ratdog1218

I will be driving from Mass to florida next Thursday with my wife and 2 boys ages 8-11 and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice.

I am thinking about leaving between 2am-3am from my home and I have a hotel booked in Wilson Nc for that night, According to AAA it is 706 miles from my home to NC and about an 11 hour ride. And then the next morning I will be driving from Wilson Nc to The Villages in Florids which are just south of Ocala and in between Orlando. AAA say that this is 9 hours and 584 miles.

What I am curious about is this a reasonable trip? Can it be done in 2 days?

Any advice anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated?

garyt22

Its a pretty aggressive timeline and you have no consideration for weather... if its clear, the trip is doable, especially if your wife drives some and the kids don't drive you nuts... you also don't mention your route and may hit AM rush hour near a major City on day one...

On day two you may be in some AM mountain driving and in the dark with slick roads, that can be scary... any bit of snow could slow you down... southern road crews are slow to react to icy weather...

Cross your fingers for dry and warm... or plan an extra night...

ratdog1218

Oh Sorry!! I am planning on Route 95 South the entire way until we get to Florida.

The weather forecast looks clear of storms so far. The wife will be doing some driving and the kids are pretty adept on long car rides. We also will have the Dvd Player/game systems and books and other things to keep the kids entertained.

basingstoke2

Remember that The Villages are a series of gated communities, so you will need permission or a pass to enter.

gail

You would have to be extremely lucky to make the first half of the trip in 11 hours - I know what MapQuest says, but my daughter is in college in NC and we make a similar drive multiple times/year. It can be a brutal one-day drive. The trick is to time it to try to avoid rush hour traffic in metro areas of Boston, NYC, Baltimore/Washington. Leaving at 3 AM should accomplish that BUT...

There is always some issue in NJ (not picking on the state; I grew up there). The Turnpike or GS Parkway just seem to be out to get me - between a truck that does something funky, construction, or just volume.

Baltimore/Washington area can be fine or insanity-provoking. There are all sorts of recommendations here and elsewhere - but in the end it is a crap shoot and you have to deal with this huge metro area. On an especially bad trip, in good weather, it took me 12 hours to just get south of DC. (and I drive fast when I can)

Just when you think you are free - in past couple of years there is always some issue around Richmond/Fredericksburg, VA. Never any sign of what - just huge traffic. I am suspecting it is just volume.

A lot of the "is this doable" depends on weather at this time of year, unpredictable traffic issues mentioned above, and how well your kids are going to do with this.

Some suggestions after you consider the above. Get a toll transponder if you do not have one (EZPass/FastLane). Do not take I95 all the way. You do not want to go over tyhe George Washington Bridge, but the Tappan Zee Bridge. Check directions - but basically you go thru Hartford and then south on I84/287/684 to Garden State Parkway and then NJ Turnpike (which is I95).

We end in NC (but went as far as Savannah for 4 years when her brother was in school there) - but from what I have heard the southern half of your trip should be expected to be less eventful.

emalloy

George Washington Bridge should be fine at the time you hit it, as long as you get through NYC before 7.

If you have a transponder that is tied to an account where they add money when it gets low, make sure there is a high enough balance, or add some to it before you go because it sometimes takes time for them to add especially on weekends and you might get a hassle with a red light.

ratdog1218

Wow!! Thank you everyone so far for all the advice... I do have a transponder so thats taken care of.

ratdog1218

Gail...What would you say the timeframe to NC would be if thing work in my favor?

basingstoke2

We went through Richmond on 95 in early November and there is consturction with possible long delays - the construction did not seem to be the type that would be cleared up anytime in the near future. Be sure to take the Richmond by-pass (exit 84A, 295S towards Rocky Mount) that you will see a few miles before the city. After that 95 was fine all of the way to Florida. From Baltimore, in reasonable traffic to Ocala figure 14 hours driving time.

ratdog1218

Basingstoke!! From Wilson Nc to Ocala. What would you say the drive time would be? I will be aiming at Wilson for my first night stop.

Ackislander

It would help if you told us what part of MA you are leaving from. You are going to miss most of the heavy traffic spots except potentially Baltimore to Richmond. If you leave eastern MA at 2AM, you can take the GW Bridge and not worry about traffic, if you leave at 3, you should plan to take the Tappan Zee. The next big hangup is likely to be the Delaware Memorial Bridge at the end of the NJTP, but you can avoid it by taking 295-95 around Phila, though you may be slowed by the end of morning rush. Baltimore-Washington is a piece of cake between 9AM and 3PM, barring accidents. Before or after, what Gail said.

I worry about your alertness on the way. What time will you have to get up to get the car and the kids loaded? Can you and your wife each sleep while the other drives? Really?

Buy gas in MA, South Jersey, and Virginia. It is much cheaper than in the other states north of there.

