For people who drive to FL?

[kandb]

We are taking a road trip in July from NJ to FL. I am wondering if driving down I-95 is best done on the weekend (Sat or Sun)? It would be daytime travel. Do they ever do construction on the weekends?

 

[OKW Lover]

Yes, you'll find construction on the weekends. Especially the stretch of I-95 below Washington.

 

[kandb]

When is the best time to travel then? Daytime? After evening rush hour?

 

[ancestry]

The best time as far as traffic goes is usually on the overnights or very early in the morning. Mid-days and evenings tend to be heavy -- weekdays and weekends included.

 

[ancestry]

I just moved to Florida from Maine and have driven the route several times for both moving purposes and previously for vacation. We find that we prefer to head inland and take I-81 down for a good portion of the drive instead of 95. The drive is more enjoyable for us that way (not that driving from Maine to Florida is enjoyable but it is less worse on 81 for us).

 

[mshanson3121]

My MiL drives down every year and takes the 81. It avoids all the cities, major traffic, construction, tolls etc.. and adds very little to the actual driving time.

 

[C&G'sMama]

If you haven't already chack out the 2000+ mile thread. There's lots of information on there.

 

[richmo]

I guess weekends would be a little better. If you're thinking Friday night as weekend, don't. Travel to DE and MD beaches can get intense. That can include Saturday morning...and the reverse coming out Sunday night.

I don't usually let weekdays scare me driving to the South from NJ/PA. The main thing is you don't want to get caught in the DC (and sometimes Baltimore) rush hour. Actually, I've found that the worst stretch isn't the DC beltway itself (I-495/95), but I-95 south of the beltway to about Dumfries. If you're going south in the PM rush, that's where the HOV lanes merge back in. If you want to avoid the DC area altogether, you could consider taking US-301 and merging back in to I-95 a little north of Richmond. There's various ways to do that: pick up DE-1/DE-99/US-301 or I-97 in Baltimore, then US-50 or MD-3 to US-301, among others.

 

[BVC4us]

We too have thought about taking I81 this time. I've heard people comment on the trucks....are they really that bad on that road?

 

[richmo]

We too have thought about taking I81 this time. I've heard people comment on the trucks....are they really that bad on that road?

There are a lot of trucks on I-81 and a lot of it is two lanes so it's hard to get away from them. I-81 is also one of the hillier interstates, so there's a lot of up and down, so it seems like you're either passing trucks or they're passing you. That said, I don't mind I-81, but its not a lot of fun on a rainy day.

 

[Iamthequeen]

We drive from PA to FL, usually on the weekends, however we leave early - 3 or 4 am and are usually past the construction in VA and into NC in time for breakfast.