Hi! I want to get to VT (Burlington) through NY State. How long would this take from Philadelphia? Is it as crowded as 95/91 is? Also, how is the traffic later in the day (say, after 6 p.m.) as opposed to during the day?

Thanks!

You would take the Thruway, which I find to be much more pleasant than 95, with less traffic, and it's more scenic, too.

Coming from Philly, I'm guessing it would take about 8 hours to Burlington, give or take. From NY, it's about 5-6 hours.
You can either drive on roadways the entire way, or you can take one of the Lake Champlain ferries to Burlington at the end of your drive.

Check out directions and driving times on Google, and check the ferry schedule.

The route frequent travelers to Burlington take is the NYS Thruway (I87)to the Northway (I87) to Exit 28, Ticonderoga, Crossing Lake Champlain at Crown Point.

https://www.dot.ny.gov/lakechamplainbridge

You may hit traffic through NJ depending on the time of day, but once you enter NYS it's open road.

You will hit heavy traffic passing NYC from 8 to 10 am and from 4 to about 7 pm - so plan on passing in the middle of the day for less (not no) traffic.

If you wait til after 7 pm to go through the NY area you won;t get to Vermont until about 2 am or so.

Hint: Use the "Directions" feature on Google Maps to plot out your route. There's also a "click & drag" feature which allows you to pick alternate routes or add stopovers if you so want.

The drive will probably take anywhere from 7 to 8 hours, depending on traffic.

I have a slightly different take on the "traffic issue" around NYC. If you take I-95/New Jersey Turnpike to the Garden State Parkway (GSP) at Perth Amboy then on to the New York Throughway you won't be very near NYC and while there might be some heavy commuter traffic on the GSP for a stretch of about 10 miles during rush hour the traffic does move along at a good pace so it should really be an issue. Of course if you time your trip so that you avoid rush hour when driving through that area traffic will be even lighter.

Thanks for the replies! I got stuck for about a year one day in Connecticut last year so I'm hoping to avoid that mostly.

I tried the click and drag feature on Google, but I figured I'd ask in case there were peeps who knew the "secrets" to avoiding a mess like I-95 in CT. I appreciate all your input! I'm going to check out I-87. And nice to know that rush hour around NY starts around 4.

Thank you all!