driving from houston tx

[sheilarose2]

Hey guys! We leave on June 6 for the world. We are going to stop in either Pensacola or Tallahasse for the night since we are traveling with 3 kids(9,3,17 mos.)Any advice on a hotel in one of these towns? Thanks alot.
Sheila

 

[Teris]

Hi Sheliarose

I have done this driving trip several times. First off,, get a Tour Book from AAA and have them do a trip tour for you, with any construction that may be going on marked out.

Since you are driving with young children, I have to share this. The first trip we did, the girls were age 4 and 8. We made two quick stops before we stopped for the night in Pensacola. I highly recommend doing this, it breaks the trip up nicely. We stopped at the Louisiana border, and went on the 'swamp walk' that is just behind their Welcome Station. They close it down at 4:00 pm. It's a nice time for a picnic too. The swamp walk is beautiful, and under the shaded trees, it's cool, even in the heat of summer.

We also make a stop along the highway 90 Biloxi beach area. Even if just to stretch our legs. Just follow the signs and they will get you back on the main road again.

We then drive until we begin to feel tired,, usually just past Pensacola, and I check the AAA Florida tourbook for any motels with at least 3 diamonds.

It's about 6 hours to Biloxi, and about 8 1/2 hours to Pensacola, depending on if you get into traffic in Mobile or not. It's another 4 to 5 hours from Pensacola to Tallahassee, which makes for a very long first day driving. We have done it tho, so to have a shorter driving day the next day.

We sometimes stop for the night in Gainesville, or Ocala, so we have a longer day when we check into Disney. This we do if we stop in Pensacola, or sometimes we even stop in Biloxi and then stop again in either Gainseville, or Ocala. If you have the time, you may want to consider the two night plan, as it will help break up the driving, and the kids won't get as restless. Biloxi is a fun place to stop for the night if you want to do the two night plan,, we used to stay at the Treasure Island, and the kids got to play in the pool. It's a good warm up for Disney. Also, that way the adults aren't exhausted upon arrival in Orlando.

My girls are 13 and 17 now tho, and we just fly,mainly because I live in the UK now and don't have the old minivan we used to travel in. But the road trips are great to do. May have to consider doing a road trip again now that oldest is driving Have a great time!

 

[Nebsky]

Pensacola and Talahassee are good stoping points. If you can make it to Lake City, FL where I75 and I10 intersect, there is a Rodeway Inn that has rooms for under $50.00 a night with tax. It is clean, safe and close to the interstate.

We made it there from Dallas in 14 hours. We could have made it all the way to Disney but we had past the time where we could cancel the room for free.

Do you have an entertainment system in your vehical? They make the trip go by VERY fast...

Good luck and have a safe trip!!

 

[diztone]

We also are driving through Houston (beginning our trip in Temple). This information is soooo helpful. Thanks to you all.

 

[Chuck S]

Also Marianna, FL..about 60 Miles West of Tallahassee has a nice Hampton Inn and Comfort Inn, we have stayed at both. Pickins are slim for a good restaurant, though. There is a Ruby Tuesday (yuck) and a Waffle House...we use the Waffle House, at least their food is pretty consistent location to location.

 

[CrazySun27]

I'm also going to make this trip from houston for the first time w/my DH, DS-5, DD-7, DD-9 and sis w/her dd-8.

We planned on leaving on a friday night at 10pm and driving straight there. Our hotel check in is Sat at 4 pm...My husband works nights so is used to the vampire life. We decided to take turns driving. Mapquest estimates 16.50 hours...

Is this a realistic expectation???

 

[Deb & Bill]

You can get to Pensacola in about 7 hours. If you are leaving later in the day, I would drive to Mobile, Daphne or Pensacola. If you are leaving earlier in the day, head on over to Tallahassee. There are several hotels near I-10 at the first two Tallahassee exits. LaQuinta, Sleep Inn, Comfort Inn, to name a few. Tallahassee takes about 10 hours from Houston.

