon and add 3 additonal drivers it was quoted at around 800 euro for 16 days does that sound right or would you be able to tell me is there alot of hidden expenses when renting a car in usa.?

Smaller citys along the way that are worth seeing aswel i wouldnt mind visiting im really just trying to plan the route now and take the best advice for it . Thanks for your help so far it has been great.

Can you tell me would it be fairly handy to shack up in a motels along the way or would all this have to be booked in advance ?

ProudDUB

I'm not an expert on long term car hire, as I generally took my own car on long road trips, but 800 sounds ok, as long as it includes car insurance and all airports taxes, fees, surcharges etc etc which can really add up if you don't know about them up front. If you book with a travel agent, the quote tends to include all that. If you book it yourself, or do it online, they tend not too. Have you seen what Argus have to offer? I have seen a lot of people here say good things about them & their rates.

If it were me, I'd prefer to book motels along the way, so as to have the freedom & greater flexibility of being able to choose where to go and when and change my mind if I wanted to. Sites like Priceline, Orbitz & Hotels.com let you do that. You'll pay more than if you book in advance, but I've never found the difference in prices to be so huge, so as to make it off putting.

InTheTrees

Motels are plentiful and numerous along the freeways. Obviously off the beaten track they'll be more sparse but I wouldnt bother with booking in advance. Unless its somewhere special.

Remember there'll be an extra charge for dropping off a car in a different state to where it was rented.

InTheTrees

Nashville to Memphis to <somewhere to fish> to New Orleans, sounds like an interesting route. I think you could spend four days in New Orleans easy. Its an amazing city. New Orleans is like nowhere else, well worth visiting.

castlebarian

Thanks so much for the feed back of both of ye its very helpful .

Is there any citys between nashville and new orleans with a good nightlife as we are all young men who would enjoy a good nightout aswel ?

Also any recommendations on the best place to Fish , Hike , Camp , Swim , Nice sights and things to see along the way ?

Would it be reasonable to say a round trip on fuel would be about 800-1000 dollars on fuel ?

Also how much on average is a motel a night just wondering would it work out cheaper to rent out a camper instead of a car and motels .

@prouddub the car rental site said it was 800 euro all in including extras but it does sound a bit cheap to me but maybe im wrong im sure they will have a hidden charge somewere ?

Would you recommend buying a cheap car on craigslist instead or is that sight a bit dodge when it comes to stuff like that ?

rossie1977

you could do a different route ie nashville to panama city beach or pensacola. probably looking at a 6 hour drive for both of those.

biloxi (half way between new orleans and pensacola) is worth a visit if you like gambling. its got a couple of big vegas style casinos. the hard-rock and beau rivage are the two casinos that attract a younger clientele

InTheTrees

castlebarian wrote: »

Ya fishing would be a big part of the trip even just trecking around and bbqs maybe a bit of camping aswel along the way chilling on lakes and the odd night out in a big city .

The south is brutally humid in july/august.

Not that I'd avoid it for that reason. But it can effect the amount of time you can spend outside.

castlebarian

rossie1977 wrote: »

you could do a different route ie nashville to panama city beach or pensacola. probably looking at a 6 hour drive for both of those.

biloxi (half way between new orleans and pensacola) is worth a visit if you like gambling. its got a couple of big vegas style casinos. the hard-rock and beau rivage are the two casinos that attract a younger clientele

Thanks mate will have a look at that now. Sounds like something we would definetly do we did vegas last year .

ProudDUB

Re fuel prices. It is impossible for us here to calculate that. Only you can do that. Google the average price of gas in all the states you plan to visit. (Add in 25-35% as the gas companies always raise their prices in the summer.) See what kind of gas mileage the car you may be driving gets. Calculate the miles per day you will be doing, or the distance between the various cities & that should give you an idea of what you may spend on gas.

Re car - You won't be able to buy a car and tax and insure it, unless one of your party has a valid US drivers license. Unless one of you do, renting a car/van is your only option.

