I-75 to Florida - Stop in TN or GA

[FrankieDplus3]

My family will be leaving for Florida in (see ticker below)!!!

We have made the trip from Canada twice and both times we stopped in Chattanooga, TN near exit 5. This trip typically takes us 13 to 14 hours with gas/washroom/food breaks; and the kids are pretty well behaved. This will get us to Chattanooga at approx. 6pm

This year, with my DS now 4 yrs old, I am hoping we don't need to make as many stops (DD will be 10).

If we do make good time through TN, I'm wondering if I could trim a couple of hours off of my day 2 driving if I continued into Georgia.

Has anyone made this trip?
Where is a good place to stop along I-75 in Georgia?
Should I stop in TN or GA?

Thanks DISers!

 

[JB2K]

Quite honestly, if you are getting as far as Chattanooga, why not try to get past Atlanta, GA?

If you are traveling on a Saturday/Sunday, it may not be a big thing, but during the normal workweek, Atlanta traffic is the one pitfall of driving I-75 to Florida...

 

[sam_gordon]

I vagually remember that once you get out of the Chattanooga outskirts, there's not much in Georgia until Atlanta. Using Google maps, Dalton, Calhoun, Cartersville, then Kennesaw are the towns before Atlanta.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I vagually remember that once you get out of the Chattanooga outskirts, there's not much in Georgia until Atlanta. Using Google maps, Dalton, Calhoun, Cartersville, then Kennesaw are the towns before Atlanta.

I would think that a stop in Kennesaw would put the OP about an hour and a half further down I-75 and not into the Atlanta traffic. There are many motel choices in the Kennesaw and Marietta area. And, there may still be daylight for driving.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

If you travel the next morning and it is M-F, you want to go past Atlanta, and then stop for the night. You do not want to stop north of the city and then fight rush hour the next morning.

FYI...........from ATL to WDW is about 7.5 hours.

....................and the construction zone in south Georgia is not as bad as it was a year or two ago.

 

[FrankieDplus3]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Our trip begins at around 3:30 - 4:00 am Thursday morning. So, if we stopped in TN Thurs night, we'd be hitting the Atlanta area around 10:00-10:30 Friday morning.

Kennesaw and Marietta sound like a good option. So, I ask a follow up question, is Atlanta better at 9-10 am or 10-11 am?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Since you have stayed in Chattanooga on previous drives down have you thought about maybe going half an hour more and staying in Dalton, Georiga off exit 333? A few years ago we would leave our house at 4:00 PM, drive all night and get there around 11:00 AM the next day. Plus we also stay in Dalton the 1st day of our drive back to Toronto. There is a Hampton Inn located there which we have always stayed at, however this time we are staying at a Courtard By Marriott since we had enough Marriott Reward points for a free night stay.

 

[FrankieDplus3]

Since you have stayed in Chattanooga on previous drives down have you thought about maybe going half an hour more and staying in Dalton, Georiga off exit 333? A few years ago we would leave our house at 4:00 PM, drive all night and get there around 11:00 AM the next day. Plus we also stay in Dalton the 1st day of our drive back to Toronto. There is a Hampton Inn located there which we have always stayed at, however this time we are staying at a Courtard By Marriott since we had enough Marriott Reward points for a free night stay.

I was not happy with my stay in TN last year. I was really disappointed and that is why I'm looking for an option in GA. The extra 30 mins may be worth it.

I'll make a note of the Dalton exit and the Hampton Inn. Is this a nice place?

p.s.
Do you go through Windsor/Detroit?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I was not happy with my stay in TN last year. I was really disappointed and that is why I'm looking for an option in GA. The extra 30 mins may be worth it.

I'll make a note of the Dalton exit and the Hampton Inn. Is this a nice place?

p.s.
Do you go through Windsor/Detroit?

Yes it's a great location and we always go through Windsor/Detroit to I-75.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

The 9-11 window will be decent.

It is the 7-9 window that is a bear.

