best route ny to florida?

rme

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2006
Location
Georgia
TDI
Jetta
The loop around was not a Map Quest route but a truck driving route. Everytime I come thru daytona and on to Orlando I really get stuck in the Orlando area with all the construction plus the traffic on I-95 around Daytona is almost always backed up. At least that has been my problem during week days and alot of weekends. The #301 route is longer but I have found it to be quicker. I'm going to Tampa this next weekend...I'll post mileage and times going on 301 and returning on I-4....(Even my Garmin wants me to go thru Orlando but I have learned it is best to do otherwise!)
 

rme

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2006
Location
Georgia
TDI
Jetta
Forgot to add ... I will be departing Savannah on Thursday morning for a town called Val Rico which is about 6 miles from I-4.

I will return from Val Rico to Savannah Friday night around 1900.

I'll advise mileage and time both ways....
 

mbsatkins

Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Location
Norfolk, VA
TDI
2010 JSW TDI
Hmm 81... I went to Virginia Tech, and had to drive 81 for about 2 hours going home or coming back... so I really disklike 81. Uhh, I remember the time I was driving back to school from Lexington on 81 and it suddenly started pouring. My old Jetta fogged up to the point I could see absolutely nothing. I was driving with one hand and wiping my windsheild with the other. Started crying which really didn't help, but I seriously thought I was going to run off the road over the side of the mountain. That was a horrible experience... Then I went 81/77 to Greensboro, NC for a concert one weekend and would never take that route again. I don't like roads that need runaway ramps for truckers... Anyway, I live in Norfolk and often visit friends in Baltimore... 301's the best route. I take 295 around Richmond and then get on 301 around Hanover. It's a nice break from the interstate. Good luck if you do go with 81/77! Hope the weather's nice...
 

danham

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Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Location
Cape Cod, MA
TDI
2010 JSW
I'm planning in a few weeks to drive from Cape Cod to FL by way of NC & SC friends, so I'm following this with interest. My problem with the 81 choice is that it adds more VA. No offense to the state, its people, or scenery, all of which are very nice, but its Neanderthal, illegal policy on radar detectors is what puts me off.

On a radar detector forum I frequent, 81 has a bad rep for traps and Spectre units (detector sniffers), so I'll take my chances with 95 until the return trip, at which time we plan to visit friends in VA, so I'll just have to deal [g].

-dan
 

greenskeeper

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 10, 2003
Location
USA
TDI
1998 Jetta TDI
VA you're screwed unless you have VA plates. It's a trap...VA drivers can go over the limit so you feel "safe" going with the flow but it's a trap. Best to do no more than 3 over through VA.
 

emapman

Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2009
Location
Nothern VA
TDI
2009 Jetta TDI DSG
Stick with I-95 thru Baltimore and Washington at 7AM on Saturday you shouldn't have much problem. Continue thru Richmond on I-95 which is shorter than I-295. Watch your speed from MM 25 to NC line near Emporia, VA as there are usually speed traps set up. Go with the flow and enjoy the trip.
 

Ton

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2009
Location
Free Union,VA
TDI
early 2001 jetta
mbsatkins said:
Hmm 81... I went to Virginia Tech, and had to drive 81 for about 2 hours going home or coming back... so I really disklike 81. Uhh, I remember the time I was driving back to school from Lexington on 81 and it suddenly started pouring. My old Jetta fogged up to the point I could see absolutely nothing. I was driving with one hand and wiping my windsheild with the other. Started crying which really didn't help, but I seriously thought I was going to run off the road over the side of the mountain. That was a horrible experience... Then I went 81/77 to Greensboro, NC for a concert one weekend and would never take that route again. I don't like roads that need runaway ramps for truckers... Anyway, I live in Norfolk and often visit friends in Baltimore... 301's the best route. I take 295 around Richmond and then get on 301 around Hanover. It's a nice break from the interstate. Good luck if you do go with 81/77! Hope the weather's nice...
You should drive on U.S.33 to find out what real runaway ramps are all about.
 

eddie_1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2004
Location
Hannover, Germany formerly Toronto & NY
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 TDI tuned to 170HP, A6 Wagon 2008 TDI 2.7L tuned to 340HP
I did the same run over Christmas from Poughkeepsie to Orlando. Then from St. Pete area back to Poughkeepsie. Went down I84/I81/I77/I26/I95. Came back on the coastal route I95 getting across at Jacksonville. I95 to Trenton, then 206 thru Princeton to I287/I87/I84. I81 is getting more and more crowded, there is no guarantee of no traffic jam if you take I81. Coming back I95 was smooth sailing, not a single traffic jam thru Richmond/DC/Balt/Phil. And that was the Sunday before everyone went back to work after the new year. The only thing is in the Mary/Dela area they hit you for tolls, just get off the hway and run parallel for a bit. As some guys said if you time the I95 then it can be excellent AND it is shorter. The 100 miles delta does help on the long runs.
 

