Driving CT to Va Beach ?s x-post

[Goofygirl17]

Hi all,
We're going to Va Beach in a few weeks (swapped my mother's timeshare) and I'm trying to figure out the best route to take. We're leaving from the New Haven area on Friday, July 10th around 9 am and we don't check into our hotel until Saturday at 4. We're going to make it a two day trip and stay somewhere overnight so the kids can swim, play etc and then go the rest of the way on Saturday. Last time we went (2 years ago) we stopped at a Hampton Inn right before the Delaware Bridge. I haven't figured out where to stop this time.

I think we're going to take the Merritt pkwy and then I'm not sure which way to go. Last summer we went to Avalon, NJ so we took the merritt to the tappan zee bridge to 287 to 87 to the Garden State. I'm not sure how I should change that route to head to VA. I've tried using mapquest but can't get it to avoid 95 though NY.

I'd appreciate any and all advice regarding the best route to take. I know we're going to go down rte 13 and over the chesapeke bay bridge tunnel but I'm not sure of the best way to get there to avoid traffic.

Thanks!
Goofygirl

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

We've been to several tournaments in NJ in the last few years (and actually VA Beach a few years ago) and we're driving from RI. Always took the George Washington Bridge, because that's what the directions give us, and have hit some awful traffic. (I'm from NJ, not far from the GWB, and we always took the Tappan Zee Bridge when we'd visit years ago.) However, we went to NJ just over a week ago, and decided to try the Tappan Zee instead. Getting over the bridge was MUCH easier than our recent experiences getting over the GWB. But, we hit a ton of traffic at times going down the Garden State Parkway. (We left RI at 11:25, ETA 3:17, just to give a time frame of reference.) I'm not sure exactly how much time doing that set us back relative to what might have happened taking the GWB, because later in the trip, we hit dreadful traffic getting off the highway at our destination, onto a road with construction. All in all, it took 2 extra hours...6 hours instead of 4. We had to skip checking in to the hotel and head straight to the field.

What I did like about taking the Tappan Zee Bridge was avoiding that mess of crisscrossing highways when you get off the GWB. OMG, does that make me a nervous wreck.

Good luck and have fun in VA Beach. We had a great time there. (Is it Rte 13 or something that goes on FOREVER on the way down, with traffic lights and lots of corn fields?) The Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel is pretty cool.

 

[Goofygirl17]

Thanks MaryAnn- My GPS and mapquest always send me over the George Washington bridge and it's a nightmare! I'm always driving our full size truck (very comfortable and roomy) and I hate being in traffic with it- standard shift! Last year taking the merritt and the tappan zee was wonderful. There was construction but no delays at all on the way down- the ride home is another story though!

13 is the road through nowhere but it leads right to the cbbt and Va beach. I like the bridge but the tunnels make me a little crazy with the truck. I always feel like I should shrink myself to fit- especially with tractor trailers coming toward me!

We can't wait to get there and ride the waves!

Goofygirl

 

[DisneyBlonde]

I would avoid the GW bridge. I have driven the New Haven to South Jersey route since 2002, and I can tell you that when you get caught in traffic before the bridge it can be hours. Also the Jersey Turnpike (95 in Jersey) has exits only once every 9 or 10 miles. So again, once traffic starts to build, you're sort of stuck.

I would definitely take the Merritt to 287 over the Tappanzee Bridge to the Garden State, and I would stay on the Garden State until you're further down into South Jersey. I'm not sure how to get from there to Virginia Beach, I've never been there.

Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[Goofygirl17]

Thanks. I guess I need to find a map that shows the Garden state and rt 13 so I can figure out how to get from 1 to the other. I considered going down to Cape May and taking the ferry but I don't really want to be on a ferry for over an hour- the kids would love it though!

You should go to Va Beach sometime. The waves are great!

Goofygirl

 

[dbogen]

GoofyGirl,

Last weekend we went from the Bridgeport area to VA for a wedding. Like you we avoid the GW at all costs. We took a more inland route down. I think it was 15 over the tapanzee then 80 I think( it is a no toll road), I will have to go look. Coming home we did the garden state, I would say either one is good. The advantage to the garden state is that the rest stops are right on the highway. The more inland route you actually had to get off the highway, think merrit parkway.

Anyway if you want me to get the directions let me know, it took us into VA near Dulles/williamsburg.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Thanks. I guess I need to find a map that shows the Garden state and rt 13 so I can figure out how to get from 1 to the other. I considered going down to Cape May and taking the ferry but I don't really want to be on a ferry for over an hour- the kids would love it though!

You should go to Va Beach sometime. The waves are great!

Goofygirl

If you decide to take the Tappan Zee Bridge, just take the exit for it off of 95, and the GPS will just kick in and recalculate; shouldn't be any problem getting from there to Rte 13 with the GPS. Altho, mine kept repeatedly trying to get me off the road from 95 to the TZB to go a different way; I just ignored "her"...she can be so annoying. If you also want Mapquest directions (I always take both written directions and my GPS), use a town in the general area on the west side of the TZB, like Nyack, and plug that into Mapquest.

