Driving from Florida to new York in August
May 25th, 2012, 04:52 PM
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Driving from Florida to new York in August
We are driving from Florida to New York in August with a 4year old and a 22month old. Where should we stop? We can stretch it out over a few days.
May 25th, 2012, 05:40 PM
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Depending on where in Florida you are starting from and where in New York you are ending the distance and drive time you'll be traveling can range from around 950 miles (16 to 18 hours) to about 1500 miles (23 to 25 hours). So you first have to determine your actual distance ( you can easily do this on Mapquest or Google Maps) and then determin how far you feel comfortable driving each day. Once you figure out those two items you can use Mapquest or Google Maps to pick out the number of days you'll need to make the trip and the optimum stopping points on your way.
Your children are not really old enough to appreciate any of the sights or points of interest between Florida and New York so just figure out how long you want to spend in a car each day. That will determine your daily drive time. You can then stop a a decent motel each day to get some needed rest.
If I were you I'd probably only want to drive for no more than 6 hours each day making 1 or 2 rest stops before lunch and 1 or 2 rest stops after lunch.
Your children are not really old enough to appreciate any of the sights or points of interest between Florida and New York so just figure out how long you want to spend in a car each day. That will determine your daily drive time. You can then stop a a decent motel each day to get some needed rest.
If I were you I'd probably only want to drive for no more than 6 hours each day making 1 or 2 rest stops before lunch and 1 or 2 rest stops after lunch.
May 26th, 2012, 02:45 AM
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I95exitguide.com. With kids that age, there is no way to make this trip fun - decide if you want to torture yourself for fewer long days or more shorter days.
The trip will take longer than any GPS/mapping program says it will. There is often unexplainable traffic starting in Richmond and continuing thru Baltimore. (We just drove central NC to Boston in the rain and it took 16 hours - should have been about 12).
The trip will take longer than any GPS/mapping program says it will. There is often unexplainable traffic starting in Richmond and continuing thru Baltimore. (We just drove central NC to Boston in the rain and it took 16 hours - should have been about 12).
May 26th, 2012, 03:08 AM
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Listen to Gail about the time.
None of those programs, GPS or Google or others, is anything more than driving time in moderate traffic. No time for food, gas, toilets, letting the kids work off some energy.
Add to that, time of day and cities. We can drive from Richmond to Boston going north in about 9.5 hours if we don't dawdle because we arrive in Washington after 9 and New York around 2:15. Going south, it takes about 11-12 hours for the same trip on a weekday, because Baltimore to Fredericksburg, VA, is a nightmare after about 3 PM, and I can't get to Baltimore before 3 from Boston. On a Saturday, it is about 10 hours southbound.
Try not to drive on Friday or Sunday since I-95 has beach traffic all the way.
Some notes:
If you don't have and EZ-Pass, get one before this trip. If you sign up on the NY EZ Pass website, they will give you a free transponder. They don't care where you live.
I-295 around Richmond is a notorious speed trap. Virginia and Connecticut prohibit radar detectors and will seize yours if they stop you. Virginia and NY are strict on cellphone use while driving.
I understand that SC has the lowest gas prices in the country, so fill up there. You can top up in Virginia and New Jersey, more reasonable than MD, DE, NY.
None of those programs, GPS or Google or others, is anything more than driving time in moderate traffic. No time for food, gas, toilets, letting the kids work off some energy.
Add to that, time of day and cities. We can drive from Richmond to Boston going north in about 9.5 hours if we don't dawdle because we arrive in Washington after 9 and New York around 2:15. Going south, it takes about 11-12 hours for the same trip on a weekday, because Baltimore to Fredericksburg, VA, is a nightmare after about 3 PM, and I can't get to Baltimore before 3 from Boston. On a Saturday, it is about 10 hours southbound.
Try not to drive on Friday or Sunday since I-95 has beach traffic all the way.
Some notes:
If you don't have and EZ-Pass, get one before this trip. If you sign up on the NY EZ Pass website, they will give you a free transponder. They don't care where you live.
I-295 around Richmond is a notorious speed trap. Virginia and Connecticut prohibit radar detectors and will seize yours if they stop you. Virginia and NY are strict on cellphone use while driving.
I understand that SC has the lowest gas prices in the country, so fill up there. You can top up in Virginia and New Jersey, more reasonable than MD, DE, NY.
May 26th, 2012, 04:56 PM
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Every state has a nice welcome rest area and they are usually safe and clean. We have dogs and always stop for a quick walk and break. We live in central Florida and depending on when we leave try to get through Jacksonville before rush hour, am and pm. We have been stopping before dark if we are driving through Ga or the Carolinas because of the deer. Wow, they were everywhere at Christmas time. You do have to plan for the same going through Richmond and DC. We have a gps and they can detour you around some of this as well as accidents. We have found that the nicer hotels fill up fast.
