Road trip recommendations

W

willem

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Hi all,

For my 40th birthday I was lucky to receive a symbolic plane ticket to the US (I live in the Netherlands) and go on my so desired zoo road trip! And that's where my challenge started. Because the opportunities seem endless with so many great zoos (and the enormous distances between them compared to compact Western Europe), and I have approximately two weeks (flight time including). So where to begin..?!

First of all, because I've been to New York a couple times before, there's no desire for me to go to the Bronx Zoo (or any other zoo in that region). Inspired by the "50 must see zoos of the US"- and "100 must see exhibits of the US"-threads, there are some zoos/aquariums that I definitely would like to visit:
- Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
- Saint Louis Zoo
- Georgia Aquarium

When I plotted these on Google maps I found the following route:
- Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
- Kansas City Zoo
- Saint Louis Zoo
- Memphis Zoo
- Nashville Zoo
- Georgia Aquarium

And then.... fly to San Diego to visit San Diego Zoo (had the luck to visit this a couple of years ago, but would love to visit again!), San Diego Safaripark and Seaworld San Diego.

I tried to fit in the zoos/Shedd in/around Chicago, but that seems too much. Please, if I would like to see the best the US has to offer when it comes to world class zoos, what would be your pick and/or route?

Thank you very much in advance! As you may read already, I am not a native english speaker, so I hope I don't sound to gready or spoiled! Just would like to hear your thought! :)
 
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Unless you have a reason to visit Georgia Aquarium (like the whale sharks) I may suggest to think about subbing out that and instead fly from Nashville to San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose and see Monterey Bay Aquarium instead, then head south to San Diego by flight, which are cheap between California cities.

If you are going to stop in Atlanta for the aquarium then you may want to add Zoo Atlanta to see the pandas, they may not be there much longer. Also, if you are driving from Nashville to Atlanta you could add in the Tennessee Aquarium and Chattanooga Zoo - you basically have to drive through Chattanooga to get to Atlanta. The aquarium is the better destination, but if you are there you may as well do the zoo as it is small.

Definitely get a membership at one of the zoos to take advantage of the AZA discounts when possible.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Unless you have a reason to visit Georgia Aquarium (like the whale sharks)
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That’s exactly the reason I would like to go there! :)

Thank you very much for your membership advice and suggestions! I’ve been to Monterey (and not thát fond of aquariums), so I will exclude that one.
 
I have made the drive from Omaha to Memphis and back with a pit stop for the Saint Louis within 3 days and did both Saint Louis and Memphis Zoos in there. In fact, you could easily drive from Omaha to Memphis in a day (long drive though). So being able to stop a day at each of those zoos is definitely do-able.

Could easily do:
Day 1: Omaha and then travel the 2.5 hours down the road to KC.
Day 2: KC Zoo then 3.5 hours across the state to St Louis
Day 3: Saint Louis Zoo and then 4 hour drive to Memphis
Day 4: Memphis Zoo and then 3 hour drive to Nashville
Day 5: Nashville Zoo then 4 hour drive to Atlanta
Day 6: Georgia Aquarium

You could easily knock off those big 6 in six days and have a week to spare. Granted, that would be a lot of car time and quick overnights. Atlanta also has the benefit of direct flights to San Diego.

Getting to Omaha from Netherlands shouldn't be too bad, Omaha has many flights into the major hubs every day that a connection would be easy. Omaha usually has at least 5 flights a day to Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Chicago (Both Midway and O'Hare). I've actually taken a flight from Omaha to Amsterdam with a short stop in Minneapolis in the past.
 
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Make sure you take a look at flight prices while planning. I spend a lot of time thinking of possible trips and it's amazing how much some flights cost. Some places I really want to visit - with major cities - I can't find for less than $300+, sometimes $500+ (one of those places is Kansas). Also, get an idea of how far you can comfortably drive in one day. A few of us will do trips that involve driving 10+ hours a day, but to the average person, that's absurd.

It's good that you have an idea of some places you want to see, but put them in a list of which is the highest priority. Doing Atlanta, Omaha, and the San Diego area in one trip probably isn't feasible. The three major parks in San Diego are each a full day, really, plus you would need to likely allow a day on each end for flying (flights these days tend to be really early, really late, or cost at least twice as much to travel during normal hours, so it's difficult to do a zoo visit and fly on the same day, unless you're okay with getting up/going to bed at ridiculous hours).

