First Family Road trip from NJ

[mnmhouston]

DH, DD14, DD8 and I will be driving down for spring break in a couple of weeks. All map apps say 15hr drive straight thru. A friend told me last night I should be prepared for 24hrs!!!

I am now freaking out. Anyone have experience driving from NJ? Please tell me it does not take 24hrs!!

Also any tried and true tips you can share?

 

[Klayfish]

You're not making it in 15 hours, unless you risk getting one hefty ticket. Remember, you have to go through Baltimore, DC, and other metro areas on your ride down. You have to stop for gas, stop for food, stop for restrooms. Won't take 24 hours, but I'd bank on 18 or so.

 

[nj disney family]

I'm in South Jersey, right near Philly, and have done the trip and few times. We leave our house no later then 4 am to get through the Baltimore/Washington area by 6-6:30. With no major delays, 16.5- 17 hours is definitely doable. If you pack some food you can cut down on pit stops. If someone has to use the bathroom, make everyone go. We do prefer to stop somewhere on the way down to get a little rest. On the way home we go straight through.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Did it once as a kid - left Orlando at 7am, got in to SJ at 2am...no major stops except to grab fast food and we missed all traffic up north. I would do this trip over 2 days b/c if you hit any traffic anywhere, you are gonna add hours to that. If you want a long drive the 1st day, get to Savannah and stop for the night to give you a pretty short 2nd day drive that will get you in earlier than hotel check-in...

 

[fdefulvio]

We've driven from NJTP Exit2 many times, but have always taken two days. Usually no more than 8-9 hours to get to SC with several stops. Coming back it's about the same time to NC. I like to make the first day longer since we can usually get on the road earlier. You should have no problems making it in 16-17 hours if you limit stopping time. There are lots of stretches with 70 MPH limits, and I try to stay at less than 10 miles over the limit, which makes pretty good time. It's not worth getting a speeding ticket to save an hour. I've seen less police over the years, but it only takes one unlucky stop to ruin your trip. Always pay attention to changes in the speed limit. You don't want to be cruising along at 78 in a 70 MPH zone, and not realize the limit dropped to 55. I got a ticket years ago coming out of the Baltimore tunnel where it was still only 50 after exiting the tunnel.

D.C. is always an issue unless you leave early. We've also hit bad traffic in Richmond, so I would try to get past Richmond before 7:00.

My kids are similar in age to yours now, and they are much better about long stretches without stoping. Six and younger are less capable of handling long stretches without stopping.

Once you get past Florence, SC there are limited options for gas and food for several hours. I would recommend stopping in Florence, SC or Lumberton, NC. These two towns have several major exits with lots of food, fuel and lodging options.

Depending on your gas miliege, you should only need to stop for gas twice, maybe three times. Try to coincide bathroom breaks with fuel stops. It's much easier with older kids. When the kids were younger we always had that one emergency stop when someone HAD to go a half hour after stopping. That can be really inconvenient when you are into SC and parts of GA with few exits with nearby options.

We always pack lots of snacks and drinks so we can limit our stopping time and get back on the road. It also saves some money not having to buy drinks if you stop for fast food.

The strategy a lot of people use for straight through trips is to leave late at night (9:00-12:00) or very early morning (2:00-4:00). That allows you to avoid D.C. traffic and get to FL at a reasonable time.

I usually do all of the driving, but I do find that I struggle the last few hours, especially the second day, and have had my wife drive the last few hours. I can't sleep while in the car, so I'm not confident that we could drive in one day.

 

[mnmhouston]

Thanks everyone! Def trying to leave around 4am on a sunday morning and hoping to make it to Orlando late sunday evening. Hubs and I will be sharing the drive. He has driven alone to the carolinas before. Would love to do it in two days but don't have the luxury of the extra time.

 

[siestakeys04]

I don't live in NJ but leaving from NC and dh has driven to Miami and 13 hours was a lot. The drive down was not to bad we left about 3am. It's exciting going but the ride back was difficult. I'm not sure if there is a way for you to stay overnight on the way going home but it could help. Safe travels.

 

[mnmhouston]

Thanks again everyone. There's no turning back now, so will be what it will be...an adventure!

 

[monorailsilver]

Just expect the boring states with nothing to look at...south of Richmond til the FL border.

We drove a few yrs ago from southern CT to Ft. Myers, it was a 24 hr drive and we stopped.

We left at 6am and passed Vince Lombardi at 7 (all now about the bathroom until we just passed it!).

We made it to Santee, SC for the. Isn't soe where between 9-10. That was with traffic in Richmond for at least an hour.

The next day we left at about 6-7 and we were in Orlando (city not WDW) at noon.

It's a long tiring drive. I hope you will get some rest the next day.

 

[JESSketeer]

My mom and sisters did the drive this past September, with both my mom and one of my sisters driving. From North Jersey, it took them about 20 hours with traffic and delays. They had planned to arrive at our resort around 8PM and didn't actually arrive until after 11PM.

 

[jtopp]

Have done it many times, with different start times and with or without an overnight stay. If you leave SNJ around 6am, you should arrive around midnight. This allows for 2 meal/fuel stops, and a few rest stops on the highway. We love the drive down, but every trip on the way home I swear it will be the last time I drive down. It is a long, boring trip. On a few of our recent trips, we would switch drivers in every state south of Virginia, this way no one drove for more then 3 hours at a time. This did make the trip seem faster, as you got to relax while someone else took a shift. Just keep in mind the reason you are making the trip, you will question the sanity of it somewhere in Georgia!!!! Good luck, and have a safe trip

 

[mnmhouston]

Have done it many times, with different start times and with or without an overnight stay. If you leave SNJ around 6am, you should arrive around midnight. This allows for 2 meal/fuel stops, and a few rest stops on the highway. We love the drive down, but every trip on the way home I swear it will be the last time I drive down. It is a long, boring trip. On a few of our recent trips, we would switch drivers in every state south of Virginia, this way no one drove for more then 3 hours at a time. This did make the trip seem faster, as you got to relax while someone else took a shift. Just keep in mind the reason you are making the trip, you will question the sanity of it somewhere in Georgia!!!! Good luck, and have a safe trip

17 hours each way from Monmouth County NJ! Going was good until my audio book ended 9 hours in and we hit traffic in SC. Last 4-5 hours were killer. Way home stunk, will likely break that up into two parts next time around. Questioning the sanity in GA was definitely true and Honey really needs to shrink the Carolinas!!!

 

[prprincess]

I'm in South Jersey, by Philly, and it's taken me about 18 hours as well. We leave at 8pm, right before my kids' bedtime, and stop a few times for gas and bathroom breaks. We also stop for breakfast and get to our destination around lunch time.