Driving from Boston?

[TheCampbells]

For those of you that drive down from the New England area can I ask where you stop online the way. We plan on driving down I-95 and driving back through Charlotte up through Harrisburg Penn.

I orginally was excited because I had a 50% off coupon for Ramada Inns along the way and considering I need 2 room each stop that was going to be a great savings.

We were going to stop at Fredericksburg Va and Savannah Ga down and Charlotte on the way up plus one more stop. This would of cost with the coupons $300!!

I started to read the reviews of Ramada and frankly are quite scared of staying at any of them now. This is along with the Days Inn. Next in line when the reviews started getting better were $100 a room Which now had raised the hotels to $800! for all 4 stops.

Any suggestions would be great. I haven't stayed at a hotel or motel for almost 16 years now.

 

[disneylovin24]

If you want a good room then you will have to probably spend more. Days Inn are the worst hotels I have ever experienced!! I prefer Holiday Inns but that's me. I have never stayed at a bad Holiday Inn. I think you can tell how good a hotel is just by looking at it, if it's newer on the outside then it's rooms are probably nice and new too

Is there anyway you can change your plans so you just have to spend one night each way in a hotel You could leave early in the morning one day and make it down to South Carolina, then drive to WDW the next day. Then coming home you can drive up to North Carolina/Virginia and spend the night there then go home.

 

[TheCampbells]

I'm thinking of reworking the trip to do that, but with 3 kids, my hubby and my mother I'm not sure how many stops along the way we would need. Which is why I was trying to take it as leisure drive.

Holiday Inn, Wingates and Best Westerns are what I'm looking at right now.

 

[disneylovin24]

I'm thinking of reworking the trip to do that, but with 3 kids, my hubby and my mother I'm not sure how many stops along the way we would need. Which is why I was trying to take it as leisure drive.

Holiday Inn, Wingates and Best Westerns are what I'm looking at right now.

I've never even heard of Wingate! Best Westerns I think are pretty good. I think I've only stayed at 2 or 3 and those have been nice. I would also look at Sleep Inns. I've noticed a lot of newer Sleep Inns along 95 the past few years.

I think on the way down you will start to drive and you'll just want to get to disney. We did it once where we spent 2 nights on the road going down and by the second night you really want to be to disney, we never did this again.

 

[Mike]

We used to drive all the time from MA but have flown the past few years. When we drove, I used to use priceline. I would always get rooms for $30-$40 per night and they usually came with a free breakfast which really helped to get the second day off to a good start. $30-$40 for a room and breakfast for 5 is tough to beat.

On the way down we would stay somewhere near the NC/SC border. On the way home we would stay somewhere near the NC/VA border. Priceline always worked out great.

Before I started to use priceline, I got some good deals on roomsaver.com. This site gives you coupons for walk-in registration. The advantage to this is you could print out a bunch for different cities and have the flexibility of stopping where you wanted based on how the drive was going. The negative is that the hotels are not as nice as the ones you get via priceline, the deals aren't as good and the rate is not always honored (depends on availability).

One other advantage to driving is we were able to take our queen size blow up mattress. We are a family of 5 and most of the rooms come with 2 double beds so the extra sleeping space was appreciated.

 

[countrygrl4]

WHOA! Driving from Mass!? I was considering driving from RI but did not want to pay for parking at Disney.

 

[gojoe]

I was thinking of driving from RI for our trip this July. Airfare for a family of 4 is up there. So I look at the numbers (I don't know how to run numbers). First I'll need to rent a SUV or a Mini Van. We pack heavy and even if we packed light we couldn't fit 2 adults and 2 teens cloths. Next was gas. We would pack any food we needed for the trip so no expense for food. I figured a room at a good not great hotel/motel. Now it's a wash for airfare but I would have a car for the week.
Now 2 days down with something we would be looking forward to doing would make the trip bearable. Going home would be another story. When we fly we always try to give ourselves a down day before beginning our normal routines. Driving would eat into a Park day and a R & R day.
So unless airfare double we will be flying.
Send some trip reports the way airfare is going up I'm sure our next trip we will be driving down. Maybe a stop at Disney's Hilton Head for a couple of day would do the trick.

 

[countrygrl4]

I was thinking of driving from RI for our trip this July. Airfare for a family of 4 is up there. So I look at the numbers (I don't know how to run numbers). First I'll need to rent a SUV or a Mini Van. We pack heavy and even if we packed light we couldn't fit 2 adults and 2 teens cloths. Next was gas. We would pack any food we needed for the trip so no expense for food. I figured a room at a good not great hotel/motel. Now it's a wash for airfare but I would have a car for the week.
Now 2 days down with something we would be looking forward to doing would make the trip bearable. Going home would be another story. When we fly we always try to give ourselves a down day before beginning our normal routines. Driving would eat into a Park day and a R & R day.
So unless airfare double we will be flying.
Send some trip reports the way airfare is going up I'm sure our next trip we will be driving down. Maybe a stop at Disney's Hilton Head for a couple of day would do the trick.

