Best Route from VA to FL?

[catdance23]

I've heard bad things about trying to do I-95 all the way down from Virginia to FL. Is there a better route? If not how much time should I allow? We are thinking about staying in Savannah for one night to break up the trip. Any advice?

Oh, we are going down on the Saturday before Thanksgiving so I'm sure that will add traffic.

 

[3Mickeys]

We drive from New Hampshire to Florida every year and the bad part of the drive is done by the time we pass Richmond! From there south it is just straight and mindless. We often hit congestion in Georgia north of Florida as they have been doing construction there for years. Like I said, we go straight down 95 and it's always better than New York and DC so we think it's great!

 

[irishdadx4]

Have driven to FL from Va down I-95 four times since Aug 2009. Never had any problems, and traffic was never bad. Trips were in Aug and Dec both 2009 and 2010.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Have driven to FL from Va down I-95 four times since Aug 2009. Never had any problems, and traffic was never bad. Trips were in Aug and Dec both 2009 and 2010.

As a side note, read the speed trap information on another thread about Ridgeland, SC, about 25 miles north of the SC/GA border.

 

[lbuher]

And as a note of encouragement about traveling the Saturday before Thanksgiving, we have always traveled around the Thanksgiving holiday, and we have never hit heavy traffic that early. It might be a little heavier than a normal Saturday, but the worst of the holiday traffic shouldn't be for a few more days.

Doesn't mean you won't hit accident or construction traffic somewhere, but you really shouldn't have all that much holiday traffic, if that makes you feel any better!

 

[catdance23]

Thanks Everyone!!!

I'll be sure to tell my husband to keep an eye out for the speed traps.

 

[Anal Annie]

Drove down I-95 from Maryland to Hilton Head last summer and definitely the worst is between DC and Richmond. We left on a Friday evening around 7:30-8:00 thinking if we could JUST GET SOUTH OF RICHMOND before we stopped for the night we'd have a good head start for Saturday. We were fine until we got to the "Mixing Bowl" area of the beltway. Then it was pretty much a dead stop all the way to Richmond. Just whatever you do don't go through that area during a "normal" hour. We were fine the next day. We got up at 7:00 & hit the road again with no more problems. Coming home we were OK too. We left HHI around lunchtime and got home by about 10:00 and didn't hit any major delays. I think timing is everything with this drive.

 

[hortontrio]

We left from Richmond to Port last August, all 95 and didn't have a bit of problem~~ We stopped overnight on the way, but the traffic etc was perfectly fine, very easy trip, just the drive is long hour wise, granted if you live in NOVA then you will have to have DC traffic which speaking from experience can add hours to the trip, but if your closer to me, then its NOT bad at all.

 

[Cherinva]

There isn't any better of a route....I 95 is the most direct. Just watch your speeds in S.C. and GA.

 

[rcchello]

RIDGELAND, S.C. — Surveillance cameras along Interstate 95 in this small South Carolina town have nabbed thousands of speeders


http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/03/28/i_95_speed_cameras_in_sc_draw_lawsuit/

 

[mysteryguest]

We just got back from Orlando and live in Virginia.
The best route we found was Airtran non-stop

You could also try the Amtrak Autotrain. It runs non-stop between DC and Orlando. So you have your vehicle in Orlando without the long drive.

Just Google Amtrak autotrain for more info.

 

[FIREFIGHTERMICKEY]

For the last 8 years (I think) we have traveled at least twice a year from Va to FL. The traffic is GA can be a pain. I recommend trying to plan your trip so you do not hit high traffic times (rush hour) We are leaving early friday for our 6th disney cruise. Im really excited. We stop in ST Simons Islnad ga to see my best friend and relax. We get up REALLY EARLY and head to cocoa beach and hit a few stores THEN TO THE MAGIC! Hope we have helped you

 

[jilljill]

There isn't any better of a route....I 95 is the most direct. Just watch your speeds in S.C. and GA.

We've found more speed traps in VA than the other states combined when driving from DE to FL.


We drive thru the night leaving DE anywhere from 6pm-10pm. If we think traffic will be horrible around DC/VA we'll leave around 8pm and that helps a lot.
For bypassing Jacksonville traffic and construction, we take the 9A Bypass that goes towards the beaches. The mileage is the same and the road is much better than going thru JAX on I-95.

 

[lundve]

We drove last year from Richmond to FL. I agree with the OP about there not being any traffic hardly from that spot on. We did hit a few very minor congestion delays in Jacksonville but other than that we were fine.

We stayed in Port Wentworth, GA literally the first exit after you cross the GA line. The hotels are all right off the exit and there are some good choices.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Where at in VA are you OP?

DH and I did 95 last time, but this time we are taking 17 down to GA and picking up 95 there. We're saving time by not going all the way over to Emporia to hit 95 as 17 is just 5 minutes from our house.

We did 17 coming home last time as a spur of the moment decision. Its a smaller highway and likely lower speed limit than 95 but we still made good time and had a nice enough drive to do it again. And in reality its is a bit more direct than 95 as it goes follows the coastline pretty much the whole way to GA. It does go all the way down to FL but it starts veering off to out of the way places.

So for us in Oct. it'll be 17 to GA and then pick up 95 probably around Savannah or so. Looking forward to a nice drive.

 

[Octoberbride03]

There isn't any better of a route....I 95 is the most direct. Just watch your speeds in S.C. and GA.

This really depends on where you leave from IMO. It is definitely the most popular, but not necessarily the best.

ETA: I see you are in VA Beach. You are like me, closer to 17 than 95. You may want to consider it for your next cruise. It is a more local route, but the last time we traveled it there were no speed traps anywhere along the way.

 

[mom2tcdx2]

We take 95 to Florida every year when we go from Virginia. We live NW of Richmond. Coming from that direction having 288 go around to come out on 95 saves a lot of time. Other route is to take 29 to 220 to 95 but you go through a lot of smaller towns, while it is about 30 miles shorter, the length of drive time stays about the same.

 

[Mason3]

We have made the same drive from PA to FL at least 10 times. Approximately five of those trips have been within the seven days prior to Thanksgiving. We have never had a serious problem on 95. You can never predict if there will be accidents, which of course, slow the traffic. Our worst spots going south have been from DC to Fredricksburg. I will say that traveling back to PA on 95 the weekend after Thanksgiving has not been "magical," especially once we hit northern VA. Ironically, my in-laws are driving 95 to Port Canaveral today.

 

[smoof]

The other driving alternatives are miserable. Take I-95. Even if there is traffic, it is still a million times better than taking Rt. 1 or 301.

 

[denas]

We have made the same drive from PA to FL at least 10 times. Approximately five of those trips have been within the seven days prior to Thanksgiving. We have never had a serious problem on 95. You can never predict if there will be accidents, which of course, slow the traffic. Our worst spots going south have been from DC to Fredricksburg. I will say that traveling back to PA on 95 the weekend after Thanksgiving has not been "magical," especially once we hit northern VA. Ironically, my in-laws are driving 95 to Port Canaveral today.

DC to Fredricksburg pretty much sucks. I live in the DC area. The worst is on Weekdays betgween 3-7pm (I have had it take me 2hours to go 15 miles in this section). Saturdays can also be awful. Either try and avoid this area midday Saturday or on weekday evenings or just realize it is going to suck and plan accordingly (like make sure you do bathroom stops before hitting this area!!). Once you get to Fredricksburg it tends to clear out and once you make Richmond it is an easy drive!!