proctorfarm

-we'll be travelling from NC up 81 into PA to go to Cape Cod (Hyannis). I'm NOT going up 85/95 and do NOT want to cross from NJ to NY by way of the George Washington Bridge, or anywhere near that congested area. Mapquest routes us throught NJ 78 to 287. Can anyone tell me what that's like and how the traffic is at the Tappan Zee Bridge? I know we can go further up 81 and bypass NJ altogether, but 287 didn't look too bad from what I could find out. I know PA and South Jersey very well (-born in the Pine Barrens), but we're trying to stay out of Northern NJ/NYC area (-husband can't take it). thanks

VirginiaC

287 and the Tappan Zee can be just as miserable as 95 and the GW, maybe just not quite as often.

bmw732002

Big KEY to this route. When are you planning to do this?

During a work day you will have heavy traffic on Rt 78 from 6 AM till 10 AM Or after 4 PM-7 PM

If you can avoid hitting the area at that time( or better yet on the weekend) the route would work fine!

Rt 78 to Rt 287 North to Tappan Zee.

Please note that RT 287, after the Tappan Zee, is usualy under some type of construction.

proctorfarm

Thanks for the info so far. We could travel through NJ on 78/287 on Sunday (early October).
Does anyone have any experience w/I84 (from Scranton) then cutting down toward Bridgeport/New Haven and hooking up w/I95?
...husband is retired from 30 years of law enforcement in NC, but the man can't handle traffic up North. He would probably spontaneously combust if he were stuck in traffic trying to get from NJ to NY ;-)

karens

Getting over hte GWBridge on a Sunday at around 10am has never been a problem for us when we go to Cape Cod in the summer.

Coming home on a Friday, the Tappan Zee is ALWAYS a nightmare.

What time are you planning on doing the drive?

ladystack

From Scranton, take 84W all the way -- through New York, into Connecticut and finally connect to the Mass Pike Rt 90 East. Then take 495S to the Cape. May sound strange but might be your best bet. From Hartford to the Cape would be about 2 l/2-3 hrs.

proctorfarm

We're planning on driving up 81 from NC/VA to PA for 8-9 hours and overnighting somewhere in PA, then getting up early and doing the rest of the trip the next day. We can travel any day (but are planning for early October)-haven't locked into reservations yet.

ronkala

Hartford can be a bummer to get through at times. From VA, we take 81 to 84 into Conn, through Waterbury to I691E to the end. Then rte 147 to Middletown and rte 9E to I-95.

Relatives living on the Cape use the same directions when they stop here on their way to NC.

HowardR

Whoa! Driving up from the south, you do NOT have to drive to Hartford nor the Mass Pike to get to Cape Cod! Going anywhere north of I-95 or the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut definitely adding mileage and time to your trip!
Instead, you pick up the Merritt Parkway to I-95 in Connecticut, follow it into Rhode Island where you'll pick up I-195 outside of Providence and then head towards the Cape.

sobster

The whole trip is a crapshoot. Just for the sake of discussion you could come up the Jersey Tpke., Outerbridge Crossing, Staten island Expresway, Verrazano Bridge, Belt Pkwy out to Sagtikos Pkwy to Long Island Expwy to eastern tip of Long island to the Orient Point Ferry to New London to I95 North etc etc. Uh, maybe not.