Driving through VA area to get to WDW

[ArwenMarie]

Seems like the long way to go. There are many options from NJ that do not involve tolls. I-81 to Rte 66/17 in Middleton, VA. across to Fredericksburg will be one of the shortest ways to go to avoid Baltimore and Washington, DC. From Fredericksburg it's I-95 all the way to Daytona Beach, then Rte 4 to WDW.

Leaving from NJ I would think that a good half way or a little over half way would be in Central to southern NC. I live in Raleigh, NC (mid NC) and it is a 10 hour drive from here to the gates of WDW. If you want it to be about 6 hours then I used to stop in Walterboro, SC. That is close to the Georgia border and an easy drive to WDW.

78 to 81 route is about 75 miles longer than just starting with the NJTPK/95, but it can be a lot more pleasant because of traffic in the whole Northeast corridor, even just trying to get through NJ. Bonus is the route is all major highways and is quite scenic. Charlotte is a good stopping point on the way down for dinner and a night's sleep, lots of hotels and restaurant choices to pick from.

 

[brielise]

78 to 81 route is about 75 miles longer than just starting with the NJTPK/95, but it can be a lot more pleasant because of traffic in the whole Northeast corridor, even just trying to get through NJ. Bonus is the route is all major highways and is quite scenic. Charlotte is a good stopping point on the way down for dinner and a night's sleep, lots of hotels and restaurant choices to pick from.

Yep! We always go that way - longer mileage but no traffic, so we actually get to CT a lot faster that way! DH got stuck for several hours trying to take 95 due to accidents and whatnot, on top of the tolls!

Anyway, we live right outside DC and it can be a total nightmare on Saturdays, especially with all the construction going on right now. From now until Labor Day, beach traffic will only exacerbate that. When my family picked me up to head to WDW they left around 7pm from Philly and we left here around 9pm, then drove through the night just to avoid the traffic. So a Saturday day, I would say leave as early as possible so you hit 95 and the beltway, preferably before 9 (the earlier the better!)

 

[kastoney]

We are thinking of trying this. Are 66 and 17 highways? Not like traffic lights or anything right?

66 is an interstate, but 17 is a state highway and there are traffic lights.

 

[NavyDad]

78 to 81 route is about 75 miles longer than just starting with the NJTPK/95, but it can be a lot more pleasant because of traffic in the whole Northeast corridor, even just trying to get through NJ. Bonus is the route is all major highways and is quite scenic. Charlotte is a good stopping point on the way down for dinner and a night's sleep, lots of hotels and restaurant choices to pick from.

This^

IF you are going to go around this is the best way IMO. Very scenic - just a nice ride the whole way down.

Cutting off of 81 at I-66 and then down VA-17 does take you around DC but 17 can get backed up with towns and traffic lights and it brings you right back to 95 around Fredricksburg. We've done that more than a few times but I don't prefer it....

I would say try 95 very, very early or just go the long way around on 81 and enjoy the peaceful drive.

 

[su_A_ve]

We always leave NJ around 4pm, which gets us down there after rush hour. It's about 1hr. 45mins. to the Delaware Memorial Bridge from here, to give you an idea. We've never hit traffic at that time. (I went to college in VA and I'm still scarred from the Baltimore/DC traffic.)

Same here... We usually leave mid afternoon with a planned night stop around Richmond. From there, we would drive to St. Augustine but lately we've pushed it till Daytona Beach. From there, is breakfast and a quick drive.

A couple of trips ago, we left earlier - like 2pm. We hit awful traffic trying to jump on the HOV lanes in Alexandria.

 

[rjnauroth]

Why not bypass 95 all together in that area an come down through Delaware? I live in the VA Beach area and this is the route I take when I visit family in Philly.

You would pick up Rt 1 in Deleware (exit 7 off 95) Follow this to 13 or take the 113 bypass at Dover and follow signs for Norfolk--you cross over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel ($15) Then pick up 64 in VA, follow to 58 and meet up with 95 in Emporia.

There are traffic lights this way as the roads are state highways, but you are not stuck in the DC area traffic.

 

[wmpenguin]

I like the idea of taking 81 to 66 to 17 to 95! I almost always take 17 to 95. There are lots of lights on 17 near 95 and it does back up some, but in the long run you save a bunch of time.