I took all that into consideration at first it was going to be me and one of my girlfriends but now I might bring my niece and her friend or just my niece but even still it's a lot to do. After a nice and relaxing and FUN vaca the last thing I wanna do is drive home.

 

[persimmondeb]

When looking for cheap on a drive like that, look for the location, not necessarily the brand. Those Ramada Inns you had originally picked are in touristy (if nice) areas, which is probably why they were coming up so expensive, even with the coupon (which may have been off their highest rates, anyway). You really should be able to get a decent motel for under $100, particularily in the Carolinas (in addition to being desirable for sightseeing, those stops are before and after the land of the really cheap motel). We drive from Philadelphia, and on the last two trips to Florida we stopped overnight in Lumberton, where we got nice motels (Comfort Suites, Holiday Inn) for about $80, and they clearly weren't the very cheapest respectable places. I've stayed in respectable, if low-end, motels off of 95 for as little as $35.

 

[Wendy5055]

Kudos to all the people who drive...it is not easy no matter how you do it.

I would be hard pressed to attempt it myself and given the mileage put on your vehicle or cost of a rental, the cost of gas, hotel rooms, food (even if you pack the majority of food), time...it just does not make much sense to me when I can drive 2 hours to NY and get a cheap roundtrip flight...I think it was something like $174 round trip per person...Nonstop to MCO.

I always wondered if it is a dislike or phobia of flying or the cost of airfare that prompts people to drive.

 

[disneylovin24]

WHOA! Driving from Mass!? I was considering driving from RI but did not want to pay for parking at Disney.

If you are staying at a WDW hotel parking is free throughout disney.

Kudos to all the people who drive...it is not easy no matter how you do it.

I would be hard pressed to attempt it myself and given the mileage put on your vehicle or cost of a rental, the cost of gas, hotel rooms, food (even if you pack the majority of food), time...it just does not make much sense to me when I can drive 2 hours to NY and get a cheap roundtrip flight...I think it was something like $174 round trip per person...Nonstop to MCO.

I always wondered if it is a dislike or phobia of flying or the cost of airfare that prompts people to drive.

We started driving for a few reasons. One, price. For what we pay in gas is what a roundtrip plane ticket would cost. Two, after 9/11 we were alittle hesistant to fly at first. Three, it's nice to have our own car at disney. We attend the Daytona 500 while there so we need a car to get there. Four, we do enjoy the drive. We are on our schedual while driving and don't have to worry about missing or flight or our flight get delayed. Also, the scenery is nice on the way down and we get to see a lot more then you do flying.

 

[Wendy5055]

See...I KNEW there had to be more to it! I always thought driving was a cool idea...just not the option for this single mom. However, the sheer adventure of driving is awesome!!!

 

[persimmondeb]

With 3 of us, we're still doing a little better than flying round-trip, although we only make one stop overnight at the most, and if we were driving from New England we would probably have to make two. Also I hate to fly, and usually won't unless it's to Europe or the West Coast, and my DH is a larger individual who is very uncomfortable in an airline seat. Add the ability to pack everything except the kitchen sink, and it just starts to make more sense to us. Also DH likes to drive, even a 1000+ miles at a time.

 

[francie57]

We have always had good luck with Best Western and Holiday Inn. If you are AAA members they give a discount at Best Western and others so that would help you out.

 

[buzz5985]

I have driven several times from Boston. We have brought Grampy, the dog, you name it. Michael the Beta fish was not allowed to come.

Our last trip we stayed the first weekend in Washington DC, and visited the White House and all the War Memorial with the DF 77 (I got a great price for a weekend at the JW Marriott on Penn. Ave for $119/night free parking!!!). Then we drove to Richmond VA and picked up my DS and her 3 kids and had a caravan. We drove - rotating children and adults between the 2 cars and stopped in Brunswick GA at a Marriott with a free breakfast. On the way home we stayed in HHI for a week, then home in one day.

Another trip we drove from MA to Rocky Mount NC. The hotels are too far off the highway. Some areas seamed a little shady. Several trips we stayed at a Best Western in Fayetteville NC - they allowed dogs. It was a nice hotel, had a microwave and fridge. Several chain restaurants in the area. Along with serveral other hotel chains. We like Fayetteville for a stop.

