j_999_9

John T has nailed the best route/stops (along with gail) in my opinion. Going I-95 thru Connecticut and over the GW Bridge is my idea of a vehicular enema.

Just be aware that your biggest challenge is to get south of Washington without hitting rush hour in any of the cities along the way -- Boston, Worcester, Hartford, NY, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington. It will take some planning to do that.

Once south of Washington, you should be OK as far as traffic goes as long as you make it to Orlando before the weekend, which you're planning on doing.

John_T_Cuttino

A followup.
If you leave Boston by 7am, you will miss Boston rush (going against, Pike not bad in that direcetion). 2 hrs to Hartford, rush there not so bad. Takes 4 hrs to get to Hudson River. Another 1.5-2 hrs to Delaware Bridge (get there around 1-2pm, depending on stops.) 3 hrs from Delaware Bridge to other side of Washington. So you will hit Wash DC rush. Take the Western route beltway around DC. I haven't been recently enough to advise how to traverse Baltimore but you will beat the rush there.
Therefore with an "early start" you will miss all but Wash DC rush hours.

Stops: plenty of gas stations off I84, no rest areas. There is one on 684 in NY. I usually stop first in NJ for gas, etc and lunch at a rest area further down on the NJTurnpike.

ronkala

Another consideration is use the Boston-Winchester routes and about 15 miles south of Winchester take I-66 east to route 17 in Marshall, VA. 17 will bypass Warrenton and take you to I-95 in Fredericksburg. This way you avoid all the major cities including DC. Take I-95 south and before Richmond take I-295 east until it feeds back into I-95. This will avoid the Richmond-Petersburg congestion.

rkkwan

For Baltimore, you probably just want to stay on I-95.

If you're going to hit PM rush in Washington, and you're planning to go past it on the first day, post in a different thread and ask about how to get on the HOV lane on I-95 heading south in Virginia. Traffic around DC is ugly.

Anyways, I still insist the I-81/77 route is much easier, weather permitting.

alpinemccain

wow that is a lot of information! Thanks again!

I will look at a map in the next few days and post my plan of attack using all of your great comments

RedRock

After reading all of this now I know why we stay off the Intertate Highways.

hausdad

I live in CT and would like to comment on a couple of things I have read in these postings. I fully agree you should avoid I-95 in CT, just because it is heavily traveled and can be slow going. Also, it's an ugly drive. However, there are no tolls anywhere along I-95 in CT. Someone suggested the Merritt Parkway, and that is what I always take. From there, either the TappenZee or GWB are easy to get to. Very scenic, trucks are prohibited. I also agree you should think about getting the EZ Pass from NY. It is good for tolls in most, if not all, states along your route. Plus, you can set it up for auto-replenishment from your credit card. I'd take the NJ turnpike (GWB) rather than the Garden State Parkway (TappenZee). Only one toll for the entire route, while the GSP has tolls every few miles. Plus, you'll need to be on the NJ Turnpike for the southern part of NJ and on into Delaware anyway. Good luck, have a wonderful trip, and drive safely. Any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected]

alpinemccain

Ok, I have looked at the map and here we go, please critic!

Day 1 Boston, MA to Woodstock VA
900 km, 9-10 hours

Out of boston I will take I90 West for about 50 miles looking for Exit 9 which will merge me onto I84W for about 40 miles, then I will merge onto I91S for about 17 miles, then I691W for 8 miles, the I-84 W again all the way to Scranton. (Can't I stay on I84 all the way or I have to do the I91/I691?)

Once we get close to Scranton, we will look for signs for I81 south, then we will take I81 south all the way to Woodstock and will stop at a highway hotel (should we do this right before or right after woodstock? traffic purposes and convenience).

The next day We will leave Woodstock and head towards Wytheville, VA which means we will get on I81 S all the way to Wytheville, just before whytheville, we will take exit 81 which should bring us on I-77 south which we will take to head towards Columbia, SC. Once we get close to Columbia, SC we will look for I26E (will this be before or after Columbia?), we will merge on I26E for about 55 miles to then merge on I-95 Towards Savannah. We will stop in Savannah for the night total km for day 2 = 966, 11-12 hrs approx driving.

Day 3 we will get on I95 south for about 350 km, then merge on I4W towards Orlando and then WE WILL BE IN MICKEY TOWN!!

Thanks for all the help and please critique if I can have a better route...Also, now that you have the routes, could someone let me know which I-pass I need for which portion of the routes and the related web site, please oh please!

rkkwan

1. You can stay on I-84 through Hartford. It's a little shorter, but sometimes there may be traffic. I've always just stayed on I-84.

2. Woodstock is a very small town. The Ramada Inn and Comfort Inn are both off the same exit (Exit 283, which is highway 42).

3. In Columbia, SC, just stay on I-77 until its end. It ends at I-26. I-77 goes around Columbia on the east side of city center.

ronkala

rkkwan,
Woodstock is a neat little town, which is why we retired here from Fairfax Station six years ago, but it is starting to grow. Now we're getting
the OMG houses built in the area.

Alpine,
Both hotels mentioned above will be on your left when you get to the top of the exit ramp. The comfort Inn is the newer, two or three years old. There are also hotels between Winchester and Woodstock in Stephens City and Middletown right of I-81.

alpinemccain

Thanks, I am glad I came to this board!