florida turnpike motels
 

I will be driving to West Palm Beach next weekend from Atlanta. I am not leaving Atlanta until late afternoon so I wanted to drive about 7 hours. I wanted to get past Orlando. Is there any convenient motels to stay in that are right off of the turnpike?
Thanks for your assistance.

I'm sure there are, but while you wait for more specific into, check the website www.roomsavers.com (or is that roomsaver.com ??) They publish hotel discound coupons, the same ones you see in their (usually) green booklets given out at many rest-areas, visitor welcome centers, and business near the interstates & tollroads. I know from a relative that rooms near Vero Beach still hard to come by; many victims of LAST years hurricanes still in hotels. Good luck.

Smokeyboy, I had no idea that there were turnpikes in Florida ! lol
But , all around Orlando are tons of hotels and motels..so my guess is that you will have no problem finding somewhere to stay.
If you know the hotel you like, get their web site and see what is in that area..we did that last year when we drove from NY to Fl..figured where we would end up 8 hours from NY then checked the hotels in that area..worked like a charm..
Drive carefully :)

Scarlett, you should have stayed in Florida longer and toured it a bit!!

The Florida Turnpike (yes, that's what it is called) branches off from I-75 at Wildwood between Tampa and Ocala, goes past Orlando heading east and parallels I-95 all the way down to end near Homestead. It is a toll road.

Smokyboy, the above suggestions are good ones, there are motels just off most of the interchanges.

Well, I for one would NOT get off the turnpike in Orlando. With the exception of the nicest ones, the hotels in Orlando are beaten to death by tourists. And the traffic in that area is horrendous.

If you find yourself needing a place to stop north of there, then I'd also drive through Gainesville and stop in Ocala instead. The area on the interstate with all the hotels in Gainesville (301 intersection maybe?) is older and much more rundown than the Ocala spot (the next exit south) that has newer hotels. That entire exit materialized in the last ten years or so.

If you find yourself south of Orlando looking to stop then what I'd suggest is to look into the Baymont Inn and Suites. I stayed a few years back (at that time it was Budgetel) in one that was north of Ft. Pierce, I think it was the Sawgrass exit. It was remarkably cheap and nice, all brand new. I tried to get onto their web site to check the exact location and name for you but it seems to be down. If you can locate this chain any place along your route, I was very happy with the price and the room. There's not much there but it doesn't sound like you're looking for anything other than a nice safe spot to stop.

Happy trails.

IMO you won't be running into that much "horrendous" traffic if you get off at Orlando, especially later on at night, because those motels that the tourists have "beaten to death" are about as close to the Turnpike exit as you can get.

Kissimme (Exit 244) and St. Cloud (Exit 242) are your only choices. Lots of motels in that area.

The next exit off the Turnpike is 193, 50 miles away, at Yeehaw Junction, with nothing there. And then it's another 40 miles to Fort Pierce on the coast.

Smokeyboy, having driven that horribly long drive between Altanta and Palm Beach many times, do you realize that by the time you get past Orlando (not to Orlando but past it) you are almost in West Palm?

It is around a two hour drive to West Palm from that point. Maybe a little longer but not much. Traffic flies on the turnpike.

Thanks to all the suggestions and tips we were able to plan our drive better. We decided to drive halfway, (I was only kidding myself when I said I wanted to drive 7 hours!) to Lake City Florida. Stayed at a chain motel right off 75.(cheap with coupon available everywhere-45 bucks). Next morning drove to West Palm beach on turnpike. Things we noted:
1) turnpike less crowded
2) hardly any 18-wheelers!
3) gas was a little cheaper at the great middle of highway service plazas!
4) toll was about 14 dollars-but worth it imo.
5) hardly any 18-wheelers!
6) land is not as flat!
7) less smokeys?!
8) turnpike is one of Floridas best kept secret imo

I realize it's too late to impact your completed trip, but I wanted to clarify something Tandoori Girl said about the hotels in Gainesville...I'm not sure exactly where she meant as 301 does not come near I-75 in Gainesville, but exits 390 and 384 have several brand new hotels so it's something to consider if Ocala isn't where you want to stop. The two towns are about 40 miles apart.