I75 vs I77 route

[5boyz]

Hey houseofmouse, Where in Savannah did you stay? My sister in law lives there and we stopped in last year!! Very nice and very southernnnnnnn....slow moving!!! LOL!!!

 

[iluveeyore]

I just did the 77/79/95 for March Break - drove myself and four teenagers down to Disney and I was the only driver - have driven this several times before - total driving time about 18-19 hours, but total trip time there was about 24 hours as we hit some horrible traffic jams on the I-77 due to an accident and on the I95 due to bike week in Daytona and March Break traffic - May should be a breeze for you. I rented a station wagon from Budget and had unlimited km which was great (Dodge Magnum we rented). Lots of room for the teens and they had portable dvd players and cd players to keep them busy. Stopped when we needed to for gas and pee breaks - never worried about safety as all the rest stops are beautifully kept and have security all the time. Have slept in them before with my hubby when we didn't have the kids with us for at least four hours and never had a problem. With four teenagers though, I stopped just north of Charlotte NC the first night after eleven hours, then we were in Orlando the next early evening (would have been sooner without traffic problems). If you break it into two days, you can leave early in the morning the first day, stop just at dark so you're in the mountains in daylight, then continue the next morning - very pretty drive and the kids love the two big tunnels we go through under the mountains. I wanted to try the i75 for something different, but the kids just wanted to get there quick, and since I was the only one who could drive, quicker was better. And the only major centers you drive through are Charlotte and Jacksonville, so the roads aren't busy enough to stress you out in between, and the major centers are short and easy as well. Have a great trip whichever way you decide - getting there is the best part!
Tracey

 

[The House of Mouse]

In Savannah we stayed at the south end "gateway". Since we had driven through the night we arrived at 10 a.m. Our suite at the Holiday Inn Express was ready. We had a quick power nap, then went exploring, something we had always wanted to do. It is such a pretty town! We walked around the cobblestone streets, took pictures of the pretty squares and drove over the big bridge! Beautiful houses, and a warm wonderful southern feel. Glad we did it.

 

[5boyz]

do you know that was where FOREST GUMP was filmed!!!? My kids love that movie!!!!

 

[snoopyandpooh]

We had driven I-75 3 times in the past two years. We had Dave Hunter's book and rented cars from Avis all times. If you use the contact code from the Entertainment book, you can get unlimited milage on Minivans and SUVs and a lower rate too.

The drives were easy and straight forward, we started from downtown Toronto and Markham, we usually stopped for about 3 hours at one of the rest stops and still arrive within 24 hours.

I am not good at direction, that's why I prefer to stick with I-75, its just once highway from beginning to end. I was afraid to take the other route in case I miss an exit and get lost in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Ham Ham]

I'm a huge fan of I-90,I-79, US 19, I-77, I-26,I-95, I-4.

We live in Mississauga and dove it again over the March 2006 break. We left Mississauga at 5 PM and arrived in Orlando at 6 PM the next day 26 hours total just under 2100 KM. We lost approximately 3 hours to traffic through Charlotte and Orlando

No matter which route you take remember to avoid large cities during rush hour. On the above route the large cities are Buffalo, Pittsburg, Charlotte, Jacsonville & Orlando.

The I-75 way the big cities are Detroit, Toledo, Dayton, Cinncinatti, & Atlanta.



Here's some info on US 19 through WV.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05324/608879.stm

Stop at the New River Bridge Visitors Center, north of bridge east side.
Great Museum.

http://www.nps.gov/neri/bridge.htm

However avoid this route on "Bridge Day'. One day a year folks are allowed to jump (parachute, bungee, etc) off the bridge.

http://www.wvbridgeday.com/

 

[Drivercan]

Is traffic the I77 or I75 route better on a Saturday or Sunday?

 

[Drivercan]

To Snoopyandpooh

Where do you get the "Entertainment book" for the Avis discount and unlimited mileage?

Thx.

 

[explorer1977]

Hey Drivercan,

Sorry about the delay, my post should have read 15 min stops every two hours of driving. Sometime we would stop sometime we did not need to but that time just added to our meal stops. On the way down last Spetember (for our honeymoon) we left on a Sunday morning around 9 AM and drove all the way to Rockhill South Carolina which we got there at about 10 PM. We had no traffic at all so we made pretty good time. Next day we left at about 9 after some brealfast and drove to St. Augustine and we were there and checked into our hotel by 2 in the afternoon with a couple long stops for shopping on the way. We then went shopping and the next day we had a short two hour drive to the Wilderness Lodge. We found this drive relaxing except for the first day which was alot of driving and we did not stop for the first time till lunch time when we need to fill up the gas tank.

 

[snoopyandpooh]

Drivercan, I bought the Entertainment book from Entertainment website last year, there were some car rental coupons in it. The AWD code for Avis is B790071, I use it again this year and found that it gives small discounts and unlimited mileage even on minivans and SUVs.

The book comes out every year and is good till November, you can get one for half price through their website.