Finally, I drive between Boston and Richmond a lot. I can make it northbound in 9.5 hours if I push, but I have never done it in less than 11 southbound, and too many times it has been like Gail's 12 plus hour marathon. From the I-495-I-95 junction just south of Washington to Fredericksburg is often bumper to bumper, though it ought to be moving when you are there. Christmas shoppers at Potomac Mills may also back up traffic. The VA state police are tough on radar detectors and cell phone use. Have a great trip!

ratdog1218

Sorry!! I am coming from Rockland Mass which is just south of Boston By about 20 Miles.

All the help you folks are providing is great. I am really looking at this. I have driven long distance before Boston to Toronto and Niagara Falls in 8 hrs which is about 500 miles and have also worked commercially so I know that I can handle the 12 hour horror show if it turns into it, But I have never done the Florida run. .

I just recently went to Dc and we left Mass at 7:00am and we were in Arlington Va at 245pm. Good Trip to say the least!!!

Dukey1

I do the 1033 mile trip from Arlington, VA, back and forth to my condo in Fort Lauderdale at various times of the year and I always us 95. Going the speed limit and stopping every couple hours, briefly, I can easily make the trip in 16 hours.

Speed limit in Fla (the part you'll be in) is 70 for the most part; it is between 65 and 70 for the 109 miles in Georgia; it is 70 for the ENTIRE length of the SC section (about 200 miles) and varies between 65 and 70 in both NC and Virginia.

The road is in excellent repair. Weather and other factors are always a consideration.

Dukey1

You made it from Boston (basically) to Arlington in 7 hours and 45 minutes. That is a distance of approx. 450 miles which means your average speed was 58 MPH.

Gretchen

I don't think it is reasonable to expect to do 700 miles in 11 hours through the major metro centers you will hit. That's a very high average.
As for alertness, etc. I often drive 11 hours, and while tiring, it's doable.
I think your next day should be fine--just long.

ratdog1218

Dukey, thats probably about right!! I was with my boss and when I drove I was pushing 75 but he is a 70 mph person at that!! So if I did all the driving I could have done better probably.. That was also on a Wednesday morning.

basingstoke2

Ratdog- Wilson to Ocala should be about 9 hours driving time like you planned. Depending on your car, gas up in Wilson, again halfway and top off when you get to Ocala. Ocala to The Villages is very close. Last spring we visited a cousin who lives in The Villages. It seems to be a nice place - much nicer than the usual 55+ communities. Our cousin loves it there.

If you have time on the way there or back, a stop in Savannah, GA or Charleston, SC is nice

gail

DD and I have made trip between north of Boston to Burlington, NC (near Greensboro) in one day on several occasions. We are fried by the time we get to destination - it has taken 12 - 16 hours. We stop only for gas, to quickly use BR and for a leisurely 15 minute fast food lunch. We both drive, neither naps.

Two concerns - our trips are usually August or May - much more daylight. Driving on I95 after dark in southern VA or NC is going to be hypnotizing - straight flat road with little light and lots of big scarey trucks. Remember, you only have about 8-9 hours of daylight at this time of year.

Also, leaving at 2 AM - how much sleep are you really going to get before leaving. If you are anything like me, you are going to be running around doing last minute packing, wrapping presents, worrying about the pet feeder and if you stopped the mail. By the time you get to bed at 11 PM you are going to be too keyed up to sleep.

While it involves paying for an additional hotel night, what about leaving after work on Wednesday (sneak out a bit early to avoid traffic). Put the kids in sweats they can sleep in. Hit the drivethru for food and off you go - perhaps 4-5 hours which will put you in northern NJ. In the AM you might hit traffic, but most will be going in the opposite direction. You will be in DC area around noon, thru Richmond nightmare shortly after. Not as familiar with geography past NC, but southern NC/northern SC will probably be the halfway point from there.

I95exitguide.com gives some info on hotels/food/gas along the route. But beware that in NC and SC there are not a lot of choices for anything.

ratdog1218

Thats what The wife will be handling Gail. I will be home from work early and she will also. I plan on going to bed a little earlier than I normally do. Which means about 6pm.(the car will be loaded and ready to go by this point) I will get up around 1-130pm and do what I have to and then the last thing will be to move the kids to the car and off we go.. We are preparing this weekend also. We kind of move with military quickness around here...so trips move along pretty good,,KNock on wood...

gail

Have a good trip as well as a safe one - hopefully you can report back in a week saying that you had a blissful trip with no traffic (happened to us once).

And if you decide on the Tappan Zee Bridge, most GPS systems refuse to acknowledge its existence - you need to set it for Danbury, CT or Nyack, NY to trick it. After that it will behave properly.

If like many New Englanders you are accustomed to seeing a Dunkin donuts on every corner, be aware that there are none past about Richmond - except for a few self-serve fake ones - until you hit central Florida. A few Starbucks, but northerns seems bigger coffee drinkers than those south of DC. Plan accordingly. And buy gas in NJ - they pump it for you - no selfserve. Last guy even washed my window.