five days spare in Atlanta

At the end of May my wife and I will be dropped off at the Airport having just completed an organised tour of Memphis, Chatanooga, Gracelands etc ,the rest of our party will be flying home but we have extended our trip by 5 days, on the last day we will get back up to atlanta the night before to ensure we catch our flight.

Question where should we go for three nights? We visited Charleston two years ago and loved that, is savannah very similar? Can we get to New Orleans %26amp; back?

thanks for any Advice

JS

five days spare in Atlanta

You would be doubling back if you came to Atlanta from Memphis and then drove back to New Orleans. I think Savannah and Charleston are much better experiences than New Orleans. Savannah is a good choice as is a beach location at the end of May. It depends what kind of experience you%26#39;re looking for.

five days spare in Atlanta

I am going to take a weekend trip to Altanta in May and I%26#39;m going to take a day trip to Warm Springs. You can visit were Roosevelt stayed to have his therapy. We are also going to the Jimmy Carter Presidential library.

Hope you have great time what ever you do.

Thanks for the advice, our tour is actually, Atlanta, Chatanooga, Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta by coach so no driving. We plan to hire a car at Atlanta airport and return 5 days later, where to go in between? Not sure about Savannah but would like to see New Orleans, I see on Google maps its a 7 hour drive, is there a good stopover on route, I have heard most of the route CITY AND TOWN names before but dont know much about them?

thanks

JS

If you have your heart set on New Orleans, and you%26#39;re getting dropped off at the airport anyway from your coach tour, you could fly instead of driving -- r/t airfare from Atlanta typically runs $160-$170 for a 21-day advance purchase ticket. Car rental and gas (at least $100 for 50 gallons or so for a 1000 mile round-trip) are going to come close to that anyway, and you%26#39;re looking at a 2-hour flight instead of a 7 hour drive.

If you don%26#39;t mind taking even longer and having no flexibility at all about when you go, you could take the train (Amtrak) -- New Orleans is one of the few places you actually can get to from Atlanta by train. Fares would start at about $116; each way, the train will leave in the early morning and arrive at the destination about 12 hours later (there%26#39;s only one train a day in each direction).

Savannah%26#39;s a great town, and if you loved Charleston you should love it as much or more -- they%26#39;re alike, but just different enough that seeing one doesn%26#39;t mean you%26#39;ve seen %26#39;em both. It%26#39;s about a 4 hour drive or a one-hour flight (Delta has several flights daily -- fares start around $130 r/t).

I would go one of two ways after a whirl-wind tour, so that I could just take some time to relax. Either visit one of the beaches on the pan-handle of Florida (Destin - one of the best close beaches) or GA (Cumberland Island to see the wildlife); or i would rent a cabin in the Smokey MTn National Park Area (Tennessee). Both areas are about the same driving distance from Atlanta.

I think you%26#39;ll find most people on this board will steer you to Savannah over New Orleans. If you want a different perspective, try posting the same question on the New Orleans forum.

I don%26#39;t think you could go wrong either way. Savannah is simply beautiful. You%26#39;re correct that it%26#39;s quite similar to Charleston - with the British Colonial style very prevalent. New Orleans is very interesting, and beautiful as well. You%26#39;ll see more of a French Influence, and it%26#39;s a bit grittier. If it%26#39;s New Orleans that interests you most, I would say go with that. I have a recommendation for a wonderful B%26amp;B if that interests you.

It%26#39;s a drive, but frankly I%26#39;ve driven to New Orleans for trips lasting 2-3 days, and a 5 day trip definitely makes the drive worthwhile. You%26#39;ll probably want a car when you get there.

I think you would be hard-pressed to fill 5 days sight-seeing in Savannah, but if you just want to spend some time relaxing or going to the beach that would be a nice trip.