Do you pre-plan your stops? MI to FL

[BlueKangaroo]

We are heading out around 4am on Saturday May 1 (DH's usual time to leave for work) and plan on getting the majority of our driving in that day...

Becuase we are unfamiliar with the route and the temperment of the kids on a long car trip, we aren't real sure how far/long we'll make it.

Any suggestions on how to find a hotel room when we need it? I just can't come up with a reasonable location to book ahead.

Thanks!

 

[Jamieb]

Easiest way is to set down with a map and start looking at places along your route and maybe jot down the phone numbers of a few hotels along the way where you think you might make it. That way you can call ahead to check on a room if needed.

If it's not a holiday/busy period it probably won't be too hard to get a room as long as you look early, the later at night the more of a chance they may start filling up.

If you are leaving at 4am and plan to drive 12-15 hours you could possibly make it to Atlanta. All depends on where you are driving from in Michigan, stops along the way and any road construction. If you plan on driving further then I would look at the towns between Atlanta and the Florida state line for ideas on where to stay.

If the kids tend to get a bit restless you may want to look for a place to stop along the way and see something fun for the kids, like the cave in Kentucky or Coke World in Atlanta. Something that would maybe only take a couple of hours but can break up the trip a little.

 

[mom2mira]

We're going in the middle of May from OH. Since we aren't sure exactly how long we'll go, we've checked the map and found cities that we know will have decent hotels at various lengths along the way. We'll just see how it goes and stop at one. I was planing on getting one through priceline.com beforehand, but with a 3 year-old in tow, I figured it would be better to wing it. One way you may be able to get a discounted rate along the way and get an idea of some hotels locations, is to stop at the first visitor's center as you are entering a state. Most have a book with coupons for various hotels in different cities. My parents, who always travel by car, gave me this bit of advice and it really helped us save last year on a trip to TX.

 

[Brumeiser]

We have not tried this before so I hope this works out. We figured out on mapquest the drive from Ohio to Orlando. It was a 18 hour drive if not a little more than that. So we figured 9 hours each day would be sufficient with stops and any accidentals that may occur. We are traveling with a 2 year old and picking up my son from Texas at the Atlanta airport who is 18 years old. A good halfway point was Chatanooga so we tried priceline and got a room for 28 dollars for the way down and the way back. We just hate spending too much for a room just to have a place to put your head down. Hope this helps.

 

[Doodlebug939]

My husband and I moved from Maine to New Orleans last year so I have some experience with travel.

But with any long trip I take I have AAA and order a Trip Tick that routes out the plan for you and tells you where gas, food and lodging are on each road. It is really helpful to know that in 10 miles there is a restroom with two kids under 4.

I pretty much had a good idea where we wanted to stop. On the first day I pushed a little farther so that the second day would not be so bad. Then I order tour book from AAA for that area and find out where I would like to stay because I want some place with a pool. The kids have been stuck in the vehicle and we all could use some down time.

I highly recommend AAA if you are driving because they map the trip out and can get you discounts at hotels along the way. Plus on the maps they will tell you where current construction is so you know to have a potty and gas break before the construction.

Hope it helps.

 

[WillAndFinn'sMom]

We drove from central Kentucky last year. We stopped in Georgia, but really could have driven straight through. We just figured the trip would be harder than it was on our 11 month old. It was much easier than I thought it would be.

I was born and raised in Michigan and we went to WDW from there, but flew, so I don't have any suggestions on good stopping places. Chattanooga probably would be good or maybe here in Kentucky. If you need some info on somewhere to stop in Kentucky, just let me know and I'll be happy to help. Maybe I could find some coupons for you??

 

[Local_Girl]

We ( DH, me, and 2 kids, ages 10 and 7) drove down from Holland, MI to Orlando in Dec. We had planned to get an early start (well, not quite 4am, LOL!) but had some last minute delays and didn't get on the road until after 11am--ugh! I had already made reservations at the Holiday Inn Express in Calhoun, GA (north of Atlanta along I75) so we drove until we made it there, about midnite. It was a very long day, but we got the longest part of the trip done, which was the plan. FYI, I'd recommend this stop as we were pleased with the motel...clean, and a nice continental b-fast in the morning.

