College Visit Guides

Drive guide · 2 days, 2 campuses

SEMO and SIU Carbondale in 2 Days: A Cape Girardeau, MO and Carbondale, IL College Drive Trip

A parent-first plan for seeing Southeast Missouri State University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale in two days: how each school's visit works and where to sign up, free visitor parking at SEMO and maroon visitor spaces at SIU, four hotels from budget to mid-range including a Home2 Suites a short walk from SIU, drive times from St. Louis, sibling stops like Giant City State Park and Trail of Tears State Park, and Cape Girardeau weather by season, every fact sourced and checked Oct 30, 2026.

A tan-brick auditorium with a red tile dome and arched doorways behind a bronze statue on a stone pedestal, with a small fountain sculpture of two children under an umbrella in the foreground, globe lampposts and leafy trees under a pale sky
Shryock Auditorium, the Delyte Morris statue and the Paul and Virginia fountain at SIU Carbondale (August 2022). Photo: Rywlkr · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).

The short version

Trip at a glance

Schools
Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, MO) · Southern Illinois University Carbondale (Carbondale, IL)
Days
2 days: SEMO on day 1 from a Cape Girardeau base, then SIU Carbondale on day 2, about 1 hour 5 minutes east across the Mississippi by car.
Fly into
St. Louis Lambert International (STL), about 2 hours 25 minutes from downtown Cape Girardeau with no traffic. Fly home from St. Louis, about 2 hours 28 minutes from SIU.
Best base
Courtyard by Marriott Cape Girardeau Downtown, about 3 minutes by car or a 20-minute walk from SEMO's Academic Hall, with free self-parking.
Car or no car
Bring or rent a car. The campuses are about 46 miles apart, and both have visitor parking.
Registration
Book each visit on the school's own sign-up page: SEMO's visit portal and SIU's on-campus visit portal.

1. Who this guide is for

This plan is for parents bringing a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, to see two schools on either side of the Mississippi River: the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks and the Southern Illinois Salukis.

SEMO is in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and SIU Carbondale is in Carbondale, Illinois, about 46 miles east by road. The photo in this guide shows Shryock Auditorium and the Paul and Virginia fountain on SIU's campus.

Why this order

  • Arrive the day before: St. Louis Lambert is about 2 hours 25 minutes from the downtown Cape Girardeau hotels.
  • Day 1: a SEMO walking tour with an admissions presentation, then an evening in Cape Girardeau or a short drive to Trail of Tears State Park.
  • Day 2: drive about 1 hour 5 minutes to SIU Carbondale for an admissions meeting, campus tour and residence hall visit, then Giant City State Park or the drive back to St. Louis.
Plan ahead: registration and timing
  • Book SEMO visits on its visit portal. Options include a Weekday Walking Tour, Saturday Campus Tours, a River Campus tour for the Holland College of Arts and Media, and Twilight Hours on select Thursdays.
  • Show Me Day is SEMO's big visit day; register through its visit page.
  • SIU offers daily visits Monday through Friday throughout the year, with two visit sessions each day. Book on SIU's on-campus visit portal.
  • On an SIU visit you can also request an appointment with a representative in your student's major and eat lunch in the dining halls at a reduced rate.
  • SEMO encourages parents and visitors to request a free visitor permit from Parking Services in advance.
Tour availability varies by season.
  • Winters in Cape Girardeau are cool: January averages about 43°F highs and 26°F lows.
  • May is the wettest month near Cape Girardeau, averaging about 5.3 inches of rain, with April close behind, so pack an umbrella for a spring walking tour.
  • Summers are hot: July averages about 89°F highs, so plan the walking part of a summer tour for the morning.
  • Check each school's athletics calendar for home games on your dates, since game days bring extra traffic and parking demand.

2. The suggested 2-day plan

  • Drive times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, and walking times use OpenStreetMap foot routing, with addresses geocoded by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Times to SEMO are to Academic Hall, home of the admissions office, and times to SIU are to the Tedrick Welcome Center at 1264 Lincoln Drive, where SIU campus visits begin.