We like to drive. So driving is never a problem for us. We leave between 2 am and 4 am. (I work nights, so I am used to being up). Our first stop is in NJ for gas. Second stop is for lunch - which we bring with us - and stop at a rest area for about 30 minutes - bring a plastic tablecloth for the tables.

Be aware of the different hotel chains cancellation policies. Several are at 5 pm same day. You could make a couple of different reservations, say 50 miles or so apart, and if you feel you can drive a little further, just cancel that reservation. Join the hotels frequent user clubs, there are specials just for members.

Any more questions just ask away. Just thought of something - keep your speeds down in GA - seems like I saw more staties there than anywhere.

Janis

 

[lucyem]

We drive from New England. To be honest we do not make reservations ahead of time. Maybe it is not the cheapest but it is easier. We drive as long as we can and then stop. If there is bad weather we can stop early, if things are good we can keep going longer. The last time we drove we only had one night where we could not find anything because there was some sort of convention going on in that part of VA. It took another 45 minutes to find a room. We stay right off the highway in well known name hotels. Rooms are always as clean as one can expect.

I am surprised Days Inn gets such a bad rap these days. About 10 years ago we drove across the country and stayed in only Days Inn hotels. They (all but 1) were all clean, beautiful, full breakfast, friendly staff. That one was in the middle of Kansas City - the MO side. The only thing missing was the body outline on the floor One bad out of 15+ good is not bad.

 

[disneylovin24]

I am surprised Days Inn gets such a bad rap these days. About 10 years ago we drove across the country and stayed in only Days Inn hotels. They (all but 1) were all clean, beautiful, full breakfast, friendly staff. That one was in the middle of Kansas City - the MO side. The only thing missing was the body outline on the floor One bad out of 15+ good is not bad.

I think that's because 10-15 years ago Days Inn were much newer then they are now.

 

[Kassidysdad]

For those of you that drive down from the New England area can I ask where you stop online the way. We plan on driving down I-95 and driving back through Charlotte up through Harrisburg Penn.

I orginally was excited because I had a 50% off coupon for Ramada Inns along the way and considering I need 2 room each stop that was going to be a great savings.

We were going to stop at Fredericksburg Va and Savannah Ga down and Charlotte on the way up plus one more stop. This would of cost with the coupons $300!!

I started to read the reviews of Ramada and frankly are quite scared of staying at any of them now. This is along with the Days Inn. Next in line when the reviews started getting better were $100 a room Which now had raised the hotels to $800! for all 4 stops.

Any suggestions would be great. I haven't stayed at a hotel or motel for almost 16 years now.

Hi, We drive from NH - We stay offsite at a timeshare , so we need a vehicle anyways, plus I used to work in the "airline " industry and have my reasons for not flying as well. I rent a mini van from whomever gives me the best deal. Anyways, we take I-84 - To I-81 ( it cuts out all the city -crazy traffic - NYC, NJ & DC -though it tacks on some miles, it does not take any longer & it is a much more beautiful ride) then we cut across Rt 64 to Richmond which is our 1st stop for the night. We stay at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott overnight ..BEAUTIFUL, new hotel and you can find great deals at this place. The next morning we jump on I-95 right there and continue on. We love driving down, my daughter loves to stay in the hotels & we look at it as extra time together. Have fun.

 

[TheCampbells]

Thanks for all the ideas. We're not flying for two reasons. It cost ALOT on April vacation up here plus I want the kids to have a nice family road trip .. Lol-- I said nice . I wonder if I will be gray when I get home.

Anyways--We're leaving at 5 am so we can see a little around Washington before stopping for the night. Then head down to Savannah, to stop at some of the shops and hopefully get dinner at Paula Deans

On the way home we're stoping in Charlotte to see my cousins, and then up through the Smoky mountains.

I changed the DDP to the QSDP which saved enough to get the $100 a night hotels.

 

[capecoddisneyfamily]

Hi, We drive from NH - We stay offsite at a timeshare , so we need a vehicle anyways, plus I used to work in the "airline " industry and have my reasons for not flying as well. I rent a mini van from whomever gives me the best deal. Anyways, we take I-84 - To I-81 ( it cuts out all the city -crazy traffic - NYC, NJ & DC -though it tacks on some miles, it does not take any longer & it is a much more beautiful ride) then we cut across Rt 64 to Richmond which is our 1st stop for the night. We stay at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott overnight ..BEAUTIFUL, new hotel and you can find great deals at this place. The next morning we jump on I-95 right there and continue on. We love driving down, my daughter loves to stay in the hotels & we look at it as extra time together. Have fun.

What time do you leave, and is it on a weekday or weekend. We have thoughts of making it to NC but with three kids under 6 not sure if it will be pushing it.