driving from ontario where do people recommend to stay on i-75 first day

[cottontail]

Hello:

Driving down from Ontario, any tips on where to stay. We plan to drive about 12/13 hours from the Hamilton area.

Thanks,

Deb.

 

[digskat]

If you can go an extra hour.... Dalton, Georgia is a good option. We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites, just off the I75. There are several restaurants nearby including;
Applebee's
Cracker Barrel
Red Lobster
Outback Steak House
Longhorn Steak House

It puts you approximately 45 minutes from Atlanta, for the next morning.

 

[candizfan]

I love the Lexington area but it might not be far enough for the time you quoted. But they have really nice hotels are they are really inexpensive.

 

[SplashMountainMama]

I love the Lexington area but it might not be far enough for the time you quoted. But they have really nice hotels are they are really inexpensive.

Speaking as a fellow Windsorite, I'd have to say, these days, that depends on what time they try to cross the Ambassador Bridge .

Chattanooga is probably about 12/13 hrs in driving time , but if you run into traffic (bridge or otherwise) you might be looking at Knoxville.

 

[candizfan]

SplashMountainMama - are you going down for March break?

My DH dropped us off before school let out on the Friday last year (he did not come on the trip) and when he came back at about 6:30 pm and the bridge traffic was backed up past EC Row!!!!

 

[F4disneyfan]

Our first day/night drive is a bit longer than that. We leave around 7 or 7:30 the night before and I drive all night while everyone sleeps. We then stop in the AM in GA as we drive from London to the GA welcome centre and arrive there usually around 6 or 7 AM. We feed all the kids let them run around for a bit then load them back up and drive to the Macon bypass and stop for lunch. We again let the kids run free for a couple hours then load up and head to Valdosta GA and stop there for the night usually arrive there around 3 in the afternoon. This method gives the kids and my wife and I lots of time for driving and resting and the kids get the longest portion of the drive out of the way during the night while they sleep.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family and I leave our house at 2:00 AM and drive all the way to Cleveland, Tennessee and stay at the Hampton Inn off exit 27 and we already have our reservations set for that specific location.

 

[SplashMountainMama]

SplashMountainMama - are you going down for March break?

My DH dropped us off before school let out on the Friday last year (he did not come on the trip) and when he came back at about 6:30 pm and the bridge traffic was backed up past EC Row!!!!

Luckily, I'm on a maternity leave this year so we're leaving a week from Sunday. I still have to time it right though. If you wait too long on a Sunday you get backed-up behind all those bar-hopping 19 yr olds returning to Ohio.

 

[cottontail]

Thanks everyone, we are going the last week of february and coming back near the end of the first week of march, just before our march break. We will leave on a sunday though.

I feel like I have to book a hotel for the first night and the first night on the drive home on I 75, but also my hubby is still looking at travelling the I79, I77 route, so I will need four hotels booked for the trip until we decide a day before which route to take. Then I would cancel the other two.

Bye,

Deb.

 

[Ham Ham]

I-79, I-77, I-26, I-75, I-4 gets My vote.

Other than Charlotte no big cities to drive directly through.

Sure you spend more time in the mountains but I-75 from southern KY to Norther GA is in the mountains too.

Check the weather before leaving and pick the route that will have the least weather impact.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I feel like I have to book a hotel for the first night and the first night on the drive home on I 75

I can't speak for the other routes, but there is nothing wrong with making a reservation in advance for a Hotel off I-75. For example the Hampton Inn my family and I stay at in Cleveland, Tennessee is usally sold out the night we stay there and other Hampton Inn locations we stayed have also been sold out.

 

[cottontail]

Hi: I think I will make reservations for both ways and the night before I can cancel the ones in the direction we will not go. I LOVE hampton inns.

Thanks everyone.

Deb.

 

[CdnTink]

There is a fabulous book called Along I-75 by Dave Hunter, we used this on our last trip and it was amazingly accurate, right down to the speedtraps and detours around I-75 for traffic jams. It lists every exit # and all the restaurants, hotel and shopping for each exit. You can plan ahead if you see your fav restaurant.

I also would time my trek through the border crossing at an early(2-4am) or late evening, except for Fri and Sat. These seem to be the easiest times to cross. We left at 4:00am and live 20 min from the border. We also stopped in Dalton Georgia and loved it! I would leave early the next morning though, to beat the Atlanta traffic!

There has been an announcement on the news locally about stricter border crossings on the American side after Jan.31, which could result in longer wait times.

Good Luck and Have Fun

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

There is a fabulous book called Along I-75 by Dave Hunter, we used this on our last trip and it was amazingly accurate, right down to the speedtraps and detours around I-75 for traffic jams. It lists every exit # and all the restaurants, hotel and shopping for each exit. You can plan ahead if you see your fav restaurant.

