Summer is coming to a close soon and there’s the intense need to soak up all the summer vibes you can before fall, football, school, work events or whatever else you have to do.
Does it ever end? No. No, it doesn’t… That’s why we put together this quick and easy vacation getaway list!
My husband and I LOVE a good road trip.
If we can get there in half-day’s drive, we’re going. We had this realization recently that Huntsville is actually a perfect place to live if you love a good road trip.
It is SO CLOSE to so many awesome cities! So, let’s start planning!
Here’s a list of places within 5-7 hours that you can travel to easily for a long weekend of fun. Let us know where you chose to travel! Know some great places that fit within this travel time? Share them with us!
Charlotte, NC – 6 h 49 min
New Orleans, LA (our fav!) – 6 h 31 min

St Louis, MO – 6 h 24 min
Columbia, SC – 6 h 22 min
Indianapolis, IN – 6 h 12 min
Cincinnati, OH – 5 h 56 min
Augusta, GA – 5 h 23 min
Asheville, NC – 5 h 12 min
Mobile, AL – 5 h 10 min
Highlands, NC – 4 h 39 min
Louisville, KY – 4 h 28 min
The beach! – Gulf Shores, AL; Orange Beach, AL; Pensacola, FL; Destin, FL

The Mountains – Gatlinburg, TN; Pigeon Forge, TN; Blue Ridge, GA; Helen, GA (Where one episode of the show Atlanta was filmed!)

Alicia’s Road Trip Tips for Success:
- Create a baller playlist for the drive! We love to binge podcasts for these long-ish drives and talk or joke about what we’re listening to.
- Eat a good breakfast. We stop to get a biscuit first thing. It holds us over until we can check out new restaurants in the city we’re going to.
- Laugh and Learn a lot. If you’re traveling in a car for 4+ hours, you’re going to get to know each other better. You and your partner or friends are going to be stuck in a small space for a decent amount of time. Make the most of it!
- Pullover for bathroom breaks… I know you’re excited and you want to get there but we all need a 5-minute break sometimes.
- EXPLORE! Find new things, try new restaurants, get out of your comfort zone.
Need a shorter trip?
3-4 hours – Regular weekend trip
- Atlanta
- Knoxville
2 hours or less – Make a day of it!
- Birmingham
- Nashville
- Chattanooga
Author Profile

- Just like a lot of Huntsvillians, I am a transplant. I moved here from Orlando after my dad got a job at Redstone Arsenal and I got accepted to the University of North Alabama (Roar Lions!). After graduating in December 2012, my boyfriend, our cat, Pabst (yes like the beer. He’s a Blue Ribbon cat, I think), and I moved into our home in Five Points. My first “big girl” job was at WHNT, where I spent 3 years and made a lot of awesome friends. My boyfriend and I got engaged on Monte Sano on April 1, 2017. No, I never thought it was a joke but a lot of our friends and family did! We got married in May 2018 in New Orleans with our coifed corgi by our side.