If your kids are old enough, plan lots of in-car activities for them and give them opportunities to play actively for a few minutes at rest areas when you stop for bathroom breaks. The first time we set up DVDs for the kids to watch in the car we couldn't believe how quiet it was in the back seat for the majority of the trip!

We always try to make ressies prior to leaving because more than once we've had the misfortune of trying to find a hotel in the middle of the night with no luck for miles/hours (once was due a Corvette convention in the middle of Illinois). Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[CajunDixie]

We drive from IN and always try to get south of Atlanta by way of 75 through Atlanta. One year we stopped in Macon....FYI its better to take the bypass around Macon. The only room we found that night was at a Knights Inn....it was nasty to say the least. Since then we try to make it a little further south. Personally, I think its better not to commit yourself to stopping at a certain place. With road construction, accidents and just how you or your DH feels after driving a long distance you won't know when you'll want or need to stop. Our very first trip we stopped at a WalMart that was open 24 hours and slept for 3 hours then went in and bought milk and ate breakfast on the road and made it to WDW before noon.

 

[sweet maxine]

Hey everyone!

We drive from Mississippi and try to get to Tallahassee the first night. Last year we stayed at the Cabot Lodge and found too many inebriated folks in the lobby during check-in. I know that sounds bad, but I guess there was some kind of convention or something going on. I would rather stay somewhere different this year in Tallahassee. Does anyone have a recommendation?

 

[KristiKelly]

Go to www.randmcnally.com then click on Plan your trip, you can get driving directions and other info. such as places to stay. We've also used Maps.com & the PassPorter recommends www.i75online.com if you're traveling that route or www.drivei95.com, www.usastar.com/i95/homepage.htm or www.freetrip.com Hope this helps, we love planning our road trip almost as much as WDW. DH love road trips.

 

[floridafam]

We drive from Michigan at least twice a year.

We stay one night on the way down. Sometimes we stay in Kentucky, sometimes Tennessee and sometimes Georgia.

We drive 65 if we are going to the Panhandle. We drive 75 if we are going to Orlando. We take 75 to somewhere in Tennessee and cut over to North and South Carolina if we are going to the Atlantic coast of Florida.

We never book a hotel before we leave because we don't know what will happen on the way down to Florida. We always stay at a Hampton Inn because they are always clean and we get Hilton Honors points.

On our last trip, we stopped at Pilot Travel Centers. Every single one had a clean restroom, a Subway and we filled our gas tank. I plan on stopping at these again during our trip in May.

We always take an atlas in case of construction, accidents, etc. We encountered an accident on our last trip and the police made everyone get off the highway. We and four other cars got lost-we kept seeing eachother. It was pretty funny after 1/2 an hour. It was around Halloween and there was a skeleton laying in the middle of the road. My DH made some remark about him being lost for a long time and I thought we were all going to die laughing.

The only awful construction we keep running into is by 23 and 75 near Ann Arbor. It's not fun to drive through one lane of traffic for miles in the dark.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[sweet maxine]

Thanks for that info, KristiKelly. I was not aware of those web sites and will definitely use them for our trip. We tried last year to do the return trip home without reservations and finally found a hotel in Marianna, FL late at night. I agree, it is better sometimes to wait and see how far we get, and I am thinking about doing that for this trip. But I am traveling with a toddler, and I really need to have my ducks in a row before we start. I just hope we can at least make Tallahassee the first night. That makes the next day sooo much easier, and we can try for an earlier check-in.

 

[Debbie]

Dave Hunter's book <i>Along I-75</i> is awesome. Click the link to see how to buy. I love the way that it is set up, and is detailed with side trips and lists of hotels, shopping, hospitals, radio stations. . .