Hi! I'm driving South on I-95 from Philadelphia on Thanksgiving and need an overnight stay. I plan to leave Philadelphia around 7pm and would like to keep the drive to 2-3 hours.

I'm not used to driving through this area and I'm debating whether to stop before Baltimore, between Baltimore & DC, or continue past DC. Any suggestions?

Thank you!

Keeping you on Rte. 95, take a look at Occoquan passing by D.C. If you're not too fatigued, keep going on to Fredericksburg. Pay attention to traffic reports.

Download the iExit App on your smart phone. It will give you a list of what "facilities" (gas stations, restaurants, hotels & motels, Rest Stops, etc.) are at every Exit on I95 (or any other Interstate you happen to use) and how far they are from the Exit. Then during the day when you figure out approximately how far you plan to travel you can use the App to search to se what's available in that particular area and, if you wish, call ahead to make your reservations. Also, use the App to find a convenient Exit to stop for lunch and gas breaks. YI - You don't actually have to be on the road to use the App - you can search and plan your stop before you even depart on your trip.

North of Baltimore, look at hotels at the White Marsh MD exit off I-95. Easy off, easy return to the highway. This destination may be less than two hours from your starting point.

South of Baltimore, there will be many hotels to choose from near BWI airport. A quick google may pull up a map to illustrate locations relative to I-95.

Thanksgiving Day travel is usually light, especially in the afternoon, so you might want to use it to your advantage and get well past Baltimore, instead of dealing with Baltimore& DC-area traffic on Friday morning.

The Sleep Inn Woodbridge VA is clean and quiet, about a mile off 95. The Holiday Inn Express in Lorton is fine, too, rooms are larger than at the Sleep Inn.

OP will be leaving Philadelphia around 7 pm.

Your mini-quandary is that 2 hours will get you to metro Baltimore, BWI, and probably Columbia. You'll need the full 3 hours to get to the south edges of metro DC -- Lorton, Dale City, Stafford/Quantico, and on to Fredericksburg. Personally, I'd push to go the longer distance b/c you never know what I95 is going to be like on a normal day let alone a holiday and its ensuing weekend.

TDudette - Thank you for the suggestions. I'll look into both locations.

RoamsAround - I had never heard of this app...sounds like it could really come in handy. I will download it today. Thanks!

k_marie - I'll look into White Marsh and the area around BWI. Thank you!

clarkgriswold - Thank you for the info. If we can, we'll definitely drive past DC to avoid traffic Friday. I'll look into both hotels you suggested. Thanks!

obxgirl - you're absolutely right! And we definitely will try to push through as far as possible (hopefully past DC area!), but since we don't know what traffic/weather issues might come up that night, it'll be helpful to know of a few Fodorite recommended exits and hotels. Thank you so much!

If you do make it past DC, I'd aim for Exit 152B North Dumfries Rd/Manassas or Exit 130A Fredericksburg. Both will have pretty generous clusters of your Courtyard, Hilton Garden Inn sorts of hotels.

I agree with RoamsArounds about the iExit app. Great resource.