Driving from Orlando to Boston-advice?

[vickalamode]

Hello everyone My College Program is up, and thus it's time for me to leave WDW and head back to Boston. Driving down here I made a big detour to Cincinnati, so I'm looking for advice from people who have done the drive back up to the northeast and what you would recommend and what I should expect.

Currently I am planning to take primarily 95 up to around the Richmond, VA area where I want to stop overnight since it's just over the halfway point.

From there is where I am lost...what roads should I take? I have a GPS, but my main goal is to avoid NYC-I don't really know what would be the best way to go about this, and is it really faster than going through NYC?

I'm not really trying to "stop and smell the roses" on this trip-I'm trying to just leave on Friday June 4th at 6am, stop in Richmond, VA between 6-10pm (depending on traffic/stops etc), sleep, get on the road around 6am again and hopefully arrive between 6-10pm in MA on Saturday June 5th...

Am I crazy? Any suggestions on a good route? Should I stop somewhere else? Especially need help avoiding NYC

 

[kidd_freeper]

.....

 

[happily single]

I'm not too sure about making it to VA; that seems like a very long drive in one day. I would think about North Carolina.

But a word of advice-Don't speed. Georgia, North and South Carolina are full of Sheriff's with radar (I just paid my ticket)

 

[cranbiz]

Actually, the halfway point is Roanoke Rapids NC. You will be a little more than 1/2 way. You will probably want 395 around DC and then back to 95. Take the NJ Turnpike.

Depending on what time you get to New York, the city can be all right. If you really want to detour around NYC , then you will want to take 287 around the City to the Tappan Zee bri9dge.

I don't do this as I time my arrival in NYC for after 9pm or before 6am (anytime on the weekend) To me, the great circle route around NYC takes too much time.

 

[HeatherC]

We live in Massachusetts. What we do when driving home on 95 is to take the Garden State Parkway North all the way to the end. You will connect with the NY State Thruway and just take that over the Tappan Zee Bridge.

We then take 684 towards Brewster and connect with 84 east. This will take you all the way to the MassPike.

Definitely better than driving through NYC and really doesn't add any extra time on to your drive.

Have a good trip!

 

[vickalamode]

I'm not too sure about making it to VA; that seems like a very long drive in one day. I would think about North Carolina.

But a word of advice-Don't speed. Georgia, North and South Carolina are full of Sheriff's with radar (I just paid my ticket)

Yeah well I will see how I feel as the day goes on when I'm driving....it's going to pretty much be two 12 hour days either way I think because I do not want to make it a 3 day drive...and I'm not worried about speeding cause I am scared of police and getting pulled over so I'm always really careful aaah.

Actually, the halfway point is Roanoke Rapids NC. You will be a little more than 1/2 way. You will probably want 395 around DC and then back to 95. Take the NJ Turnpike.

Depending on what time you get to New York, the city can be all right. If you really want to detour around NYC , then you will want to take 287 around the City to the Tappan Zee bri9dge.

I don't do this as I time my arrival in NYC for after 9pm or before 6am (anytime on the weekend) To me, the great circle route around NYC takes too much time.

Thanks for the suggestions-I don't know how much I will have to worry about NYC traffic since I'd be hitting that area on a Saturday, probably around 4pm...which would normally mean rush hour but I don't know how it is around there on Saturday

We live in Massachusetts. What we do when driving home on 95 is to take the Garden State Parkway North all the way to the end. You will connect with the NY State Thruway and just take that over the Tappan Zee Bridge.

We then take 684 towards Brewster and connect with 84 east. This will take you all the way to the MassPike.

Definitely better than driving through NYC and really doesn't add any extra time on to your drive.

Have a good trip!

Thank you!!!

 

[BigTigger]

I just finished the Florida college to MA home trip for the end of spring semester 20 minutes ago. We left Deland (about an hour north of WDW) at noon on Tuesday. We stopped a few times to stretch and eat and got to I-95 exit 126A in Fredricksburg, VA (55 miles south of DC and about 45 miles north of Richmond) by midnight. We went the speed limit or at most 5 mph over in the Carolinas only. We hit some roadwork in Jacksonville north of the city, north GA, central SC, and just south and north of Richmond. None slowed us down materially. We stayed at a Fairfield Inn on Spotsylvania Road, but every other major budget class chain is also at this intersection.

We didn't want to deal with DC traffic, so we slept late and had breakfast at the Friendly's next to the hotel. We hit the road at 11 am and breezed up I-95 through DC on I-95/495 and around the inner belt. We hit some minor road construction and two accidents near Baltimore and the McHenry tunnel. We made good time overall and cleared NYC by 4:30 pm. 1010 AM WINS said traffic was good, so we went right over the GW Bridge and across the Bronx on I-95. We hit some commuter traffic from Stamford to Fairfield and stopped for dinner there, but otherwise only hit some construction on I-84 near exits 68 to 70 that delayed us about 25 minutes. We pulled into home at 9:30 pm for a total of 1271 miles and 20.5 hours of driving (11 on day one and 9.5 on day 2) . We had an EZ Pass for the tolls and never had to stop from Maryland to the I-495/I-90 interchange in MA for tolls.

Best of luck on your trip!!

 

[vickalamode]

I just finished the Florida college to MA home trip for the end of spring semester 20 minutes ago. We left Deland (about an hour north of WDW) at noon on Tuesday. We stopped a few times to stretch and eat and got to I-95 exit 126A in Fredricksburg, VA (55 miles south of DC and about 45 miles north of Richmond) by midnight. We went the speed limit or at most 5 mph over in the Carolinas only. We hit some roadwork in Jacksonville north of the city, north GA, central SC, and just south and north of Richmond. None slowed us down materially. We stayed at a Fairfield Inn on Spotsylvania Road, but every other major budget class chain is also at this intersection.

We didn't want to deal with DC traffic, so we slept late and had breakfast at the Friendly's next to the hotel. We hit the road at 11 am and breezed up I-95 through DC on I-95/495 and around the inner belt. We hit some minor road construction and two accidents near Baltimore and the McHenry tunnel. We made good time overall and cleared NYC by 4:30 pm. 1010 AM WINS said traffic was good, so we went right over the GW Bridge and across the Bronx on I-95. We hit some commuter traffic from Stamford to Fairfield and stopped for dinner there, but otherwise only hit some construction on I-84 near exits 68 to 70 that delayed us about 25 minutes. We pulled into home at 9:30 pm for a total of 1271 miles and 20.5 hours of driving (11 on day one and 9.5 on day 2) . We had an EZ Pass for the tolls and never had to stop from Maryland to the I-495/I-90 interchange in MA for tolls.

Best of luck on your trip!!

Sweet, thank you for your input!!! You just made (almost) exactly the same drive that I'm about to make (except I'm ending up in Medway not Marlborough lol), so your post was really helpful. I think that exit in VA you mentioned sounds like a good choice with all the hotels etc, so I'll probably stop there (since I wanted to stop somewhere around Richmond anyways) Thank you so much!