Re nightlife - Depending on the way you go, Jackson and Memphis are the only really night life hotspots, if you go via Tennessee & Mississippi. If you go via Alabama, Birmingham and Huntsville are options, but I wouldn't be holding your breath for a wild time. Biloxi on the Gulf Coast would be your best bet. You are nearly in New Orleans by then though,as there isn't a ton of stuff to do in between.

castlebarian

InTheTrees wrote: »

The south is brutally humid in july/august.

Not that I'd avoid it for that reason. But it can effect the amount of time you can spend outside.

We were planning on going end of may/start of june but id say it will still be pretty humid around then ?

castlebarian

ProudDUB wrote: »

Re fuel prices. It is impossible for us here to calculate that. Only you can do that. Google the average price of gas in all the states you plan to visit. (Add in 25-35% as the gas companies always raise their prices in the summer.) See what kind of gas mileage the car you may be driving gets. Calculate the miles per day you will be doing, or the distance between the various cities & that should give you an idea of what you may spend on gas.

You won't be able to buy a car and tax and insure it, unless one of your party has a valid US drivers license. Unless one of you do, renting a car/van is your only option.

Nice one ya i did a rough estimaite of 4 dollars a gallon and car maybe 20 miles to a gallon ? Thanks i just heard of people before going on a j1 and buying car/vans but there is a good chance they didnt have tax and insurance haha

InTheTrees

castlebarian wrote: »

Is there any citys between nashville and new orleans with a good nightlife as we are all young men who would enjoy a good nightout aswel ?

ha ha ha. No.

Just go to New Orleans. Its like one huge debauched party almost all the time. The area around Bourbon Street in the French Quarter is like a Caribbean version of Temple Bar on a saturday night. Its one of the only cities outside of las vegas where you can wander around with an open alcoholic drink.

InTheTrees

castlebarian wrote: »

We were planning on going end of may/start of june but id say it will still be pretty humid around then ?

I think thats the perfect time to go.

ProudDUB

castlebarian wrote: »

Nice one ya i did a rough estimaite of 4 dollars a gallon and car maybe 20 miles to a gallon ? Thanks i just heard of people before going on a j1 and buying car/vans but there is a good chance they didnt have tax and insurance haha

Students over there on a J1, have a visa that allows them to live and work in the US for 3 months. A lot of states will let you get a temporary drivers license if you are living there, even if you are only living there for a few months. That is how J1ers are able to buy, tax and insure a car, to do some sightseeing. If you are only over there on a 3 week hollier, you can't do that. If you are going over on a J1, then yes, that would be an option for you.

Re fuel costs - There are websites out there that can calculate your fuel costs for you if you are planning a trip. They shouldn't be hard to find on Google.

castlebarian

Ok so I took some advice from this forum on have came up with a new route

New York 3 days

Fly to
Nashville 2 days (Stay in Motel)

Drive to
Memphis 2 days (Stay In Motel)

Camp in Little Rock Arkansas 3-5 days (Maybe head to s similar resort in Louisiana for 2 out of the 5 night to break up journey to New Orleans )

New Orleans 3 days (Motel)

Bolixi 1 Day(motel)

Panama city Beach 2 days


Does this route sound a bit better for hiking fishing swimming and seeing the south and getting in on southern hospitality .

Thanks for all the help so far ye have all been very helpful .

CaliforniaDream

Depending on what route you decide on, you should try take a trip to the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg. It's about 1.5hrs from Nashville. Gorgeous grounds and a really interesting tour. It's free to do but you should tip the guide.
I loved Nashville and would go back there. Wasn't too fond of Memphis but it's worth a night.

castlebarian

CaliforniaDream wrote: »

Depending on what route you decide on, you should try take a trip to the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg. It's about 1.5hrs from Nashville. Gorgeous grounds and a really interesting tour. It's free to do but you should tip the guide.
I loved Nashville and would go back there. Wasn't too fond of Memphis but it's worth a night.

Will definitely look into that thanks very much for letting me know would be something worth going to see . We will be driving to Memphis from Nashville so as long as its not to far of the beaten track it will be visited .

lc180

There is some really good advice here, I did a similar roadtrip a few years back and was on a really tight budget.

The best cost cutting advice I can give is when you are booking a motel, try and find one that has a free breakfast and a swimming pool. Even if the breakfast is only a coffee and a crappy bagel it'll he enough to help get you on the road each morning. The pool is a nice way to chill it after a 5 hour drive!

