Of these two choices which would you choose. Is the shortest route by time the best way or is the longer worth the extra time.

I’ve been the shorter direction going to Nashville and it wasn’t the greatest.

The most important thing is whether there is road construction. The Alabama route is more scenic,but probably has more truck traffic.

I can say from experience as I've driven 21+ times from Peoria Ill to Dothan Alabama that I recommend avoiding the Alabama route. People in Alabama LOVE to hang out in the left lane like they're getting paid to. I will add that I've never driven in Mississippi.

I've driven St. Louis to Destin Florida, and Santa Rosa Beach dozens of times.
Usually, I've gone the Alabama route.
However, my daughter moved to the Memphis/Arlington TN area and I've gone from there, which is your alternative.
If I were you... I'd stick with the Alabama route.

Honestly 20 minutes difference you could flip a coin. Pick the one you like irrespective of the time because 20 minutes is a blip on a drive that long.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
Honestly 20 minutes difference you could flip a coin. Pick the one you like irrespective of the time because 20 minutes is a blip on a drive that long.

1000% this.

I would take the Mississippi route just to avoid the traffic around Nashville.

That being said - I would follow chellim1’s advice, since he’s actually made the drive.

Destin is one of my favorite places, though it has been getting more crowded in recent years.

Nashville is OK between 10am & 2pm

I’d stick with the quicker route shown. I came back once up eastern Mississippi and it was awful. Not all of it was 4 lanes and lower speed limits. Several small towns had stop lights. Never again.

We visit Gulf Shores occasionally and take I-55 to Jackson-Hattiesburg-Mobile where you can hit I-10 east to Destin exits. All 4 lanes except for about 5 miles west of Mobile. FYI.

Have a safe trip.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I think I’m going to go the Mississippi route on the way there and the Tennessee on the way back. My wife just retired last week and this might be a fairly frequent trip we take. She was wanting to stop in Franklin on the way home so that will give me a pretty good comparison between the two routes.

Looking forward to the trip as we are both finally retired.

Another thing would be potential stops of interest along the way. Of course if you just want to get there, so be it.

I’d most often rather be on the freeway. A 2 lane road in a small southern town is often a money maker, especially with out of state plates.

The western route takes you by the USS ALABAMA and submarine USS DRUM and the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola.

I've had enough bad experiences getting through Nashville to avoid it if at all possible. The way 24 transitions to 65 downtown there is not good.
The MS route has you avoiding any real major cities with is a good thing in general.

Like somebody said, on a 12 hour drive 18 minutes is nothing. Try the western route and see if you like it better. You've got nothing to lose but 18 minutes of your life.

I like to do what you're doing, down one way and back another.

For others making the decision, I'd say it depends on what time you'll be hitting the cities. If you avoid Birmingham and Nashville at rush hour (and Montgomery to a lesser extent), the Alabama route offers more food options and slightly better scenery.

The Mississippi route is a lot of driving in the middle of nowhere.

We go to Cape San Blas every summer and take 55 south through Dyersburg, into MS and then AL. We’re also about 45 minutes south of downtown so it doesn’t make sense for us to go north and then into IL. Biggest 2 variable are always construction and accidents. I know Nashville traffic isn’t fun, depending on the time of day of course.

Destin /Fort Walton has a decent sized airport with south west flying in. May consider that Vs a full day of driving each way.

I am about 45 minutes to an hour west of Destin, near Pensacola. We drive to my wife’s fathers place SE of Nashville a few times a year. That’s a solid 6 hours via 65.

Enjoy your visit. The weather is getting nice. Should be beachable weather by end of March.

If you do decide to drive the Mississippi route, very near where you turn towards Alabama is the road to Biloxi. There are real casinos there if that’s your thing and also the home of Jefferson Davis. Interesting museum and property. Also very near Pascagoula there a place called the Krebs house. Built in 1757 oldest building in the state. If your into museums/ historical sites.

Also some interesting stuff in Pensacola.

This old truck driver ran this route more than once, take the Mississippi route, hands down better.

I've never driven the Mississippi route, but we drive I65 from Indiana to Pensacola a couple of times a year. It used to be decent, but traffic has gotten horrible. Nashville and Birmingham in particular almost always have stop and go traffic, and Tennessee in general is pretty awful as it drops from three lanes down to two when you leave Kentucky, and there's just not enough capacity for all the traffic. Unless you're planning on driving in the middle of the night, I'd try the Mississippi route.

Now that most of the construction through Montgomery, Prattville/Millbrook, B'ham, Decatur, Ft. Payne and the "hurricane routes" through Alabama, as well as going though Nashville between rush hours, that route is the easier faster to drive. (this is the past 2 years, prior it was a shit show with construction and congestion)

I have driven it and the Mississippi routes to the panhandle for years.

The speed drops to 25, 35, 45, 55, 65MPH in though the route in Mississippi are tedious to me, speed traps, have to make sure you get gas before some stretches, and during any plowing/planting/harvesting and burn seasons, it can be miserable air quality with dust/smoke.
Long stretches of 2 lane roads and stuck behind a line of trucks, or farm equipment, it's "fun" once.