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Lucas and I really, really love road trips (check out our trip to Nashville)! One of our favorite destinations is Orlando, FL. I mean, who doesn’t love Universal and Disney World. We’ve taken multiple routes buy my favorite so far is traveling down the East Coast on a road trip!
Our East Coast Road Trip started in Charleston, South Carolina, and stayed coastal all the way to Cape Canaveral, Florida! We then went over to Orlando to the happiest place in the world. But this post is not about Orlando, it’s about the wonderful places we visited along the way!
- Introduction
- Day 1: Travel to Charleston, SC
- Day 2: Beaufort, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, and Savannah
- Day 3: Jekyll Island, Fort Clinch, and Little Talbot Island State Park
- Day 4: Travel A1A – Ferry from Fort George to Mayport, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine, Marineland, and Ormond Beach
- Day 5: Ormond Beach to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center
- Extend Your Vacation
- Total Cost
Introduction
Our path took us to Charleston and Beaufort, South Carolina, then to Savannah and Jekyll Island, Georgia, and finally through Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona, and Cape Canaveral, Florida. Of course there were many interesting finds along the way between these “bigger” towns.
Most of my choices came from research on Trip Advisor. Make sure to follow me here.
Below, I am going to describe each our our days activities and a brief evaluation. The road trip part of the trip was 5 DAYS LONG and we added two more days of Universal.
We had just received this palace of a tent for Christmas (Lucas could stand up in it!) and couldn’t wait to try it out! So we ended up camping our way down the coast, mainly using State Parks as our campgrounds and sometimes staying in hotels.
Our total ended up being $1300 but that was with the two-day Universal tickets and additional food and hotel costs. If you focused on just the road trip aspect of the trip, it was around $550 with us eating generously and going to the Kennedy Space Center ($60 per ticket).
Day 1: Travel to Charleston, SC
Charleston is around a six hour drive from home so we spent most of day on the road. We arrived just in time for dinner, but if you haven’t been to Charleston before, make sure you wake up early so you can enjoy most of the day in this historic city!
Lucas and I like to drive around and get “lost” to explore a city. We also check out the official tourism website. Charleston’s can be found here. I really like their First Timer’s Guide.
There is a lot to see so it’s best to go on a carriage ride or bus tour. But if you fancy a walking tour, be my guest! Make sure you check out important “attractions” such as Fort Sumter National Monument, Waterfront Park, and the French Quarter.
We checked out the City Market and then ate at the Oyster House. It was absolutely delicious!
Accommodations
We camped at James Island County Park, located between Charleston and Folly Beach. There are many things to do here such as a waterpark, climbing wall, and boat rentals. We enjoyed walking on the trails. The campground was quite nice and the facilities more than satisfactory.
Day 1 Costs
- $40 – Gas
- $60 – Food (Dinner at the Oyster House)
- $30 – Tent Camping (James Island County Park)
Day 2: Beaufort, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, and Savannah
We packed up and got on the road, but if you wanted to see more of Charleston, you could do so in the morning. You’ll be on the road for about 3 hours today.
Beaufort
We woke late and spent our morning slowly meandering to Beaufort, SC, known for it’s antebellum architecture and downtown historic district. After stretching our legs at the Waterfront Park , we drove around town admiring the architecture.
We stopped at a park’s playground for a little while, enjoying the ginormous trees! Our appetite was quite worked up so we ate lunch here. Unfortunately, the great restaurant we had lunch at is closed but check out Plums and Wren Bistro.
We continued on to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. Stop by the Visitor Center to experience some wildlife history and wildlife in action.
Savannah
Next, we crossed the state line into Savannah, Georgia. We had been here before on the way to our honeymoon and stayed at the River Street Inn. We went on a bus tour from someone’s recommendation. The speaker was broken and it was VERY hot.
So this time, we wanted to try something different. We ended up choosing a carriage bicycle tour and loved it! If that isn’t your thing, maybe choose a highly rated trolley tour or walking food tour.
Once we went on an official tour, we explored on our own, including going to Forsyth Park. My favorite thing about Savannah are the live oak trees draped in Spanish moss.
If you want to schedule in some afternoon beach time, check out Tybee Island. Getting up earlier than we did and eating breakfast in Beaufort would allow you to do this.
We decided to go to Lady & Sons (Paula Deen’s restaurant) since so many people in our area rave about it. However, it was disappointing. It seemed like it was trying to be southern but couldn’t quite get there.