danham

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Location
Cape Cod, MA
TDI
2010 JSW
Variant TDI said:
...or a Valentine. :D
Indeed. I'm hearing on the Interweb that even if you get caught using the V1 in VA, contrary to popular myth they don't confiscate it. They do hit you with a $40 ticket, which if this is true compares rather favorably with the cost of even a minor speeding "performance certificate."

-dan
 

rme

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2006
Location
Georgia
TDI
Jetta
Departed Savannah 1/28/10 (Thursday) at 0910 hrs.
Drove I-95 straight thru Jacksonville Fl and did not take I-295 circle around Jax. Figured it was shorter to drive straight thru....it was.

Traffic was light to moderate all the way thru the construction on I-95 in southern Ga and traffic moved along at a pace of 65-70. Do not speed where workers are present.

Traffic was light to moderate with it building to heavy thru Jax. Do not drive thru Jax during morning rush hour or lunch time. Traffic is heavy and slow. Traffic remained light to moderate all the way to I-4/Daytona.

Traffic remained moderate on I-4 at speeds of about 75-80 mph. Traffic turned to heavy about 20 miles east of Orlando and before the rush hour. Fl. highway patrol used an airplane for traffic control and speeding tickets as evidences by the Fl. highway patrol cars having people stopped on I-4. (There was about 10 cars stopping people with more in reserve) Traffic remained heavy to moderate until about 20 miles west of Orlando. Trip from Savannah to the Magic Kingdom exit was 291 miles at 4.5 hours.

Trip from I-4/I-75 junction on I-75 northat 1900 hours to an exit just south of Gainesville exit (Follow Garmin it will take you to the exit) and then on to Highway 301. Time was 5 hours with light to no traffic. Time off I-75 was limiting but it was four lane and avg speed of 70mph. Posted 65 mph most of the way. Highway 301 ran into I-10 with interchange to I-295 with interchange to I-95. I drove above the speed limit except in the towns of Lawtey, Stark and Waldo. All three are known as speed traps to everyone in the state. I drove at or below the posted speed limits in those towns. Lots of places to eat and get gas or diesel. This is a truck driving driving route.

By all means use your radar detector. Mine (Valentine v1) saved me on two occasions at night from being sneaked upon from behind.

The I-4/I-75 exit is 65 miles past the Magic Kingdom exit at Disney World. I would not even attempt to leave at any time of day that might take me thru Orlando, Jax or highway construction in Southern Ga.

Best of luck---if there is anything I can do or help you with let me know....

My diesel went down and came back on one load of diesel fuel with plenty of miles left in reserve.

Meant to say I started out both directions with a full load of fuel....
 
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RuneTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium, 97 passat tdi (SOLD)
many thanks again to everyone sharing their ideas. just bought a dual screen dvd for the kids today. that should be helpful. still leaning towards 84/81/77/26 to orangeburg, sc, on day 1.
 

helloskyharbour

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Location
New Jersey
TDI
2004 Jetta GL auto
Rune, where around Hudson valley do you live? We live in NJ on the NY rockland/orange county border, and do this trip 3-4 times a year, so that is 6-8 times total. We also want to move to the hudson valley...

We also leave @ 3am (up at 3, out the door at 0330) and we fly down 95. Depending on the time of year, but almost in ANY case you will very likely not seen a hiccup in traffic until southern Virginia when all the normal people are awake and out and driving. Leaving at 3am works great...

We are limited to about 75 mph (usually with 1-2 expensive bikes on the roof) but you don't want to go much faster until you hit NC anyway....
 

owr084

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Location
Northern Virginia (NoVA)
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Stonehenge Gray
Digital4n6 said:
Get an EZ-Pass if you don't already have one. Works from Maine to Florida, and you'll only really need it on the NY bridges and NJ expressways/turnpikes. Borrow one from a buddy and reimburse if you need to, well worth having for discounted rates and high speed lanes.
BEWARE! EZ-Pass does NOT work in Florida. Those SOBs would prefer to let all the tourists think they work just so they can make some money from the fines.