I also would time my trek through the border crossing at an early(2-4am) or late evening, except for Fri and Sat. These seem to be the easiest times to cross. We left at 4:00am and live 20 min from the border. We also stopped in Dalton Georgia and loved it! I would leave early the next morning though, to beat the Atlanta traffic!

There has been an announcement on the news locally about stricter border crossings on the American side after Jan.31, which could result in longer wait times.

Good Luck and Have Fun

That is a must purchase for anyone from Southern Ontario who would be taking Interstate 75 and it really does help plan the exits you would like to stop at. Don't forget he also come out with the same book, however he now has a Florida Interstate version which covers I-75 (His original I-75 book only goes up to the Florida border) I-4, I-95, I-10 and the Florida Turnpike.

Also because of the new Florida Interstate book he releases these editions every 2 years.

Hi: I think I will make reservations for both ways and the night before I can cancel the ones in the direction we will not go. I LOVE hampton inns.

Thanks everyone.

Deb.

That sounds like a good idea, however here is something to keep in mind. If you are going to cancel a reservation at the last minute, try to call the Hotel directly if you know their number and not to call their 1-800 number. A few years ago my family and I decided to keep driving a little more and cancelled a Hampton Inn reservation in one city and made a new reservation for another Hampton Inn where we would now be spending the night. Well a month later my Dad got a bill for the Hampton Inn we he cancelled because they never got the cancellation and they assumed we were no shows. So he had to call them directly and fix everything.

 

[pkitty]

Byron Georgia on the first day (leaving from Wasaga beach)....we have stayed at the Best Western there for the last 5 years. It's right off the I-75 and 5 hours from the Florida visitors center. It's a bit of a marathon the first day but we sleep in (8 ish) and are in Orlando by 2-3 depending on the traffic. Works for us....have a great drive!

Tenth Year at the World
Wilderness lodge and Saratoga Springs - March 8th to the 16th 2008

 

[cottontail]

Hi: I did mapquest for us in Hamilton to Byron and it is 16 hours. Is this how long it takes you. Are you wiped after that long a drive? We usually do around 12 to 13 hours. Also what time do you leave?

Thanks,

Deb.

 

[donna6819]

Just came back from florida(dec 30-jan 5) We are from windsor. We crossed that border at 4 am (no problems) and drove until marrieta, georgia arrived around 5pm.(10 min from atlanta)Stayed at a sleep Inn. Took us about 13 hours. On the way back(left disney at 1pm) we stopped in morrow, georgia,(15 min from atlanta)got there around 8pm. Missed the traffic both days in atlanta because we drove through it at 4am. We also did our travelling on saturday and sunday(no construction going on) Definetly buy the book driving along I-75 it is great. We also had a tom-tom too. We also booked our hotels using travelocity.
hope this helps
donns

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

Hi: I did mapquest for us in Hamilton to Byron and it is 16 hours. Is this how long it takes you. Are you wiped after that long a drive? We usually do around 12 to 13 hours. Also what time do you leave?

Thanks,

Deb.

Thanks for the OP. Tons of good info! Can't wait to buy that I-75 book now. We're not driving to WDW but do have to drive down south to see family in the spring.

 

[emmsmama]

Do you think it's crazy to try to drive straight through? I'm in Windsor and was thinking of leaving around 6pm and driving until around 4am (I'm a night owl and am usually up until 2-3am anyway) and then waking dh up to drive until around 8am. Stop for breakfast and let the kids get out and move around. Dh can drive again until lunch, get out, eat, stretch. Then hopefully plan to arrive in the WDW area for around 4-6pm and crash for the night. Our kids are going to be 6 and 9 at that time and even if they are bouncing around the room because they aren't tired, dh and I could still rest and zonk out to recharge for the next day.

If I get a cheap price on plane tickets we still might fly, but otherwise we will be driving.

 

[F4disneyfan]

Do you think it's crazy to try to drive straight through? I'm in Windsor and was thinking of leaving around 6pm and driving until around 4am (I'm a night owl and am usually up until 2-3am anyway) and then waking dh up to drive until around 8am. Stop for breakfast and let the kids get out and move around. Dh can drive again until lunch, get out, eat, stretch. Then hopefully plan to arrive in the WDW area for around 4-6pm and crash for the night. Our kids are going to be 6 and 9 at that time and even if they are bouncing around the room because they aren't tired, dh and I could still rest and zonk out to recharge for the next day.

If I get a cheap price on plane tickets we still might fly, but otherwise we will be driving.

Nope not crazy at all we have done that drive straight a few times. It really isn't that bad if you have a couple people to share the drive.