DC to VA Beach

[wvjules]

Is there a way to make this trip without taking any of the 95s, without adding on too much time? It will be around rush hour tomorrow so i'm probably screwed no matter which way I go.

 

[sk8ingmom]

Yeah, you're pretty hosed.

I work in DC & live near Mount Vernon. You can take the George Washington Parkway to Mount Vernon without much difficulty. I go over the Arlington Memorial Bridge to get from downtown to GWP.

From Mount Vernon, you can easily get to US-1, about miles on a non-busy residential road (wave at me when you go by). US-1 can be evil traffic-wise, but even with traffic lights, you can often get places faster than on I-95 at rush hour I'm not familiar with Va Beach, but I would guess you can get pretty close to there on US-1.

 

[wvjules]

I'm actually coming from Frederick so I'm probably stuck with going through DC and Richmond on a busy friday night.

 

[BillSears]

Yep you're screwed. At least it's not during the summer.

I left Baltimore around 11:30 on summer Friday and didn't get to Virginia Beach until 8:00 that night. That was straight driving no stops.

 

[wvjules]

8.5 hours? Are you kidding me??????

I plan on leaving Frederick around 4. I'll never make it there.

 

[isyne4u]

I think 13 or 17 will get you here too. I know that I took one up the eastern shore to maryland but I dont' know which one.

Whichever one runs parallel to 95 can be better but it is not as fast as has more lights. (I usually do 95 and take lots of CDs)

Oh and welcome to virginia beach! When you pass our two skyscrappers wave! i live near there!! hehehe

oh wait...I'll be on a plane to WDW tomorrow night! Sorry I guess you don't need to wave to me then!!!

 

[BillSears]

8.5 hours? Are you kidding me??????

I plan on leaving Frederick around 4. I'll never make it there.

It was terrible on the DC beltway. They raised the bridge at some point and cars were stopped, people getting out and standing around etc... Once they opened up the bridge we were all stuck together with bad traffic all the way to Richmond. Then we spent a lot of time crawling in beach traffic. It was a long drive.

Luckily you won't have to worry about the summer traffic, just normal Friday traffic.

 

[grlpwrd]

From Baltimore to this area, I take 695 (you can take 895, but I can't stand going thru the tunnel ), 301, and then Highway 17. It takes me about 4 1/2 hours because I stop to eat and rest. Oh, and there are usually highway patrol officers along the way.

Then from 17 you can navigate onto I-64 into Virginia Beach - in the Yorktown area or thereabout.

Rush hour traffic, of course, will make it longer.

Be safe!

Oops, sorry, forgot to mention that there are tolls along the way so we use EZ Pass.

 

[wvjules]

Hmm, I'm thinking I should leave a couple of hours earlier.

I mapquested avoiding 495 and 95 and it takes me from 15 - 29 - 522 - 64. It added some time but I think I'll make up for it by avoiding I95 traffic.

Then I thought about going down 81 and hitting 64 but that seems like a long way around.

 

[Christine]

Can't you get there by taking Rt. 50 out towards Ocean City but when you get to Salisbury you then hang a right onto Rt 13 (south). Follow that down past Chincoteague and then through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel. That puts you down around Norfolk I think but I not really sure how far you are from VA beach at that point. I know my in-laws live in outside of Chincoteague and this is how they go. I can imagine at this time of year there will pretty much be NO traffic this way.

 

[Octoberbride03]

The Bay-Bridge tunnel is your best bet for avoiding 95. It actually lets out in Virginia Beach and Oceanfront is NOT FAR at all. No idea how long it would take you, but once you get on 13 south its easy as pie. DH and I make the trip to visit my parents several times a year in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Hope this helps

 

[Christine]

The Bay-Bridge tunnel is your best bet for avoiding 95. It actually lets out in Virginia Beach and Oceanfront is NOT FAR at all. No idea how long it would take you, but once you get on 13 south its easy as pie. DH and I make the trip to visit my parents several times a year in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Hope this helps

Oh, good, I wasn't totally off base!

 

[grlpwrd]

The Bay-Bridge tunnel is your best bet for avoiding 95. It actually lets out in Virginia Beach and Oceanfront is NOT FAR at all. No idea how long it would take you, but once you get on 13 south its easy as pie. DH and I make the trip to visit my parents several times a year in Rehoboth Beach, DE.

Hope this helps

I've gone into Seaford via 13 south (via Annapolis - getting over the bridge took a while even with EZ Pass ) and it took us much longer overall - like 5 / 5.5 hours from Annapolis.

It's definitely a beautiful scenic route, though.

 

[wvjules]

I'm leaving in the morning instead at rush hour today. I think I'll try the 15 -29 - 522 - 64 route. Hopefully it won't be as bad on a Saturday morning.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Never been on 15, 29, or 522. But i still say the Bay Bridge tunnel is your best bet. You'd be avoiding 64 completely that way. Never been to Frederick either for that matter. But if getting to the Eastern Shore is not bad for you then it would be a straight shot all the way down. If you want more info about getting into VB after the tunnel PM and I'll call DH and get you specifics. I'm a transplant down here myself and often confuse myself.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Ok, so i did a basic Mapquest using just using frederick to Ocean City. Without really knowing how close you are to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge it looks to be about a 3hr drive that way. From OC south it's about 2.5-3hrs depending on your driving habits. Dh and I usually take 4 each way to and from Rehoboth. My parents(dad drives) have gotten down here in 3 flat. But from OC unless you were to hit an accident(Highly unliklely) you'd be always moving and never sitting in traffic. For me that's worth a longer dirve.