For those folks driving!

[PrincessMom4]

Yes, and Antietam,Harpers Ferry and Shennandoah NP!

I wanted to clarify (well hubby wants me to...lol). Route US15, NOT state route.... geesh....LOL

He says those places are east of where we are traveling through. So its a fairly safe road to travel on?? I keep picturing a scene from Chevy Chase's National Lampoon's Vacation where he takes a wrong turn and ends up in the "bad" part of town...lol

 

[disneyfan55]

I wanted to clarify (well hubby wants me to...lol). Route US15, NOT state route.... geesh....LOL

He says those places are east of where we are traveling through. So its a fairly safe road to travel on?? I keep picturing a scene from Chevy Chase's National Lampoon's Vacation where he takes a wrong turn and ends up in the "bad" part of town...lol

I have travelled that entire area-never a problem with safety! I have actually travelled the entire country by car as well so any other areas along the way just ask! All the National historic parks are either free or very low entrance fees. (there is an annual pass for National Parks/historic sites for 80/yr for up to 4 visitors as well) Yes, all are slightly off I 81 but worth the stop if you enjoy history/nature and have the time.

 

[05MM08MM]

Hey everyone, a couple questions about our Nov/Dec trip.

We will be coming from West of FL, heading in on I-10. Current route per Google maps is I-10 east, I-75 south, FL Turnpike, I-4 South.

We will be leaving late Sat night driving straight through and look to arrive sometime mid-late Sunday afternoon.

1.) Based on the timing. I would guess we would be at the I-10/I-75 interchange around noon time on Sunday. How is I-75 south from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday? Should we take an alternate rounte?

2.) arriving in the Orlando/Lake Buena Vista/Kissimmee area on Sunday mid-late afternoon, should we take an alternate route and avoid I-4?

We are staying at the Sheraton Vistana Resort, which is just on the other side (east) of I-4 from WDW.

TIA

 

[mskermit]

I guess we will take the 95 route then, especially that we are leaving by 3am sharp!!! How exciting to eat at Paula Deens - that will be great! We will only be missing you by a couple of days at the hotel then since we are leaving 2 days after you! Thanks for the info!

yea i was all excited about paula deens until yesterday!!! i am a cook, and a huge fan of paula so i thought how cool to go there. well one of the tellers at my bank was just there and she said it was nothing spectactular it was ok!!! oh no!!! they had the buffet, which is very reasonable 13.99 for lunch - adult 7.49 for kids. her dad who is diabetic, like myself, diagnosed last month! figures!!, had scallops and shrimp and said it was fishy!!! she said it is more of a tourist trap!! i have looked to see what is around the hotel in brunswick and there is a BBQ place that looks pretty good, we may just opt for that instead, im really bummed. where are you staying?? we are at ft wilderness

 

[ibcnu]

We are driving to the Autotrain in Virginia for our trip to Disney.

Why does everyone suggest taking I-495 West and not I-95/I-495 S around Washington DC? I've been monitoring the traffic on my cellphone the past few mornings and noticed that there were more slowdowns and traffic going West than East.

When I changed the directions from I-495 to I-95 all the way around Washington DC, it only adds another 2 miles but 15 minutes more to the trip. The I-495/I-95 East around Washington DC has been clear of traffic every morning.

Any suggestions or stick with I-495 West?

 

[patclairesmom]

We will never go west on 495 again. Did it once and I felt there was too much local traffic. Maybe if you are driving around DC in the middle of the night it would be quicker, but otherwise we always go the other way.

 

[mskermit]

We are driving to the Autotrain in Virginia for our trip to Disney.

Why does everyone suggest taking I-495 West and not I-95/I-495 S around Washington DC? I've been monitoring the traffic on my cellphone the past few mornings and noticed that there were more slowdowns and traffic going West than East.

When I changed the directions from I-495 to I-95 all the way around Washington DC, it only adds another 2 miles but 15 minutes more to the trip. The I-495/I-95 East around Washington DC has been clear of traffic every morning.

Any suggestions or stick with I-495 West?

we have never ever hit traffic in dc. jsut make sure you are thru there by 5am, no biggie. we always hit traffice other places in maryland due to night time road work

 

[CindyMcClung]

great info! Thank you.

 

[CindyMcClung]

great info! thank you.

 

[kidd_freeper]

We are driving to the Autotrain in Virginia for our trip to Disney.

Why does everyone suggest taking I-495 West and not I-95/I-495 S around Washington DC? I've been monitoring the traffic on my cellphone the past few mornings and noticed that there were more slowdowns and traffic going West than East.

When I changed the directions from I-495 to I-95 all the way around Washington DC, it only adds another 2 miles but 15 minutes more to the trip. The I-495/I-95 East around Washington DC has been clear of traffic every morning.

Any suggestions or stick with I-495 West?

We took I495 East on the morning of July 3 (Holiday weekend). No traffic at all. One area of construction just before getting on I95 south.

Go east on the beltway.

