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

[capt445]

Driving in May for the first time!! YICKS! I am expecting and will be about 25 weeks along and we will also have our 1 year old. Leaving from IN, about 1083 miles one way. First I have found varying hours on different sites. Google says 18 our GPS says 15 ½ does anyone know from first hand experience?

Also- My husband wants to leave at 8 pm and drive straight through? Opinions on this? We would arrive at 11 a.m. and get a priceline hotel in the DD area then the following day after hopefully some rest we will start our stay at Disney.

Thanks for your Help!

AmberMarieRich,

We have been driving straight through from the Fort Wayne area for the last 6 years (1098 miles). The best time we have done it in is just over 17hrs, the worst time is about 20hrs. We usually leave just after 6 pm and arrive between 1130 am and 1:30 pm. We usually stop every 2 1/2-3 hrs to stretch, eat, fuel or use a rest room. So in your calculations of when you arrive you need to figure in stops, and how long you will stop for. Good luck and feel free to ask any other questions.

Mike

 

[SFD998]

Is Columbia SC a good stopping place for the night? Sometimes it's nicer to stay in smaller cities, but I think Columbia might be big. We will have driven about 14 hours to there. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

I don't know where you are coming from or your intended direction of travel, but we stop in Florence, S.C. It takes us between 12 and 14 hours. We have been using the Holiday Inn Express. Specifically the one at I-95 & I-20 civic center. It is very easy on and off the highway and there were plenty of food choices. I would call Columbia a larger city, but my town has about 6000people. If you are considering Columbia I would have to say you are taking a different route than I would, because Columbia is more central and Florence is in the Eastern part of the state. However, you may be able to adjust your route.

 

[sharadoc]

Is Columbia SC a good stopping place for the night? Sometimes it's nicer to stay in smaller cities, but I think Columbia might be big. We will have driven about 14 hours to there. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.

We were going to use Columbia as a stopping point if we took the 81-77 route. Look around Google maps - there's a TON of hotels, some closer to town and some closer to the highway. I wouldn't go into the "city" of Columbia but I think the regular old highway hotels, like Country Inn and Suites, Microtel, etc. are all over there and you can get something at a good price and convenient to the highway. From there's you'd be about 6 hours from WDW, depending on what side of Columbia you stay on.

 

[AmberMarieRich]

Thanks so much for the Help! We are leaving from Huntington area, I'm sure you know it well! Good to know you leave at night as well.

 

[BC1836]

Two weeks from today....

 

[dvczerfs]

Two weeks from today....

 

[BC1836]

And, perhaps, we'll cross paths in June.

All the best.

 

[PEImom]

Driving from Prince Edward Island, Canada in 58 days....very excited and looking forward to the drive with the family....bonding time.

 

[BC1836]

Driving from Prince Edward Island, Canada in 58 days....very excited and looking forward to the drive with the family....bonding time.

Now that's a drive. After you cross to the Canadian mainland, you've got nearly 850 miles to get to I-95 around NYC! "Bonding time," indeed!

All the best.

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Hi all,

Driving from NJ in August. This will be the first drive down in at least 4 trips; just so fed up with flying and so we're going to brave I-95 once again. We usually stop in Georgia for the night. We'll be using Hilton Honors points for our stay and we were hoping there would be some Point Stretchers available (low point stays) at that time, but sadly, no. So we are going to be limited regarding where to stay. We have stayed at the Hampton Inn Darien on several occasions but I am not willing to give up the points for it (used to be a stretcher).

We know it will be a Hampton Inn again--the question is, which one?

Does anyone have experience with one of the following?

Hampton Inn Kingsland
Hampton Inn Savannah I-95/Richmond Hill
Hampton Inn & Suites Brunswick

I know that Brunswick is closest to the Florida border, but priority #1 is a safe and clean place to stay.

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[pit303]

We leave next Sunday from Upper Chichester, PA first time we have driven since 1996. Won't be leaving until late Sunday night hoping to make the trip in one day glad we don't have any plans yet for Tuesday except relaxing

 

[dvczerfs]

And, perhaps, we'll cross paths in June.

All the best.

if you are. ill pm you my cell. do you text? if not, pm me your cell number sio i know who it is. thanks bc

 

[dvczerfs]

Hi all,

Driving from NJ in August. This will be the first drive down in at least 4 trips; just so fed up with flying and so we're going to brave I-95 once again. We usually stop in Georgia for the night. We'll be using Hilton Honors points for our stay and we were hoping there would be some Point Stretchers available (low point stays) at that time, but sadly, no. So we are going to be limited regarding where to stay. We have stayed at the Hampton Inn Darien on several occasions but I am not willing to give up the points for it (used to be a stretcher).

We know it will be a Hampton Inn again--the question is, which one?

Does anyone have experience with one of the following?

Hampton Inn Kingsland
Hampton Inn Savannah I-95/Richmond Hill
Hampton Inn & Suites Brunswick

I know that Brunswick is closest to the Florida border, but priority #1 is a safe and clean place to stay.

Thanks in advance for your input.

we also use hilton honnors but ive never stayed that far south. northen s.carolina is about as far as i have stayed at a hampton. if i make it to georgia, im going all the way to exit 67! sorry couldnt help

 

[dvczerfs]

We leave next Sunday from Upper Chichester, PA first time we have driven since 1996. Won't be leaving until late Sunday night hoping to make the trip in one day glad we don't have any plans yet for Tuesday except relaxing

ok, you got me!!! at first i thought you were from chester pa. were is chichester pa???? have a safe trip by the way.

 

[dvczerfs]

hi sharon!

 

[DeeCeeSW]

we also use hilton honnors but ive never stayed that far south. northen s.carolina is about as far as i have stayed at a hampton. if i make it to georgia, im going all the way to exit 67! sorry couldnt help

OK, I'll bite...where do you stay in SC?

 

[dvczerfs]

OK, I'll bite...where do you stay in SC?

we have hit about 5 of them over the years but the last few times we did an overnight stay we stayed in dilon.

 

[pamkev]

Two weeks from today....

What a great feeling

 

[blondietink]

Looking at a route to avoid DC. Once we reach Harrisburg (staying there overnight), we will take 81 south to 66 East south of Winchester, then get off on 17 south to I-95 just north of Fredricksburg. 17 looks like a divided highway. Is this a good road to take? We'll be driving this 3 weeks from today!

Also, can I expect to be near Savannah or Brunswick, GA by evening if we leave Harrisburg by say 8 am?

 

[irish dancer]

We'll be joining this club come June. For us it's 2360mi round trip from the Chicago western suburbs to AKV. We've never driven to WDW with the kids but I did when I was a kid. We have driven to HHI twice with the kids though and they were pretty good, surprisingly they did better on those trips than to DBil's cabin in WI which is only a 3hr trip.

Need to do some research on routes and possible overnight stop-off locations. After driving straight through to HHI we know that an overnight stop is needed for DH and I on such a long trip.

Any adivce gladly welcomed!