For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! (II)

[mandysmom]

If you take the I-95 route it will be more direct; however, you'll probably hit some traffic around Philly and you might encounter some near-end-of-rush-hour traffic in southern MD/greater DC/northern VA.

All the best.

Coming from the same area, I would suggest leaving before 2AM. Last time we left at 1:45am, (Henry Hudson Pkwy to the GW, then 95 All the way down), checked into POR at 8:30PM. It was our best trip yet with travel time because we missed all of the traffic. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't.

Thanks for the advice .
I think we will stick to 95, but leave an hour earlier to hopefully miss traffic.

 

[bdoyledimou]

Does anyone know of a utility where you can plug in your start and end points, your speed, and a start time which will allow you gauge where you will be when, and maybe adjust your time so that you can avoid major traffic spots?

I know MS Streets and Trips does this, but don't need a $100 budget buster...

 

[Tweevil]

I like this site... you plug in your city and destination city and it will give you how long it takes and how many hours away you are during the drive. It wil also give you hotels and stuff along the way.

So, if I know that I will want to drive 8 hours, I subtract it from the total and it will tell me where I should be...

http://www.freetrip.com/cgi-bin/autopilot2.pl

Hope this helps,

 

[bdoyledimou]

I like this site... you plug in your city and destination city and it will give you how long it takes and how many hours away you are during the drive. It wil also give you hotels and stuff along the way.

So, if I know that I will want to drive 8 hours, I subtract it from the total and it will tell me where I should be...

http://www.freetrip.com/cgi-bin/autopilot2.pl

Hope this helps,

Thanks! that worked perfectly!

 

[dvczerfs]

We are driving down next month from just north of NYC. We're also debating going 95 or 81. The plan is to leave at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday and drive to Savannah to make the next days drive to Orlando quick and easy. Would like to hear opinions about which route to take.

if you go 95 thru philly, make sure you get thru there by 6-6:30am or you'll sit.

 

[Jamesfam]

Hi all~
My family and I are taking the drive to Disney from the Jersey Shore in November. I was thinking about leaving around 3am on a Wednesday morning, and getting to at least Georgia. I have 3 young kids, so Georgia is my goal =).
I can't stand the Baltimore, DC traffic on 95 and was wondering if anyone has gone through Delaware and Maryland via 113 and then pick up 13 once in Virginia and cross Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I know it's not as direct as 95 but I won't hit as much traffic. Any thoughts on this is appreciated.

 

[Vickis3js]

Hi all~
My family and I are taking the drive to Disney from the Jersey Shore in November. I was thinking about leaving around 3am on a Wednesday morning, and getting to at least Georgia. I have 3 young kids, so Georgia is my goal =).
I can't stand the Baltimore, DC traffic on 95 and was wondering if anyone has gone through Delaware and Maryland via 113 and then pick up 13 once in Virginia and cross Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I know it's not as direct as 95 but I won't hit as much traffic. Any thoughts on this is appreciated.

We've never done that route. DFIL was a bus driver and all he did was tours all over the east coast. He told us to avoid it if we can. He said one accident and you can sit for hours.

We live in Cape May county and we leave around 2-3am on a friday and its gotten us to Savannah by around 3-4pm with a stop for breakfast at Cracker Barrel and a few stops for gas and potty breaks. This year we are going to be stopping in Brunswick which should be about an hour or so south of Savannah and an hour closer to WDW!!

We do it with 3 kids and so far we still have all 3 of them LOL

 

[jasko5990]

Hi all~
My family and I are taking the drive to Disney from the Jersey Shore in November. I was thinking about leaving around 3am on a Wednesday morning, and getting to at least Georgia. I have 3 young kids, so Georgia is my goal =).
I can't stand the Baltimore, DC traffic on 95 and was wondering if anyone has gone through Delaware and Maryland via 113 and then pick up 13 once in Virginia and cross Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I know it's not as direct as 95 but I won't hit as much traffic. Any thoughts on this is appreciated.

We live in PA about 15 miles from Phila. If you time your departure so you get through DC before 6:00 am you should be in good shape. With the exception of taking Amtrak's Auto Train in 2008, we have driven every trip since 2002. My current strategy is to wake up around 6am the day we are leaving, then go back to bed around 4-5pm and sleep until about 11pm. We leave around midnight and drive straight through on I-95. My wife & kids stay awake that day until we leave, then they sleep in the Avalanche and don't wake up until we are in North Carolina where we stop for gas and a Cracker Barrel breakfast around 7am. We then hit the road again, only stopping for one more gas stop and when bathroom breaks are needed. The trip lasts 16 hours, + or - 1/2 hour. I have tried other departure times, routes, and also stopping for sleep along the way, and have found this current strategy to be the best for us.

 

[Jamesfam]

We've never done that route. DFIL was a bus driver and all he did was tours all over the east coast. He told us to avoid it if we can. He said one accident and you can sit for hours.

