Road Travel
 

Has anyone ever travel 15 hours to somewhere before. I plan on traveling by car from Pittsburgh to Tallahassee Florida next month. Is this a hard trip to make. I got on map quest it doesnt appear to be hard from looking at that. This will our first time ever making a long road trip. Any advice?

I drove straight from Colorado to St louis - 18 hours door to door.

I was with my 2 children and my friend and her 2 children in a volvo station wagon.

My advice - is mentally prepare yourself for this excursion. Stop only for gas/bathroom break and one leisurely meal stop to stretch your legs and get some fresh air. Keep a small cooler with light snacks such celery, apples, nuts and water. Anything heavier will make the ride uncomfortable. have a good map and enjoy the scenery!!

If possible plan your stops in interesting places that you might not otherwise have a chance to visit!

some people like to do this in one stretch. With 2 drivers it is much easier, of course, as one can rest while the other drives.

others like to split the 15hrs in to 2 days. Unless there is something preventing me from an early start I always prefer to push hard for 1 full day, and at most leave 1/4 to 1/3 of the drive for the 2nd day. Driving after dark is hard when you're not tired. Since you'll be going in Nov it'll be getting dark early, so either get up and on the road real early (driving by 6am) or plan to split this into 2 days.

I agree - make as few as stops as possible if your primary goal is to get to your destination.

I agree with J64 - start very early, even in the dark. Less traffic, and choose the easier and safer route, even if is longer.
On several trips in the States (from Down Under) we have chosen to make extra long trips in order to give us an extra night in the one hotel at our destination, rather than two shorter trips, and an overnight stop. As we get older, this seems to suit us better.
You do need to mentally prepare yourself, as annesherrod suggests.

But we stop for 10 minute "power naps" if necessary, and always have hot water for a "cuppa".
All the best on your trip.

It is easy if you have two days to do it. Very hard if you try to do it without overnighting.

It also highly depends on weather. It can be downright lethal if there's an ice-storm enroute.

Are you alone or with friends/family? If I'm alone, I borrow many books on CD from the library and look up what radio stations have my favorite programming (NPR for me - Prairie Home Companion). Most I've ever done solo was 12 hours. Wasn't too bad since it was in the desert. Straight and fast.

And people complain to me about 5 hour drives. Mostly from across the pond.

15 hours is a bit much.I would fly and rent a car .But the general advise is to stop every two hours of driving for at least a quarter hour and do some simple exercises.Paul

When next month? Thanksgiving traffic time? End of month when you might hit snow/ice in some areas? If either of these are true, then the 15 hours on mapquest will need to be expanded.

I drive 1000 miles once/year Boston-Savannah alone. It is brutal - either traffic that one must remain alert for or roads so boring that no amount of coffee can keep one alert. And I stop overnight halfway.

Hope you are lanning on stopping for the night if you are doing this alone. Drowsy driving is really dangerous.

I drive a lot (A LOT) on a regular basis for business travel and have for years. I have found that what works for me it to keep days at 500 miles or less. More is extremely wearing on one physically - and there is evidence that driving when tired or sleepy is as dangerous to others as drunk driving. My first ticket in 20 years was driving a stretch of highway I know like the back of my hand. It was in the early am and I had no idea how fast I was driving. I had business on the road that tired. Don't push yourself.

The drive itself will not be a hard drive.

Thanks for the advice. Me my boyfriend and daughter plan on doing this. He really dont want to do it. His sister drives all the time from georgia to and from pittsburgh we plan on asking her some tips since she does this often. I figure since georgia is the state before florida this should be the same route.

Actually, no.

From Pittsburgh to most of Georgia, you'll switch to I-85 in Charlotte. But going to Tallahassee, you'll stay on I-77 to I-26 to I-95 to I-10.

Columbia, SC is just over half-way. That's where I'd spend the night for an easy 2-day drive. 530 miles first day, 460 the second.

rk, it's "6 of one, half dozen of the other" to head to Knoxville and then Chattanooga and on through Georgia on 75.

Sevierville, TN would be about 1/2way. I'd add on a day and relax in the mountains and go to Dollywood! It sure would make for a more enjoyable trip :-)

Yes, of course. I-81 and I-85, both about the same distance to Atlanta. May depend on which suburb one's going.

But the OP is going to Tallahassee. Unless her BF's sister lives in Savannah or elsewhere in SE Georgia, then they're not going to take the same route once past Virginia or North Carolina.

rk, 75 through GA and to Tallahassee via 300.

Your route through the Carolinas = 990 miles and 15 hours 9 min.

Georgia route (through Knoxville/ Chattanooga/ Atlanta) = 969 miles and 15 hours 42 minutes

It sounds like they usually go the GA route anyway. If so, I'd stop in the Sevierville area. That would give them 481 and 506 mile days.

If they don't want to spend some time in the area, there's a decent Holiday Inn Express in Kodak right next to I-40. I stayed there a few months ago and it's fine as a stop.

As much as I love driving - and my little car - I would never do more than a 6 or 7 hour drive by myself. If you have 2 drivers it's doable - but if it's just you I would take 2 days. The last thing you want is to fall asleep at the wheel - and kill yourself or someone else.

Also - be sure to stop every 2 hours or so - even if only for a 5 minute break to walk around and get some fresh air. It will help you focus more on the driving.

Also, playing th radio or CDs helps you concentrate.

And - be sure before you go that you have a good map and have the route fixed in your mind - so you don;t have to do those left lane to exit switches in 100 feet cutting people off all over the highway.

starrsville - Hm... I have never been on 300, but on the map, I don't like it. How is the traffic and lights around Albany and then Thomasville?

Plus, having to go through Atlanta is bad enough.

I think the OP hasn't done this drive. Only the BF's sister.

Personally, I'll take my chance with I-77/95/10.

rk, I'm not recommending one route over the other. But, since the OP mentioned Georgia I looked at that route option.

To answer your question, 300 is a 4 lane limited access highway going cross-country. I drove part of it last week. It's not the equivalent of an interstate highway, but a pretty good alternative. Truckers use it a lot as do folks in S GA. I have family members living in Tallahassee and we all are glad to have it (300). Georgia is a BIG state and we are glad to have these 4 lane crossways and one can make really good time on them.

"From Pittsburgh to most of Georgia, you'll switch to I-85 in Charlotte"

I wouldn't recommend taking the route to Charlotte and then 85 into Atlanta though. I don't think 85 would be the best option.