I did a 7 week trip with four friends, we had a mini van and only stayed in motels/cheap hotels and it was probably the best trip I will ever go on. Enjoy OP!

castlebarian

lc180 wrote: »

There is some really good advice here, I did a similar roadtrip a few years back and was on a really tight budget.

The best cost cutting advice I can give is when you are booking a motel, try and find one that has a free breakfast and a swimming pool. Even if the breakfast is only a coffee and a crappy bagel it'll he enough to help get you on the road each morning. The pool is a nice way to chill it after a 5 hour drive!

I did a 7 week trip with four friends, we had a mini van and only stayed in motels/cheap hotels and it was probably the best trip I will ever go on. Enjoy OP!

Thanks great to hear you had a brilliant time i am really looking forward to it now.

Can you recommend any citys or small towns along the way ?

Also Has anyone got good sites for cheap motels along the way or will booking.com be as good as any . Also if anybody could recommend any motels in any of the above citys i would be very grateful .

Ive went ahead with it and got all the flights and car included plus insurance and dop off in another state between 5 of us is coming in at around 1050 euro .

Ive also been looking into places in arkansas for fishing hiking camping etc and there is plenty along the way .

Thank you all for the help so far if anyone else has any more advice please let me know .

ProudDUB

castlebarian wrote: »

Ok so I took some advice from this forum on have came up with a new route

New York 3 days

Fly to
Nashville 2 days (Stay in Motel)

Drive to
Memphis 2 days (Stay In Motel)

Camp in Little Rock Arkansas 3-5 days (Maybe head to s similar resort in Louisiana for 2 out of the 5 night to break up journey to New Orleans )

New Orleans 3 days (Motel)

Bolixi 1 Day(motel)

Panama city Beach 2 days


Does this route sound a bit better for hiking fishing swimming and seeing the south and getting in on southern hospitality .

Thanks for all the help so far ye have all been very helpful .

That sounds pretty good. Although if you are blocking time off to go fishing specifically, why not do it in Florida? You have the Florida beaches and nightlife to amuse you when you are not fishing. I have been out bass fishing on lakes in Tennessee & I was bored out of my mind. I didn't think the scenery or the fishing itself was all that interesting. I found heading out to do some big game fishing (mahi mahi, yellow fin tuna, swordfish) in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic to be much more exciting & much more of an adventure, but each to his own & all that.

If your budget will stretch to it, stay as close to the centre of New Orleans as possible. It is an amazing city. You don't want to be wasting time or money on treking to/from suburban motels by taxi, if you can possibly help it.

Re the Southern hospitality thing. It's a bit of a cliche, just like an American tourist asking where in Ireland has the best craic. There is no one set place, where Americans start and stop being warm and hospitable people. The more touristy places you go, the more fellow tourists you will encounter & the more jaded the staff may be, as they deal with no one but tourists all day long. The more places you go that the locals go, the more likely it is, you'll meet some authentic southerners.

Check out Tripadvisor for more reviews & ratings of specific places you are thinking of going. You'll get far more indepth reviews of places and more in depth info, than from people on here.

InTheTrees

I would book in advance for New Orleans. Its a big city and you want to get somewhere near the city centre and not be stuck away in the suburbs.

castlebarian

ProudDUB wrote: »

That sounds pretty good. Although if you are blocking time off to go fishing specifically, why not do it in Florida? You have the Florida beaches and nightlife to amuse you when you are not fishing. I have been out bass fishing on lakes in Tennessee & I was bored out of my mind. I didn't think the scenery or the fishing itself was all that interesting. I found heading out to do some big game fishing (mahi mahi, yellow fin tuna, swordfish) in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic to be much more exciting & much more of an adventure, but each to his own & all that.

If your budget will stretch to it, stay as close to the centre of New Orleans as possible. It is an amazing city. You don't want to be wasting time or money on treking to/from suburban motels by taxi, if you can possibly help it.

Re the Southern hospitality thing. It's a bit of a cliche, just like an American tourist asking where in Ireland has the best craic. There is no one set place, where Americans start and stop being warm and hospitable people. The more touristy places you go, the more fellow tourists you will encounter & the more jaded the staff may be, as they deal with no one but tourists all day long. The more places you go that the locals go, the more likely it is, you'll meet some authentic southerners.