Instead, I would check out Joe’s Homemade Cafe and Jazz’d Tapas Bar, the #1 and #5 rated restaurants on Trip Advisor.
Finish your evening with a walk down River Street and/or a ghost tour.
Accommodations
There weren’t many camping options for us so I used Hotels.com to book a night through Motel 6. It was budget friendly and nice for what we needed.
Day 2 Costs
- $15 – Gas
- $60 – Food
- $50 – Motel Room
Day 3: Jekyll Island, Fort Clinch, and Little Talbot Island State Park
Now we started getting to some places we hadn’t seen before. We left Savannah to continue our East Coast Road trip and traveled an hour and a half to one of our favorite places in Georgia – Jekyll Island.
Jekyll Island is one of the most beautiful places! Check out their website to view accommodations and attractions. You do have to pay to get onto the island ($8 daily) but it is so worth it; plus, they need it to keep the island looking the way it does.
There are historic sites, beautiful beaches, hotels, campgrounds, biking trails and so much more. My favorite part was Driftwood Beach. Jekyll Island wasn’t on our original plans so we didn’t have a lot of time here, but we plan to go back in the future!
Next we traveled a little over an hour, crossed the state line into Florida, and visited Fort Clinch State Park. Florida State Parks have entrance fees used for upkeep and programming. If you would like to visit the Fort (yes, you should), then there is another small fee.
We really enjoyed our time here! Also, it’s the starting point for Route A1A, one of the best coastal drives.
We then traveled a brief half hour to Little Talbot Island State Park. We absolutely loved it here! I chose this park to stay overnight due to it’s reviews and beach access. We spent the afternoon and evening enjoying the park.
Accommodations
We loved camping at Little Talbot Island State Park. The beach was perfect and we even had crabs crawling on our tent!
Day 3 Costs
- $15 – Gas
- $50 – Food
- $30 – State Park Entrance and Attraction Fees
- $35 – Tent Camping (Little Talbot Island State Park)
Day 4: Travel A1A – Ferry from Fort George to Mayport, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine, Marineland, and Ormond Beach
Day for is a big stop and go travel day. It starts by driving past Fort George State Park (stop if you want to) and crossing the St. John’s River by ferry! It was so much fun! Check out the costs and times here.
We then stoped at various beaches and attractions along A1A. You can spend midday at Jacksonville Beach or Ponte Vedra Beach.
Then travel to the SUPER HISTORIC city of St. Augustine. It is the oldest city in the U.S. and was colonized by the Spanish. We loved looking at the architecture and historic landmarks.
Next, we kept going on A1A through Marineland. If you want to Swim with Dolphins, this is the place to go! At the time, it was out of our budget but quite a few people recommended the Marineland Dolphin Adventure.
We then headed to Ormond Beach and visited the Andy Romano Beachfront Park. After stretch our legs, we traveled The Ormond Scenic Loop and headed to check out the Daytona International Speedway. We didn’t go on an a tour but we were super impressed!
Accommodations
There weren’t many camping options for us so I used Hotels.com to book a night through Days Inn by Wyndham.
Day 4 Costs
- $10 – Gas
- $50 – Food
- $30 – Beach & Attraction Fees, Ferry Ride
- $50 – Motel Room
Day 5: Ormond Beach to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center
You’ll need to get back on A1A which changes to Route 1. Route 1 is not beachside but it is better than driving on I95.
We got off on Kennedy Parkway, went through Cape Canaveral National Seashore, into Titusville, and back onto the island to the Kennedy Space Center.
Ticket prices are steep but oh so worth it. There are many activities included in the basic package, including the bus tour.
We spent most of our day here and came out feeling like on fire Americans. Definitely go to the Apollo/Saturn V Center and participate in all of the activities. Go ‘Merica!
Day 5 Costs
- $10 – Gas
- $50 – Food
- $120 – Kennedy Space Center
Extend Your Vacation
Next, we headed into Orlando and spent the next two days at Universal Studios but there are multiple options for you. Head back home, journey into central Florida, or keep going down the coastline through beautiful beaches to Miami and the Everglades National Park.
Total Cost
- $90 – Gasoline
- $270 – Food
- $60 – Attractions
- $120 – Kennedy Space Center
- $165 – Accommodations
In conclusion, we spent a total of $540 for the East Coast road trip part of the vacation. Since we went to Universal for two days and had three nights in Orlando, our total ended up being close to $1300 for an eight day trip.