Least stressful driving route from CT to SC

[Tiana4]

Hi there! My family and I are making the big move from CT to SC. I'll be driving down with my 2 children and my sister will be accompanying me as my co-pilot/fight diffuser/snack hander-outer/ DVD changer . Never having made a trip like this before, I'm looking to do it in 2 days. Can anyone suggest the least stressful route to go (i.e. avoiding city traffic if possible, avoiding trucker routes, etc). I'm a nervous driver in unfamiliar territory and want to make this trip as "enjoyable" as possible. Also, any suggestions for a half-way stopping point for the night? Somewhere safe, not too far off beaten path, kid-friendly. Any suggestions are much appreciated

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

If no one answers here, try asking this over on the Transportaion Board. Those people have this sort of thing down to an art form.
Paul

 

[HeatherC]

We drive from MA to Hilton Head, SC a couple times a year. 95 is obviously the shortest route but far from least stressful. On our way home this past April we got stuck in traffic before Richmond and decided to take "the road less traveled" and just work our way north. It worked out great and we saw some beautiful scenery in Va along the way.

Reversing the route would be some thing like this.

Take 84 to 684 to NY Thruway over the TappanZee Zee Bridge....follow 287 through NJ to Rt 78 towards Harrisburg, PA to Route 81 South. If you don't want to be on the truck route, when you reach Staunton, Va take Route 64 towards Richmond where you then link up with 95 which is clear sailing south of Richmond.

What we actually did was get off 81 in Winchester, Va and took Route 522 to Route 29 to 64 then on to Richmond. It was a beautiful ride through little towns and farmland and definitely stress free. Felt like a Sunday drive.

Another suggestion, would be to just leave CT at like 6:30am...go over TappanZee Zee to Garden State Parkway to NJ Turnpike to 95 all the way. Leaving at that time puts you in NY/NJ right at tail end of rush hour so you should be able to get through with minimal traffic and then be through Baltimore and Dc by 2:00... Just before afternoon rush hour. If you can get through Fredericksburg before 3:30 you should be ok after that. Up till that part, the ride is pretty stressful, however.

Also...if you decide to do the first route I mentioned, you can also just stay on 84 through PA and then connect with 81. When we did this one time, however, the ride seemed interminable. We definitely prefer going 78 through Harrisburg which cuts down on time....at least to us it felt like it did.


Hope this helps!!!

 

[HeatherC]

Forgot to mention, we usually drive 12 hours the first day which puts us in Lumberton, NC...right before the Sc border. We stay at the Best Western there...very clean and right off the highway.

If you don't make it that far, Emporia, Va is another option for an overnight stop.

And if you decide to take 81 (truckers route) all the way to Charlotte, NC we have stayed at the Residence Inn on the south side of Charlotte...something like Tyvola Ave if I remember....and would highly recommend.

 

[HeatherC]

Ok...one more thing...we have found that leaving even earlier like 4am doesn't help much. That puts you in NY/NJ right during rush hour and doesn't save anytime. And even driving through the night ( leaving at 8 or 9pm) may not be much better since they are always doing night construction on 95. You can literally be in a traffic jam at 2am on that road.

For us, we prefer just leaving our house at 6 and just trying to get through Fredericksburg before rush hour starts. After that tie ride is a piece of cake.

 

[mtemm]

We have driven MA to VA more times than we can count, and MA to NC a couple of times. My advice would be to leave on a Saturday around 6am. Not sure if that is doable but if it is you should have pretty smooth sailing sticking to 95 for the most part. When we have gone to NC (outer banks) we have left around 4/4:30 and made it straight thru in 11 or 12 hours.

Not sure where I would stop, depends on what you are looking for.

One thing we have found invaluable when driving with a copilot is loading waze or google maps with your route. Seeing the traffic is awesome...we can tell how long/involved a slowdown is and whether we should detour or stop for a break or whatever.

 

[monorailsilver]

Not sure where you are leaving from in CT but we have left from Trumbull when dh and I drive. That's my home town so when we were dating he'd spend the night and the few times we have driven since we have been married, we spend the night as we live near the CT river now.

Then we leave at 6am and are across the GW and into NJ by 7 with no traffic. I used to work in Fairfield at a nursing home and would cross one of the Merritt parkway bridges in Trumbull at about 6:30am and could see the build up so I knew leaving a 6 would work.

The last 2 times we have driven down south-Florida and the auto train-we left at 6 and were entering the DC area at 11am ish. Actually I think we made it to Lorton by noon, if not closer to 11.

The time we drove to FL we hit traffic just south of Richmond/construction.

I prefer to be in the car less, especially with kids. So the shortest route is my favorite.

Oh and we use waze/google maps too. Dh drives with waze on and I check google because I can see the route better.

 

[scrapquitler]

I'd follow Heather C's advice. (We live in the New Haven area)

 

[Tiana4]

Thanks guys. We are leaving this Sunday, I was thinking around 8-9am, but now I'm wondering if we should leave earlier that day. We are in Torrington, CT.

 

[Straitlover]

What part of SC? If you're headed to say Spartanburg, Greenville, Columbia, etc, 95 is not the best way to go anyway. If you are headed to say Myrtle Beach, Cahrleston, etc, you could pick up US 17 in Virginia - not the fastest in the world, but a nice drive.

 

[Poohforyou]

On a Sunday you don't have to worry about rush hour but do have to worry about shore and general vacation traffic.

I would leave around 6-7 and stay as far inland as you can.

We drove from central nj to Virginia on a Sunday last summer. We took 95 and were fine until south of dc. I'd just have a few traffic apps to choose other options when necessary.

 

[HeatherC]

Tiana...I would definitely try to leave earlier...6am should be good. Even on a Sunday traffic can be bad because there are still a ton of turn over rentals from the Jersey shore straight down 95. In addition, after like 9am you get mall traffic and day trippers headed wherever they are going.

Have a great trip down!