 

[starsgleam]

I live in the DC area....Which direction to go around the Beltway (495) really depends on the accidents/road work/whatever is going on at that particular time. My recommendation is to start checking the traffic when you are about 15-20 miles away from having to make your decision of which way to go on the Beltway. Try local radio (103.5 FM has traffic on the 8's) or using a phone application (I find the traffic that appears on the maps function of my iphone amazingly accurate at showing backups). Choose the way that doesn't have accidents/backups reported. You may not avoid all traffic, but you'll give yourself a good shot. Also, just don't even try to drive on the Beltway from 7-9:30am or 5-7pm during the work week. Weekends, barring major accidents or Redskins games are usually ok.

 

[RC4]

hey there. We are going to be driving down the first week of December from Chicago. We'd like a two day drive (we have three kids) and I was wondering if you could help me with any routes that are tried and true, or if you could point me in the direction of useful websites. I have noticed that many of you talk about what time you need to leave somewhere in order to be at a destination by a certain time. Is there a site that can help you plan that kind of information, or are you all just that good at trip planning? Maybe a bit of both?

Thanks
Carrie

 

[java]

I wouldnt head down I81 just because of I95 truck traffic. I81 is heavily traveled by semi trucks. We avoid it at all possible. I dont know if it would be worth the extra hour to go down it instead of I95 if your traveling during the day. We plan on an extra half hour/hour in our schedule in case of accidents.

We did I81 in July and really it wasn't anywhere near the truck traffic on I95. We did not hit a stitch of traffic the whole way down. (well I take that back we were in like 4 minutes of traffic once we got on I 95 in SC.

I 81 is our new go to route- the bathrooms along I 81 were ok- it's once you get off(like on 77) where it's a bit few and far between. but we knew that going in and stopped before we got off I 81. It was a shorter trip timewise for us and really so much less stressful. Beautiful scenery and mostly open road. Try it you'll like it!

 

[Looking4themouse]

hey there. We are going to be driving down the first week of December from Chicago. We'd like a two day drive (we have three kids) and I was wondering if you could help me with any routes that are tried and true, or if you could point me in the direction of useful websites. I have noticed that many of you talk about what time you need to leave somewhere in order to be at a destination by a certain time. Is there a site that can help you plan that kind of information, or are you all just that good at trip planning? Maybe a bit of both?

Thanks
Carrie

Hi Carrie, we're not all great trip planners, just good at avoiding traffic...I've taken plenty of road trips, some better than others and I've certainly learned which areas to avoid around rush hour traffic... I am however directionally challenged, which makes my dh While I can't give you specifics about your area since I'm from NH, I'll give you the link to a website that I found really helpful when planning my trip, it breaks your trip down by hours as well as giving you places to stop and such if you want it to. It's really a good one. hth.

http://www.freetrip.com/

 

[RC4]

Hi Carrie, we're not all great trip planners, just good at avoiding traffic...I've taken plenty of road trips, some better than others and I've certainly learned which areas to avoid around rush hour traffic... I am however directionally challenged, which makes my dh While I can't give you specifics about your area since I'm from NH, I'll give you the link to a website that I found really helpful when planning my trip, it breaks your trip down by hours as well as giving you places to stop and such if you want it to. It's really a good one. hth.

http://www.freetrip.com/

You are awesome!! Thank you!!

 

[amtag]

We did I81 in July and really it wasn't anywhere near the truck traffic on I95. We did not hit a stitch of traffic the whole way down. (well I take that back we were in like 4 minutes of traffic once we got on I 95 in SC.

I 81 is our new go to route- the bathrooms along I 81 were ok- it's once you get off(like on 77) where it's a bit few and far between. but we knew that going in and stopped before we got off I 81. It was a shorter trip timewise for us and really so much less stressful. Beautiful scenery and mostly open road. Try it you'll like it!

I have to stop coming to these threads because it makes me start my I95 vs I81 debate all over again

 

[Looking4themouse]

I have to stop coming to these threads because it makes me start my I95 vs I81 debate all over again

I know what you are saying my dh and I have been flip-flopping back and forth on this issue since like January, now just to add to the mess, some guy where he works mentioned that taking 81, 66, 17, back to 95 and so he thinks this is the way to go anyone taken this way before, the guy told him it didn't add as much time as 81-77...

 

[PrincessMom4]

I know what you are saying my dh and I have been flip-flopping back and forth on this issue since like January, now just to add to the mess, some guy where he works mentioned that taking 81, 66, 17, back to 95 and so he thinks this is the way to go anyone taken this way before, the guy told him it didn't add as much time as 81-77...

We have taken that route several times. Its actually a really nice drive. You avoid most of (if not all) of DC traffic.

 

[OnlyDisney]

We're coming from Louisville, KY; driving I-75 most of the way. Are there any pointers? Areas of traffic we should watch out for? We'll be leaving on Nov. 28, a Sunday afternoon and driving through the night.

 

[Anniegirl]

I left this morning at 7:30am from Monmouth county,NJ. It turned out to be the perfect time for us, no traffic whatsoever. 195 to 95 south (took the western 495 loop around DC). We were eating lunch in Virginia around 12:30, dinner in South Carolina just south of Dillon. Stopped in Manning, SC at 7:30 for the night. It is just me with my 3 boys (5,7,& 10), no way I could do this drive straight through with them!

Florida tomorrow!