NJ to orlando-3 nt stopover? smithfield, savannah, st. augustine????

[tami82]

Ok originally were going to only stay overnight at two places, around smithfield or florence sc first night and then St. Augustine Fl second night. Now my husband wants to really take our time so we can drive maybe 4-5 hours on the 2nd & 3rd days and just relax so we have some time to enjoy the towns along the way. Does anyone have a good plan or has done this. I am thinking first night either Rocky Mount nc or Smithfield, second night maybe Savannah, 3rd night St. Augustine. Would this be a good schedule?? I guess if we would be doing this i would stay in the downtown areas instead of right off of I-95 which we were originally going to do. Any other suggestions would be great. I have 3 kids ages 5, 7, and 17. Also a hotel with a seperate bedroom would be great.

 

[Moomduck1]

That's pretty much putting the largest part of your drive on the first day. I honestly can't imagine staying over 3 nights! We drive from PA so it's a similar distance. We either go straight down or stay over 1 night. 2 nights would really be taking our time. Now, if you wanted to sight-see along the way, I could understand that many nights. One trip we went in to St. Augustine, which was nice. I would check the hotel rates because they might be cheaper right on 95, but I'm not sure. I'm sorry that I am not more helpful. I think that my kids would have revolted (me too!) if our drive to and from Disney took that long. Do you belong to AAA? They have Guide Books for each state (free to members) that you could order. The Guide Books talk about the hotels and describe the rooms. They also talk about the towns and what you can do/see.

 

[Cupmom]

I agree. 1 night is fine for a stop over. We are coming from Long Island so hope to drive to Santee,SC the first day and the on to Disney the next day.
2 nights would be the most I would ever do. Maybe a stop in Lumberton NC and then a stop in Savanna GA might be nice. Then right down to Disney.

 

[tami82]

thanks anyway that is the way i would do it but my husband wants to have an extra day "just in case something happens". I dont mind stopping but just wish we would make less stopovers on the way there and more stopovers on the way home (driving home is the absolute worst).

 

[bangzoom6877]

We drove down last July from Brooklyn, NY with our 2 boys, who were 3 and a half years old, and 14 months old when we went. We drove straight to Lumberton, NC the first day. This was about 9 and a half hours of actual driving. We left the house at 6AM sharp and we checked in to the hotel in Lumberton (Fairfield Inn) at 5:30PM, DH went to a local BBQ place to get us take-out dinner while I stayed in the hotel room with the kids to play with them.

The second day, we only drove about 3 and a half hours to Savannah, GA which was beautiful. Got there around lunchtime. Hotels right off of I-95 were much cheaper than staying downtown, and it was only a 20-minute drive to get downtown. We got to explore River Street in Savannah which was absolutely wonderful.

The next day, we actually drove all the way to Boca Raton, FL. We visited some family before heading to Disney. The drive to Boca was about 6 and a half hours from Savannah, but Boca is 3 hours South of Disney World, so it should take you about 3 and a half or 4 hours from Savannah to Disney.

We had pleasant overnight stops on our trip. Would definitely do those places again! We'll see what we decide for next summer! My kids were also fine for the trip. We brought a DVD player for the car and recorded many of their favorite Playhouse Disney and Noggin shows onto DVD. We also brought a couple of Disney movies. They were plenty happy. They also napped in the car some.

 

[java]

We drove the 12 hours day one to Savannah from NJ and spent the night near the Savannah airport. (At a Staybridge- but I am thinking after our last stay there that we may try someplace else) They did just open up a Cambria Suites hotel that only wanted $99 for a 2 bedroom for the night- it's technically in Pooler GA when you are searching.

Personally with the kids, we have 4, I like to do the BIG drive day one as they are less into the drive day 2. From Pooler it was only 4 hours to Disney.

I want to get there on the way down. And I'm with you on the way back. We were planning on stopping at Hilton Head- but the weather was rainy for the day we would be there so we just did the same Pooler stop on the way back and drove straight home the next day. Sorry I am not more help on overnights along the way.

For timing Richmond is about 5 hours from us. (we are North west NJ)

 

[justloveit]

We drive from NJ and usually stop at Savannah for the night. There is a Holiday Inn Express right off 95 that we stay at because it has 2 double beds and a small living area with a sleeper sofa and an additional TV. It gave us some extra room when we made the trip with teenagers that didn't want to share a bed. But we do like to hurry and get down there, so we drive alot the first day and make it 2-3 hours the next day. Good luck and have safe travels!

 

[dburg30]

I guess I have to ask, dont remember seeing it listed, are you going to WDW? How many days total do you have for your vacation? Are you doing the 3 day thing on the way back also? I mean, IMO that's 3 days 'gone' of your vacation. I know I couldnt do it that way, and I dont think any of my family could either

 

[davidb69]

I guess I have to ask, dont remember seeing it listed, are you going to WDW? How many days total do you have for your vacation? Are you doing the 3 day thing on the way back also? I mean, IMO that's 3 days 'gone' of your vacation. I know I couldnt do it that way, and I dont think any of my family could either

Yea, if they did 3 days each way that is 6 days, Our plans have us leave on a friday night from Delaware, split the drive up so we are both are driving and the kids are sleeping most of the way. We get to Disney World by saturday afternoon. I can see stopping somewhere on the way home but Disneyworld would seem to be the point of the trip and my kids would hate any other stoppage. Good luck and enjoy your vacation.

 

[Uncleromulus]

It takes just about 4 hours to get to WDW from Brunswick Ga.--and that's south of Savannah. Traffic in and around Jacksonville always slows us down.
St Augustine would be a great stop, but it's less than 4-5 hours from there to WDW.

 

[davidb69]

It takes just about 4 hours to get to WDW from Brunswick Ga.--and that's south of Savannah. Traffic in and around Jacksonville always slows us down.
St Augustine would be a great stop, but it's less than 4-5 hours from there to WDW.

Won't it take longer this year, we are worried about the construction on Rte 4 this year and heard it's a nightmare.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Hadn't heard about that. Perhaps someone there locally can help with the details.

 

[tami82]

thanks everyone. Yes we are going to disney for 5 nights, the night before that we are staying at Nickelodeon Hotel. Originally were going to only do two stopovers the 2nd one being in St. Augustine this way we only had about 2+ hour drive on our disney day. Again personally i would just like to get down there and i do know that it can be done in a day or two which i originally wanted to do. I will talk to DH again and see if we can come out with another plan. He just figured it would be more relaxing and he knows that i like to shop & sightsee and that it may be fun along the way.

 

[davidb69]

thanks everyone. Yes we are going to disney for 5 nights, the night before that we are staying at Nickelodeon Hotel. Originally were going to only do two stopovers the 2nd one being in St. Augustine this way we only had about 2+ hour drive on our disney day. Again personally i would just like to get down there and i do know that it can be done in a day or two which i originally wanted to do. I will talk to DH again and see if we can come out with another plan. He just figured it would be more relaxing and he knows that i like to shop & sightsee and that it may be fun along the way.

But it sounds like 5 days at Disney and possibly 6 days on the road? Does that truly sound relaxing for a 5 and 7 year old? That is where my feelings go in. Sure, me and my wife wouldn't mind hitting different local towns along the way for a relaxing drive and enjoyable trip but you both could easily hit it in 2 days just split up the time driving. No big deal and let us know how it all goes, but if you definatly want to hit these 2 towns, hit them one of them on the way up and the other on the way back. Otherwise the kids will feel like they will never get there, just my opinion.