Deep South USA -tips & moneysaving?

simonSE15

lynzpower wrote: »

Can you tell me than what the impact of hurricanes might be on our trip? WOuld you say N. Orleans has to be scrapped as we'll be washed away??

NoLa is still worth seeing. There is a festival called Satchmo Summerfest which is good if you're there then. Lots of free stuff on in the Old Mint area. The cemetary walk is good. And the food is great.

Its down to luck whether or not sbad wether hits while you're there. We got a few days where it rained really heavily and driving was difficult. But nothing that stopped us going out. The news/weather channels love making people terrified though. People end up going to Walmart to stock up on supplies like its the end of the world.

The hottest place we visited was actually Memphis, at one point it was 100 degrees at 9pm!

I think we paid around £550 per person for our flights with United.

Moneysaving tip: dont get a speeding ticket! $90 :mad:

lynzpower

Simon

Read your blog!! Tremendous, thanks SOOOO much for sharing, you got some great snaps there, and seems like exactly the sort of trip we are looking at doing. :beer: and at exactly the same time!! thanks too for the Arkansas tip on accom, if we miss out on Gracelends & surrounds motel, then we'll look at that! Out of interest, just how bad ( and we do expect bad!) was the traffic around this time/ place?

I agree about what you say about weather, and the media! I was in Dominican Rebuplic one year and really shoestringing in one of the hotels i stayed in. the only tv channel i could get in English was weather channel from the US. It didnt look that bad but the residents were all moving into thier basements anyway?!

Happy_saver_4

lynzpower wrote: »

...............
Can you tell me than what the impact of hurricanes might be on our trip? WOuld you say N. Orleans has to be scrapped as we'll be washed away??
................................

Hi Lynz,

Don't worry about hurricanes. The chance of a hurricane hitting you in a 14 day visit is almost non existent. We were there years and never had to dodge one. If , (and it's a very very big IF) a hurricane is due to make a land strike in the USA, whilst you are there, the radio & tv progs will be full of it. With loads of warnings days before. If you feel concerned by any warnings, either drive the I10 ( that's interstate 10) and go west. The I10 goes coast to coast from Jacksonville to Los Angeles. Or, drive in a NW direction. Either of these actions should take you well away from the route of a the hurricane.When hurricanes do go over land they lose their power rapidly and generally rotate in a NE direction. If you are well east of the forecasted landfall, stay put and watch the forecasts.

I understand that the downtown French Qtr of New Orleans is still very vibrant and you'll enjoy it. There is still damage in New Orleans but it is now mostly in the outer suburbs

When driving the US roads you will find that the even numbers go east to west and the odd numbers go north to south.

The Southern States is a great area with wonderful friendly folks - just relax and enjoy yourself.

Don't rush around you'll miss too much An old american indian chief once told me " travel slowly, you'll see more"

When an american tells you " drive to the dead end and hang a right" we know it's impossible. But his dead end can be a T junction . :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

PS. If you can't find any cheap flights to Atlanta check out Miami & Sandford (charter flights), Orlando. Its fairly scenic driving up Florida and along the pan handle into Alabama then Mississipi and Loisiana etc. Actually I think it's more scenic than driving S down the I75 from Atlanta.

Murphy_The_Cat

Hi lynzpower, do you know how nice it feels when someone says that I've inspired someone to do something :beer::beer::j:T

I've done a couple of trips to Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Missouri so I'd be able to help you with a little bit (not so much in IN or MO).
My FiL used to live in KY and August used to be that hot at times that he said it was to hot to do anything except stay in an airconditoned building :eek:. Of course, you could use the hottest time of the day to do your driving from A-B.
A MTC tip that definitely isn't MSE, hire the biggest, most luxurious car that you can - if you're going to be racking up the miles, a Focus sized car just isn't fun.

chances of blowouts - very high. But sticking to one course for your evening meal should help a great deal !

hammy_the_hammer

if you are introduced to someones wife and then think you are confused because he introduced them to other people as his sister .....don't be concerned

SugarSpun

The heat is going to be astonishing! I once had a pair of two-inch platform sandals that melted through on New Orleans sidewalk in the middle of August.

Take lots of bottles of water. Twice as much or more as you think you'll need.

nearlyrich

We got married in New Orleans in July (1998) and spent the following two weeks touring the deep south in van (people carrier), it was blooming hot but the aircon was working overtime and it wasn't too uncomfortable.

We went from New Orleans to Biloxi and then to Pensacola, up through Birmingham, Jackson, to Memphis via Tupelo. We then followed the Missippippi down through Greenville and eventually back to New Orleans. I would need to get a map to remember all the places we stayed but we just had flights to New Orleans via NewYork from Manchester and return, nothing else was booked. We stepped off the plane and called a hotel in the French Quarter and they sent a car for us, we didn't have a car whilst in the city just for the tour part. We didn't have any problem finding rooms (we had my two children with us) or places to eat, we picked up maps and accommodation guides from the tourist info places along the way..The TI places are great, free coffee and soft drinks, lots of coupons for hotels motels and restaurants.

There is an office in London representing the Deep South States for Tourism, here is a link for you
I can't recommend highly enough just getting in a car and driving till you find somewhere you want to stay and America is one of the best places to do it, you will have a great holiday and memories to last a lifetime.;)

Happy_saver_4

nearlyrich wrote: »

...................... we picked up maps and accommodation guides from the tourist info places along the way..The TI places are great, free coffee and soft drinks, lots of coupons for hotels motels and restaurants.
............................

Oh so true. They truly welcome you to their bit of the USA.

Unlike the tourist info places in the UK who have a lot to learn from these guys. Most T I's here seem to charge 20p for a town map etc etc and want to give you nothing for free to welcome you and get you to stay and spend your money in their locale etc.

Sorry I rant about the Tourist info offices in the UK:mad:

lynzpower

im hearing so much about TIs in the US.

Im only basing them on what I know of the UK ones and yes Happy saver, you are totally right, its as if most of the time they dont want you there at all and will idly point at a rack of leaflets and thats your lot. TBH this serves some purpose, well its all I know!

Can those among us explain what TIs have in the US. I mean how many aree there. I know of only 2 in london, is it like that eg one or two per major city? Are they privately run like business *some Ive seen in other places are* designed to sell tours. Or something else? Are they usually in a downtown location? Are they a nightmare to find is what IM asking LOL

Also wondering, is it usual that you can hire sat nav when hiring a car, or is this something Id have to lay out for? I have the use of one at work, I couold buy the USA chip for it, but would prefer not to if Im honest, just cos work sometimes get funny about that sort of thing.

mrtg0525

At least Hertz does offer an optional Satnav, but I'd have a closer look at the cost - I always skip this option as I tend to bring my own. It may be worth buying a decent secondhand one instead (something like a Garmin 2610, I've had mine for years and am very happy with it) and get the US maps. At the end of the holiday you could always flog it on ebay.

Also, I forgot to mention - I've never seen a rental place in the US renting out cars without aircon, so I doubt you'll have to pay extra for that.