NJ/MA to HH - do you drive or fly?

[luckytso]

We are very excited about our trip next August to HH with us going from NJ (right outside of Manhattan) and my Brother-in-law's family (Boston suburb). As we were talking yesterday how we will get down there, it seems that the big debate is whether we should fly or drive.

From Boston, it does not seem that there is any non-stop flight while we can fly from Newark non-stop. However, by driving, it seems to provide more flexibilities in terms of the stuff we can bring and the dates (in case the weather or something comes up last minute that we have to change our reservation).

What did you get there mostly? Any tips? Thanks

 

[Disneyaholic]

I would highly recommend driving to Hilton Head -- for the reasons you mentioned, plus a car is really a necessity there.

There are all kinds of great things to do on the island -- many at the resort, but you will be missing out on a lot if you don't try some of the restaurants, shopping areas, etc. away from the resort as well.

If you do decide to fly, you will probably have to fly to Savannah or Charleston and rent a car from there. I believe that the only commercial flights into Hilton Head now are on US Air -- from Charlotte (and maybe Savannah?).

 

[icydog]

Originally posted by Disneyaholic
I would highly recommend driving to Hilton Head -- for the reasons you mentioned, plus a car is really a necessity there.

There are all kinds of great things to do on the island -- many at the resort, but you will be missing out on a lot if you don't try some of the restaurants, shopping areas, etc. away from the resort as well.

If you do decide to fly, you will probably have to fly to Savannah or Charleston and rent a car from there. I believe that the only commercial flights into Hilton Head now are on US Air -- from Charlotte (and maybe Savannah?).

We live in NJ and flew once and drove once. I personally think driving makes more sense. the flight down was a nice timesaver but we had to change planes in Atlanta to allow us to land at Hilton Head and that took a couple of hours. I would always drive if it wasn't for that Washington and Richmond mess. I really hate the drive because of the traffic delays but as the above poster states having a car is an absolute must for HH

 

[BWVDenise]

We are just back from HH and drove (1st to WDW, then to HH). We left at 4 a.m. on a Saturday and had no traffic problems even around the notoriously bad areas. On the way back is when we hit traffic. Right around the beltway and then it was a little heavy in the Baltimore area (only b/c we were delayed long enough around D.C. that it was now rush hour). We STILL made it home in just over 12 hours (from southern NJ). Going down was much easier since we were looking forward to getting there, but coming home is always hard to do.
We are planning on driving next year, too. Airfare for 5 plus a minivan rental for 2 weeks is just not an option.

 

[Tomskatt]

We are driving from Long Island in 5 days, so we'll let you know! We plan on leaving after dinner with the kids in PJs (ages 5, 3 and 1) and arrive in the South in time for bkfst. We'll let ya know how it works out!
Kathy

 

[luckytso]

Thanks for all your responses. What is the best route to get there? Did you take Rt. 95 all the way down? Any suggested rest areas? Thanks

 

[BWVDenise]

Took I 95 until D.C. area where it becomes 495. Then 95 until Richmond, VA where you can detour around the city on 295 then back to I 95.

As far as rest areas, I'll tell you what helped me GREATLY. On the main page of wdwinfo (the DIS) there is a section on driving I95. It lists all the rest areas and exits and what is found there. I printed it out and took it with me and I always knew what was coming up. It was great and I'll use it again next year. It was at least as helpful as the AAA trip tick, if not more so!

 

[icydog]

Originally posted by BWVDenise
Took I 95 until D.C. area where it becomes 495. Then 95 until Richmond, VA where you can detour around the city on 295 then back to I 95.

As far as rest areas, I'll tell you what helped me GREATLY. On the main page of wdwinfo (the DIS) there is a section on driving I95. It lists all the rest areas and exits and what is found there. I printed it out and took it with me and I always knew what was coming up. It was great and I'll use it again next year. It was at least as helpful as the AAA trip tick, if not more so!

We live in Cental NJ ( East Brunswick). I guess we should leave at 2:30 or 3:00 AM to skip the traffic. Nice to know there is actually a time when you can get around Washington DC

 

[Tomskatt]

Wow! Icy dog!! Congrats!

 

[DownNeckBoy]

We have only driven down to HH. In our opinion, it makes the most sense, fiinancially and even as far as time, when you factor in airport waiting times, possible flight delays, etc.

Our two sons are 5 and 9, so we leave late at night (10 pm to 1 am), so that I am almost guaranteed 6-8 hours of driving without questions (are we there yet?) and we are in North Carolina sometime around daybreak, having experienced no delays around the DC corridor.

