Driving from NJ-Cape May Lewes Ferry

[mericletwins]

Hi~
We are going to drive to Disney for the first time ever! We always fly, but this is more of a spur of the moment trip and airfare was high. We are planning on going down on 4/15. We are going to take one of the early afternoon ferries and are debating driving straight through. Has anyone taken this route before? (CM-Lewes Ferry and Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel) Any advice or tips for driving? If we don't drive straight through we are considering stopping around Brunswick, Ga? Any thoughts? It will be DH and I and our three kids, ages 10, 11 and 11.

 

[artesian]

Cool thing to do but you're better off sticking to the interstates. You'll add more overall time to the trip taking the ferry.

 

[nono]

Cool thing to do but you're better off sticking to the interstates. You'll add more overall time to the trip taking the ferry.

Not always.

Hi OP, I'm in REAL Southern NJ too. Yes, we've done the overnight on a Friday night in the spring -- we left on the 6 o'clock ferry.

It is best to head towards Rt. 113 via Rt. 24 after you get off the ferry to head down the DelMarVa. It's not a bad trip, but be really careful with the directions around VA Beach/Norfolk. I'd suggest stopping at the rest stop just before the Bay Bridge/Tunnel and reviewing your "moves" for when you get off the bridge. It gets confusing there, so really have your route memorized. Once you get to Rt. 58, it's roughly an hour over to I 95.

Enjoy!

 

[bookwormde]

It is faster to go 95, but if you have the time your plan is fun. It will likely add an hour to your trip.

 

[eliza61]

Not always.

Hi OP, I'm in REAL Southern NJ too. Yes, we've done the overnight on a Friday night in the spring -- we left on the 6 o'clock ferry.

It is best to head towards Rt. 113 via Rt. 24 after you get off the ferry to head down the DelMarVa. It's not a bad trip, but be really careful with the directions around VA Beach/Norfolk. I'd suggest stopping at the rest stop just before the Bay Bridge/Tunnel and reviewing your "moves" for when you get off the bridge. It gets confusing there, so really have your route memorized. Once you get to Rt. 58, it's roughly an hour over to I 95.

Enjoy!

Hey, hey nono, what's this "real" south jersey stuff? Op, I haven't done the ferry in a very long time. we use to take it all the time to get to Rehobeth Beach but personally I think it's quicker doing 295 over to the Delaware memorial bridge and then 95.

But we stop in Brunswick Ga every time we drive. very quick and easy and then from there to the world it's only a couple of hours.

 

[Missytara]

I think it would be a wonderful thing to do.

We take the ferry over all the time; I live about an hour north of Rehoboth, DE.

Don't worry about taking the extra time going down; now coming back, you would most likely want to get home quicker. But I think going down should be a nice leisurely trip and I like going down the Tunnel way, in lieu of the bridget.

Enjoy!

 

[amcnj]

Being in almost extreme southern NJ (near AC) it takes me 40 minutes or so to get to the ferry, and having to be there in advance, loading and sailing takes a total of 2-2.5 hours, while in 3 hours I can be in VA (leaving early AM) via the Delaware Mem Bridge. Of course just leaving early prevents usage of the ferry as they don't operate then. Plus I always feel that need to get moving and make progress early on and feel the ferry slows me down! I guess if I lived in Cape May I might feel differently, but leaving early saves you time and trafic the entire trip. I have had good luck leaving 2:30 AM and driving straight through. You can be in the Orlando area 6:30 to 8:30 PM, depending on your stops, traffic, weather, etc.

 

[nono]

It is faster to go 95, but if you have the time your plan is fun. It will likely add an hour to your trip.

The OP lists EXTREME Southern NJ as location. To me, that says southern Cape May County, say, Wildwood or Cape May? If that's so, taking the ferry doesn't always add time, esp. since they want to leave on a Friday afternoon/evening. Going up and around to encounter I-95 in Delaware, Baltimore/Wash. & Richmond is guaranteed to be an hour faster given that? My experience hasn't been so. And, there's also the issue of not even having limited access highways all the way to the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which means negotiating a mess of small towns (47/347, then 40) with Friday afternoon traffic. (School busses!)

In off hours, where traffic moves through all those areas as well as we all like, the ferry trip is longer. (Also, before Rt. 113 on the DE side became an option, definitely longer. Before DE got all the traffic flowing well around the Rehoboth outlets, definitely longer....In other words, some of the factors that were negatives in the past, perhaps when you tried them, have been eliminated. )

 

[amcnj]

Nono: So you take the ferry to 113 to 13, then what route do you prefer after the Bay bridge tunnel? Are you then hitting 95 at Emporia, VA? How long does it take you to hit Emporia all told, counting the ferry time?

Thanks for the info,. In case we make a non-early AM trip I always wondered about this route.

 

[Jessica527]

Use the ferry as an attraction for the drive. In the early morning ones you can see Dolphins and so much. But be careful, they don't really sell breakfast items on the ferry. It is more nachos and heat up yourself sandwiches.

Hope you have fun

 

[nono]

Nono: So you take the ferry to 113 to 13, then what route do you prefer after the Bay bridge tunnel? Are you then hitting 95 at Emporia, VA? How long does it take you to hit Emporia all told, counting the ferry time?

Thanks for the info,. In case we make a non-early AM trip I always wondered about this route.

No problem. This is a great route for those of us hugging the coast in the south who perhaps don't want to get up super-early, and don't mind driving at night.

First, since we live very close to the ferry (and since the ferry has its on-line capacity information now) we can cut our time very close, so realize we're in better shape that way -- we don't have to plan for any Jersey traffic slowing us down.

