For those folks driving!

[cranbiz]

Wooly5

It's 8-9 hours to Baltimore and roughly an hour or so to Alexandria. Fredericksburg is not a bad place to stop and it's about another hour from Alexandria.

I'm leaving Friday for Deltona. I'll give you better times when I get back.

 

[cmonroe]

We are leaving our home in NB Canada around 4:00 pm and are hoping to drive at least 24 hours with kids sleeping through the night, with a few breaks to eat and etc.. (my DH works night shifts so he'll be ok to drive through) We are hoping to get as far south as SC or even GA then stop for the night so our drive will be much shorter the next day!

We've never done it before so I think we have to have a "wait & see" attitude and try to be relaxed about it but be well prepared and informed.

Wish us luck!

Whew! I agree with DisneyMomOfThree! I thought driving from New England was a long haull! Good luck langin! Be safe!

 

[wooly5]

For those of you who have made the trip before. Is it possible to drive from Boston to SOTB, leaving Boston early morning (4- 5 am) and arriving in SC by dinner time or a bit later?

The timing looks good on paper - but we've never done it before.

WOOLY5

 

[cmonroe]

For those of you who have made the trip before. Is it possible to drive from Boston to SOTB, leaving Boston early morning (4- 5 am) and arriving in SC by dinner time or a bit later?

The timing looks good on paper - but we've never done it before.

WOOLY5

Wooly5,

We didn't take 95 down from Boston so I can't say specifically. A question people might have is: Are you bringing children? If yes, what age? Younger children can be variables when calculating stops, etc.

If it helps, our experience was traveling from:

I-90 -> I-84 -> I-81 to Roanoke, VA for our first stop.
We had 4 adults, dd 3.5 and ds 7mo
Ds was still breastfeeding and obviously using diapers, so we had to stop more frequently for him (and my in-laws, but that's a different story )

We left at midnight on Friday and arrived in Roanoke around 4pm on Saturday.

 

[wooly5]

Thanks for the reply.....

Our boys are 10 and (2) 8yr olds. I think my husband will require more stops than them! We'll be taking our Suburban with food and drink packed into our plug-in cooler. I'd like to make it to SOTB for a stay, breakfast and some shopping. I know the boys will love that area - plus I want to have a shorter drive time the next day. I don't want to push ourselves though.

Can I ask why you don't do 95? Is it the traffic?

 

[cmonroe]

Sorry I forgot to mention that. My wife has a major fear of bridges. So rather than make her anxious on what's supposed to be a happy vacation, we go around. It's a little longer, but very nice ride. I will ask her on our next trip if she'd be willing to try it on the way down. If she finds it not too bad we might return that way as well. I really don't want her to stress on our trips.

One other thing: I have had family members take 95 and they say it's great. However, they say DC traffic is terrible. If you end up leaving at 4 am, I would say it's highly possible you might hit rush hour there. Anyone else comment that's left at that time?

 

[areno79]

We drove down 95 from Portsmouth, NH, left at 4 am, and reached SOTB around 9 or 10...so we just ended up crashing in our hotel room.

 

[wooly5]

We'll be leaving at 4am on a Saturday morning. Hopefully there won't be alot of rush hour traffice for a Saturday. What do you think?

Amanda...

How many stops did you make on the way and what was the ride like? Can you recommend hotels in that area and would you do the same drive again?

 

[areno79]

We stopped about every 3 or 4 hours, even just to switch drivers or stretch our legs. It really helped break the long drive up We took 301 around DC (through Maryland) so we could avoid that traffic, but we still hit 4:00 traffic, although I'm sure not nearly as bad as it would've been on 95. We actually stayed in Dillon at the Super 8. Do NOT stay there...it was horrible! I would've rather paid an extra $20 just to sleep in a clean safe room There was a Hampton Inn there that looked okay, but there are so many hotels, I'm sure most of them would be okay, just be careful of the $30 rooms!

 

[langin]

Where exactly is South of the Border?

I have been hearing so much about it and apparently can't miss the signs when we get close, some think it's a must and some say drive by it, but with kids who are 12 and 9 (twins) , all boys, it could be fun??!!??

Is it a place to stop for a few hours or a place to stop for the night, depending on where it is?

 

[cmonroe]

We'll be leaving at 4am on a Saturday morning. Hopefully there won't be alot of rush hour traffice for a Saturday. What do you think?

Amanda...

