driving from New England to Florida

[a cape lad]

we are moving to Sarasota (2 hours from WDW !) from Cape Cod in about a month and we are considering driving down in our 2 cars with our 5 kids (6-16) rather than pay airfare and pay someone to drive one of our cars down. we would be taking 95 from boston all the way to FL.

if anyone has done it can you share your experience.

did you stop one night and get there the next day ?

how long did you drive each day ?

where is a good place to stop mid-way for a relaxing night at a decent hotel with an indoor pool.

did you stop in the middle of each day for a break and sightseeing somewhere ?

what about timing with rush hour through the DC-Balt area ?

thanks for your help ?

 

[buzz2400]

we drove two times so far. The first time we stopped at rocky mount, nc. We should have driven farther. The second time we stopped at country inns in lumberton, nc. Very nice place. We are going to drive this september and driving straight through since we will have two drivers this time. I don't remember the times we left but i live in connecticut about an hour from new york. From what I read you dont want to be in dc area around rush hour (a.m. and p.m.) and lunch time. This year I am going to leave on a saturday. We just stopped for bathroom breaks and then we stopped at south of the border just so my son could say he was there. If you decide to drive, and you decide to take two days, just make sure you stop close to the sc and nc border (or if further down if can) because the second day is kinda brutal because you just want to get there.

 

[DopeyD]

I drove down a bunch of times as a late teen and into my 20's from just outside Boston.

I agree with the previous post about getting as far down as you can on the first day, if you're going to stop. Get to SC if you can. It makes the second day such much nicer. I want to say it'll take about 14 hours to get to SC from Boston, depending on traffic etc. I think we may have made it to Santee, but we tended to stay at motels since we were just crashing and getting up early the next morning.

I've driven straight through as well and while rough, it was an experience that I look back on fondly. I was with 4 adults, though, and would never do it if any children were involved.

NYC and DC are definitely the traffic hotspots. The only way I can see missing both of those cities at rush hour is to leave at like 11AM. You'll hopefully beat the afternoon rush in NYC, and be after the rush in DC. Unfortunately, traffic nowadays is just a fact of life. If you really want to miss it, do the first day on a weekend.

 

[debster812]

My parents spend the winter in FL, and they leave Hingham and go to the Naples/Ft Myers area. They usually try to leave between 4:30 and 5am on Sunday, so they can get through NYC and DC without too much weekday traffic. They generally do their drive in 3 days, as they're going a bit further south, and are presumably not quite as young as you (don't tell them I said that ).

I agree with trying to get to SC your first night if you can. We just did this drive in February to avoid (ha) the snow we had right before Feb Vacation week, and we had snow from PA to NC, and we only made it to Quantico VA before we had to stop due to ridiculous traffic at 2am on 95S in Quantico. That made for a really long 2nd day.

 

[SilverMickey]

Our drive is generally 25 hrs... New Hampshire to Englewood Fl. (2hrs north of Cape cod- 1 hr south of Sarasota)

We start out after supper Friday night and have the kids sleep in the van... Visit friends in Raleigh, NC Saturday and sleep at their house Saturday night and go the rest of the way Sunday.

If they were not available to us I would leave at OARK:30 (3:30-400am) on a Saturday morning. Drive to about an hour south of the SC border that day and finish out my driving on Sunday.

My kids are teens and sleep where we tell them to!.

Good luck with your move! We are going to a shark tooth festival in Sarasota in a few weeks! I would miss the cape...