Massachusetts driving options

[NewEnglandCamper]

We are driving from Northern Mass to Orlando.

Has anyone done this in one shot? How many hours is it with 2 kids? Google sez 19 hours but I don't believe that. I'm thinking more like 22-24.

Does anyone recommend the I84/I81 to avoid NYC and DC/No Va.

 

[CAGirl]

We drove from Groton, CT a few times. We always took the Tappan Zee to avoid New York, hooking back up to 95. We never worried about DC/VA because we usually started our trip in the evening so by the time we were in DC area it was never a problem. It can be done in one shot in my opinion if you have good travelers, which we do. We usually stopped in Jacksonville for the night so that we could refresh and be ready to go...plus it was a short 2 hours or so to the magical place.

 

[Iamthequeen]

I thinkg going to I81 is going to add significant time to your trip. I would do as the pp said and leave in the evening, then by the time you hit DC there shouldn't be much traffic into northern VA. Once you get past Richmond, it should be an easy shot down 95.

 

[Stitch_Is_King]

We have made the drive twice from Western Mass. The first time we went over the GWB which took a long time and it was late at night so we were not expecting that much traffic. The last time we went over the Tappan Zee, which was much easier and then picked up 95 a little further down the road. Total drive time was about 22 hours not including stopping in Savannah each time to get some sleep.

 

[KingdomKeepersFinn]

Hello!

I'm from Southern NH, probably not too far from where you are, and I drove to college in southern NC in about 15-17 hours. I drove last weekend down to Orlando, FL for the PGA show and that took about 7.5-8 hours.. So you're probably looking at about a 22-24 hour drive straight through if you don't stop.

 

[deb010305]

We're from south of Boston. We did the Tappan Zee Bridge and then 95 the rest of the way. We left early morning, about 3:30 am and stopped for the night in North Carolina.
I think from here without stopping overnight it's about 22 - 24 hours, because you still have to stop for gas, food and bathroom breaks.

 

[DVCJones]

We have done this drive every year for the last 10 years!!!! I have done I81 and 95 route and have to say the I81 is the way to go. Hands down!!! We usually leave around 2:00pm on a Friday (Earlier if I can get out of work earlier) and drive until about 11-12:00 mid. We start calling for a hotel for the night around 6pm after we use GPS to figure out where we will be. (Get AAA books) we start out early the next morning and drive all day. We make sure we stop for lunch and dinner ...and gas of course. We usually end up in Orlando around 11:00 pm. We try to stick with our regular sleep pattern as much as possible. We did the drive all the way through thing once and regretted it. We were sooooo tired and needed a day to recover anyway. Also while 81 is longer mile wise, you save so much time by missing the traffic in NY and DC. I don't care when you drive, you always hit traffic in DC. Also very few tolls which save a lot of time and money. We have traveled this way since my kids were babies and they have grown to love the journey now.

 

[starwart]

We have done this drive every year for the last 10 years!!!! I have done I81 and 95 route and have to say the I81 is the way to go. Hands down!!! We usually leave around 2:00pm on a Friday (Earlier if I can get out of work earlier) and drive until about 11-12:00 mid. We start calling for a hotel for the night around 6pm after we use GPS to figure out where we will be. (Get AAA books) we start out early the next morning and drive all day. We make sure we stop for lunch and dinner ...and gas of course. We usually end up in Orlando around 11:00 pm. We try to stick with our regular sleep pattern as much as possible. We did the drive all the way through thing once and regretted it. We were sooooo tired and needed a day to recover anyway. Also while 81 is longer mile wise, you save so much time by missing the traffic in NY and DC. I don't care when you drive, you always hit traffic in DC. Also very few tolls which save a lot of time and money. We have traveled this way since my kids were babies and they have grown to love the journey now.

Agree.
This is the way to go.

 

[dflem]

We have driven 8 times from southern mass. we leave at 2 am and drive 95 until savannah,ga. (usually around 7pm.) we leave savannah about 8:30 am and get to Disney around 12:30. We enjoy the trip. We've been doing this since my daughter was 4. Not going this year (going to the college softball world series in Oklahoma). I will miss Disney!

 

[soontobewed07]

We have done this from the north shore of MA so first
It was a 24 hour drive stopping as needed we left at 2p on a saturday and arrived sunday around 2pmish. I was driving with my DS4 and my DH and we just took turns driving. The only thing I recommend is grabbing a box of Joe when you leave and stock your cooler with cream. We drive a kia Sedona and went through 3 tanks of gas. It was not bad at all and I loved having my car with me while down there. We have a DVD player and sat. radio so that helped too

 

[Mousemom234]

I'd recommend taking 84 south off the Mass Pike, and cross into NY at Newburgh, if you think you might be arriving in that area around commuting time. The Tappan Zee can be a 4 mile traffic jam at that time of day.

Then, take 87 (NY thruway) south, pick up 287 and go south and west to go around the NYC metro area.
At the end of 287 you can pick up 95 again. At that point, 95 doubles as the NJ turnpike - I'd advise staying on that (or maybe 295; haven't gone that way yet) right to the Delaware bridge. That keeps you out of Philly traffic.

After that, it's a straight shot into Baltimore, where you have options to go through or around. Base that on time of day and traffic. Same for going around Washington, but we normally take 495 west, and rejoin 95 just south of DC.

If you want to break it into 2 days, Fredricksburg VA is just about the halfway point, and there are some decent, inexpensive hotels at exit 133 @ route 17. That's about 10-12 hours for us, starting from NH 93 @ exit 3. We can drive longer, but found, through experience, that it's not a good idea for us, even though we swap driving at regular intervals.

 

[monorailsilver]

We had a different starting point (CT) so the way we went was the Merritt to the GW, no traffic since we left at 6am,and stayed on 95.

Then 295?? To avoid philly to the Delaware memorial bridge.

We have the ezpass so if you don't have one, get one!

We took the BW parkway vs 95, took the eastern loop around DC and then hit traffic somewhere between DC and Richmond.

Again we took the eastern loop around Richmond.

We only made it to santee, SC that first day.

The next day we left at about 6:30 and were in the skyscrapers of Orlando at noon so Disney wasn't that far after that but we went farther sound in FL. We also took the eastern loop around Jacksonville.

We used the 195 exit app. It was great since it told us gas stations. Sometimes we wanted a bigger station. And it told us food options and I think hotel options.

I tell everyone I would rather sit in traffic in the north east then drive thru the Carolina's, Georgia and southern VA again. Nothing but trees....although the tractor place that had the tractors set up like they were talking to one another was neat.