Arrival: fly into St. Louis and drive to Cape Girardeau

  1. St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) → Courtyard Cape Girardeau Downtown

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~2 hr 25 min, 126.2 mi
    Driving
    Rental car

  2. St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) → Drury Plaza Hotel Cape Girardeau

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~2 hr 21 min, 124.5 mi
    Driving
    Rental car
  • SEMO's visit page points families to the Cape Girardeau visitors bureau for lodging, food and events.

Day 1: Southeast Missouri State University and Cape Girardeau

  1. Courtyard Cape Girardeau Downtown → SEMO Academic Hall

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~3 min, 0.9 mi
    Driving
    ~20 min walk, 0.9 mi

  2. Drury Plaza Hotel Cape Girardeau → SEMO Academic Hall

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~10 min, 4.1 mi
    Driving
    Drive

  3. SEMO Academic Hall → Trail of Tears State Park

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~28 min, 13.2 mi
    Driving
    Drive
  • Request SEMO's free visitor permit from Parking Services ahead of time by email or phone; permits can be set aside for after-hours pick-up, and a photo ID is required.
  • The Weekday Walking Tour lets you talk with an admission counselor and faculty. Twilight Hours add a 30-minute admissions presentation, a sunset campus walk with student ambassadors and dinner at Copper Dome Cafe.

Day 2: SIU Carbondale, then fly home

  1. Courtyard Cape Girardeau Downtown → SIU Tedrick Welcome Center

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~1 hr 5 min, 46.1 mi
    Driving
    Drive

  2. Drury Plaza Hotel Cape Girardeau → SIU Tedrick Welcome Center

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~1 hr 11 min, 48.9 mi
    Driving
    Drive

  3. Home2 Suites Carbondale → SIU Tedrick Welcome Center

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~4 min, 1.3 mi
    Driving
    ~22 min walk, 1.1 mi

  4. Super 8 Carbondale → SIU Tedrick Welcome Center

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~7 min, 2.7 mi
    Driving
    Drive

  5. SIU Tedrick Welcome Center → Giant City State Park

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~27 min, 11.7 mi
    Driving
    Drive

  6. SIU Tedrick Welcome Center → St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~2 hr 28 min, 117.7 mi
    Driving
    Drive
  • SIU campus visits begin at the Tedrick Welcome Center, 1264 Lincoln Drive, with reserved visitor spaces to its west. If they're full, park in any empty spot in Lot 13A in front of the Student Center or Lot 12 in front of the Student Services Building.
  • A typical SIU visit includes a meeting with Admissions, a campus tour and a residence hall.

3. Campus by campus

Campus

Southeast Missouri State University (Cape Girardeau, MO)

Where visits start
  • The Weekday Walking Tour pairs a campus walk with time to talk with an admission counselor and faculty. Saturday Campus Tours with a student ambassador are also offered.
  • Show Me Day is SEMO's big visit day. Twilight Hours run on select Thursday evenings with an admissions presentation, a sunset walk and dinner at Copper Dome Cafe.
  • Students interested in the Holland College of Arts and Media can sign up for a River Campus walking tour with a student ambassador, and SEMO also lists a tour of its aviation program at the airport.
Visitor parking
  • All parking on campus is by permit. Parents, relatives and visitors are encouraged to request a free visitor permit from Parking Services by email or phone in advance; a photo ID is required to pick it up.
  • You don't need a permit to park at a meter, but the meter must be paid.
Getting there
  • Academic Hall is about 3 minutes by car or a 20-minute walk from the Courtyard downtown, and about 2 hours 25 minutes from St. Louis Lambert with no traffic.
What to know
  • Twilight Hours visitors have dinner at Copper Dome Cafe on campus.
  • Trail of Tears State Park, about 28 minutes north of campus, marks where nine of the 13 Cherokee detachments crossed the Mississippi in 1838 and 1839.
Contact
Office of Admissions: Academic Hall 100D, (573) 651-2590, admissions@semo.edu.

Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.