Check out Tripadvisor for more reviews & ratings of specific places you are thinking of going. You'll get far more indepth reviews of places and more in depth info, than from people on here.

Fishing in the gulf of mexico for some big fish will definetly be done . Ive found a few lakes in arkansas i want to go trout fishing on aswel .

As for nashville and memphis would we be better of staying as close to downtown as possible or is it a easy comute in and out ? Im sure the extra we pay will nearly be covered on tax rides in and out ?

As we planned on going to little rock for some hiking also we said why not get a bit of fishing in aswel . we have just a provisinal plan done up and that is liable to change along the way im sure we will want to spend more/less time in some places .

Thanks again for the feedback

InTheTrees

castlebarian wrote: »

Also Has anyone got good sites for cheap motels along the way or will booking.com be as good as any . Also if anybody could recommend any motels in any of the above citys i would be very grateful .

I really wouldnt bother with booking motels in advance (except for new orleans), its just going to tie you down.

And especially, unless you get some kind of amazing deal, dont pay in advance, so at least you wont be tied down by reservations of you do make them.

There's many national chains of Motels. They're all over the place. Try searching on Best Western or Motel6.

InTheTrees

On long road trips I used to like driving all night and then checking into a motel in the early morning (if they'll let you! You have to find somewhere they'll let you check in early.). This means you can some sleep, see the local area, spend the night and then leave the next day. Its almost like getting 2 nights.

The problem is that as a tourist if you drive at night you're missing the scenery.

InTheTrees

ProudDUB wrote: »

I found heading out to do some big game fishing (mahi mahi, yellow fin tuna, swordfish) in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic to be much more exciting & much more of an adventure, but each to his own & all that.

I tend to agree. I've spent days on damp lakes in Connemara, flogging a lake.

And there's certainly a hell of a lot more excitement to sea fishing.

InTheTrees

castlebarian wrote: »

Nice one ya i did a rough estimaite of 4 dollars a gallon and car maybe 20 miles to a gallon ?

I heard a story today that gas prices are down around $2.50/gal in the midwest now.

Of course they can go up again between now and june.

CaliforniaDream

InTheTrees wrote: »

I heard a story today that gas prices are down around $2.50/gal in the midwest now.

Of course they can go up again between now and june.

I got my gas for $2.05 in Pahrump last week! Vegas is about $2.30 at the moment. Definitely the time to be road tripping.

I agree with not booking anywhere til you get there. Motels are everywhere and there's no reason to book in advance.
I've not been so can't comment personally, but I work with guys from Little Rock, AR and they say it's one of the roughest places to be. Might not be anything to worry about but something to keep in mind.

castlebarian

CaliforniaDream wrote: »

I got my gas for $2.05 in Pahrump last week! Vegas is about $2.30 at the moment. Definitely the time to be road tripping.

I agree with not booking anywhere til you get there. Motels are everywhere and there's no reason to book in advance.
I've not been so can't comment personally, but I work with guys from Little Rock, AR and they say it's one of the roughest places to be. Might not be anything to worry about but something to keep in mind.

Hey thanks very much the plan wasnt excatly to stay in little rock there is a few campsites and lakes about a hour outside it I was reading up about and its kinda something to do for a few days to get out of the bigger citys . But it doesnt havo be little rock anywere between memphis amd new orleans that anyone can recommend would be great . I done some research on little rock itself and it doesnt look like it has much to offer on a tourist front .

castlebarian

InTheTrees wrote: »

I heard a story today that gas prices are down around $2.50/gal in the midwest now.

Of course they can go up again between now and june.

Thats great news here is hoping it stays low . Do they usually try to hike it up come summer time did someone post earlier ?

MadsL

castlebarian wrote: »

Thats great news here is hoping it stays low . Do they usually try to hike it up come summer time did someone post earlier ?

It's dropping like a stone, currently $1.75 in NM and dropping daily.

castlebarian

MadsL wrote: »

It's dropping like a stone, currently $1.75 in NM and dropping daily.

Cant complain about that and long may it drop more .