"E-ZPass ETC transponders do not work on all toll roads in the U.S. Currently, the E-ZPass electronic toll-collection system (as well as the other ETC systems that are part of the E-ZPass network) are not compatible with Florida systems (including SunPass and EPass), California's FasTrak, Kansas's K-Tag, Oklahoma's Pikepass, Texas's TxTag, or other ETC systems outside of the E-ZPass operating regions."
 

Honeydew

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 28, 2006
Location
Florida
TDI
13 Passat DSG
I've been told that Sunpass will give one free "toll run" per week. Someone who used to live in Orlando told me that he would run the most expensive toll once per week, per the advice of a SP officer and never got fined. Classify that one under "unverified rumor" though.

If you do see yourself using toll roads during the vacation the sunpass mini is a good way to go since they credit the $5 purchase price to your account when you activate it.
http://www.sunpass.com/MiniWebPDF_E.pdf

The lines for the non-sunpass lanes can get backed up around the Orlando area and on the turnpike.
 

owr084

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Location
Northern Virginia (NoVA)
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Stonehenge Gray
Based on my own personal test of the @%#@ Florida toll system, I ran a gate thinking my ez-pass would get it. Nope. Never got a ticket for it later (it's been 9 months). But, I never tried it for a second time ;)

Honeydew said:
I've been told that Sunpass will give one free "toll run" per week. Someone who used to live in Orlando told me that he would run the most expensive toll once per week, per the advice of a SP officer and never got fined. Classify that one under "unverified rumor" though.

If you do see yourself using toll roads during the vacation the sunpass mini is a good way to go since they credit the $5 purchase price to your account when you activate it.
http://www.sunpass.com/MiniWebPDF_E.pdf

The lines for the non-sunpass lanes can get backed up around the Orlando area and on the turnpike.
 

RuneTDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2007
Location
Hudson Valley, NY
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL Premium, 97 passat tdi (SOLD)
helloskyharbour said:
Rune, where around Hudson valley do you live? We live in NJ on the NY rockland/orange county border, and do this trip 3-4 times a year, so that is 6-8 times total. We also want to move to the hudson valley...

We also leave @ 3am (up at 3, out the door at 0330) and we fly down 95. Depending on the time of year, but almost in ANY case you will very likely not seen a hiccup in traffic until southern Virginia when all the normal people are awake and out and driving. Leaving at 3am works great...

We are limited to about 75 mph (usually with 1-2 expensive bikes on the roof) but you don't want to go much faster until you hit NC anyway....
we're in patterson, ny, up high at 1250' (you could say we overlook the hudson valley). we were in mahopac before that. getting crowded there, happy we moved. love it here. we have deer, turkey, coyotes and bear passing through our backyard all the time. i've done 95 lots of times when i lived in brooklyn, so i'm looking for a change of scenery and no tolls. i have friends in rivervale, nj, and near greenwood lake. you near those areas?
 

charredwallsofthedamned

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2010
Location
Charlotte, NC
TDI
2010 Jetta TDI DSG
RuneTDI said:
many thanks again to everyone sharing their ideas. just bought a dual screen dvd for the kids today. that should be helpful. still leaning towards 84/81/77/26 to orangeburg, sc, on day 1.
this is the absolute best way I have done this trip and the alternatives many many times
beautiful roads
less traffic
one toll

I usually do 287/78/81/77/26(depending on where in Florida)
 

owr084

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 20, 2004
Location
Northern Virginia (NoVA)
TDI
Passat GLS, 2005, Stonehenge Gray
RuneTDI said:
many thanks again to everyone sharing their ideas. just bought a dual screen dvd for the kids today. that should be helpful. still leaning towards 84/81/77/26 to orangeburg, sc, on day 1.
Don't forget to map out your power use strategy for all the electronic devices you will be packing and plan accordingly.

For instance, my Passat has 3 12V power outlets, one up front, one in the console for the back seat and one in the trunk. I don't like to use the one for the back seat because it sticks out and the kids tend to kick it and knock it out of place.

As for devices - 2 cell phone chargers, GPS, iPod, DC-AC inverter for the laptop, 2 Nintendo DS chargers, and two DVD players. Not everything is plugged in all at once :rolleyes:

I use a 3 plug adapter for the front. For the kiddies in the back seat, I bought an outlet extension cord from radioshack. It plugs into the socket in the trunk. I pass the cable through the seats and plug in another three plug adapter.
 
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