Ottawa to Orlando

[PrincessMom4]

we live just south of Ottawa along the St. Lawrence river in South Dundas. What is the best/fastest way to get to Orlando? Google maps gets us thru DC and we don't want to go that route. What are some good ways to go down to Orlando? We have small children so we don't want to go thru "bad neighbourhoods" either.

Thanks Isabell

 

[DisFan2]

Hi Isabell,

We're in Ottawa and have taken the 81-83-95 route through Washington many times. In 2005 though, we continued south on 81 past Harrisburg where we would normally cut over to Baltimore on 83 (and then south to Washington on 95). We went to Winchester, Virginia before heading east to 95, picking up the interstate north of Richmond. We left the house around 8 a.m. and arrived in Chester, VA (which is about 1/2 hour south of Richmond) at around 6 p.m. Our kids were 8 and 2.5 at the time. We'll be taking this route again.

On day 2 of driving, we left around 9 a.m. and stopped for a couple of hours of outlet shopping in Smithfield, North Carolina, and then drove to Savannah, Georgia, arriving around 6 p.m. We stayed in Savannah until Monday before driving to Orlando. We could have easily made it to Orlando on Day II, but we would have missed some of our favorite stops (Smithfield, Savannah, St. Augustine, Titusville [the best seafood/rock shrimp in Florida, IMO]).

It's about 24 hrs. of driving either way, but we plan on taking the 2005 route again this fall.

 

[seema]

Of course, you could fly - directly from Ottawa to Orlando on Air Canada, or charter airlines, or any one of the major 6 US airlines.

However, implicit in your question is that it would be difficult from a cost perspective to fly to Orlando.

I would also state that any flight from a major US city (the nearest "big" US city to Ottawa being Syracuse or Burlington) costs about 40-50% less per person, compared to the cheapest ticket from a Ottawa originating flight.

PS-You should also ask about regions with speed traps, if you drive. I have only flown from Ottawa to Orlando - so I can not answer this question.

 

[Nagle]

Hi and welcome.

We live in Brockville. The route we prefer is 81, 77, 26, 95 to 4 and WDW. We have also gone 81, 66, 17, 95. This one brings you to 95 just below DC. We have found the truck traffic getting worse along this route and prefer the first one I listed.
We have also flown from Syracuse and that works out quite well.

Cheers
John

 

[PrincessMom4]

We have young children and want to stay on the "safest" way possible... Google maps puts us on I-270 where it comes out in the bad area of Washington.

Thanks Nagle, I think we are going to take that route when we go. what is there in the way of stops? we have 4 kids and and some point we need to stop for meals and "potty" breaks.

Isabell

 

[DisFan2]

The other thing to consider of course, is the time of year you'll be heading down. The longer you stay on 81, the more mountainous the terrain. During the fall/winter, the higher elevation may mean the difference between snow and rain.

With respect to safety, the only places I was ever really concerned were a gas stop in Washington, D.C. in the early evening, and a day trip in Charleston. The 81-66-17-95 hooks up with the 95 near Fredericksburg, an hour south of Washington. The I77 route takes you through Charlotte - ranked 29th in the US in terms of crime rate, and the worst with respect to all the large cities (i.e. more than 250K) your route will take you.

Having said that, as you know, crimes happen anywhere - Ottawa had a triple homicide last weekend (with no suspects or motive yet). I feel pretty secure on the Interstates and in hotels with interior corridors. The additional cost for the latter are well worth it for a good night's sleep.

 

[PrincessMom4]

we are going routes 81, 77, 26, 95 to 4 to WDW. We are leaving in less than 2months (end of August)

 

[PrincessMom4]

Oh, I know crimes happens anywhere... There was one even in Brockville last year and then one the year before in Prescott. Mind you they were domestic ones, but none the less crimes. Law makers need to make stricter laws...but that's another topic...LOL

 

[debbiet1]

We followed Mapquests route in April 2006 and didnt find it bad at all. We were travelling with a 6 and 13 yr old. We are going to be travelling in December (21st-31st) this year any good routes to follow to keep us out of so many mountain areas?

 

[debbiet1]

btw we're just outside of Ottawa

 

[who's ur daddy?]

How much does it cost in gas to get down there? I don't think I could ever do such a long stint in the car.

 

[PrincessMom4]

for us travelling through the Prescott bridge and down to WDW, it will cost us less than $500US

 

[debbiet1]

when we went down in April 2006 we drove to Bellair Beach,then drove up to Orlando and back home on $300.00 in gas. I have a 2003 Windstar.