95 or 81, MD to Myrtle Beach?

[MommyMK]

We are headed down to Myrtle Beach in a few weeks and debating 95 vs 81. We are coming from central MD and we aren't super close to either highway. It's about an hour and a half drive to get to either highway from our home. Taking 95 is 7 hours and 18 minutes according to google maps and 81 is 9 hours and 32 minutes, so in theory 95 saves us about 2 hours. However, we took 95 to OBX earlier this summer on a Saturday and it was a nightmare of traffic all the way from when we got on it around DC till we got off around Richmond. Just awful, awful stop and go traffic even with the express EZ pass.

This time we'd be traveling down on a Sunday and home on a Saturday not long after all the schools are back in session, not sure of how much of a difference that will make. We've never driven on 81 before, so I have no idea what that road is like. The idea of saving two hours is appealing, but the thought of losing that time and sitting in horrible traffic on 95 is appalling.

Thoughts or experiences?

 

[deedisneydream97]

I just did the RT drive from western NJ to WDW. 81 can be very slow due to lots of tractor-trailers and two lanes in most of Virginia. However, if you want to avoid the beltway and Richmond, you can get off 81 at exit 221 in Virginia and take 64 East (not to be confused with 66 East). It is about 87 miles on that until you get to exit 175 for VA route 288 south....take that for 32 miles and it hooks in to 95 below Richmond. We did not have any real issues on 95 from that point, going and coming back....just a bad storm and the usual bad drivers doing 90 miles per hour and weaving through traffic. I did notice some construction going on in the 64/288 area, but I think the signs said something about night time lane closings.

It is the luck of the draw sometimes....we lost an hour on 81 due to a very bad accident. But it could happen anywhere. Was going to do 95 all the way home but decided against it....it was a Sunday and 95 got busier and busier as I got closer to Richmond.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

just did this drive from Pa to Myrtle Beach and back. if you were going on a Saturday I would do 81 instead of 95. the easy pass lanes are a major jam merging back on just below DC. took us almost 3 hours to get thru DC, with about 20miles of backup. coming back on Sunday around 130pm rolled right thru DC with more back up going thru Richmond. 81 is a lot longer mile wise than 95 check the miles with the Richmond crossover.

 

[PSUGuy]

After many round trips to MB from NE Pa and drives to Savannah Ga and back during which I-95 was a parking lot just south of the I-495 beltway we did the I-81 thing the last 2 years with great results. We go down on a Tues afternoon returning on a Sat and traffic has not been an issue. MapQuest etc tell us it's a half hour or more longer but I'm sure we get to out first stop, usually in NC, quicker than on I-95. We follow I-95 to Winchester Va then head east to Fredericksburg Va where we pick up I-95.

Bill From PA