how is driving i81???

[njcarita]

hi we've always taken 95 from jersey
we decided on hoping onto 81 at harrisburg and taking 77 to 26 and catching 95 in s carolina


how are the stops on 81 are there plenty of hotels and restaurants??
we are traveling with 3 kids and two seniors - so we do a lot of bathroom breaks

has any one traveled this route that can tell me please the estimated time of travel from harrisburg or anywhere along that route-
so i can try to guestimate from my home in jersey

TIA

 

[baileybelle]

When are you going? I wouldn't drive that route in the winter time. It's very mountainous with lots of truckers. We drove from Maine going 95 to 84 to 81(Scranton,PA) to 66(near Winchester, Va) to 17 to 95 to 4. We drove down the end of October. We left Kissimmee on a Wednesday morning at 4am and reached Harrisburg Pa at around 7pm (15 hours).

There are lots of exits with restaurants and hotels along the way. We had originally planned on going 81-77-26, but after getting advice from a lot of "snowbirds" we chose the 81-66-17 route.

I also used a book called "the next exit". It has every major highway in the country. It lists every exit on each interstate and what can be found at each exit..restaurants, gas, motels, hospitals..etc. It also lists every rest stop. This was the best book I ever ordered. You can order it at www.thenextexit.com. Good luck on your trip.

 

[njcarita]

we are actually leaving friday :jumping4:

i orginally looked at the 81-66-17-95 route - but had friends steer us to the other route-
but i didn't take into account that it was mountainous and we are going in the winter

i'll have to rethink our route-

my main concern was to not hit philly, baltimore or washington traffic.

we are also doing the trip over 3days- instead of one overnight- with 3 kids are grandparents tagging along- i'm in no rush-
i'm just planning to drive 6-8 hrs a day.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Just be CERTAIN there won't be ice/snow. And prepare to battle the trucks all the way.
There are a sufficient # of stops etc (but not nearly as many as I-95) and you do get to miss Baltimore and DC traffic. Plus it is rather scenic compared to 95.

 

[baileybelle]

The 81-66-17 route by-passes Philly, Baltimore and DC. You come out at Fredricksburg, Va.

 

[cranbiz]

I don't think that there will be I95 will be that bad if you are leaving on Friday. I, too am leaving on Friday (6pm). I 'm not expecting it to be that bad. I just did a I95 trip in October, Only had troubles with NJ pike, (which you wouldn't have), night paving in MD, a traffic accident in Savannah and rush hour in JAX. (that was a Friday afternoon)

I blew through the Baltimore/Washington area in the middle of the night, no problems.

 

[dgaston]

We have used the 81-77-26-95 route twice, once for Christmas 2003, and again in April. We did not find the trucks to be difficult, and our weather was fine in December. With snow I would drop down to 95, but you can adjust your trip plans for that. NC rest areas are the best! This route is much less stressful for me, and beautiful. I do not like DC traffic--have been stuck far too many times!

 

[Lesley]

I'm originally from PA but live in Columbia SC now...I've driven the entire route you're proposing...but not in one shot. I"ve also done the 95 drive from PA to WDW.

I81 is a much nicer route from PA to SC than 95. It takes 10-12 hours from my parents' in Berks Co. to Columbia. From Columbia to WDW (you'd be driving within 2 miles of our house!) its 6-7 hours. Our best time from Berks Co. PA to WDW on 95 was 17 hours...and that was driving overnight with minimal traffic. You'd probably make better time taking 81 and its a more pleasant drive. People told us this for years, but we didn't believe them until we did it ourselves.

I would watch the forecast for snow...but in the event of snow I don't know that 95 would be any safer than 81. There is much more traffic on 95 at any given time than I usually see on 81 during the day. There really is only an hour or two of the drive that is very mountainous (going up or down, cliffs off the highway, etc...) on 81 and that's around the VA/NC border.

Oh, I've done the 81 drive from here to PA with 3 kids alone and found there to be plenty of places to stop. Not as many as on 95...but they're not the nightmare that some of the places along 95 can be either.

Honestly I think the worst part of your drive would be 26 from Columbia to 95.....people just drive so stupidly on that road! It doesn't get backed up usually, but it does get moderately heavy traffic driving slowly in both lanes

Oh, and definitely take 77 directly to 26...don't get off 77 at 20 and get 26 from there...takes you right through what is known here in Cola as "malfunction junction" I know mapquest often would tell me to go around that way....but staying on 77 is much much better as far as traffic is concerned.