Official pages: SEMO: Campus Tours · SEMO: Show Me Day · SEMO: Parents & Families · SEMO: Parking Services

A tan-brick auditorium with a red tile dome and arched doorways behind a bronze statue on a stone pedestal, with a small fountain sculpture of two children under an umbrella in the foreground, globe lampposts and leafy trees under a pale sky
Shryock Auditorium, the Delyte Morris statue and the Paul and Virginia fountain at SIU Carbondale (August 2022). Photo: Rywlkr · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Campus

Southern Illinois University Carbondale (Carbondale, IL)

Where visits start
  • Daily visits run Monday through Friday throughout the year, with two sessions each day. A typical visit includes a meeting with Admissions, a campus tour and a residence hall.
  • You can request an appointment with a representative in your student's major and have lunch in the dining halls at a reduced rate.
  • SIU also holds Open Houses with admissions, housing, financial aid and scholarship information, academic college meetings and tours with Saluki Ambassadors. Open House parking is in Banterra Lot 56, with buses to the Student Center.
Visitor parking
  • Visits begin at the Tedrick Welcome Center, 1264 Lincoln Drive, with reserved visitor spaces to the west. Overflow: Lot 13A in front of the Student Center or Lot 12 in front of the Student Services Building.
  • Elsewhere on campus, look for maroon visitor spaces in parking lots, including Lots 12 and 13. On weekends, visitors may park without a pass in certain lots listed on the Parking Division's visitor page.
Getting there
  • The Tedrick Welcome Center is about 1 hour 5 minutes by car from downtown Cape Girardeau and about 2 hours 28 minutes from St. Louis Lambert with no traffic.
What to know
  • Giant City State Park, about 27 minutes south of campus, is known for the Giant City Nature Trail and its "Giant City Streets," huge sandstone bluffs.
Contact
Undergraduate Admissions: 1263 Lincoln Drive, (618) 536-4405, admissions@siu.edu. Visit events: admevents@siu.edu, 618-453-7141.

Last checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.

Official pages: SIU: Visit SIU · SIU: Getting to Campus · SIU Parking Division: Visitor Parking

4. Where to stay: downtown Cape Girardeau near SEMO, or Carbondale near SIU

Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Hotel · Our pickMid-range

Courtyard by Marriott Cape Girardeau Downtown

400 Broadway St., Cape Girardeau, MO 63701

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's about 3 minutes by car or a 20-minute walk from SEMO's Academic Hall, and about 1 hour 5 minutes from SIU for day 2.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists free self-parking, an on-site restaurant with cooked-to-order breakfast for a fee and a minimum check-in age of 18. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateMid-range

Drury Plaza Hotel Cape Girardeau Conference Center

3351 Percy Dr., Cape Girardeau, MO 63701

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's about 10 minutes by car from SEMO's Academic Hall and about 1 hour 11 minutes from SIU.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists a free buffet breakfast, free self-parking, an indoor pool, a restaurant, pets for a fee and a minimum check-in age of 18. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateMid-range

Home2 Suites by Hilton Carbondale

200 W. Elm St., Carbondale, IL 62901

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's about 4 minutes by car or a 22-minute walk from SIU's Tedrick Welcome Center, a good second-night base if you'd rather drive to Carbondale the evening of day 1.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists a free continental breakfast, free self-parking, an indoor pool, pets for a fee and a minimum check-in age of 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateBudget

Super 8 by Wyndham Carbondale

1180 E. Main St., Carbondale, IL 62901

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 2-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's about 7 minutes by car from SIU's Tedrick Welcome Center.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists a free on-the-go breakfast, free self-parking, pets for a fee and a minimum check-in age of 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Stay downtown in Cape Girardeau for SEMO, then drive to SIU on day 2. For an early SIU session, drive over the evening of day 1 and stay at the Home2 Suites or the Super 8 in Carbondale.

5. Meals between tours

Hours change, so check before you go.

At SEMO

SEMO's Twilight Hours visits include dinner at Copper Dome Cafe on campus.

At SIU

SIU visitors can request lunch in the dining halls at a reduced rate.

At the hotels

The Drury Plaza, Home2 Suites and Super 8 include breakfast, and the Courtyard has an on-site restaurant with breakfast for a fee.

6. Things for siblings along the route

With siblings

Giant City State Park

235 Giant City Rd., Makanda, IL 62958

About 27 minutes from SIU, with hiking trails including the Giant City Nature Trail and its "Giant City Streets," huge sandstone bluffs formed 12,000 years ago.

Official page →

With siblings

Trail of Tears State Park

429 Moccasin Springs, Jackson, MO 63755

About 28 minutes from SEMO, with exhibits on the Cherokee removal, hiking trails and views over the Mississippi River.

