driving from Tempe AZ to Miami FL
Mar 7th, 2013, 06:23 PM
#1
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driving from Tempe AZ to Miami FL
My two sons and I did this trip last year but in reversal, when my youngest one applied to Arizona State University but he misses his family and he wants to move back to Miami. I will fly to Phoenix to accompany him on the trip and we plan to do all the driving in around 3 days. One question that I have asked a lot and never got an answer the first time around is: whenever I use google maps the route indicates that we will be driving very close or by Ciudad Juarez.. I just don't get it, if this is a mexican city why it shows in a US map all the time?. Also anyone has any tips for this trip?. My son's car is a Toyota Yaris 2011. Any tips on how to prepare the car for the trip? Any advise will be very appreciated. Thank you in advance
Mar 7th, 2013, 07:20 PM
#2
The car is practically brand new. Shouldn't need any 'preparation' except the normal check the tire pressures, the spare, do an oil change if it is due - just normal maintenance.
>>I just don't get it, if this is a mexican city why it shows in a US map all the time?.
>>I just don't get it, if this is a mexican city why it shows in a US map all the time?.
Mar 7th, 2013, 07:21 PM
#3
I-10 through El Paso is within a mile of the Mexican border for a few miles. The trip from Tempe to Miami will take 3.5 to 4 days of steady driving (8.5 to 9.5 hours per day).
With 9 hour days your stops would be Fort Stockton TX, Lake Charles LA and Tallahassee FL.
With 9 hour days your stops would be Fort Stockton TX, Lake Charles LA and Tallahassee FL.
Mar 9th, 2013, 11:07 AM
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I got curious about your Ciudad Juarez question. Here's what I think, after bopping around on Google Maps a bit.
Firstly, the map you're looking at is not exclusively a US map. It's a map of your route, centered on the page, with considerable extra map information to the north and south of your route. And as it happens Mexico is to the south. So what? Google doesn't care.
Google very likely has given its computers some rules about which cities show up on their maps based on their population and the resolution of the map. Because of the length of your trip, the resolution is pretty low so that your entire trip fits on the page. I was able to get El Paso to show up by simply generating a much shorter trip on I-10 through that area.
There has to be another rule about twin cities because a lot of cities smaller than El Paso are on the map. But they're not right next to a much larger city. If you pull out to show the whole US, Minneapolis-St.Paul shows as just Minneapolis and Dallas-Fort Worth as just Minneapolis.
Firstly, the map you're looking at is not exclusively a US map. It's a map of your route, centered on the page, with considerable extra map information to the north and south of your route. And as it happens Mexico is to the south. So what? Google doesn't care.
Google very likely has given its computers some rules about which cities show up on their maps based on their population and the resolution of the map. Because of the length of your trip, the resolution is pretty low so that your entire trip fits on the page. I was able to get El Paso to show up by simply generating a much shorter trip on I-10 through that area.
There has to be another rule about twin cities because a lot of cities smaller than El Paso are on the map. But they're not right next to a much larger city. If you pull out to show the whole US, Minneapolis-St.Paul shows as just Minneapolis and Dallas-Fort Worth as just Minneapolis.
Mar 16th, 2013, 01:47 PM
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Hi again, I am planning our route and which cities we are going to sleep at, we are planning to stay every night in a hotel, I am not really fond of driving at night, it makes me really sleepy even if I am just the passenger. For the first day of driving I thought we would stay the night at Amarillo, TX, the route shows Albuquerque on the way so we are stopping there just to take some pics. Then this is where I need help, we are thinking to stop somewhere in Mississipi, is Jackson a good place to stay at or is there any other more interesting place?and do you have any suggestions for the third stop? any tips will be welcome
Mar 16th, 2013, 02:27 PM
#8
Going through Albuquerque and Amarillo takes 3 more hours behind the wheel than the route through El Paso.
I don't think Fort Stockton is any worse than Amarillo.
On the east side of Texas either stay in Beaumont or Lake Charles Louisiana. If you really want a stop in MS, try one of the casino/hotels in Biloxi.
I don't think Fort Stockton is any worse than Amarillo.
On the east side of Texas either stay in Beaumont or Lake Charles Louisiana. If you really want a stop in MS, try one of the casino/hotels in Biloxi.
Mar 16th, 2013, 02:39 PM
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Google maps does not show Albuquerque or Amarillo on that route.
The shortest route goes south to Tucson, then east thru El Paso, San Antonio and Houston and takes 34 hours. If you intend to do this in 3 days and don't want to drive after dark, you aren't going to have much room to stop and take pictures or deviate from the shortest route.