Coming back from NJ last week (Sunday, the 7th), we did take the GWB...getting onto the bridge was a mess of merging traffic. We hit other traffic in NY/CT at times too. But, it only set us back 40 minutes for the whole trip (as calculated on the GPS). This was leaving NJ maybe 11 AM.

dbogen...isn't 80 east/west, and further south in NJ? I remember 80 from a couple of trips to my brother's house MANY years ago, and it was awful, but I'm not sure if there was a reason why (construction or something). Nor do I really know where it goes.

 

[dbogen]

dbogen...isn't 80 east/west, and further south in NJ? I remember 80 from a couple of trips to my brother's house MANY years ago, and it was awful, but I'm not sure if there was a reason why (construction or something). Nor do I really know where it goes.

I know there was a 78 in there somewhere, I just haven't had time to look it up. I believe it was the exit after the one for the garden state once over the tapanzee. We were in Leesburg VA last weekend for a wedding. We debated over the route home, sounds like we did ok avoiding the GW

 

[Goofygirl17]

Thanks Deanna and MaryAnn-

I'm going to play around with mapquest some more but so far my route is:

merritt parkway to 287/tappan zee bridge- stay on 287 until exit 10 to 95/NJTP. I haven't figured out the rest yet.

Thanks again!
Goofygirl

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

The GSP on a Friday in the summer always has a very big chance of traffic with people heading to the beach for the weekend.

You might want to check out the Seaview Marriott in Southern NJ if you are going to stick to the GSP.

You could always go via the ferry from NJ.

 

[Goofygirl17]

I've been fiddling with mapquest and this is what I have so far...

95 S

Take exit 38 toward CT-15/Merritt and W. Cross Parkways

Merge onto Milford Pkwy

Merge onto CT-15 S via the exit on the left twd NY City

CT-15 S becomes Hutchinson River Pkwy S

Take the Westchester Ave exit 26 toward I-287 W/White Plains

Turn Slight right onto Westchester Ave/CR-62 W

Merge onto I-287 W toward I-684 /White plains/Tappan zee Br/Brewster

Keep left at the fork to go onto I-287 W/I-87 N/New York State thruway N (portions toll)

Merge onto I-287 S via Exit 15 toward New Jersey (crossing into NJ)

Keep left to take I-287 S toward Perth Amboy

Take the I-95/New Jersey turnpike exit

Take the exit on the left toward Trenton and South

Take the exit toward Cars/Trucks-buses

Merge onto the New Jersey Turnpike S (Portions Toll)

New Jersey turnpike S becomes I-295 S/US-40 W (portions toll) (crossing into Delaware)

Merge onto US-13 S

US-13 S becomes DE-1 S (portions toll)

Merge onto US-13 S via Exit 97 toward Salisbury/norfolk (crossing into Maryland)

Merge onto US-13 S toward Norfolk/Ocean City (crossing into Virginia)

US-13 becomes Charles M Lankford Jr Mem Highway/Lankford Hwy (portions toll)

Lankford Hwy becomes US-13 S

Take the US-60 ramp toward VA beach/little creek

Turn left onto US-60 E/Shore Dr

.... (the rest is little local roads)

Does this look like the quickest way around NYC and the George Washington bridge as well as any other traffic hotspots in NJ etc?

Thanks!!!
Goofygirl

 

[DisneyBlonde]

95 S

Take exit 38 toward CT-15/Merritt and W. Cross Parkways

Merge onto Milford Pkwy

Merge onto CT-15 S via the exit on the left twd NY City

CT-15 S becomes Hutchinson River Pkwy S

Take the Westchester Ave exit 26 toward I-287 W/White Plains Stay on your toes here. The exit ramp takes a sharp curve to the right...then you need to get all the way to the left (it's 3 lanes) to get onto 287

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

The GSP on a Friday in the summer always has a very big chance of traffic with people heading to the beach for the weekend.

You might want to check out the Seaview Marriott in Southern NJ if you are going to stick to the GSP.

You could always go via the ferry from NJ.

The problem with ferries is that you have to be there at a certain time and might even need a prior reservation. Well, that's a problem for me anyway...one more thing to be anxious about being on time for.

When we went to Virginia Beach, I considered doing a night in NJ and mapquested directions to there, and then on to VA Beach. It wasn't until my DD looked at the directions (before the trip, thankfully) that she saw that included a ferry trip. I could just see us getting there not knowing about the ferry, not being there at the right time, and not having a reservation. (We decided to skip a night in NJ and drive straight through.)

 

[Goofygirl17]

DisneyBlonde- thanks- I wouldn't have known that and we're going to be in our big truck so that's good info!

MaryAnn- That's one of the reasons I decided not to go down that way. I don't want to have to plan for being at the ferry at a certain time. I also don't want to be on a boat for over an hour.

Thanks!
Goofygirl