Favorite Southeast vacation spots

[smilie]

What are your favorite vacation spots in the southeast? We live in SC so I'm looking for someplace within driving distance for a family of five that has things to do and also a place where you can just be lazy.

Any ideas?

 

[ftbaker1313]

For lazy times I like the ocean and would recommend Holden beach or Ocean Isle. For a more active vacation, Pigeon Forge with DollyWood is a good one.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

A few places for my family. We live in the DC/Baltimore, MD suburbs.

1. Gulf coast of Florida - Clearwater/Largo/St. Pete Beach/Pinellas County. So laid back, wonderful seafood, beautiful beaches. Bike friendly. It's my favorite place to be in April.

2. OBX - specifically, Hatteras Island and Rodanthe/Waves/Salvo. I've had many wonderful weekend and week-long vacations there - even in March. Fantastic in the summer.

3. Savannah, GA - Good eats, beautiful city, nice people.

4. Great Smokies or I'll second Townsend/Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Sevierville - so much fun, plenty to do/fun shopping, beautiful hikes. Never been to Dollywood though

 

[mmbrad02]

We loved Savannah when we visited a few years ago. We went to Outer Banks this past summer and that really grew on us as the week went on. My inlaws just went through Atlanta and went to the Aquarium and said it should definitely be a bucket list item.

 

[loves to dive]

I live in Georgia, just north of Atlanta. My go to places for long weekends are: Jekyll Island they have pretty decent beaches, Savannah my favorite city in the entire US, if you are into history it's great and a good walking town. I'm not a fan of Atlanta but I might be jaded as my family are from Georgia generations upon generations and I've seen it change. I don't like the Aquarium but I'm a diver and aquarium snob, we tried to volunteer to work as divers in their tanks and in order to do so you have to work somewhere else for a year. On the other hand, the Chattanooga aquarium is pretty nice and the city has some pretty fun places to visit. The Georgia State Parks are pretty nice and most of them have cabins and some have lakes. How far do you want to drive? Further south and go to St. Augustine and the Space Coast. I agree with pp that Clearwater Beach is great but it might be further than you want to go. Depending on time of year, the Smokies are fun but are cold in the winter.

 

[mco65]

Tybee Island... right next to Savannah..

 

[MillauFr]

Disneyworld

 

[HeatherC]

We are huge Hilton Head aficionados. Beautiful beaches, miles of paved bike baths, tennis, waterspouts, golf, shopping and great restaurants. We love it and are planning our next trip there right now.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Disneyworld

I find it difficult to have a "lazy" vacay at Disney these days.

 

[soccerdad72]

Hilton Head

 

[NotUrsula]

Charleston. Lots of culture, history, and food; also beaches, if you have a car with you. If the hotels in the historic area are too rich for your blood, stay 10 minutes across the Ravenal Bridge in Mount Pleasant.

 

[lostprincess_danie]

Blue Ridge, GA or the Lake Notelly area is nice. Rent a cabin with a view, visit wineries, take in the small town sights. 30A area in FL is really relaxing in the off season months.

 

[MillauFr]

I find it difficult to have a "lazy" vacay at Disney these days.

Disney is a walk in the park compared to the daily grind of work. It provides just enough stimulation to keep me awake during the day.

 

[JimMIA]

We live in SC so I'm looking for someplace within driving distance for a family of five that has things to do and also a place where you can just be lazy.

For lazy, there are lots of options drivable from SC.

Beach

• Outer Banks
• St. Augustine Beach, FL-- historic area, good dining and things to do, but uncrowded beach
• Florida Gulf Coast between Tampa and Ft. Myers (NOT Ft. Myers Beach)

Mountain - I would stay away from crowded areas like Helen, GA, Cherokee, NC, and the Gatlinburg area if you are interested in just relaxing. They are great, but not "lazy."

• Georgia/NC mountain cabin - My oldest DD just bought a brand new cabin in Clayton, GA and it's beautiful. There is enough there, but very peaceful.
• Shenandoah NP, VA -- Beautiful Appalachian Mountains without the crowds of Great Smoky National Park (most visited park in the NPS system, with more visitors each year than Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite combined)

Lake - There are lots of great TVA lakes in NC, GA, and SC. Grab a nice AirBnB and the relaxation is great. We spent a week at Lake Oconee (south of Atlanta) during Hurricane Irma a few years ago and loved it.

 

[fla4fun]

Maggie Valley, NC can be nice. It’s quieter than the Tennessee side of the Smokies, but there is easy access to nice dining in Waynesville, NC, and it’s not difficult to make a day trip to the Tennessee side for a side trip to Gatlinburg or Dollywood. There are some nice, independent hotels there we have stayed in, and we have also rented cabins there a couple times.

I have also enjoyed Savannah, and Amelia Island, off the north Florida coast, for laid back trips.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I always seem to end up at WDW, we've been to Miami twice and I wouldn't go if it wasn't to see family for ocean fun access. Savannah is on my list though, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil planted a seed and I still need to get there, love John Cusack (& Joan).

 

[hhisc16]

What are your favorite vacation spots in the southeast? We live in SC so I'm looking for someplace within driving distance for a family of five that has things to do and also a place where you can just be lazy.

Any ideas?

We also live in SC and recommend HHI for the beach and Asheville, NC for mountains.
(Disney has a DVC beach resort on HHI as well!)

 

[izzy]

I would home base in Hilton Head for my lazy days, and then take day trips to Savannah and Beaufort SC.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

What are your favorite vacation spots in the southeast? We live in SC so I'm looking for someplace within driving distance for a family of five that has things to do and also a place where you can just be lazy.

Any ideas?

We live in GA and thinking about going to Myrtle Beach. Would you see that going during Spring Break is a really bad idea? Any recommendations for places to stay, would like to be close (walking) to the boardwalk.
We're stll pretty new to GA but we've enjoyed Savannah and Tybee Island. Heard good things about Blue Ridge Mountain area. We'd also like to get to Nashville. A popular destination (and for second homes) for people around here is Destin Florida.

 

[PezRuth]

A thought on Lazy. Perdido Key, FL/Gulf Shores Alabama.