Driving from New Jersey: Suggestions Please

[elf]

Thank goodness I posted. I've been brought to my senses. It's not going to get me to WDW faster to leave earlier. And it's not a great way to start off trip stuck in traffic from the Belt, Verrazanno, through Staten Island.
Thanks for the good advice, I'll leave later. SamRocs words and my rememberence of our distasterous Memorial day weekend trip a few years mad me see the err of my ways.
Now if I could talk DH into flying then it would be perfect.

 

[kandeebunny]

We drive from NH once a year, its not bad. I hate driving at night so we always stay over 1 or 2 nights. Remember to have quarters and ones to save time at the toll booths. Once you get to NC to keep from being bored to sleep count the billboards to South of the Border, there are some amusing ones!

 

[crzy4dsny]

I'm from Long Island and we are thinking of leaving May 27 Friday. Wev'e done the drive a few times and follow a similar schedule to what poster SamRoc has done leaving at 6:00 but I want to stop and sleep for 4-5 hours this trip.
So our plan is to pick up dd at school at 2:00 pm and leave straight from there. I have two concerns. It's Memorial day weekend. I thought if I could just get off of Staten Island by rush hour I would be o.k. What do you all think? Should we leave around 8:00pm after the traffic has died down or 2:00pm and try to beat the traffic, I'd be getting through the Verrazanno around 3:30-4:00. I have a vague memory of going to DC in on a Friday of Memorial day weekend and with the traffic it took 7 hours.
We are on the Eastern end of the island.[/QUOTE

I would leave much earlier than 2:00. Traffic will be mad that day. Alot of people leave work early for the long weekend. Traffic will be crazy thru Brooklyn and across Staten Island. Then once you get to New Jersey you will hit all the Jersey shore traffic. If you leave later on like around 10:00, after the morning rush, you will hit the afternoon rush around Washington.

I think your best bet would be to leave early in the morning like 2:00 am. You would have a clear run at that time.

 

[iLoveEeyore2]

The only suggestion I would give you is to fly. We have driven to Florida, from South Jersey, a few times, and all I can say is, "Never again!"

It is, pretty much, a "straight run", but you have a few congested areas along the loooonnnngggg way. Washington, DC, for one and when you're not familiar with the area, it can be very nerve-wracking. Also, prepare to drive at least 75-80 miles an hour. Cars fly on I-95.

I would suggest you join AAA. Tell them you need a Trip-Tik from wherever you live (you can't be far from me) to Orlando. They will map the whole trip out for you.

Good luck and have a great trip!

I have to agree w/ Dopey Sharon (btw-my name is also Sharon!) We drove one time from So. Jersey and it was long and boring. It took us forever. We first made the mistake of trying to leave on Fri night. We didn't leave until @ 10 pm, DH worked all day and did not rest before leaving. Needless to say we made it as far as the Chesapeke House in Maryland, where we spent the night sleeping in our van. (It was me, Dh, DD & her friend and our 2 Yorkies!) If you do drive, either get plenty of rest before leaving on Fri pm, or leave on Sat a.m. DH made it home much faster. (DD, her friend and I extended our stay and flew home!!!!!) Good luck!!

 

[iLoveEeyore2]

Thank you all so much for all the information. I think I will leave like ducklite suggested around 3 or 4 am... and hopefully make it there safe and sound.. I keep hearing it is a straight run, but I will also look into the alternate routes some of you suggested..My fear is it being my 1st drive there and getting lost.

Thanks again you have been a great help...
I can't wait to leave...

Lilly.....

Actually, that is the one thing that did not happen when we drove down. We did not get lost. It really is a straight run.

 

[theterms]

We've driven many times with 2 kids and once included the 10 mo. old puppy. We always leave at night - usually around ten. I stay up w/ DH to get us through DC, which is around 2-2:30 am. We stop for breakfast around 8 am and then I drive us into FL, then he takes over again to WDW. With the stops, it takes us 17-18 hours. The kids never want to stop for long, they just want to get there! We've never hit a traffic problem until I-4 in Florida, depending on construction, etc. Check the I-95 site mentioned in one of the posts above, there's lots of great info on gas and food stops. We have it down pretty good now where we stop at the same places on the way down and back and can coordinate filling our bellies and the tank at the same time.

We actually love driving, and still aren't sure if it's cheaper to fly or drive this year with gas prices at what they are.

 

[JVL1018]

We are right outside NYC( a few miles form the GWB) and it takes 18 hours with stops. WE have never driven straight down, but have driven straight thorugh on the way back and it bites! We're okay until we hit NJ and those last 2 hours feel like forever.

We've only driven to WDW twice, but we do drive to HH every year.
Leave our house around 6am, miss all the NYC traffic, hit Baltimore around 9, missing that traffic too(as people should be in their office by then), hit DC around 10, miss traffic there,(we have NEVER had a problem with traffic using this timeline) get into Northern VA stop for a late breakfast, drive to NC, stop for a late lunch..etc.

I can't drive at night on highways, all the headlights bother my eyes, so we drive during the day, DH starts driving until we get through DC, then I drive 3 hours, he drives 3 or 4 etc.

