Drive time northeast (CT/NYC area) to St. Pete? (Jacksonville: home, live)

[SJNE17]

Any regular practitioners of the journey from NYC 'burbs to Tampa/St. Pete? Is weekend better than weekdays? Best hours to drive? Any routes to avoid if at all possible?

I'm familiar with traffic headaches as far south as the Beltway, so I'll time the trip to avoid am or eve. rush hours in those areas. South of that though, I'm on unfamiliar ground.

Other tips & suggestions appreciated.

[DUNNDFRNT]

Originally Posted by SJNE17

Any regular practitioners of the journey from NYC 'burbs to Tampa/St. Pete? Is weekend better than weekdays? Best hours to drive? Any routes to avoid if at all possible?

I'm familiar with traffic headaches as far south as the Beltway, so I'll time the trip to avoid am or eve. rush hours in those areas. South of that though, I'm on unfamiliar ground.

Other tips & suggestions appreciated.

I done the drive 5 times from Bergen county nj, the biggie is DC no way around it it can take you 5 hours if you don't time it right. The rest of the way is pretty clear until you get to Jacksonville from there depends you can take the bypass to I10 then take 301 to 75 then you are clear until Tampa, otherwise you can keep going on 95 until i4 then you have to worry about Orlando traffic as well.

[theurbanfiles]

It says without traffic, it's about 17 hrs. from Stamford, CT to Tampa. However, once you factor in stops/traffic etc, there's at least another 2 hrs. thrown in there I would guess. It could be done in one day, but it would be a long and torturous day.

[louie0406]

I've done NYC to Tampa a few times Took me anywhere from 18-20hrs just stopping for gas/bathroom/food. The times I've done it I left NYC around 8pm after the evening rush. It also allows me to avoid the D.C. traffic.

[annaegel]

I have done the trip many times. I have taken different routes. I have taken I-75 to I-10 and take I-95 all the way up. You always get stuck in DC traffic and I white knuckle it through Maryland. It is a very boring trip. Other than DC, there is nothing to do along the way. The prettiest and more pleasant route is to go through PA on I-78 becomes I-81. Follow this until I-77 in Virginia, connect with I-26 to I-95. I haven't found weekends are any better or worse. Night time driving, there are a ton of trucks. The second route does take longer by several hours, but there aren't any tolls and is much prettier. The time it takes as others have mentioned are accurate. If you travel during a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas time, expect a lt more traffic. It once took me 28 hours to get home from Thanksgiving vacation.

[just_visiting 9]

Here's the most direct route truckers take, less traffic delays and less tolls:

From NYC Burbs:

NJ Tpke to the end (or 295 south from Trenton, save on tolls but add 20-30 mins for traffic).
Cross over to DE, go the the last exit before MD, exit # 1 for 896 south
896 becomes 301 south, cross over the Chesepeake Bay Bridge, turns into rte 50
4 miles up take exit for 301 south
Ends in VA then take 95 south
Get to Jacksonville, 2 choices:
head to rte 4 and through Orlando if not daytime, or,
take rte 10 west to 301 south, go through the speed trap towns and get on 75 south to Tampa / St Pete

[rvais]

Agree with all other avoid DC area traffic and NJ traffic leave at around 8pm drive straight through you'll avoid all that headache ... also you won't believe how long it takes to get through the Carolinas it's like the twilight zone no traffic just last forever lol

[annaegel]

"Get to Jacksonville, 2 choices:
head to rte 4 and through Orlando if not daytime, or,
take rte 10 west to 301 south, go through the speed trap towns and get on 75 south to Tampa / St Pete"

I have taken 301. While it is shorter, with all the lights and all the speed reduction signs, it ends up the same as taking I-10 to I-75. AAA does not recommend taking 301 because of the speed traps. You go from going 65 MPH to 35 MPH pretty quickly and often. Taking I-4 through Orlando is the longer way and you have to deal with the traffic of the Orlando area. However, if you want to stop off and do fun things, you may want to consider stopping off in St. Augustine.

Depending on when you are planning your trip, we have stopped off at Jekyll Island. They have a nice beach. Savannah, GA is also a nice place to stop off.

Once you get into North Carolina, you will start to see "South of the Border" signs. It is a very tacky tourist spot. It might be good for kids to play video games and eat TERRIBLE pizza. When my kids were young, they would count the signs. I think they got up to around 50.

[louie0406]

Originally Posted by annaegel

"Get to Jacksonville, 2 choices:
head to rte 4 and through Orlando if not daytime, or,
take rte 10 west to 301 south, go through the speed trap towns and get on 75 south to Tampa / St Pete"

I have taken 301. While it is shorter, with all the lights and all the speed reduction signs, it ends up the same as taking I-10 to I-75. AAA does not recommend taking 301 because of the speed traps. You go from going 65 MPH to 35 MPH pretty quickly and often. Taking I-4 through Orlando is the longer way and you have to deal with the traffic of the Orlando area. However, if you want to stop off and do fun things, you may want to consider stopping off in St. Augustine.

Depending on when you are planning your trip, we have stopped off at Jekyll Island. They have a nice beach. Savannah, GA is also a nice place to stop off.

Once you get into North Carolina, you will start to see "South of the Border" signs. It is a very tacky tourist spot. It might be good for kids to play video games and eat TERRIBLE pizza. When my kids were young, they would count the signs. I think they got up to around 50.

I remember my first road trip from NYC to Miami and passing all of the SOTB signs. I kept telling my friends that we have to stop there to see what its all about. We get there and if felt like a scene from a bad 80's horror film. Depressing and just plain "Blah". It definitely did not live up to all the advertisement hype.

[SJNE17]

thanks for all the tips, much appreciated.

it's more of a beeline trip, no kids in tow or taking in scenery.