Driving from DC to PC- Need good I-95 hotel recomendations in both SC and NC...

[golfnsuch]

If anyone has driven the I-95 corridor to Disney before, can you recommend a few good hotels along the way (pool preferred). We are looking for one in NC and one in SC for each leg of the trip.

We're driving from Washington, DC so something around 6 and 7 hours away or (400-500 miles) would really be appreciated.

Thanks!
E.

 

[DG Cruiser]

Driving from NJ. We usually drive 12 hours & stay at the Country Inn & Suites (also other nice hotels in this area) right off I95 in Savannah GA.

 

[yazee1]

Hey, neighbor! We live in Frederick County and also will be driving this year. Good question! Have you posted on the Transportation board yet? Our trip is 7 months away so I haven't honed in on that aspect of our journey yet, but I intended to do a search there or post there regarding the same question as you (except for the pool).

We have driven several times over the years and every time we do, we wind up just driving until DH is too tired to go on, usually South Carolina, and just try to find the cheapest rate we see from the highway. Dumb, dumb, dumb. It never works out. A decent hotel is easy to find but we always pay too much. This year I want to make a good decision and make it in advance.

Aside from consulting the transporation board, you might want to check out a copy or buy a copy of "Drive I-95". The book begins in Massachusetts and goes all the way down 95 to Florida. I don't know if reading it will make a difference. I bought it recently and I've only made it to pages about Connecticut so far.

 

[Mickey moos]

Being Blessed to live close enough to make it to WDW or PC in 8-9 hours we usually don't stay anywhere. However, we did stay at DVC at Hilton Head last year. I don't know if they have anything available for your trip but you never know until you ask. It would put you about 6 hours away and you do start to feel the MAGIC a day earlier. Just my suggestion.

 

[jbm02]

We usually drive from NYS to Rocky Mount, NC for the first leg of our trip. There is a Courtyard Marriott and a Marriott Residence Inn just off the highway. There are tons of other hotels in that area as well. I think it must be a major stop for those who just can't drive any further!! LOL.

 

[CastawayCayLover]

Driving from NJ, we've always stopped at the Hampton Inns in Florence SC right off 95. Nice enough place and affordable. Just about halfway for us. We'd have breakfast there in the morning and be on the road by 7 am and in Port Canaveral before 2 pm (we usually arrived on Friday and enjoyed the rest of the day before the cruise in a nearby hotel).

Can't comment on the pool there as we were arriving at the hotel around midnight in November (Jersey week), not a good time for swimming!

 

[Renysmom]

The first 2 times we drove it from Manassas we stayed in Brunswick Georgia. Al the major chains are there. I would say its about 7-8 hours, then in the am it was another 4 hours give or take. Now that we live in Richmond we drive straight through.

 

[Dreamsoftravel]

We start in MD, and we have stopped before in Fayetteville, NC. There is Holiday inn that has a pool. have not stayed there in a couple of years, but it was a stopping point for us. Last year we stayed in Lumberton, about 20 miles north of South Carolina. Not sure of the hotel's name, but their are a bunch in that area. This year we went to Tampa and actually drove straight through. 15 hours!!! Exhausted when we got there, but we did it!

 

[golfnsuch]

Thanls for all the great sugestions. I'll be printing this off and figuring out exits, etc. so when we do decide to stop we'll have some options. I'll also look into the Trans board and the book suggestion.

Take care, E.

 

[Momfromva]

I appreciate this as well! We are leaving from northern Virginia this Thursday for our cruise. I did buy the Drive 95 book, but its always nice to have recommendations from people that we "know". Thanks again everyone!!

 

[Fabinva]

We've done the drive from Virginia twice and will be doing it again this May for upcoming cruise. There are plenty of hotels signs along the highway and we drive until we get really tired so usually we do not plan ahead and last few trips we've stopped at Hampton Inns, they are nice, clean and convenient location right off highway.

 

[jj4]

We just stayed at Double Tree Hotel in Fayetteville, NC a few weeks ago. It's just off 95, the hotel is very nice and the hotel restaurant was good too. The pillows were so comfy I just bought one online!

 

[dizzi]

WE have made this drive WAY TOO many times used to live in hagerstown MD. And then moved to ORlando then back to MD then backto Fort lauderdale.

Our family is in MD and WV so we drove back and forth for years!

We dont drive anymore but when we did drive if we needed to stop we would stop at the half way point which was the SC South of the border.

On the other side of the Highway not the side with the theme park place is a very nice hotel.

________________________________________________________________

Also if you have children.....
My Suggestion..................

Leave Very EARLY like 2am have the driver go to sleep Early Early in the evening while the other adult keeps the kids up and aawake and busy until VERY LATE!!!!
THis way they will sleep. LATE!
When you stop for gas, even if you dont need it the first time stop BEFORE it gets daylight out this way if the kids do wake up they will go back to sleep. Put a blanket over them to keep the gas station lights out if you think needed.

You can make it to SOUTH OF THE BORDER before the kids even wake up.

Really meaning that you may not need a stop over.

Spend an hour at the SOTB have alittle fun.

Bring stuff for the kids to do in car........then you only have about 7 more hours until you get to WDW!

 

[jajomo0118]

We are planing driving home after our cruise (taking autotrain down) and was wondering about I95...DH is a truck driver by trade and plans to do all the driving himself..and I think I should drive some..So what do you think would be the best time for me to drive? If I can convince DH...lol

 

[vicki_c]

We just stayed at a Best Western right past South of the Border (heading south, so right inside SC, I guess) - but I can't remember the town. It was pretty nice - seemed very clean and relatively new - and we got a room for $69 - they had the free continental breakfast as well.

 

[matilda]

We actually live in Charlotte and are about 8 hours from Disneyworld and drive straight through each time. We were up in DC over Thanksgiving which is about 6.5 hours from here so I would recommend driving to Charlotte and staying around here or just a little further on. Just know from Charlotte it is an 8 hour drive to WDW and a further 1 hour if driving to CC if you are going on the cruise
Have fun!!!

 

[CastawayCayLover]

We are planing driving home after our cruise (taking autotrain down) and was wondering about I95...DH is a truck driver by trade and plans to do all the driving himself..and I think I should drive some..So what do you think would be the best time for me to drive? If I can convince DH...lol

I've driven all the way through to the Philadelphia area, it's tough, especially if you want to stay up on Friday night for Pub Night.

The last couple of times, my DW took over in the afternoon for 3 or 4 hours through SC and NC. It's an easy stretch of road to drive, traffic isn't too bad on a Saturday and its daylight. That was plenty of time for me to rest and gear up for the last leg of the trip.