Yes people do drive 75-80...because that's the speed limit in the Carolinas. 70 or 75, can't remember which. I usually drive 5-10 miles above the speed limit, put on my cruise control and just go with the flow of traffic and have been fine.

 

[langin]

I am also worried about driving at night but my DH also works shift work and will be coming off "nights" so he should be OK, we are leaving around 4:00pm and will hit Augusta Maine around 9 or 10, we will stop and get the kids ready for bed, age 12 and twins 9. We will driving through the night from Augusta, Maine to about Harrisburg, PA, taking the I95 then the 90 outside Boston then 84 to Scranton then down the 81 to Harrisburg, what will the traffic be like on these roads, are they well travelled roads, places to stop? are they safe or creepy?

This particular boards has been very helpful, I was completely lost before now I only feel half lost, LOL

 

[baileybelle]

Hey langin... Trucks will be about the only traffic you'll meet up with in the middle of the night on these roads. There's a great book you can buy called The Next Exit. It shows every major road with all the exits listed.Here's the website you can order one from http://thenextexit.com/index.asp. It's makes planning a road trip less painful.

 

[TheresaNY]

I am also worried about driving at night but my DH also works shift work and will be coming off "nights" so he should be OK, we are leaving around 4:00pm and will hit Augusta Maine around 9 or 10, we will stop and get the kids ready for bed, age 12 and twins 9. We will driving through the night from Augusta, Maine to about Harrisburg, PA, taking the I95 then the 90 outside Boston then 84 to Scranton then down the 81 to Harrisburg, what will the traffic be like on these roads, are they well travelled roads, places to stop? are they safe or creepy?

This particular boards has been very helpful, I was completely lost before now I only feel half lost, LOL

Why are you going all the way to Scranton and Harrisburg, Pa? Why not come straight down I 95 all the way (through Massachussetts, RI, CT, NY, etc.) Your route seems to swing a bit too far to the west unless you need to go to Pa. first....

 

[langin]

I know, we were originally going to do that , I95 all the way down but then a lot of ppl were saying it's good to swing around to avoid the traffic around the big cities since we are not familiar with the areas. What do you think? If we drive 15 hours straight, I wonder how far we can get, maybe past the big cities like NYC.....Help!

 

[RoseNJ]

I'm a south Jersey mom probably very close to where you are by your description. We drove this two summers ago. You will not get lost. The worst part of the trip was from Baltimore to northern Virginia. Going down is always crowded, Friday or Saturday, even leaving at 4, you will hit traffic. After that, it is a relatively easy drive. Take everyone's advice and check on 95 construction updates. When we drove home, we hit a major construction shutdown near DC and were stuck in traffic for close to 5 hours with 2 tired kids on 95.
Have a great trip, be patient, and have lots to keep everyone entertained. We are flying this year (5 days to be exact).

 

[cranbiz]

I drive frequently from southeastern MA to Deltona. I normally leave around 4pm, get to NYC (GWB) between 9-10pm, Thru Alexandria around 2am and we usually stop in Dillon between 8-9am for breakfast.

I always have at least 1 extra driver and always drive straight thru. I like driving at night, I make much better time, but I don't recommend it unless you are used to night driving. It can be very hard to stay awake. Don't be afriad to stop for breaks, it helps alot.

Now I always stay on I95 the whole way and the only time that I had problems with big city traffic was on the Friday before the April vacation time in New England. We hit major delays in NYC and along the NJ Turnpike. From what I understand from talking to others who went that weekend, the Tappan Zee bridge was just as bad, so it really didn't matter which way I could have gone. I have had construction delays and delays due to MVA's but usually get there in about 20 hours.

Good luck in your endevor, drive safe.

 

[LovePug]

Most of the above say to take I-95 straight through. I always take I-295 around Richmond and highly recommend it. It is 5 miles longer but you can stay at the 65 mph speed limit versus 55 through Richmond and Petersburg

I totally agree. It's also much less stressful than driving through Richmond.

 

[Ishy]

Ride down is EZ compared to the ride home. The ride home is for some reason a lot longer, always rainy, and full of shore traffic. I used to live in NW NJ. Drove down to Florida 4 times --- without kids, with kids, with moms and kids, 20 hours. Best time to leave? 7:30pm providing you have a well rested driver and your driving right thru. If your planning on breaking it up over 2 days, Try to get up to or past south of the border.... its a great cheesy part of americana and graphical mid point. The 500 day-glow signs leading up to it keeps you in that - lets make it mode.
Dont expect much of the hotels there.

Have fun.

 

[sjluci]

I would definitely NOT drive the whole way to Florida in one shot. I would recommend leaving early in the morning then stopping somewhere in either SC or Georgia at night and then finish the trip the next morning. I-95 is an extremely boring drive and it would be too easy to fall asleep at the wheel.

 

[offtheice]

I am in south Jersey I am 1/2 hour from Philly and close to the Delaware Memorial Bridge..

Thanks for your suggestions/Comments..
Lilly

Hey . I drove down last yr. If you dont make many stops besides just getting gas, and you leave fri night and miss the rush hr in Washington , you should make it 16 to 18 hrs.. Now that is if there is no work being done on 95 or any big accidents.