Amarillo is 10 hours from Phoenix. Jackson is 12 hours from Amarillo. And then Miami is 14 hours from Jackson. So taking that route and making those stops means your days of driving would get progressively longer, which is the opposite of what you'd want. It makes more sense to start with the longest day while you're fresh and get that out of the way.
Juarez shows up because it is much bigger then El Paso.
The shortest route goes south to Tucson, then east thru El Paso, San Antonio and Houston and takes 34 hours. If you intend to do this in 3 days and don't want to drive after dark, you aren't going to have much room to stop and take pictures or deviate from the shortest route.
Amarillo is 10 hours from Phoenix. Jackson is 12 hours from Amarillo. And then Miami is 14 hours from Jackson. So taking that route and making those stops means your days of driving would get progressively longer, which is the opposite of what you'd want. It makes more sense to start with the longest day while you're fresh and get that out of the way.
Juarez shows up because it is much bigger then El Paso.
Mar 16th, 2013, 03:15 PM
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thanks everybody
last year we stopped to sleep in New Orleans, San Antonio and Albuquerque and in reality now we wanted to stop on other places but you are right we don't want to take the longest route either. Any more suggestions on the cities to stop?
last year we stopped to sleep in New Orleans, San Antonio and Albuquerque and in reality now we wanted to stop on other places but you are right we don't want to take the longest route either. Any more suggestions on the cities to stop?
Mar 16th, 2013, 03:57 PM
#11
Tempe to Fort Stockton = 9.5 hours. http://www.booking.com/searchresults...ity=1;src=city
Fort Stockton to Lake Charles LA = 9.5 hours
Lake Charles LA to Tallahassee FL = 8.7 hours
Tallahassee to Miami = 7.5 hours
Fort Stockton to Lake Charles LA = 9.5 hours
Lake Charles LA to Tallahassee FL = 8.7 hours
Tallahassee to Miami = 7.5 hours
Mar 16th, 2013, 04:31 PM
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Tempe to Ozona, TX is about 11 hours. Sonora, TX is about 11.5 hours. I think you need to make it at least that far the first day if you want to complete the trip in 3 days.
Biloxi, MS is about 11 hours beyond that and has plenty of lodging options. Or you could go a bit further to Mobile which is about an hour east.
Now, if you mean 3 nights, so you actually have 4 days to drive you can back off a bit on the mileage.
Biloxi, MS is about 11 hours beyond that and has plenty of lodging options. Or you could go a bit further to Mobile which is about an hour east.
Now, if you mean 3 nights, so you actually have 4 days to drive you can back off a bit on the mileage.
Mar 16th, 2013, 09:44 PM
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One thing to keep in mind is you DO NOT want to be driving through Houston during rush hour.
I would think that means you need to plan wherever you stop the night before so that you reach the western side of the Houston area no later than 3:00 PM, and maybe earlier than that.
Because Arizona is NOT on Daylight Saving Time, you will lost one hour when you cross into New Mexico and another when you get a little past El Paso (so waking at 7 AM in west Texas will feel like 5 AM to your son—that might be important to keep in mind).
As tomfuller mentioned, Tempe to Fort Stockton is about 9.5 hours. Fort Stockton to Katy (on the western side of Houston) is about 6.5 hours of driving, not counting stops. That means you probably would need to leave Fort Stockton by 8 AM local time to avoid the Houston rush hour, and you might need to leave earlier than that (to allow for gas, food, and restroom breaks or to be sure you miss east Houston traffic).
Obviously, the farther you get the first day (Ozona, Sonora, Junction), the later you can leave on the second and still avoid sitting in Houston traffic.
I would think that means you need to plan wherever you stop the night before so that you reach the western side of the Houston area no later than 3:00 PM, and maybe earlier than that.
Because Arizona is NOT on Daylight Saving Time, you will lost one hour when you cross into New Mexico and another when you get a little past El Paso (so waking at 7 AM in west Texas will feel like 5 AM to your son—that might be important to keep in mind).
As tomfuller mentioned, Tempe to Fort Stockton is about 9.5 hours. Fort Stockton to Katy (on the western side of Houston) is about 6.5 hours of driving, not counting stops. That means you probably would need to leave Fort Stockton by 8 AM local time to avoid the Houston rush hour, and you might need to leave earlier than that (to allow for gas, food, and restroom breaks or to be sure you miss east Houston traffic).
Obviously, the farther you get the first day (Ozona, Sonora, Junction), the later you can leave on the second and still avoid sitting in Houston traffic.