So, our timing to getting to the Emporia exit of I-95 taking the afternoon or evening ferry has been 6 hours + another 25-30 minutes from our curb. That includes waiting/traveling/exiting the ferry, and one quick pit stop along the way. We take 64/264/664/58 over to I-95 in that order. But, check with online or other directions to get what the signs will be reading. It does help.

In contrast, if we leave super early, and go up to the Del Mem Br., with the kids asleep in the car, we'll hit Emporia in 5 hours 45 minutes with no rest stop. If we put in a rest stop, it'd be right close to 6 hours. When we've tried to do this at other "off" hours (such as hitting Balt/Wash after morning rush), we've never gotten quicker than 6 hours 30 minutes (one rest stop), and sometimes much worse. It's never the same where we lose time, and to be fair, sometimes that time loss is all in NJ or DE, not the expected Balt/Wash area.

As I've written elsewhere, our kids like spending 1 day in the car , so we've taken to stopping in the VA Beach/Norfolk area. We'll take the afternoon ferry over (which gives me a lot of the day to leisurely get ready), then to the hotel room in time for dinner. I'll have a glass of wine with dinner, shower and knock out early around 8 pm. Since I'm the morning driver, and a morning person, when I get up, I shoo everyone to the car, and they know we're roughly 12 hrs. from WDW. The less stops, the closer to 12 we are! I'll get us going anywhere from 3-5 am.

It's an odd choice, but it works for us. We arrive quite relaxed.

 

[amcnj]

Thanks for the info Nono. That is the main thing, finding something that works well for you and your family. I may be having a drive up from the Sarasota area, so that throws my usual routine off, and I may need to try this way to avoid hitting the DC area near rush hour.

 

[mericletwins]

I am the OP and we live about 10 minutes from the ferry. Our kids have only been on the ferry once and they don't remember that trip, so we are doing it for that experience as well as by the time we drive up and around to the DE Memorial bridge, it will be close to a wash. Thanks for all the good info.

Now we are considering leaving on a late morning ferry and stopping at a hotel that night. Maybe Santee, S.C.? All thoughts and input are greatly appreciated. I can't decide which would be better. My DH works over night the three nights before, so he would definitely sleep in the car and probably during the ferry trip. We were thinking of getting to Santee (it would be about 10 p.m. if we take the 11a.m. ferry) sleeping for about 5 hours and then leaving the hotel about 3:30 a.m. to drive to WDW.

I'm so confused and I'm not sure what is the best option.

 

[Missytara]

I am the OP and we live about 10 minutes from the ferry. Our kids have only been on the ferry once and they don't remember that trip, so we are doing it for that experience as well as by the time we drive up and around to the DE Memorial bridge, it will be close to a wash. Thanks for all the good info.

Now we are considering leaving on a late morning ferry and stopping at a hotel that night. Maybe Santee, S.C.? All thoughts and input are greatly appreciated. I can't decide which would be better. My DH works over night the three nights before, so he would definitely sleep in the car and probably during the ferry trip. We were thinking of getting to Santee (it would be about 10 p.m. if we take the 11a.m. ferry) sleeping for about 5 hours and then leaving the hotel about 3:30 a.m. to drive to WDW.

I'm so confused and I'm not sure what is the best option.

Santee is exactly where my parents stop from DE, when they go to Venice, FL every year!

 

[amcnj]

Enjoy the ferry trip. We have used it for sport team events and the kids always enjoyed the ride. I always imagined it was a welcome respite for those traveling to WDW from much further north, giving them a nice driving break.

 

[arthuruscg]

If you do the lower bay bridge/ tunnel, make sure you watch your speed through Franklin and Emporia on 58. They can be routhless.

 

[mericletwins]

Thanks! I haven't really looked at the route after we get off the ferry. I know that it shows that you pick up I95 in Rocky Mount. For those who have done the ferry or are coming from the Bay Bridge/Tunnel is that the route you go?

 

[nono]

Thanks! I haven't really looked at the route after we get off the ferry. I know that it shows that you pick up I95 in Rocky Mount. For those who have done the ferry or are coming from the Bay Bridge/Tunnel is that the route you go?

Well, you can, but you can also travel across the bottom of VA through the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area to Emporia, VA.

(Rt. 24 to Rt. 113, to Rt. 13 over Bay Bridge/Tunnel. Rt. 64/264/664 to Rt. 58 to I-95.)

That's what I was referencing in these messages earlier in the thread. Sorry if that wasn't clear:

It is best to head towards Rt. 113 via Rt. 24 after you get off the ferry to head down the DelMarVa. It's not a bad trip, but be really careful with the directions around VA Beach/Norfolk. I'd suggest stopping at the rest stop just before the Bay Bridge/Tunnel and reviewing your "moves" for when you get off the bridge. It gets confusing there, so really have your route memorized. Once you get to Rt. 58, it's roughly an hour over to I 95.

Enjoy!

We take 64/264/664/58 over to I-95.

And, as arthurscg noted, watch your speed on Rt. 58. It's a decent posted speed anyways for a non-interstate, so no need to chance a ticket.

 

[terrydrogbar4]

Thanks for sharing this information.

 

[CleveRocks]

I live on the same island as Atlantic City, which means the ferry is about a 40 minute drive for us, door to door. Still, it takes us almost exactly the same amount of time to get to, say, Baltimore or DC, that wqay as it does to take the Delaware Memorial Bridge or worse yet the Walt Whitman Bridge.

With it taking the same amount of time, I often prefer spending the money and getting a pleasant ride during which I can relax rather than drive, and it's fun for the kids, too. It's nice to give them 90 minutes or so to sail on the open water and have the opportunity to stretch their legs.

Many trips, we do it both ways, the ferry going southbound and then the surface roads going back home.