How to get to HHI from NYC

[dlr25]

Okay experts, do you fly or drive? If you fly, is it into Hilton Head or Savannah? It doesn't seem like such an easy place to get to from here which is a shame because after all of the glowing reports on these boards, I really want to go! Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Divamomto3]

Bumping, because I"d like to know too!

We drove to Myrtle Beach once and it was absolute torture. (I'm in Connecticut.) But my oldest boys were only 3 and 18 months at the time. I have many friends that drive from Connecticut to Disney all the time. NO THANKS! I'd rather have breakfast on the plane and lunch with Mickey!

But I would be willing to drive to HH if that was the best way there.

 

[Macnjac87]

We have done the drive twice from the Eastern end of Long Island, NY with 3 kids. (We also drive to Disney almost every year) Some people think we are nuts but it works for us. Last month we left our house at 4 am (to beat NYC rush hour traffic) and drove to Santee, South Carolina (about 12 hours with bathroom stops) I packed a cooler with sandwiches so that was one less stop we had to make. We spent the night at a Hampton Inn and were on the road again by 8 am. It is about 2- 3 hours from Santee, depending on traffic. Not a bad drive at all. I bought a portable dvd player (with 3 sets of headphones, lol) and the kids watched movies, read, listened to their cd players, etc. I made sure I had lots of snacks, drinks, etc. and they were fine. My kids are 14, 11 and 7. The airfare from the NY area is ridiculous and you can't fly direct except for Newark to Savannah and its pricey. We thought of flying to Jacksonville, FL and renting a car and driving up, about 3 hours but after the cost of the airplane tix and rental car, it didn't seem worth it. I can't tell you how unbelievably beautiful HHI is, well worth the drive. We are going for the third time next April after cruising on the Wonder, can't wait!

 

[VMS]

We also drive to HH from CT. We have done it the past three years. You need a car when you get down there, and we have not found the drive to be that bad. We also leave very early in the AM, drive to about 2 hours from HH and stop for the night, then have the next full day there. Our kids are now 13, 10, and 7. We have the TV that plays tapes, and that works out well.

 

[UConnJack]

You're right, flying into Charleston or Savanah is very expensive, and often connects through Atlanta. Flying into Jacksonville, FL is reasonable, but still a 3-hour drive. When you figure in the time and effort to check into the airport, flying, getting luggage, renting a car, and then driving 3 hours (repeat on the way back), I'd just as soon drive.

We have driven to HHI from the Hartford, CT area on two occasions. The first time was with our 1 1/2 month old daughter, and the second when she was 1 yr. She slept most of the way, so it was great! I'm not sure if I would drive to WDW very often (we've done it once) since it a long 2-day drive, and you can pick up incrediblly cheap airfare if your diligent about watching fares. HHI can be reasonably be done in one long day, or two fairly short ones.

Its a long drive, but not difficult if you avoid rush hour times in the NYC and Baltimore/DC metro areas. If you drive on a weekend down, its not bad as long as you leave fairly early and miss the NJ shore traffic. Driving on a weekend back up is OK too, especially on Sat. On Sunday, make sure to be through NYC by mid-afternoon.

Without major traffic problems, it would take 12-14 hrs depending on how many stops you make and for how long. A long day drive, but doable. My best luck has been to bugger out of work early on a Friday, get through NYC by 3pm, stop for dinner as traffic starts getting heavy in Maryland, get back on the road by 7pm, and stop in Fredericksburg or Richmond, VA around 9-10pm for the night. From there it's an easy 7 hour drive to HHI.

Coming back we usually bite the bullet and drive straight through (because we end up wanting to stay one extra day and use one of our driving days), but doing the drive above backwards in 2 days works too.

 

[Pa@okw95]

I drive all the time to WDW, will not let the airlines mistreat me like they do and that was before 9/11. Since you live in NYC my advice is to get out of town so that you are by Washington by 6 AM. When I drive from CT I am through NYC by 6 AM, then I go around Washington DC. The realy big problem with the drive is boredom. North Carolina and South Carolina are killers when it comes to boredom. The directions to HH from rt 95 should be coming from someone else. I never stayed at HH, I don't play golf anymore.

 

[dlr25]

Thank you for all of the advice. I fly everywhere and would never dream of such a long drive but it seems like I'm right that the air choices are limited and expensive. It is so easy to get to Florida from New York. Sometimes we take a 6am flight to get the cheaper fare but at least there is a cheaper fare.

As for the drive, I have a portable DVD player for the kids. I'll get some books on tape and bring plenty of good music. Most important seems to be a good attitude (which you all seem to have). I'll try to bring that too! Thanks again for the help.