OT: Florida

It seems the Ontario section has been more quite then usual. So I thought I'd post this and get some advise from members.

I'm planning on taking the family to Clearwater, FL the 3rd or 4th week of August. I'd love to take the TDi down but packing 3 car seats in the back along with kids and luggage would be a challenge and the wiser choice would be the Odyssey. So my question/inquiry to everyone, which route would you recommend to take down there? Planning to drive down as much as possible during the night while kids sleep and during the day its going to be a couple of hours of driving and then rest for the young ones to stretch their legs and get some food in their tummy.
Reason for driving as opposed to flying is that 5 plane tickets currently would break the bank

Thanks in advance
John

Not trying to be Capt Obvious here, but if minimizing time on the road is your priority, let Waze do the work for you. It sounds like you're driving at night to "get it over with" and Waze works pretty good for finding shortest time route and adjusting on the fly for sudden traffic backups and detours.

I use Waze daily to get me in and out of Washington DC unscathed. Or shall I say, least scathed.

FWIW, I-77, I-79, I-26, and I-95 are going to be your staples on this trip for quickest travel.

^ this is the route I always take over two days - Specifically,

Cross in Fort Erie / Buffalo (lots of lanes on both sides)
NYS thruway to Erie PA (toll, something like $5 for the 120km)
I-79 south to I-77

Stay overnight on the south side of Charlotte (to avoid rushhour traffic the next morning)
I-77 down through Columbia to I-26
I-26 to I-95
I-95 south

In my case we stay in Miami, you would need to take I-4 through Orlando over to clearwater/Tampa.

White castle makes for good road-trip food down through Pennsylvania.

Have you considered flying out of Detroit? You can get return tickets from Detroit to Tampa for as low as C$248 return (KAYAK). So $1240 for a family of 5. Cheaper if any of the kids are under 2, they fly for free on your lap. Only a 2.5 hour flight, so not too bad. You save 2 days of travel time that you can enjoy in Florida. Also, if you stay 1 night in a hotel in Detroit, you can keep your car there for the week for free as well.

I have driven to Florida twice and would never do it again. If you add up fuel, meals and hotels, both ways, it's not much more to fly and you will be able to enjoy your trip more because you won't be tired when you arrive, or dreading the drive back the whole time you are there. The wife and kids will be happier too. Trust me!

Wingnut said:

Have you considered flying out of Detroit? You can get return tickets from Detroit to Tampa for as low as C$248 return (KAYAK). So $1240 for a family of 5. Cheaper if any of the kids are under 2, they fly for free on your lap. Only a 2.5 hour flight, so not too bad. You save 2 days of travel time that you can enjoy in Florida. Also, if you stay 1 night in a hotel in Detroit, you can keep your car there for the week for free as well.

I have driven to Florida twice and would never do it again. If you add up fuel, meals and hotels, both ways, it's not much more to fly and you will be able to enjoy your trip more because you won't be tired when you arrive, or dreading the drive back the whole time you are there. The wife and kids will be happier too. Trust me!

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You can fly from Buffalo or even Niagara falls on the states side too. Right now Buffalo is somewhere around 300 Cad round trip to Tampa at the end of August

I just did this trip in my tdi last month. On the way down we took 79/77 through Virginia and the Carolinas which is a nice drive but there are less places to stop. We left early in the morning and stayed over in Columbia. On the way home we took i75 and stopped in Lexington KY so we could checkout a bourbon distillery in the morning. There are a lot more stops on i75 and the speeds are a little higher but both routes are good. We didn't cross in Windsor though, Waze sent us across NY to cross the peace bridge because traffic was bad in Detroit.

Avoid as much of I95 as possible. 79/77 and then I think it's 26. You will have to connect back on to 95 in southern South Carolina, but it's not to bad by then. Beautiful country through the Virginias and the Carolinas.

I'm down in the sunshine state right now. Since you are going to the Gulf coast I would just do I-75 all the way. Although they are doing construction in Michigan right now so you have to take I-85 through most of Michigan. we drive through the night so we prefer I-75.

Thanks for everyone suggestion. Much appreciated. As Nigel has mentioned above my only hesitation at the moment is putting the kids through all that driving. I never thought of looking at flights from Detroit or Buffalo. Going to check it out.

Detroit is further to drive to, but cheaper than Buffalo. Usually not worth the effort to drive to Detroit over Buffalo for a couple tickets, but if you have to buy 5, then the extra 2 hours drive is worth the savings

Also look into Niagara Falls Airport. NY. Frontier Air has started flying out of there. Be mindful of the baggage fees too.

Drive down using I-75 all the way to Clearwater. I've done it in the past with one overnight stop just north of Georgia. As someone mentioned about construction in Michigan, from the Ambassador bridge to the top of Ohio is only 82 km. That's all the driving in Michigan.

Two guys driving we did Toronto to Tampa in 22 hours non-stop.
Just go with the traffic flow and do not go like a bat out of hell to avoid speeding tickets.

Regardless where you drive the potential of construction at this time of year is everywhere.

Yep the best way at least for me and the last 15 years. But I take A1A off the I-95 and then 301 to Ocala the 75 to CLearwater. Also I take the I-19 at Bickely save .5 hour.

Windex said:

^ this is the route I always take over two days - Specifically,

Cross in Fort Erie / Buffalo (lots of lanes on both sides)
NYS thruway to Erie PA (toll, something like $5 for the 120km)
I-79 south to I-77

Stay overnight on the south side of Charlotte (to avoid rushhour traffic the next morning)
I-77 down through Columbia to I-26
I-26 to I-95
I-95 south

In my case we stay in Miami, you would need to take I-4 through Orlando over to clearwater/Tampa.

White castle makes for good road-trip food down through Pennsylvania.

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We booked the trip last night on Expedia. It was a last minute deal that was too good to pass on. We'll be flying down and it's probably the best option because of the kids. If it was just the wife and I, it be a no brainer to take the TDi down.

Thanks for everyone's input. Much appreciated!

Johhny04 said:

We booked the trip last night on Expedia. It was a last minute deal that was too good to pass on. We'll be flying down and it's probably the best option because of the kids. If it was just the wife and I, it be a no brainer to take the TDi down.

Thanks for everyone's input. Much appreciated!

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From Detroit or Buffalo?

McGuillicuddy said:

From Detroit or Buffalo?

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Flying out of Toronto.

It was three adults, but loved driving my TDI to FL! Only had to stop for fuel once. We usually do the drive in two days, stopping at Princeton, VW overnight.

Agree with the route southward from PA. Just after Gassaway, FL there is a shortcut on US19 that cuts a big corner off I79/I77. Just watch for speed limit changes. "The man" has always been very active in this area every time we have gone through.

Good decision,you will enjoy the trip much better and more rested.