Destination: USA
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: City Mouse. Country Mouse
THREE TO FIVE WEEKS/BOSTON TO MIAMI
The USA's crowded eastern seaboard packs in as much bustle, culture, history and fun as most visitors can handle.
History buffs should clear their calendar for this intense immersion in the USA's founding cities and seminal events: in something over 1600 miles you'll journey from Pilgrims to Revolution to Civil War to Reconstruction to modern-day politics and culture. Or, skip the boring stuff and just revel in all that is urban and Appalachian about America.
Arrive in Boston, whose Revolutionary history and university life make a fine introduction to the USA. Cruise down to New York City, where Lady Liberty waves to sophisticated, up-all-night Manhattan. Allow four days.
You're not worn out already?! Philadelphia has cheesesteaks and Independence Hall, Baltimore dishes up crab cakes and a world-class aquarium, and Washington, DC is a don't-miss repository of epic museums and national history. Oh, and the US government.
But that's enough city streets. Now take I-66 west to Shenandoah National Park then follow the Blue Ridge Parkway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Relaxed again, preserve the mood by heading east on I-26 to South Carolina's gracious Charleston, and farther south on I-95 to Georgia's sultry, decadent Savannah.
If you need a pick-me-up, Florida's St Augustine has Juan Ponce de León's fountain of youth, while Daytona Beach has miles of don't-wake-me beaches. End your trip in Miami with some sweaty Cuban jazz and a cool mojito.
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