Driving from NJ in November. Getting nervous please hlep calm my nerves

[your friend]

WE are driving down in November. I have wanted to do this for a while but never have some I am just nervous we are doing the right thing. There will be four drivers we are leaving from NJ Delaware bridge area at 7:00 pm, driving all night. Things I need to know. How much are tolls, what time can we expect to arrive, is 7:00 pm a good time to leave? Should we take 95 or 301 to Richmond. If anyone with some experience with this route could help I would appreciate it.

 

[NJRRK]

WE are driving down in November. I have wanted to do this for a while but never have some I am just nervous we are doing the right thing. There will be four drivers we are leaving from NJ Delaware bridge area at 7:00 pm, driving all night. Things I need to know. How much are tolls, what time can we expect to arrive, is 7:00 pm a good time to leave? Should we take 95 or 301 to Richmond. If anyone with some experience with this route could help I would appreciate it.

Tolls:

Delaware Memorial Bridge $3 south only.

Delaware turnpike toll $3.

Maryland turnpike toll $3 north only.

Ft McHenry Tunnel $3.

$18 total, That's from memory.

Stay on I-95 and use I-295 around Richmond. You shouldn't hit much traffic at all.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

WE are driving down in November. I have wanted to do this for a while but never have some I am just nervous we are doing the right thing. There will be four drivers we are leaving from NJ Delaware bridge area at 7:00 pm, driving all night. Things I need to know. How much are tolls, what time can we expect to arrive, is 7:00 pm a good time to leave? Should we take 95 or 301 to Richmond. If anyone with some experience with this route could help I would appreciate it.

4 adults and no kids? What is there to be nervous about?

I suggest leaving 3AM over leaving 7pm though.

 

[your friend]

We have two kids. one 4 year old and one 1 year old

 

[Dis703]

We just did the drive in May with 3 adults and 3 kids and it went just fine. Initially we were going to drive overnight but decided we were nuts. Only two of us drove and one has vision issues after a certain time of night so it didn't seem the way to go for us, but with 4 drivers I think you'll be fine.

The one thing I wasn't expecting was how much construction was going on overnight on 95 in VA. No idea if its still going on but it held us up a lot getting to our halfway point. I think there are apps you can use to check on that stuff ahead of time.

 

[BabyMine2]

WE are driving down in November. I have wanted to do this for a while but never have some I am just nervous we are doing the right thing. There will be four drivers we are leaving from NJ Delaware bridge area at 7:00 pm, driving all night. Things I need to know. How much are tolls, what time can we expect to arrive, is 7:00 pm a good time to leave? Should we take 95 or 301 to Richmond. If anyone with some experience with this route could help I would appreciate it.

We are driving from South Jersey also same area. We are planning to leave as soon as my daughter gets off the bus Fri afternoon, get thru D.C and then stop for dinner, somewhere the kids can play and run off energy. Then its onwards to Disney. As of now we are planning to drive straight thru just the hubs and me by will see how we feel. I think leaving at 7:00 is a good time so you dont hit D.C traffic. I am hoping we will be just ahead of the traffic and hope to get into Disney by 7:00 am. Good luck!

 

[ncc1701]

Tolls:

Delaware Memorial Bridge $3 south only.

Delaware turnpike toll $3.

Maryland turnpike toll $3 north only.

Ft McHenry Tunnel $3.

$18 total, That's from memory.

Stay on I-95 and use I-295 around Richmond. You shouldn't hit much traffic at all.

The tolls are now a little bit more. The Delaware bridge is $4 and Maryland turnpike is $8 (if you have EZpass it is around $7).Both are only in one direction.The Delaware turnpike is $4 each direction I think .The Baltimore tunnels are $4 each way with a 10% or so discount if you pay with EZ pass.
If you don't do toll roads often just pay attention to the signs regarding what lanes you need to be in. All those toll areas have EZpass only lanes. The signs are usually a couple of miles before the toll.

 

[happymommy]

As far as I-95 goes, if you're going on a weekday it seems actually better than the weekends. I drove down from home (near Baltimore) to Williamsburg, and we sat almost completely stopped for two hours just south of DC (the drive should take about 3.5 hours for me, but instead took over 6). That was Saturday, and going home wasn't much better and that was leaving Friday morning, so hit that area about midday Friday northbound.

