Driving-Best time to leave?

[OrlandoHelp]

We will be driving from the NYC area on a Friday morning. We bounced around the idea of leaving on Thursday evening but decided against it. We didn't want to add the cost of an additional night's hotel room. We do not check into WDW until Saturday.

So what time would be best to leave to NYC on a Friday morning to avoid the Baltimore/DC morning rush hour traffic? Is it better to leave between 6-7am or after 10am?

We prefer to leave around 6:30am but would consider waiting if it was an easier ride.

Thanks

 

[Uncleromulus]

Well-rush hours around Balto and DC in the AM run from about 6 (maybe 5:30 in DC) right thru 9:00 (maybe 10 in DC). So if leaving NYC at 6:30 AM would put you in Baltimore around 9:30 or so, you would be ok.

 

[NJRRK]

From Northern NJ here, when we leave we leave about 6 a.m., we hit a little rush hour traffic from Wilmington DE to Baltimore, bit nothing like NY area traffic at 7-9, and Washington is usually pretty free moving by the time we get there.

 

[Maryrn11168]

We usually leave Long Island around 4-4:30 am...the kids go back to sleep and usually don't wake up again til 9am. Never have a problem with traffic!!

 

[GranddadTom]

I usually figure 4 hours from the GW Bridge to the Washington Beltway. If I assume that traffic in NYC is not an issue for you, then I would say the early (6:30 – 7:00 am) departure time would be just about perfect re: Washington. Leaving at 10:00 am gets a little iffy. The thing you want to be most concerned about on a Friday is the afternoon traffic leaving town and heading south on Rt. 95. If you get to Washington before noon, this should be no problem (assuming there are no accidents – listen to 103.5FM for traffic reports “on the 8’s”). I would advise you to head East when you get to the beltway and go across the Wilson Bridge on the outer loop of the Beltway. At noontime, even the Beltway traffic moves right along.

 

[OrlandoHelp]

I usually figure 4 hours from the GW Bridge to the Washington Beltway. If I assume that traffic in NYC is not an issue for you, then I would say the early (6:30 – 7:00 am) departure time would be just about perfect re: Washington. Leaving at 10:00 am gets a little iffy. The thing you want to be most concerned about on a Friday is the afternoon traffic leaving town and heading south on Rt. 95. If you get to Washington before noon, this should be no problem (assuming there are no accidents – listen to 103.5FM for traffic reports “on the 8’s”). I would advise you to head East when you get to the beltway and go across the Wilson Bridge on the outer loop of the Beltway. At noontime, even the Beltway traffic moves right along.

Thanks, Mapquest has me going West on 495? I assume that going East will get us back on 95 S. Is there anything additional I need to know about this route?

 

[OrlandoHelp]

Thanks all for the response, Glad that 6:30am departure will work.

 

[GranddadTom]

The Washington Beltway makes a big circle around Washington. As you come down from the north, you enter the circle at what would be one o'clock on a clock (actually on an "old" clock) and you get onto Rt. 95 south of town at around 7 o'clock - so it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. I drive the Beltway every day and the part that Mapquest recommended to you is just a little tougher to drive. There are what they call the esses (like the letter S - meaning curvy roadway) near the Morman Temple and further on in Virginia the are adding HOV lanes so there is quite a bit of construction going on there right now. Going the way I recommended - there used to be construction by the Wilson Bridge but that is finished now. Timewise the two way are pretty much the same.

 

[cranbiz]

Thanks, Mapquest has me going West on 495? I assume that going East will get us back on 95 S. Is there anything additional I need to know about this route?

use 495, it's much better than going east or using 295. 495 connects back with 395/95 in Alexandria, VA. The 95 route over the Wilson bridge is OK too, again, I would avoid 295 like the plaque.

 

[OrlandoHelp]

We are rethinking this and may just leave on Thursday evening and stop for the night just south of Richmond.

Any suggestions for a safe place to stay the night off of I95 just south of Richmond VA?

We figure that this should give us a 12 hour drive on Friday.

Thanks