Driving from Baltimore...

[la79al]

We leave on Friday from the Baltimore area heading to Disney. I just looked at two different sites for directions and they both have different ones. Which way do you suggest we get to Disney and why?

 

[leslieh]

Daughters In-laws just did this on saturday, they made great time, they left so. md. and drove on Rt. 301 to 95 in VA, they left MD at 7:15 a.m. and stopped at Detona east of orlando at 8 p.m. Great time. This was their first trip. No traffic problems though.

 

[dis-happy]

What are the 2 routes you were given? What time of day are you leaving?

 

[la79al]

One route was 95S to 295/95S to I-4. The other is 95S straight to I-4. We are unfortunetly leaving around 5:30 p.m.

 

[kdeachilla]

I would leave a bit later in order to avoid the Capital Beltway mess!! And, when you get near DC take 295S rather than 95 around DC. It's much faster and dumps you out right before the Wilson Bridge over the Potomac.

Then, take 95 S straight down to I-4. When you get just north of Richmond, don't take the by-pass - stay straight on 95 as the by-pass goes way around Richmond and takes forever. And, when you get to Jacksonville, do take the bypass, as it dumps you out further down on 95S.

We usually leave Baltimore at around 7PM and hit the FL/Georgia border by 6AM at the latest. Then we stop for breakfast somewhere off of the Jacksonville by-pass and we're in Orlando by 10AM. It's a great drive, overnight, on the way down, but horrible on the way back. The excitement and adrenaline rush keeps you going on the way down, but by the time you're coming home you're exhausted and the adrenaline is gone! Be careful!!

 

[dis-happy]

That could be one long Friday evening in the car. On occasion in the summer months it would take my dh 3 hours to get from Silver Springs to Woodbridge on a Friday night. So glad we don't live in DC anymore! As kdeacilla mentioned you might want to leave a bit later.

I agree with the rest of kdeachilla's options except for one: when you get to Jacksonville don't take the regular bypass, go the other direction on the I-9 (I hope that's what it is called!) It loops you around the other way toward the beaches and is much shorter, and even though you might hit the one stoplight on it (most of it is freeway except for one 1/4 mile stretch or so) it still ends up faster. There's a large (but beautiful!) bridge on this route so don't go this way if bridges freak you out.

Are you driving all the way through or stopping someplace to spend the night? Hope it's the latter, but either way, happy trails.

 

[Onceler]

If you're leaving at 5:30 pm on Friday, I would strongly recommend that you avoid I-95 south through northern Virginia. From Baltimore, your best bet would be to take Route 301 through southern Maryland and into Virginia. Once you get past Fort AP Hill in Virginia, keep an eye out for signs to I-95. That will put you on I-95 at exit 104 (just north of Kings Dominion) and you will be south of the worst of the traffic.

When you get near Richmond you will have a choice of taking I-95 straight through the city or taking I-295 around the city. I-295 is about 5 miles longer but the speed limit is higher. Some people complain about the traffic when going straight through Richmond but I've never encountered any bad problems, even during rush hour. By the time you get there, it will probably be a coin flip as far as which one is the better choice.

The rest of the trip is pretty straight-forward. Stay on I-95 until you get to Daytona and then hang a right on I-4 towards Orlando.

 

[kdeachilla]

If you leave later (i.e., 7PM), the DC traffic is better and 95S through Richmond is clear and fast!!

 

[dizchick]

Yikes! 5:30 traffic on a Friday in DC! If I were you I would definitely take 301 through MD and avoid DC traffic all together. Like others have said, you'll end up below Fredericksburg in VA and probably will be faster. However, sometimes the traffic lights can back things up in the Waldorf area on 301. Also, don't worry about taking 295 around Richmond. I grew up there and have never thought it was a shortcut. Just take 95 straight through.

Iif you do want to do 95 in VA and not take 301, have you thought about taking the BW Parkway down? That turns into DC295 which will dump you on just a short segment of 495 before merging onto 95 at Springfield. I would definitely recommend this as opposed to taking 495 the entire way around Washington. You'd spend most of your travel time sitting on the beltway!

I'll be on 95 Friday afternoon with you on my way to Richmond! Let's hope it's a good traffic day! Although, I have to take 95 the whole way down (no 301 for me!)

 

[kdeachilla]

Yikes! 5:30 traffic on a Friday in DC! If I were you I would definitely take 301 through MD and avoid DC traffic all together. Like others have said, you'll end up below Fredericksburg in VA and probably will be faster. However, sometimes the traffic lights can back things up in the Waldorf area on 301. Also, don't worry about taking 295 around Richmond. I grew up there and have never thought it was a shortcut. Just take 95 straight through.

Iif you do want to do 95 in VA and not take 301, have you thought about taking the BW Parkway down? That turns into DC295 which will dump you on just a short segment of 495 before merging onto 95 at Springfield. I would definitely recommend this as opposed to taking 495 the entire way around Washington. You'd spend most of your travel time sitting on the beltway!

I'll be on 95 Friday afternoon with you on my way to Richmond! Let's hope it's a good traffic day! Although, I have to take 95 the whole way down (no 301 for me!)

I definitely agree! Absolutely take 295S (BW Parkway) if you can! It's much faster than 95S around the MD side and, as I said in an earlier post, dumps you back onto 95S just before the Wilson Bridge. The Springfield interchange is just a short bit away and then you're on your way to smooth sailing (hopefully)!

 

[Uncleromulus]

Timing is everything at least getting around DC. Their rush hour dosen't even end until 7:00 PM, so best to avoid that entire are until well after that time.
Every route so far described has it merits--and it's problems. We always take the straight shot down I-95, around 495, over the Wilson Bridge,(to the "flyover" that now eliminates the Mixing Bowl). We always take 295 around Richmond and always take 295 around Jacksonville.
To add-- that we leave the Baltimore area at 3:00 AM on Friday morning--which barely beats the start of DC morning rush.

 

[la79al]

Okay, change of plans. We are now leaving Baltimore around 3 p.m. tomorrow. Hopefully we miss the DC traffic and even if we hit some at Richmond, we would get to Disney way too early if we didn't have some kind of delay.

 

[punkin]

Tomorrow is Friday. DC rush hour will start about 2:30. Most of it will be over before 6 pm, by 7 there should be no problems. I am planning on leaving DC @12 noon. See you down there.