The entire trip from Houston should take about 14 hours (remember you lose an hour heading east, so by the clock it will appear to be 15 hours).

We drive from Shreveport and the miles are about the same. We have left from Houston two times when we brought my mom and our niece. We left Cypress about 8:30AM and got to Tallahassee about 8PM. And we left Cypress about 11 AM and got to Marianna about 10PM.

Daphne, AL is about 6 hours out, Pensacola about 7 hours.

Bad thing about Pensacola. Most of the hotels are off the interstate. And the beach is a good distance from the interstate.

 

[sheilarose2]

We are going to leave around 4:00am. We have reservations at Red Roof Inn in Pensacola and Tallahassee. We put a hold on the rooms without a credit card. We are just going to drive til we hit Pensacola and then see how tired we are and if we are OK then we will continue to Tallahasse. At least we have a room available where ever we decide to stop. Also, can anyone tell me at what point(town) the actual time change will occur when we hit FloridaThanks!
Sheila

 

[Robbiesmommy21]

Hi we're driving from houston too. Actually conroe. We're leaving at 9pm on sunday night and driving straight through. My dh is used too driving to NC over night so this is no biggie for him. I don't think I'll be able to sleep in the car though. We're hoping that our 3 y/o will sleep.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Crazy Sun - we did the same thing you are planning about 2 weeks ago. We left San Marcos about 10pm on Fri night and drove straight through. We got to my moms apt in Orlando in 17 hours, INCLUDING stops for food, gas, and potty =) And it took us several hours to get to Houston, I didn't check to see where you were leaving from.

The drive REALLY was very easy. The roads are nice, traffic was not bad at all, no construction, etc. We averaged 75 mph when it was 70... couldn't run the risk of a ticket =) DEF drive the speed limit when going through the Swamp in Lousiana, they are OUT and the limit is like 55 or somethign ridiculous like that.

I HATED when the sun came up and the daytime drivers got out, so much more crowded. Nighttime driving was very nice.

We didn't sit down and eat anyplace, we stopped, pottyed, got our food, and ate on the road. We were anxious to be there! That really wasn't bad either. Wandering through Flying J at 3am is also amusing =)

We were at POP by 6pm Sat night!!!!!!!

PS - I dont know any good hotels or places to stop because we drove straight through. It really is a nice drive, though boring once we got into Florida!!!!!! We almost enjoyed it! =)

Good luck to all attempting it soon! We'd do it again, for sure =)

 

[CrazySun27]

Dear Aimeedyan,

We are actually leaving from Humble which is a few miles North of Houston, like 15 min.

Thanks for sharing your journey details, it's good to hear that the 16-17 hour road trip is Do-able.


I'll be sure the look out for the Flying j's, I think i'd be quite amused by anything at 3 am!!! hehehe

I'm super excited!

Thx again!

 

[purple84]

We are driving from Beaumont and plan to stay at the Ramada Inn in Pensacola. I am wondering how nice the beaches are there? Is it worth it to spend some time there or should we get up early the next morning and maybe drive to Destin, etc.?

I have also been to the swamp walk at the Louisiana welcome station. The kids really enjoyed it.

 

[Teris]

Pensacola has beautiful white quartz sand beaches. In the summer it will get very very very hot out on them tho. There is no shade to speak of. Plus you have to go off the main highway to get over to them. I grew up there and have had many a nice sunburn on those beaches. I miss that

If your kids are under 7 or so,, the undertow at the beaches in Pensacola are quite powerful.

The beach along highway 90 thru Mississippi is practically flat as a door and very shallow for very young kids.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Quoted from Teris

"Pensacola has beautiful white quartz sand beaches. In the summer it will get very very very hot out on them tho. There is no shade to speak of. Plus you have to go off the main highway to get over to them. I grew up there and have had many a nice sunburn on those beaches. I miss that

If your kids are under 7 or so,, the undertow at the beaches in Pensacola are quite powerful"


There have been a few shark attacks at Pensacola in the past few years.