 

[PeterPanic]

I like the idea of taking 81 to 66 to 17 to 95! I almost always take 17 to 95. There are lots of lights on 17 near 95 and it does back up some, but in the long run you save a bunch of time.

I was going to say that there are stop lights on 17 but almost all of them are not until you get close to I-95, so it is pretty much free moving. I might warn that the police patrol 17 quite heavily, so watching the speed limit would be recommended.

Even though it is further going that way then just staying on I-95, I have found myself on any given day of the week, stuck in stop and go traffic where it took over an hour to get from DC to Fredericksburg. I'd much rather be looking a pleasant country side for that time then sitting on hot pavement wanting for the car/truck/bus in front of you to move a couple of feet.

That route also has another small perk to it especially for kids who are trying to hit as many places as possible. It's one of the only roads around where you can have been in Penns., Maryland, West Virginia and then Virginia all within an hour.

 

[Tomh]

I've made the drive down from upstate NY for the past 6 summers. Traffic has been an issue in the Northern half on VA every time.

Last summer, I THOUGHT I had it beat . . .. I was wrong, dead wrong. I went to bed at about 6:00 pm the night before we left, up at 2:00 am, and on the road before 3:00 am. GREAT plan . .. or so I thought.

First off, NJ, there was road construction. What started out as 3 lanes of light traffic turned into a parking lot when it was funneled into one lane of traffic. We were going nowhere, and the sun hadn't even come up yet.

VA . .. worse than ever. Not just the Northern half of it (where the HOV lanes, when they aren't torn apart for construction (which they were last year) can save a huge amount of time) no, it was the entire length of VA, stop and go the entire way through the state.

Generally, once you get into the Southern half of VA it is smooth sailing the rest of the way. Well, last year, NC was ok, SC . . .. no, not at all. Accidents and pouring rain the whole way. GA . . touch and go as well. Not nearly as bad as VA, or SC, but no charm.

If you take 95, as soon as you get into VA, get over to the left, and be ready to get into the HOV lane. It is usually open for Southbound traffic on the weekends. In the HOV lane, as soon as you see the first sign letting you know that the lane will end, get out at the NEXT exit. If you stay in the HOV until the end, you will regret it. As soon as you get out of the HOV, and back into the normal lanes, get all the way to the right lane. That lane moves the fastest past the merge where the HOV traffic merges back into the left lanes.

After that, unless you are having a bad day of it, traffic should be pretty moderate for the rest of the trip.

 

[Angel Ariel]

If you can get through to Fredericksburg before 10 am, you should make it on 95 south with little delay (barring an accident). By 11 am on saturday mornings, 95 S is pretty much stop and go, with pockets of faster movement, from the DC beltway to the Richmond bypass.

to be on the safe side, I'd try and get through to Fredricksburg NLT 9am if traveling in the summer. We were headed to the beach last year and got caught in the 95S traffic...I want to say it was probably around 10 or 10:30.

 

[kidd_freeper]

We've done all the ways from CT-FL:

I-95 route: Even if you get past Richmond without a problem, you will encouter very heavy beach traffic through most of North Carolina. It's a little unnerving to have cars 2 seconds ahead of you and 2 seconds behind you and someone to your left at 65 mph for five hours straight. But traffic does move.

81-77-26-95 route: Beautiful road. But it adds another 90+ minutes to the I-95 only route. That can be a lot. Last trip we encountered significant delays due to stop-and-go traffic in both Charlotte and Columbia.

DelMarVa route: A lot of fun in the Virginia area. But it adds another 90+ minutes to the I-95 only route. There are a LOT of traffic lights in Delaware, and I'm told this route is heavily policed (we didn't see it though).

For our upcoming CT-FL trip, I plan to leave the house at 10 am and take the I-95 route. This should let me switch off with DW by 6am in Petersburg, VA.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

From where we live in NWNJ (sussex county) google maps shows 81-77-26-95 as 30 minutes longer than take 95. We could easily get stuck in 30 minutes of traffic on 95 before we even get out of NJ.

I also like that if we take 81 it is a little easier/safer to stop should we need to make a few stops with the kids