driving from Savannah to New Jersey
 

We're driving home to NJ from Savannah and would like a place to stop for an afternoon to break up the long drive. Any suggestions?

It's at least a 11-12 hour drive, depending on where you live. What kind of afternoon break are you actually thinking about?

Place to take a nap? Or are you stopping somewhere for the night?

We'll leave Savannah in the late afternoon or evening and drive for a while, then stop for the night and continue on the next day.

You're stll not giving any idea about what you might want to do on your "afternoon break".

It's about a 1,000 miles and 17 hours or so total driving time from Savannah to central New Jersey. Where you stop on the afternoon of your "second day" depends entirely on how far you plan on driving the prior afternoon/evening and how much you want to drive after your "afternoon break".

Give us a better idea of your itineray as there are lots of places one can stop along a 1,000 mile route. How long do you plan to stop? Do you want to do sightseeing or just relax? What are your interests?

Washington, DC, Baltimore, Richmond, Va. come to mind!

We want to start the journey home from Savannah and stop about halfway back to NJ for the night. Since time is short the second day, I wanted to know if anyone has suggestions for somewhere nice to relax for a while and maybe enjoy a nice lunch without adding too much extra drive time to the trip. We've never made this trip before, and I imagine that 95 will not have too much sightseeing close by. Richmond may be nice, but I don't know anything about it.

I mis-spoke, it's closer to 825 miles not 1000 miles meaning rkkwan's estimate of 12 hours is correct.

I suspect that if you left Savannah "late afternoon or early evening" you might get somewhere near Rocky Mount North Carolina by the time you want to stop for the evening. If that's the case you could easily get to the Washington, D.C. area around the time you are looking for your "afternoon break".

If so, how about stopping to see George washington's home at Mount Vernon. It would give you a relaxing couple of hours and you'd only be about 4 hours from home (assuming you live in central NJ).

I have been making this drive for 20 years. I-95 is dull. If you are looking for someplace to get a quick lunch that is not too far off the beaten path, I would recommend downtown Richmond, VA. I-95 runs almost through it and you can be on/off the Interstate in a matter of minutes. Shockoe Slip is in a historical area that is rather quaint. Exit towards the downtown college. OR you can try the great neighborhood, the FAN, near the Richmond Braves Stadium (watch for signs for the stadium as you travel North on 95 out of the main area of the city).

check out the website at visit.richmond.com

I don't live there but am familiar with the city.

If you want the TACKIEST place on the earth, stop at South of the Border at the NC/SC state line. It has souvenirs, bars, restaurants, hotels, arcades, et cetera.

If you are into outlet shopping malls, they are everywhere along I-95.

I personally would not go into DC with a car. I have driven to Arlington National Cemetery with a car and it is not a problem at all. Easily could spend a few hours there but it is just a smidgen out of the way of your trip.

Have fun and make the most of it. It is some boring roadway. :-)

Also, be aware that there are tolls starting in Baltimore... budget an extra $20.

You DO NOT want to eat anything at South of the Border. Ick! And we like junk food.
Richmond is nice.

There are few places we have found along I95 - have driven Boston-Savannah many times and sometimes can't even find coffee or a soda except at a truck stop.

South of the Border is certainly not what you have in mind - but it is a hoot. Be sure to buy some illegal fireworks for your July 4th celebration.

I95exitguide.com lists what is at each exit along the route - and at least for part of the trip the exit number correspond to mileage, so makes planning easier.

Newark, DE (home of University of) has some places to eat, sleep, probably something interesting - but not sure how far you are going into NJ, so may not even be worth it.