Driver from DC to Charleston South Carolina
 

I am taking a quick weekend away to Charleston from DC (driving) over Memorial Day weekend (crazy, I know), but I haven't taken a road trip in awhile. I'm planning on leaving super early on the Friday before and heading back on Monday depending on what people suggest as to a good departure time so I don't sit in even more heinous traffic ;) Can anyone recommend the quickest route (and/or) less painful way to minimize traffic? Thanks :)

It's a holiday weekend. Leave in the middle of the night, take 95 and hope for the best.

Under best of circumstances, it will be a solid 8 hour drive.

I would try to come back on Tuesday if at all possible.

Depending on where in DC you are it is about 100 miles farther to take 66 to 81 to 26, but we've used that route when it was a bad time to travel and it didn't add time to the trip.

If you have a tablet or smart phone, put the waze app on it and get real time traffic information so you can plan ahead for problem areas. Google maps had a waze alert for an accident on 95 this morning.

I agree with Janet but rather than leave in the middle of the night, leave Thursday night and drive three or four hours into NC to break up the trip south.

If you have a tablet or smart phone, put the waze app on it and get real time traffic information so you can plan ahead for problem areas. Google maps had a waze alert for an accident on 95 this morning.
__
We use Waze very often. It's a very good app.

It's going to be the usual suspects of the metro areas that will be traffic jams. Once into lower VA and NC should be pretty easy.
For a more interesting drive and probably no longer I'd take I40 over to Wilmington and go down Route 17 to Charleston.

Stop at the SeeWee for at least a snack in a cute surroundings, just north of Mt. Pleasant.