Best East Coast Road Trips for Cheap | Budget Rent a Car

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Looking for a cheap East Coast road trip itinerary? Your search ends here. This list includes all the best road trip destinations on the East Coast of the USA. You’ll find stops in every state from Maine to Florida, including things to see, do, and eat, plus the best roads to drive and listening recommendations to accompany your trip.

 

Maine

  • Must-drive: The scenic roadways of Acadia National Park let you pass by rocky shores and awe-inspiring peaks. Keep your eyes peeled for wildlife on land and in the water.
  • Must-eat: Maine’s professional fishers catch plenty of lobster to satisfy everyone’s craving for a lobster roll, a hoagie roll stuffed with lobster, mayonnaise, and subtle seasoning.
  • Must-do: Spend at least a day in Portland, Maine’s largest city. Stop by the Portland Head Light and Museum for a tour of the historic lighthouse.

New Hampshire

 

  • Must-listen: Pick a great work of American literature by John Irving or Stephen King to take you through New Hampshire. Smaller attention span? Listen to the short story “The Devil and Daniel Webster."
  • Must-do: Go for a hike in the White Mountains. They cover a quarter of the state, so they’re hard to miss. In the winter, skiing and other snow-based activities abound.
  • Must-see: Many local farmers welcome guests for quick and fun activities like picking apples, berries, or pumpkins in season.

 

 

Massachusetts

 

  • Must-do: Plimoth Plantation is an excellent place for a history buff to spend an afternoon. They even have a reproduction of the Mayflower.
  • Must-eat: Massachusetts’s coastal cities are all about clams. Attend a clambake, try some New England clam chowder, or eat some fried clams at a local restaurant.
  • Must-see: Make a quick stop at the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans’ War Memorial in Worcester to see the names and letters of Massachusetts residents who served in Vietnam.

 

 

Rhode Island

 

  • Must-drive: Take your foot off the accelerator and visit the Ocean Drive Historic District in Newport. See beautiful mansions and miles of gorgeous shoreline.
  • Must-see: Snap a selfie at the Jamestown Windmill, which dates back to the Revolutionary War and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Must-drink: Try some coffee milk, Rhode Island’s twist on chocolate milk. Yes, it is caffeinated, so be sure to drink it when you want to stay awake.

 

Connecticut

  • Must-do: Kiddos (or adults who once dreamed of paleontology careers) won’t want to miss Dinosaur State Park. See preserved dinosaur tracks and life-size recreations of the animals who made them.
  • Must-drive: Gilmore Girls fans should trek through Essex. This small Connecticut town could double as Stars Hollow and features antique shops, a bakery, and a charming inn.
  • Must-do: You’ll wonder if you left New England for Old England when you approach Gillette Castle State Park. This castle was home to an actor who played Sherlock Holmes and holds several mysteries of its own.

New York

 

  • Must-drive: If you prefer to bypass the hubbub of NYC, take the Catskill Mountains Scenic Byway. It roughly follows State Route 28 and passes through several cute small towns.
  • Must-see: You don’t have to pick a single building to explore when you take in the full skyline on a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Parking in the nearby Brooklyn DUMBO neighborhood costs about $25 per day.
  • Must-listen: As you traverse the Empire State, tune into an episode or two of The Bowery Boys podcast. The two hosts examine one aspect of NYC history in each show.

 

New Jersey

 

  • Must-see: Albert Einstein’s small white house near the Princeton campus is easy to walk by on foot. There’s no marker, museum, or visitor center, but it’s a quaint and quick stop.
  • Must-do: You’ll be adding tons of photos to your phone when you visit the Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. See original works and 3D recreations of major works.
  • Must-drive: Cape May at the very southern tip of New Jersey still feels like a resort town from the turn of the 20th century. Drive past the extravagant Victorian houses on Washington Street during your visit.

 

Delaware

 

  • Must-drive: Break away from the busy roads and travel along the Red Clay Valley Scenic Byway. You’ll make your way through covered bridges and past lush forests.
  • Must-do: Head to Rehoboth Beach and make a sandcastle, then wander up and down the boardwalk. This resort city also has amusement parks and whale-watching tours.
  • Must-see: As you travel down Highway 1, make a stop at the DiscoverSea Shipwreck Museum in Fenwick Island. See artifacts that went down with famous and little-known ocean vessels.

 

Maryland

 

  • Must-do: Always struggling to break 100 when you go bowling? Try duckpin bowling! Marylanders love this game which lets players throw three balls per frame.
  • Must-listen: Now’s a great time to turn on Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Douglass’s path to freedom largely occurred in the Baltimore area.
  • Must-eat: Hopefully you’re not sick of seafood yet, because it’s time for some crab! Many restaurants in the Chesapeake Bay area serve fresh crab you shell yourself or chef-made crab cakes.

Find more Maryland road trip ideas here.

Washington, DC

  • Must-see: Pay a visit to America’s founding documents at The National Archives. The rotunda contains the original Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
  • Must-do: Take a walking tour through the nation’s most iconic monuments. Begin at the Washington Monument, head to the Lincoln Memorial, and end at the Jefferson Memorial.
  • Must-listen: If you have young kids on your road trip, introduce them to American politics with the songs from Schoolhouse Rock. Play “I’m Just a Bill” and “The Preamble” while driving past the Capitol Building.

Virginia

 

  • Must-do: Visit Mount Vernon and walk in the footsteps of America’s first president. His residence still stands, today functioning as a museum focused on 18th century life.
  • Must-drive: Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown form the Historical Triangle on the Virginia Peninsula. Take the Colonial National Historic Parkway to see all the best sights.
  • Must-see: Don’t miss the view from the top of the Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach. Its claim to fame? It’s America’s first lighthouse.

 

North Carolina

 

  • Must-drive: Welcome yourself to North Carolina by driving along the Outer Banks Scenic Byway. These stunning barrier islands are connected by roads and a few ferries.
  • Must-see: Kitty Hawk lies at the top of your Outer Banks drive. Stop by the Wright Brothers National Memorial and pay tribute to the pioneers of flight.
  • Must-eat: Krispy Kreme doughnuts began in the Winston-Salem area. Although they’re found all over now, they make a great snack on a long East Coast road trip.

 

Check out road trip ideas for inland North Carolina here.

South Carolina

  • Must-see: The sunrise at Myrtle Beach is gorgeous (and one of the few times when the sand isn’t crowded during the summer). Wake up early before spending the day in the city’s attractions.
  • Must-listen: Get to know the people, places, and events of South Carolina with the podcast South Carolina A-Z. Each episode is just one-minute long!
  • Must-do: Take a carriage tour through Charleston. Your driver will take you past the city’s charming homes and churches.

Georgia

 

  • Must-listen: American authors love to write about Georgia. Find an audiobook of The Color Purple, Sounder, Deliverance, Gone With the Wind, or the works of Flannery O’Connor.
  • Must-see: Savannah holds lots of public squares with statues and monuments. Stop at a few to take pictures and stretch your legs.
  • Must-eat: Summer visitors should order as much peach pie and peach cobbler as possible. After all, Georgia farmers produce over 100 million pounds of peaches every year.

 

See other points of interest in Georgia on our state road trip page.

Florida

 

  • Must-drive: Make US-1 your best friend for the rest of the trip. This stretch of highway hugs the Atlantic coast all the way to Key West.
  • Must-see: You can see—and even touch!—an actual moon rock at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Spend a day pretending to be an astronaut.
  • Must-do: Go wander the streets of Little Havana in Miami. Order a Cuban sandwich, listen to some street performers, and end the night at a salsa dancing club.