NJ Turnpike vs. Garden State
 

Heading to Florida and have always taken the Turnpike south. This year we would like to consider taking the Garden State south (from the Tappan Zee Bridge). My question is: How far south does the Garden State Parkway go, can you get back on I95?

Thanks for your help

You join the Turnpike at Woodbridge, maybe 40 miles from the NY State line.

Just a warning that the Garden State takes everyone to the Jersey shore. Since we summer is starting, I would avoid the Garden state southbound on the weekends.

The Garden State Parkway goes the whole way south to Cape May. You can join the turnpike at these exits 142 I-78 to tpke, 129, 105 Rte. 18 to tpke, 98 I-195 to tpke or 38 AC Expressway to tpke. Or you could go to Cape May and take the ferry accross to Delaware. Here is a map of the Parkway with exits.

http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/gsp-eemap.pdf

Thank you for your help. What a cool map.

yes, and from lewes you could take Rtes 113/13 all the way to Cape Charles and the Bridge Tunnel and make your way over to I-95 from there.

It would certainly be a different route from I-95 although not as fast but more scenic.

What is lewes?

Lewes is the town in Delaware where the ferry docks.

Can I ask when you plan on making this drive?

The Garden State is actually quite scenic south of the Driscoll Bridge in Woodbridge.

I might ask when you plan on being on the GSP. During the morning and evening commutes, the GSP can be a parking lot far more often than the NJ Turnpike. That's not just in one direction, that can be in both. (I don't drive but my train goes over the parkway near the Oranges and it isn't unusual to see a sea of tail-lights in both directions.)

On the weekends (now the we're near Memorial Day) the GSP can get very crowded with shore-bound traffic starting Friday afternoon all the way through to Sunday.

When traffic isn't bad, it's a pleasant drive particularly the areas near the shore. Just be wary of your schedule when planning to be on it.

It's about 60 miles from the Tappan Zee Bridge, via the Garden State, to the exit for the New Jersey Turnpike.
Unless you have EZPass, you can add as much as 15-20 or more minutes of waiting time at the tolls if you go at busy travel times on the Garden State.

We will be on the Tappan Zee at 11AM on a Friday (non holiday weekend) we have plenty of time to get where we are going. I just hate all the commercial traffic on the Turnpike and thought the parkway would be nicer.

Isn't the bridge tunnel LONG?

You're bordering on trouble time for the GS Pkwy. Almost any time on a Friday can be a pain, especially during warm weather -- shore traffic, weekend getaway traffic, sales and business people headed home for the weekend, etc. I'd try to get over the TZ Bridge as much before 11 as possible.

If you want to travel on the most asthetically pleasing part of the GSP, I might suggest taking 95 (the NJ Turnpike) to exit 11. That's an interchange for the Parkway. From there, as stated above, you have several options to get back onto I-95.

Your best bet is to take the GSP to the intersection with the Turnpike and then stay on the Turnpike. If you want to avoid the trucks, you can do so for part of the way by using the auto lanes. The turnpike is so awesomely straight that many people believe it was built by the Romans more than a thousand years before Columbus. This adds considerable interest to your journey -- certainly enough to get you over the bridge into Delaware.

If you are doing this on a Friday in the summer the GSP should not been considered . As stated the traffic will be very heavy.

Even when there's zero shore traffic, I hate the GSP with every fiber of my being. I'm not exaggerating. The lanes are narrower than the turnpike, and the drivers are more aggressive -- far more lane-changing and tailgating than on the Turnpike. And the "scenic" portion is just trees.

I commuted 120 miles a day on the Turnpike for five years, and 150 miles round-trip on the GSP most weekends to visit the shore. There's a world of difference between the two roads, and unless you're planning to stop at some of the shore towns off the southern part of the GSP, I would just stick with the Turnpike. It's faster, smoother, and safer.

I would try really hard to hit Tappan Zee Bridge before 11 AM - even and hour or so earlier will make a difference. If it is a nice weekend people will try to escape work at noon. Also, you will then hit Washington, DC too close to rush hour.

I know it is difficult to avoid rush hours in all the northeast cities - but if you can hit the road an hour or 2 earlier, you will make far better time.