I77 or I75 from Toronto

[tink&cinderella]

Map quest suggests taking the I77 intially. I hearl lots of people taking the I75 and crossing in Detroit - doesn't that add extra time ie: to get to Windsor one goes west quiet a ways.

MapQuest is indicating about 22 1/2 hours for the trip from just east of Toronto to Orlando-POFQ taking the I77. Has anyone ever done either so that we can compare what is best?

Questions:

What route is fastest?
What route is most scenic
What route is safest
What route has more rest stops ie; better for children

Thanks,

Tink&Cinderella

 

[OntFamily]

Get ready for many diversified opinions -- there is no clear consensus.

Personally, I've taken the I-77 route a few times (and have never taken I-75). However, I have mapped out I-75 and found it to be longer from the GTA (approx 2 hours).


I-77 (like most major interstate highways in the US) has frequent rest stops (we have a two year old, so we stopped at many of them) and lots of good hotels/places to eat.


From what I have read, an important distintion between the two routes is the time of year of travel. The I-77 route does take you through some higher elevation hills, so in Winter you will have to watch the weather closely. Outside of the Dec - March period, I-77 is normally fine at all times. I have had friends drive this route in Feb with no problem. Plus I-77 means avoiding the 401.

I have found the route to be scenic, and it's a relaxing drive (besides listening to the same Blue's Clues tape for hours on end, as it's all my son wishes to watch).


From Mississauga to DTD, Mapquest puts the drive on I-77 @ 20 hours 38 minutes. I-75 routing is 23 hours.


Regardless of the route, check out the coupon books at the rest areas. They'll give you great discounts on hotel rooms.

 

[SnowWhite]

Just out of curiousity, where is the I-77? I have never heard of it. I know of going down the I-95 route, and have driven the I-75 route a couple times. Any info on this highway would be appreciated. thanks

 

[tink&cinderella]

You cross over into the States at Niagara Falls and take the I 90 to Cleveland then get on the I 77 south - it sure looks more direct then the I75 from T.O.

We are heading back home via I75 because we are coming home via Atlanta - we are visiting friends there after our two weeks in Florida.

Tink&Cinderella

 

[OntFamily]

You cross over into the States at Niagara Falls and take the I 90 to Cleveland then get on the I 77 south - it sure looks more direct then the I75 from T.O.
Tink&Cinderella

Slight correction -- You get off the I-90 @ Erie, PA onto I-79. If you drive to Cleveland, you'll miss the I-79 (don't want to see you get lost !!). Technically the route (from Niagara Falls) is:

Merge onto I-90 W via EXIT 54-61 toward ERIE (Portions toll). 94.4 miles

Merge onto I-79 S via EXIT 22A toward PITTSBURGH. 280.5 miles

Merge onto US-19 S via EXIT 57 toward SUMMERSVILLE/BECKLEY. 67.5 miles

US-19 S becomes US-19 ALT S (Portions toll). 1.7 miles

Merge onto I-77 S (Portions toll). 311.6 miles

Merge onto I-26 E via the exit on the LEFT toward CHARLESTON. 52.8 miles

Merge onto I-95 S via EXIT 169A toward SAVANNAH. 320.1 miles

Merge onto I-4 W via EXIT 260B toward ORLANDO. 64.0 miles


Sorry for contributing to the confusion.

 

[tink&cinderella]

Not at all.

We are driving for the first time on Wednesday and I was looking a a street map - any help is appreciated.

Tink&Cinderella

 

[SnowWhite]

Yes that is similar to the route that we looked at from mapquest going to disney from here in Peterborough. Alot of tolls I hear, and also a trucker friend of mine said you can run into alot of fog as well. I recognized the route as soon as you printed out here. For us, we are going to stick with I-75.

 

[talicskai]

We live in Paris ( one hour west of Toronto) and have driven both ways. The I90/79/77/95 route is definitely more scenic but can have nasty weather in the mountains near Beckley WV. I really love that route in good weather. We just came back a few weeks ago and traveled I75 both directions for no apparent reason other than we drove all night and didn't want to have to worry about looking for different highways. Once you are on I75 you don't really get off. Our friends travelled with us and they made it home in 22 hours straight! Lake Buena Vista to Brantford all on I75.

I prefer to go down one way and home another just to spice it up a bit!

Whatever way you go ~ Enjoy!

Teresa

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

I've never driven the I-77 route, but I-75 from Detroit to Orlando took roughly 21 hours. Based on numbers others have posted, I-77 is probably faster.

