Has anyone ever driven from the Geneva/Auburn NY area?

[poohraedopey]

We have decided to drive In Nov and have no idea what to expect especially with the kids. I drove home with them last summer from Cape cod (400 plus miles) with only 1 stop so I don't think we will need a lot of stopping but you never know. Mapquest says it's like 19 hours.... Each map place has a diff set of directions though so I don't know the best route how frequent gan'n'go stops need to be etc We will be driving an "05 Escape which is pretty good on gas. Hubby and I drive to Bethany Beach DE every Sep which takes a lot of driving and it's no problem. We are planning to do 2 days stopping halfway then into Orlando the next day and staying cheap that night then going to Disney fresh the next morning. All I know for sure is both kids are getting Portable DVD's for their B'days in Sept. We may or may not have another couple following us.....

 

[JFrey4240]

If you have AAA you should check with them. My sister drove from Geneva, NY last year and was able to get directions to avoid Washington DC traffic. I think she made it in about 22 hours with stops. She said it wasn't terrible but she'd rather fly next time. Good luck!

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

One suggestion many have made for those in upstate and western NY is to take I-81 through PA and western VA, then work your way over to I-95. Once you're into VA there are a few different ways --

1. once south of Winchester, take I-66 east to US 17 south. This intersects with I-95 at Fredericksburg, between DC and Richmond.
2. take I-64 east at Staunton, then Route 288 around Richmond, which intersects with I-95 between Richmond and Petersburg.
3. go about an hour past Roanoke and take I-77 south through NC into SC and pick up I-26 at Columbia, which takes you to I-95.

Each route has its pros and cons. The first one gets you over to I-95 sooner, but DC traffic still affects I-95 somewhat at this point. With the second, this part of I-64 is not as heavily travelled as I-95 and there no large metro areas to speak of once you pass Petersburg until Jacksonville, FL, but PM rush hour traffic southbound between Richmond & Petersburg can be heavy (nothing compared to DC traffic, though). The third one is a very scenic route through the mountains, but truck traffic on I-81 can be heavy.