I'd do some google search of the area and look at traffic - do it at about the time you'd be hitting that area to see if it looks pretty clear. Since you'll be there about 10:00 or later in the evening, maybe it's clear. It is out of the way to take 301 - but I did that with my friend (her house is that way) and there is no traffic. I am afraid of that bridge though!! It would be out of your way, but if there's traffic I'd do it.

I'm sure the kids will sleep the whole way! When we did the drive from here, we left about lunchtime (kids had preschool in the morning), and stopped every two hours to stretch, have a snack and potty break, and get more COFFEE (LOL) and by 8:00 the kids were sound asleep - two drivers and we just kept going and didn't stop till Orlando (that was not the original plan, but with sleeping kids it just felt easier to just keep going).

Good luck! I'm sure it's going to be FUN!

 

[bookwormde]

yes 301 is much longer except when DC is a mess, which you should not have a problem with.

 

[mikek]

95 is good the whole way. We check google traffic/nav before Baltimore Washington to see which of the several routes is best at the moment. 95 South of DC can be a nightmare- so leaving at 7 getting there well after rush should help- there is no real alternative. RT1 in a dire emergency but it has tons of lights. 301 can be alright but can also be like a bad movie where it takes you days to cross the one dinky bridge over the potomac and you are committed to that route for a while before you see the problem sometimes. For 95 south of DC we check google traffic to see if you should take local or HOV lanes on 95 - almost always HOV is best if there is traffic. Then again we check google just before Richmond to see if 295 or 95 is best (typically it's +/-5 mins either way so not a real big deal). The rest of the way is clear sailing on 95. (maybe in jacksonville we check google again on the smartphone)

We usually leave right after school/work from central NJ then hate ourselves south of DC on 95- lol. I'm getting older and my wife doesn't love driving so we get a hotel for the night around lumberton NC (on a perfect night) or maybe a few hours north depending on how traffic went and how we feel. Then we get up early and get there just before dinner. We usually use hotels.com app to find a hotel room when we feel like we only have ~1hr left in us. Never had a problem getting something last minute and we have 3 kids so we need a suite of some sort.

 

[sharadoc]

I would never recommend a straight-through trip if you've never done it. Those are the kinds of trips that end up as "hell on earth" when you have no idea how it feels to drive that long. If you've driven that long before, then you're fine.

Saturdays between DC and Richmond are bad in the summer with all of the beach traffic. We haven't had a problem in the winter.

The most important advice I can give is to understand that it's going to take a LONG time. You kids are younger than mine, but mine know that whining or complaining takes money away from their spending at Disney World LOL. We bring DVDs and have them playing the whole trip. We make sure we stop for food at local restaurants when we can, and not chains although we'll get the kids McDonald's if we stop there for gas. Local fresh food makes the drive more comfortable.

We love Google Maps App. We use it the whole way. The GPS is only good for speed limits and distance to our destination.

Always stop at the Florida Welcome Center. Pick up brochures for Disney and get some free orange juice.

 

[Kingdome8]

We drive from Baltimore and I will always take 301 unless it's 2am

Going to to disney or myrtle beach were fine going thru dc
But on way home durring day traffic is horrible every time.
We have been stuck in 2 or more extra hours of traffic cause of that and if it's real slow and kids have to use bathroom good luck.
301 might be a little linger distance wise but we'll worth it

But other wise ride was great. We have a 9,5,1 year old. Slept most of way. We just kept them excited about Disney and stopping at south of border.
On way down we stopped in Georgia over night. Now we do it one trip.
But on way home we do stop cause I get tired. Lol
I love having our car there

 

[kirstenb1]

We live near Richmond. I know 95 is closing lanes Fri-Sun due to bridge repairs, so keep an eye out.

I noticed one of your kids is 4. I will never drive straight through, because I know our younger dd will want to hit the pool as soon as we get there. And I would be a zombie after driving straight through.. We stop near Savannah exits off of 95. The next day, it's 5 hrs to WDW. Our room is always ready, because we don't rush in the morning to get on the road.

I'd just urge you to think about how excited your kids will be upon arrival, vs your own energy level.