Staying night before in Jacksonville

[val2001]

Hi, this will be our first cruise and we plan to drive down from Atlanta the night before. We'll probably stay in Jacksonville or Ponte Vedra Beach. Anyone ever stayed there before and know about how long it will take to drive to Port the next morning? I'm thnking 2 1/2 hours, but wondeirng if we need to allow more time for traffic.

Also, anyone have good tips for getting a great hotel in Ponte Vedra at super low price??

 

[tas190]

We always stay at the Embassy suites on Baymeadows. That way you get up have breakfast and be to the boat in about 1.5 - 2 hours. The hotel is on the south side of the city so you need to worry about rush hour on the evening you arrive at Jacksonville but no real concern in the morning. The state troops sit at the intersection of I-75 & I-10 so slow down, but I-10 is usually free and clear. Ponte Verdro will probably add 20 -30 min

 

[Cruise04]

We went to Jacksonville the night we got off our cruise and stayed in a Residence Inn on the south edge of Jacksonville. It was very easy to get to and I believe it was less than 2 hours.

 

[JJsmama]

We just drove that route this week. Knowing we'll be going back for our cruise and needing to stay over the night before, I was watching the clock and the odometer closely. We ran into a LOT of traffic and construction delays in Jacksonville area and in the Daytona area.

We generally make great time (between 75 - 80 Mph) but it took us 4 hours to get from the Port Canaveral exit off I-95 to the north side of Jacksonville.

HOPEFULLY the weekend summer traffic will be MUCH better , but I would allow more than 2.5 hours and I would definitely stay on the SOUTH side of Jacksonville.
Good luck, Have fun.

 

[Cruise04]

4 HOURS!!!!! YIKES....

I did ask my husband and we stayed on the South side and it was 90 minutes from Cape Canaveral so I would allow another 30 from the ship. But that was with very little traffic and arriving at the hotel around 5:30 (we left Cape Canaveral around 4).

 

[mike2beach]

We live in Jacksonville Beach and it takes us approx. 2 1/2 hours from our house to the port.