 

[Hockeychic]

I have driven both ways and I much prefer the 77-79-95 route, faster, and more scenic. However from the FLA boarder to Orlando is realllllllllllyyyyyyy long. There are plenty of rest stops both ways so that shouldn't be a issue. We are about 45 north of Toronto and save over 2 almost 3 hours by the 77-79-95 route.....

JMHO

 

[digskat]

Never driven down I77 or heard of it for that matter. If you do drive I75 buy the book Along I75 by Dave Hunter. It's excellent all the map you'll ever need it give you and has what hotels you can stop at and restaurants along the way. Also there is some nifty historical facts. I found extremely helpful going through Alanta GA it gave you hints of what lane to be in at which exit etc. Also they give you info on where the speed changes and at which points you are likely to run into police radar. Here's the web site www.i75online.com. Have a great trip tink&cinderella, hope everything goes well you guys deserve it by the looks of your other posts. TTFN KAT

 

[OntFamily]

Yes that is similar to the route that we looked at from mapquest going to disney from here in Peterborough. Alot of tolls I hear, and also a trucker friend of mine said you can run into alot of fog as well. I recognized the route as soon as you printed out here. For us, we are going to stick with I-75.

Tolls aren't too bad -- by memory, the tolls (both ways) were approx $15-20US (including the toll cross the bridge back into Canada) -- about the same as taking the 407 across the GTA one way !!!!

 

[CharlesTD]

We have tried both we like the scenery from I77 but prefer the straightforeward rout of I75. Lots of rest stops and hotels and service centres along I75 so if anything were to happen to the vehicle it is much easier to get repairs done. We wiol forego saving a couple hours for the knoledge that if something happens to the car along the way we have many choices for getting it fixed and many stops along the way.

 

[GoofyArt]

I enjoyed the alternate route, it was much more scenic. Problem is, as I recall there were parts of I77 and I26 that were quite curvy through the mountains as compared to the I75 route. I also recall the curves being more banked than the I75 route. Both my DW and DS were sick as a result. This might be something for you to consider if you choose the I77 route.

 

[SnowWhite]

LOL, that is why I don't take the 407 either! I believe I took a route similar to the I-77 route when I went to Virginia Beach a while back. My wife hated going through the mountains as it was very foggy and deer were everwhere it seemed.

 

[Frameboy]

I have done the I77 / I79 route and the I75 route. Some observations that may help!

I77 / I79 is a nice quiet route... at least until Georgia. It goes through Pittsburgh and Charlotte, but you never actually SEE Pittsburgh, and Charlotte is a small city. Lots of hotels and rest stops. Border crossing was easy both ways from the Falls.

I75 - We ended up going through Atlanta and Cinci and Detroit... three major cities with major traffic. We had to go through Atlanta and Detroit in rush hour. It took us 5 hours to cross into Canada at Detroit. We stopped in Knoxville at the worst motel in history.

The experience was bad enough that I'd never take I75 over I77/79 again... but that's just me. I like the quiet roads and green trees.

 

[tink&cinderella]

WoW -thanks for all the replies. We are going tonight at 3:00 a.m. and are going to take the I77 down and the I75 back as we are visiting with friends in the Atlanta area on the way back.

I am excited and hope no more repairs are going to be needed on our Windstar (already spent in excess of 3500.00 last week) and I am actually looking forward to the mountains and the curvy roads. Will be giving the kids gravol before we leave - just in case.

Thanks to all

Tink&Cinderella

 

[pauld2]

Saw 9 wild turkeys in a 15 minute stretch on I77/79 near the West Virginia/ Virginia state line.

 

[hellorobbo]

I am thinking of driving this summer but want to get a sense of what it would cost in gas and lodging. I know it depends n what you drive and how fast you drive etc. but how much did you spend in gas on your trip to Florida from the GTA (or elsewhere for that matter)?

Also, what did an average hotel cost you?

 

[SnowWhite]

It completely depends what you are driving and which route you take. We know that our total for the whole trip will be approximatley 5000 km. We know that our car gets approximately 700 highway km per tank and that it costs us about $38 to fill our tank in the states. If you do the math it will cost us about 275 dollars for gas give or take. We don't usually stop along the way as we drive straight thru. If you pick up the "Along the I-75" by Dave Hunter it will tell you where the best lodgings are. Once you get to Florida there are literally thousands of hotels so you will be able to find anything within your budget.

Happy Travels!!!