Official page →

7. Practical tips

Getting to campus

  • At SEMO, request the free visitor permit from Parking Services before you go, or park at a paid meter.
  • At SIU, head to the Tedrick Welcome Center at 1264 Lincoln Drive and use the reserved visitor spaces to its west.

Flying in and out

  • St. Louis Lambert (STL) is about 2 hours 25 minutes from the downtown Cape Girardeau hotels and about 2 hours 28 minutes from SIU, so the trip makes an easy loop: fly in, see SEMO, cross to Carbondale, and drive back to St. Louis.

Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Cape Girardeau Municipal AP station)

  • Spring: April averages about 69°F highs and 47°F lows, with about 5.2 inches of rain; May is the wettest month at about 5.3 inches.
  • Summer: July averages about 89°F/69°F, with about 3.9 inches of rain.
  • Fall: October averages about 71°F/46°F, with about 3.6 inches of rain.
  • Winter: January averages about 43°F/26°F, with about 3.5 inches of precipitation.

Parent checklist

  • Book a SEMO visit on its visit portal.
  • Book an SIU on-campus visit on its admissions portal.
  • Request SEMO's free visitor parking permit ahead of time.
  • Book flights into St. Louis and plan a rental car.
  • Book a hotel in Cape Girardeau, or in Carbondale for the second night.
  • Check the forecast, especially in April and May, the wettest months near Cape Girardeau.
  • After each visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.

8. Student-athlete recruiting visits

For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.

Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.

Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.

2 Division I

NCAA basics for parents

  • Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
  • Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
  • Division I (Southeast Missouri State University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
  • Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.

Planning around the season

  • Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
  • Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.

Student-athlete sources

All checked Oct 26, 2026.

  1. NCAA, 2026-27 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete (pp. 3, 21–25)
  2. NCAA.org: NCAA Recruiting
  3. NCAA: Division I and II Recruiting Calendars and Guides
  4. NCAA Directory: Southeast Missouri State University
  5. Southeast Missouri State University Athletics (official site)
  6. Southeast Missouri State University Athletics: Staff Directory
  7. Southeast Missouri State University Athletics: schedule of events
  8. NCAA Directory: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
  9. Southern Illinois University Carbondale Athletics (official site)
  10. Southern Illinois University Carbondale Athletics: Staff Directory
  11. Southern Illinois University Carbondale Athletics: schedule of events

Trip planner

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Sources

All checked Oct 30, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.

  1. Southeast Missouri State University: Campus Tours
  2. Southeast Missouri State University: Visit portal (official sign-up)
  3. Southeast Missouri State University: Show Me Day
  4. Southeast Missouri State University: Parking Services
  5. Southern Illinois University Carbondale: Visit SIU
  6. Southern Illinois University Carbondale: On-campus visit sign-up (official sign-up)
  7. Southern Illinois University Carbondale: Getting to Campus
  8. Southern Illinois University Carbondale Parking Division: Visitor Parking
  9. Expedia listing: Courtyard by Marriott Cape Girardeau Downtown (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-30 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Sikeston-Hotels-Courtyard-By-Marriott-Cape-Girardeau-Downtown.h24322039.Hotel-Information)
  10. Expedia listing: Drury Plaza Hotel Cape Girardeau Conference Center (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-30 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Sikeston-Hotels-Drury-Plaza-Hotel-Cape-Girardeau-Conference-Center.h17269948.Hotel-Information)
  11. Expedia listing: Home2 Suites by Hilton Carbondale (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-30 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Carbondale-Hotels-Home2-Suites-By-Hilton-Carbondale.h22413272.Hotel-Information)
  12. Expedia listing: Super 8 by Wyndham Carbondale (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-30 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Carbondale-Hotels-Super-8-By-Wyndham-Carbondale.h439693.Hotel-Information)
  13. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), driving profile
  14. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), foot profile
  15. OpenStreetMap Nominatim geocoder
  16. NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Monthly Normals, Cape Girardeau Municipal AP, MO (USW00003935)
  17. Illinois Department of Natural Resources: Giant City State Park
  18. Missouri State Parks: Trail of Tears State Park
  19. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks Athletics: Calendar
  20. Southern Illinois Salukis Athletics: Calendar