Are you just looking to visit major zoos? Or are there specific species you'd want to try and see?
 
TinoPup said:
It's good that you have an idea of some places you want to see, but put them in a list of which is the highest priority. Doing Atlanta, Omaha, and the San Diego area in one trip probably isn't feasible. The three major parks in San Diego are each a full day, really, plus you would need to likely allow a day on each end for flying (flights these days tend to be really early, really late, or cost at least twice as much to travel during normal hours, so it's difficult to do a zoo visit and fly on the same day, unless you're okay with getting up/going to bed at ridiculous hours).

Are you just looking to visit major zoos? Or are there specific species you'd want to try and see?
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Thanks for your help! Yes it all seems a bit too much, I agree. But then again, it is very diffucult where to cut. :)

Mostly I would like to visit just major zoos, preferably with animals that you won’t see (much) in Europa with Platypus, whaleshark and manta ray as extreme examples. But ofcourse; if you recommend little gems en route, I would love to hear them!
 
9 full-day zoos in 14 days with minimums of 3-5 hrs of driving each day and a flight involved sound too ambitious imo, especially for someone who isn't from the country. Have you done such zoo-heavy trips in Europe and are you confident you won't get burnt out? Are you familiar with driving in the US? I also assume you won't be doing any other activities besides seeing zoos because you would not be able to fit anything in, even just walking the downtown of a city, because of the long hours of driving and the likely fatigue you'd experience.

Since Platypus, Whale Shark and Mantas are your main focus, I'd recommend saving Omaha/St Louis for a different trip and doing a week in Georgia and Tennessee and then flying out to San Diego to finish the trip. You can add Zoo Atlanta, Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, maybe even Knoxville into the trip and then in California possibly even visit Los Angeles or the Living Desert. But this is just my opinion. I'm not familiar with you and maybe you are the type who can drive for hours in unfamiliar territory.

Atlanta and San Diego are also beautiful cities worth visiting for non-zoo stuff and I've heard Nashville is great as well. Something to consider also.
 
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willem said:
Thanks for your help! Yes it all seems a bit too much, I agree. But then again, it is very diffucult where to cut. :)

Mostly I would like to visit just major zoos, preferably with animals that you won’t see (much) in Europa with Platypus, whaleshark and manta ray as extreme examples. But ofcourse; if you recommend little gems en route, I would love to hear them!
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I struggle a lot with trip planning, I want to go everywhere and it's always another hour or two more to get to another great place, and then an hour from there... from my location, driving to the great lakes states and Missouri (still haven't made it to any of those) involves driving through Columbus and Cincinnati, and how could I not want to stop at those again?? It's difficult for sure!

Atlanta is a major airline hub, so if those are your priorities, I'd suggest focusing on there and San Diego. In California there's Living Desert, Aquarium of the Pacific, Los Angeles Zoo, and some other highlights within a few hours. From Atlanta you can do Chattanooga, Knoxville and that area, or into Alabama and Florida. Another thing to keep in mind, rental companies often include upcharges for going to different states.
 
willem said:
Hi all,

For my 40th birthday I was lucky to receive a symbolic plane ticket to the US (I live in the Netherlands) and go on my so desired zoo road trip! And that's where my challenge started. Because the opportunities seem endless with so many great zoos (and the enormous distances between them compared to compact Western Europe), and I have approximately two weeks (flight time including). So where to begin..?!

First of all, because I've been to New York a couple times before, there's no desire for me to go to the Bronx Zoo (or any other zoo in that region). Inspired by the "50 must see zoos of the US"- and "100 must see exhibits of the US"-threads, there are some zoos/aquariums that I definitely would like to visit:
- Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
- Saint Louis Zoo
- Georgia Aquarium

When I plotted these on Google maps I found the following route:
- Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
- Kansas City Zoo
- Saint Louis Zoo
- Memphis Zoo
- Nashville Zoo
- Georgia Aquarium

And then.... fly to San Diego to visit San Diego Zoo (had the luck to visit this a couple of years ago, but would love to visit again!), San Diego Safaripark and Seaworld San Diego.

I tried to fit in the zoos/Shedd in/around Chicago, but that seems too much. Please, if I would like to see the best the US has to offer when it comes to world class zoos, what would be your pick and/or route?