How many stops did you make on the way and what was the ride like? Can you recommend hotels in that area and would you do the same drive again?

Wooly5,

I talked to my BIL. He said he's made the trek on Saturday and that there is traffic but nothing like the weekday. It's most likely a better situation on Saturday, but I guess it could be hit or miss as well. Anyone made the trek through consistently on Saturday?

 

[cranbiz]

South of the Border is in Dillon SC. It's right at the NC/SC line on Rt 95.

It's a place that one should stop at at least once in their lifetime. It's unique and very tourist trappy but it can be welcome diversion. The food (at breakfast anyway) is good, not great but it's filling, and hot. It's also very reasonable.

We always stop there for breakfast, potty and to stretch. I don't buy gas there unless I screwed up along the way.

 

[langin]

Hello again,

So glad to have found this particular site, you have been the most helpful!

We are planning on driving (as you know), for us it's a 28++ hour drive. As mentionned before, we plan on leaving arund 4:00pm from New Brunswick, Canada and driving for about 5 hours or so, we are crossing the border in Calais, Maine, we had decided not to get passports because all we needed was drivers license and birth cert but now I am a little worried! Then we will be stopping around 9:00pm for a "before sleep" break (pee, gas,etc..) then another 9-10 hours till we stop for breakfast (hopefully, the kids can sleep through the night), my husband will be coming off night shifts so hopefully he can drive through. Then we continue on another long day, again hopefully get 10 hours or so (5 hrs before lunch and 5 hrs after lunch)! So hopefully we can get in 24-25 hours of driving in before we stop for the night.

Here is my question, we were thinking of going around the big cities, taking the I84 to Scranton, PA then the I81 then the 64 to Richmond or take the
I77 then 26 to join up the I95 mid SC making us miss the SotB) so pls help with the routing!!!!

 

[baileybelle]

Hi langin...I would definitely do the 84-81 route to avoid the big cities. Last October we took 84-81-66-17-95. I wanted to go to 77-26-95, but there was a Nascar race the day we would be passing by Charlotte, NC so we opted for 66-17-95. This year we will be taking 77-26 instead. Alot of people I know go 84-81-77-26 because the drive is beautiful and a lot less stressful than 95.

 

[cmonroe]

Baileybelle,

We took the 84-81-77-26-95 ride last August from Mass. It was beautiful! It does add miles onto the trip, but what a nice ride. The only advice I would have is to avoid driving through 84 in NY late at night. It's very foggy, there are no lights and many many tractor trailers. I don't like driving late at night and this was the toughest portion for me as there was little stimulation to help you stay awake!

Most of the roads in that area look like what's in this picture.
http://www.nycroads.com/roads/I-84_NY/

 

[baileybelle]

cmonroe... my husband and I will be on our 1st empty nest trip to WDW and we are going to take our time getting there. We plan on leaving Maine on a Sunday around 11am (I have to work sunday morning) and drive to Harrisburg, PA. Monday we plan on driving to around Brunswick, Ga. Tuesday on to SOG at WDW for 7 full days of adult Disney!!! Same plan on the way back. More leisurely, less commando, and no night driving!!!

 

[cmonroe]

cmonroe... my husband and I will be on our 1st empty nest trip to WDW and we are going to take our time getting there. We plan on leaving Maine on a Sunday around 11am (I have to work sunday morning) and drive to Harrisburg, PA. Monday we plan on driving to around Brunswick, Ga. Tuesday on to SOG at WDW for 7 full days of adult Disney!!! Same plan on the way back. More leisurely, less commando, and no night driving!!!

That sounds great!

 

[langin]

Baileybelle,

Can you tell me how long you think this will take you, from ME to Harrisburg PA and then from PA to GA, I am always trying to figure out how loooonnng it's going to take us from New Brunswick.

Thanks

 

[langin]

Another question

If we are driving a long day from let's say Harrisburg PA to somewhere in SC, I just read that that is very boring, do they mean the I95? We will be coming in from the 81,84??, is this a nicer drive, what will I be looking at?

 

[cmonroe]

Another question

If we are driving a long day from let's say Harrisburg PA to somewhere in SC, I just read that that is very boring, do they mean the I95? We will be coming in from the 81,84??, is this a nicer drive, what will I be looking at?

I-81 runs through Harrisburg. We were on this road our last trip. I don't believe 95 goes anywhere near Harrisburg. It's not an exciting ride, but very scenic!