We live in Cape May county and we leave around 2-3am on a friday and its gotten us to Savannah by around 3-4pm with a stop for breakfast at Cracker Barrel and a few stops for gas and potty breaks. This year we are going to be stopping in Brunswick which should be about an hour or so south of Savannah and an hour closer to WDW!!

We do it with 3 kids and so far we still have all 3 of them LOL

Your drive down is exactly how I would like mine to go. We live in Ocean County about 1 hour from you. When you leave at that time in the morning do you avoid the DC traffic? and around what time do you hit DC? We need to get as far south as possible the first day, Savannah would be great and Brunswick even better! We are doing the Disney cruise the following day so we need to make sure we get there before the boat leaves. I'm sure we'll be fine, just need to pack lots of snacks, movies, and whatever else to keep the kids happy and entertained

 

[BC1836]

Your drive down is exactly how I would like mine to go. We live in Ocean County about 1 hour from you. When you leave at that time in the morning do you avoid the DC traffic? and around what time do you hit DC? We need to get as far south as possible the first day, Savannah would be great and Brunswick even better! We are doing the Disney cruise the following day so we need to make sure we get there before the boat leaves. I'm sure we'll be fine, just need to pack lots of snacks, movies, and whatever else to keep the kids happy and entertained

Don't leave after 3 a.m. on a Friday: you'll hit greater DC (southern MD/northern VA rush hour traffic.

On our last trip, we had to depart on a Friday so we left home at 12:25 a.m. (southern Ocean County). We reached the Delaware Memorial Bridge at 1:57 a.m., MD at 2:12, and VA by 3:58. No rush hour traffic.

We departed the four previous times on weekend days:

Dec. '08: 3 a.m. departure...VA border by 6:44 a.m.
March '09: 3:30 a.m. departure...VA border by 7:20 a.m.
June '09: 3:22 a.m. departure...VA border 6:58 a.m.
Dec. '09: 3 a.m. departure...VA border 6:19 a.m.

Hope this info helps.

All the best.

 

[Jamesfam]

Don't leave after 3 a.m. on a Friday: you'll hit greater DC (southern MD/northern VA rush hour traffic.

On our last trip, we had to depart on a Friday so we left home at 12:25 a.m. (southern Ocean County). We reached the Delaware Memorial Bridge at 1:57 a.m., MD at 2:12, and VA by 3:58. No rush hour traffic.

We departed the four previous times on weekend days:

Dec. '08: 3 a.m. departure...VA border by 6:44 a.m.
March '09: 3:30 a.m. departure...VA border by 7:20 a.m.
June '09: 3:22 a.m. departure...VA border 6:58 a.m.
Dec. '09: 3 a.m. departure...VA border 6:19 a.m.

Hope this info helps.

All the best.

Thanks for the great info. We are leaving on a Wednesday morning and was thinking 3am would be good time,however I guess weshould head out earlier to make sure we dont' hit the rush hour traffic in DC. What if we get to the VA boarder around 6am, would there still be much traffic since we are already outside the DC area? Hmm so much to consider when driving.

 

[MamaJessie]

If this is a dumb question, just ignore me

Do you think the DC traffic will be any better on black friday? I was planning on shopping first an then leaving around noon - 1. This might be crappy timing when it comes to hitting traffic though so maybe I should just skip the black friday shopping. Oooh, decisions, decisions......

 

[Becky2005]

We just decided that we are gonna drive next August. We will be coming from Chicago. Does anyone have a good place to stop for the night? We are thinking we will get on the road about 5am. Thanks for your help.

When we went we stopped in Marietta but it took us way longer than we thought to get there. I haven't quite figured that out yet but our kids were younger so I'm guessing pit stops were longer than anticipated.

On the way home we stayed in Chattanooga.

We went south in IL then over to TN & GA to catch I-75 that way vs. going I-65 through IN though.

I just know for us I was pretty sure we wouldn't make it all the way to Atlanta (we did the Atlanta Motor Speedway once which really isn't IN Atlanta, it's about 2 hours south -- just like "Chicagoland" one is in Joliet! We drove all the way home from it once and DH's words out of his mouth was "never let me do that again" as we were BOTH practically falling asleep at the wheel).

 

[DVC4US]

2 more days!!! until DD and I head out on our road trip to Disney. Can you tell I'm excited? Couldn't sleep this morning so I got up and got on the DISBoards.

Got the Navigator checked over yesterday, which was a good thing, because it needed new rear brakes. We will load the car tomorrow night and then be ready to head out Thursday morning. Now I need all this rain to move out of the midwest so I don't have to drive through it.

 

[matthew&haleysmom]

2 more days!!! until DD and I head out on our road trip to Disney. Can you tell I'm excited? Couldn't sleep this morning so I got up and got on the DISBoards.

Got the Navigator checked over yesterday, which was a good thing, because it needed new rear brakes. We will load the car tomorrow night and then be ready to head out Thursday morning. Now I need all this rain to move out of the midwest so I don't have to drive through it.

