Nashville to Valdosta - Which Way?

[mickeyfan0805]

A question for my friends who live and travel in the area...

Doing some early planning for the summer trip to WDW. Our first stopover will be north of Nashville, and our second night will be spent in Valdosta. My question is the route for that second leg of the trip. If I go through Atlanta, it will likely put me in the city between 2 and 3pm on a Friday. Any delays earlier in the day would make it that much later. Going the long way, through Birmingham and Montgomery, seems to add about 50 miles and a good 60-80 minutes of drive time. I've done Atlanta multiple times before, and it is not a huge deal, but the timing concerns me, so I'm considering taking the 'scenic' route.

Thoughts? Is the route from Montgomery worth the longer drive time? If so, why?

Thanks!

 

[bama_ed]

mickeyfan,

If you go the Birmingham/Montgomery route (which I have driven many, many times), spending the night in Valdosta is a little out of the way. You have to get off the 4-lane highways and interstates and head cross-country through southwest Georgia and eastern Alabama. I've always gone on to Dothan and then south on Hwy 231 (big wide 4 lane in the country) down to I-10.

Valdosta is a logical overnight location if you go through Atlanta. It's probably more direct and I would leave an hour earlier to go through the belly of the beast (downtown Atlanta) between 1-2pm. Is that the route you used in the past? Be aware in Chattanooga once you go through downtown on I-24, the run up Missionary Ridge is slow and steep with construction at the top between there and the I-75 turnoff. (or there was this past fall).

If you went the Dothan route, there are relatively few places along I-10 to overnight easily close to the interstate (some but not many choices). Whereas the south Georgia pull along I-75 and north Florida has more options.

Since you asked for opinions (and mine costs you nothing), I vote you do the Atlanta Cannonball Run just after lunch time.

Bama Ed

PS - I have done the drive from Birmingham to Atlanta to Orlando (did it for the DisMeet a few months ago) and have come to prefer it as long as I am not going through Atlanta in the morning or afternoon commute times. I like being able to cruise at highway speeds with highway support options (gas, food places, the Wal-Mart Supercenter which is never far away), and God forbid the AAA/Good Sam Roadside Support proximity which I had to use on that last trip. If I had been in the middle of Nowhere, Vidalia County, GA, it would have been rough.

 

[team bradfield]

A question for my friends who live and travel in the area...

Doing some early planning for the summer trip to WDW. Our first stopover will be north of Nashville, and our second night will be spent in Valdosta. My question is the route for that second leg of the trip. If I go through Atlanta, it will likely put me in the city between 2 and 3pm on a Friday. Any delays earlier in the day would make it that much later. Going the long way, through Birmingham and Montgomery, seems to add about 50 miles and a good 60-80 minutes of drive time. I've done Atlanta multiple times before, and it is not a huge deal, but the timing concerns me, so I'm considering taking the 'scenic' route.

Thoughts? Is the route from Montgomery worth the longer drive time? If so, why?

Thanks!

I know what you mean, Atlanta is hell. Now that I've retired, I can take an extra day drive, and plan my to hit Atlanta on Sunday morning. Hoping that the new remote working might clear it up

 

[garneska]

Well I live in the belly of the beast. No way on a Friday afternoon through atlanta, especially the 2 to 3 pm. First off coming onto 75 from 24 on friday afternoon blows. Then atlanta maybe 2 will be ok but if you hit it at 3

now there are a lot of people working from home so it will be slightly lighter than normal, but our traffic is getting back to it. I say Dothan.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

Thanks everyone - I welcome more input as it comes.

I have done the I-24 to I-75 route a couple of times, so I know how it works. I'll have to look at the map to see how the route is shifted by coming from the panhandle side.

 

[Teamubr]

I just did this drive 3 days ago. Good news is Chattanooga construction is better. The only thing I saw was right at the I-24/I-75 interchange and the ramp onto I-75 is done from I-24. It was a mess in October.

As for ATL, Try, try, try to get through by 3pm AND go straight through the middle on I-75. I'm not sure where you are stopping north of Nashville (we typically use Clarksville RV Park). You might try pushing through Nashville and staying an hour closer to Atlanta. In October we did this for the same reason (timing to hit Atlanta). We stayed at Manchester KOA. It is a couple of hours past Clarksville. I wouldn't recommend it for anything other than a brief overnight, but it is a KOA and was in the right location.

j

 

[mickeyfan0805]

Thanks everyone. Based on the input here, I think I'm going to follow your advice and just make the kids roll out of bed earlier that morning. The Clarksville RV park is where I intended to stay. It's right at the 600 mile mark, for us, and I don't want to push it any further if I don't have to. I'll make the kids roll out of the bed early so that we are on the road by 6:30-7am. This should get us through Nashville before the brunt of rush hour, into Chattanooga well after rush hour (time change helps there), and then into Atlanta by 1p or so.

Thanks for the counsel!

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

Having lived in Savannah for a few years and traveling through ATL enough, we all feel the burn. I'll be braving the waters with you in June.

But if your kids getting out of bed is the only thing between you and smooth sailing:

WAKE UP!!!!! Let's go!!!!

Good luck. See you out there.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Still waiting for the Chattanooga to Macon bypass to be built

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

A guy can hope.... cant he ?

 

[loves to dive]

We have pulled our fifth wheel through Atlanta loads of times, we try for Sunday morning but sometimes it can't be helped and we go through on a week day. I agree try to get there earlier if possible. Hubby actually said he hated the one time we had to pull through Orlando on I4 going north much worse than Atlanta so there is that. He also isn't a fan of anything with low hanging trees, we once had a fight between our front AC along with TV antenna and a live Oak in St. Augustine. All three lost as well as our bank account.