We take 95 straight down but do use the Richmond bypass. I would recommend watching your speed in Delaware, as they are apparently now using air patrols.

The entire trip from Northern NJ takes us 10-12 hours.

Good luck with your planning. HH is a wonderful resort!

 

[K&TLoveDisney]

Hope you have a great time.

Another driving option is picking up route 301 after you cross over the Delaware Memorial Bridge. We used this way in January when we went to Hilton Head and found it to be a good wa to go.
There are one or two spots where there are traffic lights, but all in all, we still saved some time.

You miss the Washington, D.C. traffic and you catch up with I-95 just north of Richmond.

In January, a friend spent hours tied up in traffic by D.C. due to construction and in May another friend spend hours tied up in traffic by D.C. (she was going to North Carolina). On the way home, they used 301 and said they saved a lot of time.

Which ever way you go, enjoy. HiltonHead is beautiful.

 

[Cora]

I guess I'm the lone dissenter. We've driven and flown and only fly now. You know it's bad when your own child says "please let's fly!" The drive was ok we broke it up over 2 days but with only staying a week I want most of my time where ever I'm visiting. What we do now is fly to either Savannah or this time we're flying into Jacksonville. We like to stay in Savannah for a nite then head to HH. We opted for Jacksonville this time because we saved about $75 per person on airfare (when we booked it) and the car rental was half of what we would spend in Savannah.

Cora

 

[icydog]

Originally posted by Tomskatt
Wow! Icy dog!! Congrats!

Thanks! We just left the buffet so I bet I've gained a pound or two. I think I looked a lot thinner before my 2 week trip to California where I fell and sprained my ankle. I don't normally weigh myself since this only encourages me to eat. if I lose weight I eat to celebrate and if I gained weight I eat to console myself. It is a real mind game so I wait until I go to the doc to get weighed on the same scale with the same amount of clothing. Much easier.

As far as driving to HH, I am much older than any of you guys so can't even think about driving all night. Anyway, DH does the driving and he is even older than I. I do like the 3 AM plan though but it seems to me we would get to the DC area right at rush hour from Cental NJ.

 

[BWVDenise]

We left at 4 am and were in Fredericksburg, Virginia by 7 a.m. I'm sure it helped that it was a Saturday. I would be afraid to risk it on a weekday and would probably opt for the Rte 301 option.

 

[tdrcDVC]

We are heading there this month from Central Jersey. We are flying in we leave the house @7:30 and probably be sitting at the pool by 1:00. I also don't like to lose 2 days to driving.

In addition by price shopping the airfare is less than $200 each person. car rental is also about $200.

Have a great time.

 

[icydog]

Originally posted by tdrcDVC
We are heading there this month from Central Jersey. We are flying in we leave the house @7:30 and probably be sitting at the pool by 1:00. I also don't like to lose 2 days to driving.

In addition by price shopping the airfare is less than $200 each person. car rental is also about $200.

Have a great time.

Into which airport do you fly. Which airline and is it out of Newark? That is a great price but I bet you had to change planes which I hate.

 

[tdrcDVC]

The actual fare was $186.50 round trip and it is a direct flight from Newark to Savannah on continental.

Hope this helps.

 

[icydog]

Thanks, I'll look it up on the website.

 

[luckytso]

icy-dog, the fare out of Newark seems to be around slightly under $200 most of the time and you can fly into Savannah non-stop. I have to check on the car rental rate. However, it just seems that it is do-able to drive to HH like many people suggested.

The only thing that stops me from booking the airfare is in case the weather is bad or something happens in the family, I can easily change the reservation up until the day before arrival, unlike having the airline tickets that we will be kind of stuck with the dates. Unlike WDW, bad weather will have a much worse effect at HH (we can always find something to do at WDW). So it is the flexibility that attracts me to driving vs. flying (of course, it will save some $$ driving too, but it is a trade off between time & $$).

We had a lot of discussion yesterday when everyone was talking about the trip, trying to figure out the dates and all the logistics, but just can't come to the conclusion as to whether we should drive or fly.

 

[Paula H]

We drove last fall and we'll definitely do it again - we left central CT at 9:30 at night and drove straight through - except for lots of pit stops for DD. We arrived at HH at 2 the following afternoon. The only traffic we hit was in lovely Bridgeport, CT on 95 (construction). Took us nearly an hour to get through it - very frustrating. We just did the drive from CT to WDW, too. Left here at 4 a.m. and got to about an hour north of HH by 4 p.m. with very few stops - so HH is definitely manageable from both the Boston area (DH is from Wakefield!) or Jersey.