9-10/10-11.......the difference will be somewhat subtle.

Tune to 750AM WSB for traffic reports that morning

 

[OhioMom2Four]

We stayed at a Country Inn and Suites in Cordelle, GA right off I-75 in April. It was REALLY nice and clean and our rate was $49 (we got in after 10 pm). It had two double beds and a pull out couch. We only slept for a few hours and got back on the road to Orlando.

We plan to stay here again next trip.

 

[FrankieDplus3]

Yes it's a great location and we always go through Windsor/Detroit to I-75.

OK...I'm two weeks and 1 day away from travelling. When we drive down, I normally stop in TN, find a hotel and ask for a room - with no reservations. For my stop in Dalton, I'm looking to stay at the Hampton, do you think I should make a reservation?

TIA

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

OK...I'm two weeks and 1 day away from travelling. When we drive down, I normally stop in TN, find a hotel and ask for a room - with no reservations. For my stop in Dalton, I'm looking to stay at the Hampton, do you think I should make a reservation?

TIA

We always make reservations months in advance to be on the safe side and there have been a few times when we found out that the Hampton Inn located in Dalton was sold out.

 

[MommyRobin]

We stayed at a Country Inn and Suites in Cordelle, GA right off I-75 in April. It was REALLY nice and clean and our rate was $49 (we got in after 10 pm). It had two double beds and a pull out couch. We only slept for a few hours and got back on the road to Orlando.

We plan to stay here again next trip.

We are traveling from SW Ontario and want to make it past Atlanta at night so that we don't have to deal with the traffic the next day. We plan on leaving about 6am (hopefully earlier, but we're always running late), so that would have us stopping after 10pm. Is there usually a better rate after 10?

 

[cruisingkat]

We stop south of Atlanta in McDonough, GA. On previous trips, we stopped in Kennesaw and Atlanta. Didn't like going through Atlanta in the morning - driving through it at night (late evening) is much better. . McDonough is about an hour south of Atlanta. We normally sleep a little later, have breakfast (we stay at Holiday Inn Express), and are back on the road around 11am. We arrive at Disney around 3-5 pm depending on traffic and tie-ups.

 

[WIDisneyFan]

We always make reservations months in advance to be on the safe side and there have been a few times when we found out that the Hampton Inn located in Dalton was sold out.

Another big thumbs up for the Hampton in Dalton - we were there in June and it was very nice

 

[FrankieDplus3]

My fear in making a reservation before I leave, is I'm not quite sure where I'm going to stop.

My plan this year is to leave Waterloo at around 3 AM and see how far I can go before stopping for the night. Either before or after Atlanta? I don't know?

I would love to stop somewhere in time for dinner (6pm or 7pm).

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My fear in making a reservation before I leave, is I'm not quite sure where I'm going to stop.

My plan this year is to leave Waterloo at around 3 AM and see how far I can go before stopping for the night. Either before or after Atlanta? I don't know?

I would love to stop somewhere in time for dinner (6pm or 7pm).

Well you can always make a reservation and cancel it if you decide to keep driving past the city you were to stay in or if you wanted to stop a little bit earlier.

 

[cruisingkat]

Well you can always make a reservation and cancel it if you decide to keep driving past the city you were to stay in or if you wanted to stop a little bit earlier.

Just remember that there might be a time set to cancel without penalty and that the time is local time which might be different than your time. We always set an alarm on our cell phone about an hour before the cancel without penalty time (adjusted for any time loss or gain) and then decide by where we are when the alarm goes off if we will be able to make it to the hotel or if we can even go further.
We do book the hotel for the way down and the way back only because when we first were driving to FL (we go down several times a year) we would play it by ear. Several times, when we decided to stop for the night, there were no rooms and we had to continue on.

 

[Sharon G]

My college age son travels between Orlando and Kansas for work and school. He stayed at the Quality Inn in Marietta this May and said he did not feel safe in the area where the hotel is located. Just a heads up!