American Honeymoon on the road -- in March 2012

Hi there,

I just saw your blog and wanted your advice on planning a road trip in USA

Me and my soon-to-be wife are planning on spending our honeymoon as a road trip to USA (we are from India)

We are both nature lovers and love going for long drives!

I have been to USA on a trip before and am keen on showing her the states, my idea is mainly a cross-country trip with New York as my first stop and ending with Las Vegas

We are planning on leaving India on 28th Feb and leave by 20th March so we have a total of 20 days (excluding the days we arrive and depart)

Can you please guide us on which route to take (preferably the most scenic one and one with good stops), would it make sense climate-wise to travel around this time?,

And any other information you could provide us would be of great help

Thanks in advance

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Thanks & Regards,


Rushabh D


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Dear Rushabh D --

Many thanks for writing in to Road Trip USA, and I hope I can help you plan a memorable "honeymoon road trip" for Spring.

New York is a great place to kick off your new wife's "Introduction to America" -- I'd suggest you explore the city for a few days before you think about hitting the road (especially if you like museums or "culture" -- NYC is truly world-class!)

From New York, you could do a good quick tour of Philadelphia and Washington DC, both of which have a lot of history and culture. Then you could drive west to the Appalachian Mountains, and follow the crest through Shenandoah National Park (I cover this route as the Appalachian Trail" in Road Trip USA.)

Depending upon the weather, which may still be cool, you could drive as far south as Asheville via the Blue Ridge Parkway, which in March is lined by forests of azaleas and rhododendrons -- truly spectacular! After this, there are two great old American cities, Charleston South Carolina and Savannah Georgia, which are usually rated in the "Top Five" US cities; Charleston was Number 1 Best City for Visitors this year!

March is an ideal time to visit Florida, if you want some warm resort-like relaxation, or you could head west, making your way across the Deep South and Texas to Las Vegas. But this is a big drive -- at least a week, realistically, and if the weather is not so warm you may be better off hopping on to an airplane , so you can spend time in the beautiful places of Utah and Arizona (like the Grand Canyon), which are easy to reach from Las Vegas.

If you like nature, Arizona in March is amazing -- lots of semi-tropical birds, gorgeous wildflowers, like paradise. Better than sitting on a highway, for sure!

Texas can wait for another trip, perhaps?

Hope this helps -- and congratulations, and good luck with married life!

With best wishes,



Jamie Jensen
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Road Trip USA