Thank you very much in advance! As you may read already, I am not a native english speaker, so I hope I don't sound to gready or spoiled! Just would like to hear your thought! :)
Click to expand...
I would pick one of the two major zoos: San Diego or Omaha. It may just be that I much prefer driving, but the flight in the middle seems overkill to me, so I'd start at one of the two zoos and drive to Atlanta. The zoos you listed are good ideas for a drive Omaha to Atlanta, but alternatively by starting in San Diego you could hit Phoenix, ABQ Bio Park, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Nashville. The San Diego one would be more driving, and would not be the one I recommend, but if San Diego is truly your top priority then it is an option (know that San Diego is also the most expensive zoo in the country- once you exclude theme parks and those will extremely limited visiting opportunities. I'd consider your budget with whether or not San Diego is worth it or not).
Either trip has a number of smaller zoos along the way you could hit as well. When deciding what zoos to visit, in order to give the best help possible it'd be nice knowing your big animal interests. The US is full of various unique smaller zoos and specialist facilities that oftentimes do really great work with specific groups of animals, so there might be some places worth visiting based on your individual interests that aren't amongst the major zoos.
 
Neil chace said:
I would pick one of the two major zoos: San Diego or Omaha. It may just be that I much prefer driving, but the flight in the middle seems overkill to me, so I'd start at one of the two zoos and drive to Atlanta. The zoos you listed are good ideas for a drive Omaha to Atlanta, but alternatively by starting in San Diego you could hit Phoenix, ABQ Bio Park, Oklahoma City, Memphis and Nashville. Either trip has a number of smaller zoos along the way you could hit as well. When deciding what zoos to visit, in order to give the best help possible it'd be nice knowing your big animal interests. The US is full of various unique smaller zoos and specialist facilities that oftentimes do really great work with specific groups of animals, so there might be some places worth visiting based on your individual interests that aren't amongst the major zoos.
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Driving completely across the country isn't a great idea for a foreigner in a rental who only has 12 days...
 
SusScrofa said:
9 full-day zoos .…to consider also.
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Thank you very much your reply and thoughts! I agree, it is a lot and to be honest: This would be by far the most intense zoo trip I ever did. My heaviest zoo trips up till now were much shorter, lasting less then a week. But then again, I won’t get many oppurtunities like this, I like driving and I am a bit used to driving in the US (5 years ago I drove from San Fransisco via Las Vegas and Grand Canyon to San Diego and from Fort Lauderdale to Key West.

TinoPup said:
I struggle a lot with trip planning, I want to go everywhere and it's always another hour or two more to get to another great place, and then an hour from there... from my location, driving to the great lakes states and Missouri (still haven't made it to any of those) involves driving through Columbus and Cincinnati, and how could I not want to stop at those again?? It's difficult for sure!
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I see exactly what you mean! “What is 3hrs and one zoo more?!” :)

Neil chace said:
I would pick one of the two major zoos: San Diego or Omaha.
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Thank you very much! That’s also an interesting suggestion…
 
Please do not try to drive between San Diego and Atlanta. You would have to spend almost all your waking hours driving. Omaha to Atlanta might be manageable without the California arc. A trip from San Diego to Monterey Bay and San Francisco might be doable. Or you could just stay in Southern California. Between San Diego, Los Angeles, and the Joshua Tree and Catalina Islands National Parks you could easily fill fourteen days. That also gives you some wiggle room if you ever get up and just decide to stay in the hotel all day. That happens to me sometimes on longer trips.
 
willem said:
Tickets are booked! I have 12 full days around Chicago and 3 for San Diego. Thank you very much for all your input!!!
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12 around Chicago, is that driving to the other cities on day trips and staying in Chicago or just starting in Chicago and driving to and staying in the other cities on your list?
 
12 days with a rental car (and/or strategic Amtrak use) could get you out to Milwaukee, St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit and Toledo. Maybe Omaha. Just not all of those if you don’t want to blow all your money on gas and train tickets. In Chicago itself you have a very solid trifecta with Lincoln Park, Brookfield, and Shedd as well as some great museums in Field and Science & Industry. You could also take the South Shore Line out to Indiana Dunes National Park. I don’t live in Chicago, just near it, but someone else might have more advice.
 
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