Road Trip from Chicago to Miami

I am going on a three week driving tour from Chicago to Miami and I%26#39;m looking for some information on what would be good to see on the way. My basic structure is Chicago to Nashville and Memphis, followed by Mephis to New Orleans taking in the Missippi River. We then hope to go from New Orleans to Miami. I%26#39;m lookimg for tips on sights to see, cheap car rental and any other relevant information. I%26#39;m also looking to get an idea of lenght of journey between locations and how many days to spend in each place to get the most out of the three weeks.

Road Trip from Chicago to Miami

Keep in mind that you%26#39;ll be paying a surcharge for your car rental because it is a one-way rental. Make sure you shop around on www.kayak.com or similar sites and compare rates. You don%26#39;t need a car while you%26#39;re in Chicago. Plan on picking up the car when you%26#39;re ready to hit the road.

Use Mapquest or Google Maps to see distances between cities. How much time to spend in each city is up to you. It depends on your particular interests in each city.

Road Trip from Chicago to Miami

You could go Chicago-St. Louis to see the city and arch, then cut over to Nashville - looks like about another 2 hourse of driving. Check the St. Louis destination to see if that would interest you.

If you like horse racing you could stop in Louiville, the home of the Kentucky Derby, instead of St. Louis. Again, check those boards for more info.

Also, north of Nashville in Kentucky is Mammoth Cave, a good old-fashioned American tourist attraction for almost 200 years. http://www.nps.gov/maca/ It%26#39;s maybe half an hour off the interstate.

If after Memphis you are following the Mississippi River instead of interstate 55, you could stop in some of the historic river towns including Vicksburg, Natchez, and Baton Rouge. We saw them years ago on a cruise. In fact, you could even consider cruising or steamboating part of the way - I really don%26#39;t know what might be available whenever you are planning on going, or how the car rental would fit in, though. Just an idea!

Definitely visit Mammoth Cave; you can reserve tour times in advance.

Try to travel a bit on the Natchez Trace Parkway:

http://www.nps.gov/natr/

Many possible US Civil War sites to see along the way if that%26#39;s of any interest.