Good luck on your trip! We are leaving in 2 days for our 1st road trip in a long time.

 

[kidd_freeper]

Hartford-Jacksonville (July 3)
- Took I95 route, going over the GWB, eastern side of DC beltway and through Richmond
- Left Hartford at 12:30 am. Made it to northern VA by 6:30 am. Jacksonville by 7:30 pm.
- This was a holiday weekend. Mild traffic to DC beltway. Very little traffic on eastern side of beltway. Heavy traffic (but no slowdowns) from DC to Richmond. Heavy traffic with half dozen slowdowns and three major stoppages from Richmond to NC/SC border. Mild traffic through SC, GA and FL. Few trucks the whole way.
- Construction in Connecticut, south side of DC beltway and GA. None of these caused slowdowns at the times that I went through them.
- Avoid GWB. This road has major, car swallowing potholes. Complicated exits - easy to make a wrong turn.
- McD's near Fredricksburg was mobbed. Took over an hour for breakfast there. Should have waited for Richmond for breakfast stop.
- EZPass is a must-have. Saved half an hour of wait time.
- Garmin Nuvi 265T was very helpful. Rerouted us past two bad traffic stoppages.

Jacksonville-WDW (July 5)
- Left Jacksonville at 4pm. Made it to Kissimmee by 6:15 pm via I95/I4.
- Mild traffic, no construction, no slowdowns/stoppages.

WDW-Greensboro,NC (July 16)
- Took I4 to I95 to SC-38 to US-220
- Left Kissimmee at 10am. Slowdown in Kissimmee on I4. Heavy traffic to I95. Light traffic rest of way. Made it to Greensboro, NC by 8pm.
- US220 (aka I73 and I74) is a new road and is a great ride with almost no traffic. Recommended.
- Advice: don't "wing it" when getting a hotel on a Friday night. Available rooms were hard to find. Again, Garmin Nuvi 265T was very helpful in finding something that was available.

Greensboro,NC - Hartford (July 17)
- Took US-29 to Shenandoah National Park. Then I81 to I78 to I287 to Tappan Zee Bridge to I95.
- Left Greensboro at 8:30am. Made it to Shenandoah National Park by 12:30pm. Drove through Shenandoah National Park. Back on I81 by 4:30pm. Hartford by 11:30 pm.
- US-29 is a beautiful road. 65 mph most of the way, scenic, no trucks. Very safe. Recommended.
- Shenandoah National Park is beautiful, of course. But we had been in the car for a long time at that point and probably should have skipped it.
- Trucks not a problem on I81/I78. I81 was a nice road.
- Light traffic up to Tappan Zee bridge. Heavy traffic with slowdowns from Tappan Zee to Bridgeport, CT.
- Connecticut drivers suck. Avoid I95 in Connecticut during evening hours. Lots of dangerous drivers, lanes are poorly marked, partially finished paving, grooved roads, etc.

Total mileage: 2860 miles

 

[Vickis3js]

Your drive down is exactly how I would like mine to go. We live in Ocean County about 1 hour from you. When you leave at that time in the morning do you avoid the DC traffic? and around what time do you hit DC? We need to get as far south as possible the first day, Savannah would be great and Brunswick even better! We are doing the Disney cruise the following day so we need to make sure we get there before the boat leaves. I'm sure we'll be fine, just need to pack lots of snacks, movies, and whatever else to keep the kids happy and entertained

The first year we left at 3am we hit no DC traffic at all. We drove straight through DC and we were the only ones on the road it seemed. We did hit some traffic around Richmond so we left about an hour earlier the following year and missed it all.

We buy new movies for the trip. I buy through out the year movies that they wanted to see and then they get them when we leave. They are all excited to see new movies so it pretty much guarantees atleast 2 hours of peace and quiet. I already have Alice and Wonderland, Toy Story 1&2 and Percy Jackson.

Enjoy your trip! We actually love the drive!

 

[Sunbeamblue2002]

Were driving down in just 25 days straight down I-77. 4 kids, my mom, and me and hubby. Gotta love a good road trip with the family. Thank goodness for the Built in DVD in the Montaina.

 

[DVC4US]

Good luck on your trip! We are leaving in 2 days for our 1st road trip in a long time.

Thanks so much! Good Luck to you guys too!

 

[pattibehan]

Just found this thread !! We travel almost 24 hours to get to WDW, and love (almost) every minute. We go 95 the whole way to 4, for ease and speed!! This will be the first time with a Garmin, so I am curious as to how "she" changes the route to avoid traffic.

We always leave around 10pm, and never seem to hit NYC, Washington or Jacksonville traffic. This year we are driving straight through and leave at 5pm.

Whenever we stop for the night, no one can sleep. It seems like such a waste of time for us..my boys are 13 and 14 and have no trouble sleeping in the car, and my DH and I just doze..If we are really tired we find a Cracker Barrell about 4am and sleep in th parking lot until it opens

BTW, we leave in 11 days !!!!