Drving from the Maritimes

[Candid]

Has anyone ever driven from NB or NS to WDW? I was just wondering on length of trip and approximate costs.

TIA

 

[mbb]

Oh, there are quite a few brave and hearty souls

We're not among them yet, but I think we might be getting close
My parents do, and take a week or so to get there.

Splashmom! PEIGirl! Where's langin? PhotobearSam?

30-38 hours for most, I think, depending on your route, drive time, stops etc.
Gas prices will vary - someone has a really great link for gas prices through the US

They'll check in, and others whose screen names escape me right now

HTH!!

 

[weezy26nm]

We thought about doing this and when I researched I think with stop overs it would have took 2 full days and you would arrive at supper time on the 3rd day. In the end we decided to fly because we could spend our whole 2 weeks of vacation in Florida, rather than a week of it driving back and forth. Although someday when we have the time I would love to take our time and drive. Where in the Maritimes are you located?

 

[CanadianGuy]

In May/June of 2006, I drove down from Fredericton, New Brunswick to Orlando. I have always wanted to drive down and here was my big chance.

We left on a Saturday morning around 6am and there were two drivers. I did the majority of the driving. We stopped when we were hungry, needed gas or food or a bathroom break. I would definitely say we 'pushed it' .. but at the same time.. we ate our meals in restaurants and didn't feel 'rushed' for the most part. We followed I-95 almost 100% of the way down.

On the way down we were in NYC at around 5pm on Saturday and traffic was heavily congested. We lost about an hour in stop and go traffic here. A bit later on around 10:30 or 11pm we were in Washington, DC and there was some accident blocking 3 of the 4 lanes on I-95. This was a two hour delay or more..

Also early the next morning, I think around 6 or 7am we were at South of the Border, in Dillon, Souther Carolina. We stopped here for about an hour and ate, bought some souvenirs, took a potty break and stretched our legs.

We also stopped in Savannah, GA around 1pm for about 3 hours and shopped at this huge Walmart there, took a drive around the city - which was amazing to see - and had lunch.

Despite all that, we were IN Orlando at 6pm on Sunday. A day early. We called POP and extended our reservation for one day and checked in early. We rested for a bit and then headed over to MK and caught WISHES. And then we slept late the next morning and hit the parks.

Leaving it was the reverse. We stayed till Saturday morning. Left Orlando about 2pm on Saturday afternoon. We drove a slightly different route on the way home. This route was I-95 into Georgia, then I-26 to the I-77 .. To the I-81.. And followed that North into PA. Then we crossed over on I-80 to I-95 and continued north.

It's deceiving on a map. It would appear quite a bit longer, but we actually made good time and evaded a LOT of tolls. (I hate Delaware). We were home in our beds Sunday night/Monday morning around 1am.

We're driving down again in 3 weeks on the same kind schedule and I'm going to take the second route cause we all enjoyed that drive so much more.

Last year we drove a Pontiac Grand Prix which gets about 29 MPG on the highway. We budgeted that the distance was about 3500 miles and that gas would be about 350$ US. We were assuming 3$ a gallon - which is what gas a good part of the way down.

We actually put 4230 miles on the car and gas cost us about 320$.

Now, we're driving a VW Jetta that gets about 36 or 38 MPG on the highway this time and gas has dropped to about 2$ - 2.25 a gallon right now so we're budgeting about 200-250$ for gas this time around.

Hope this helps.

John

 

[Applemomma]

We're doing it in September. DH has a conference so work would pay for his flight but not ours and the dd's so we're going on the cheap and driving. I'm excited! I've been spending all kinds of time getting ready for just the drive and even though it's going to be 34 plus hours just behind the wheel I figure it's a lot like anything else....attitude makes the difference and I choose to have fun!

CanadianGuy it is great to hear your experience!!! Did you come off the 95 to go around New York, Washington, etc. on the way down?

 

[Candid]

Weezy, I'm on the southshore on NS, actually the most southern part of NS called Cape Sable Island. CanadianGuy, thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'll get DH to read it later since he'd be the one doing the majority of the driving if we chose that route.

 

[Bea]

We have done it a few times with 2 children . The first time we did it our youngest was 3.

We leave Halifax early (4:00 am), and first night is always Boston (11-12 hrs). Second night is in North Carolina (Rocky Mount area). The second day is really long - 15 hrs or so . The third day is the shortest day - around 10 hrs or so. Every morning we get up really early, put the kids in the car while they are asleep and by the time they wake, we are 2-3 hours into the drive.

We really enjoy driving. If you decide to drive, check out "Driving I-95" by Stan Postner (I think that is the name). It lists each exit and what ammenities (restaurants/hotels/gas stations) are available. Tons of information in the book.

We did priceline on the way down and back, so our hotel costs were cheap (less than $50.00 a night). Plus we have a plug in cooler, which reduced our cost for snacks/drinks. If you are looking for gas costs, AAA has a link on their website where you can plug in your origin/destination and type of car and get an approximate of gas costs (in USD).

We are in Ottawa now, so our drive this March Break will be reduced by about 10 hrs

 

[CanadianGuy]

On the way down.. we stuck with I-95 cause I wasn't sure of my way entirely. Well that was stupid.. south of Boston we wasted about an hour driving because we stuck on 95 and didn't take any of the MANY shortcuts that cut off most of CT.

As for gas prices..

www.mainegasprices.com
www.connecticutgasprices.com
www.newyorkstategasprices.com
www.newjerseygasprices.com
www.marylandgasprices.com
www.delawaregasprices.com
www.virginiagasprices.com
www.northcarolinagasprices.com
www.southcarolinagasprices.com
www.georgiagasprices.com
www.floridastategasprices.com

Enjoy.

J

 

[Candid]

Thanks for everyones advice, we've decided to definitely FLY instead of drive!

 

[SplashMom]

Flying is definitely the way to go if you are short on time, but I have to admit that I really enjoyed the drive!

We drove from Cape Breton and the total mileage down and back was 7460 km. Our gas total was $650 but that was in August when the gas prices were outrageously high. We have a Grand Caravan and believe me, it was packed to the roof on the way home! We stayed on the I-95 the entire way but we stopped every few hours and did some shopping and siteseeing on the way. It took 4 full days but we didn't drive more than 10 hrs/day. We had lots of time so we weren't interested in driving commando style. The convenience of having our own vehicle was great and we could do a lot more shopping!!

We stayed at nice hotels just off the highway and never paid more than $75 per night. We always stayed somewhere that provided breakfast and it was during peak summer season. There were cheaper places but I was a bit cautious. We stayed mostly at Marriott or Holiday Inn Express and they were very nice. We had IPods, a DVD player, an electric cooler and the van has captain seats in the back so it was very comfortable. We really didn't mind it at all! We stayed in Florida for 14 nights in addition to the drive so our own vehicle made us feel more comfortable.

Even if you fly this time, driving is really something everyone should do once! Have a great trip!!