[the 7 oh 4]

Driving from Atlanta to Miami.

Was wondering if anyone has taken the FL Turnpike from I-75 (Northwest of Orlando) to I-95 (just north of Miami)?

How deserted is it. Are there plazas every so often to get something to drink & use the restroom?

Or should I take 75 South to 10 East to 295 South to 95 South.

It only cost $7.40 for total trip on the Turnpike...but I don't want to drive for hours and have hardly anywhere to stop.

Any suggestions?

THANKS!

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by the 7 oh 4

Driving from Atlanta to Miami.

Was wondering if anyone has taken the FL Turnpike from I-75 (Northwest of Orlando) to I-95 (just north of Miami)?

How deserted is it. Are there plazas every so often to get something to drink & use the restroom?

Or should I take 75 South to 10 East to 295 South to 95 South.

It only cost $7.40 for total trip on the Turnpike...but I don't want to drive for hours and have hardly anywhere to stop.

Any suggestions?

THANKS!

The Turnpike has plazas about every 35-40 miles. Each has 4 places to eat.

[daniellefort]

I've driven the entire length of the FL turnpike from Wildwood down to the end in Miami on my way to the keys. There are some plaza's right in the middle of the turnpike lanes so you don't have to pay to get off an exit but you'll have enough exits to take if you need to. you said your not wanting to drive for hours at a time without stopping, i don't think the entire turnpike drive is much more than 3 hours tops.

[the 7 oh 4]

Thanks everyone. Just mainly making sure that there are places to stop and eat, drink & restroom breaks. Probably a more boring drive than I-95!

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by the 7 oh 4

Thanks everyone. Just mainly making sure that there are places to stop and eat, drink & restroom breaks. Probably a more boring drive than I-95!

It's a lot nicer than I-95.

[the 7 oh 4]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

It's a lot nicer than I-95.

And probably less congested too. It looks like it cuts almost 30 minutes off the trip from Atlanta to Miami.

How are the State Troopers on the Turnpike? I have a tendancy to have a bit of a lead foot!

[Lilybeans]

80 or under and you should be okay. 85 isn't uncommon, or 90.

[harry chickpea]

The turnpike has a website that lets people know what construction projects are going on. I drove it a lot last year, from Wildwood to Ft Lauderdale and back. About every third trip, there would be some sort of major delay. One time it was a wreck at the I-4 interchange in Orlando (a very congested area) and there were regular construction delays of anywhere from 10 minutes to about an hour. That can be frustrating when you pay to use the pike for speed, and traffic on I-95 is faster. Sometimes - in the late night hours - it can be easier to take I-95 south from Ft Pierce.

Those tolls are also more than what you mentioned, I think. The ticket from Wildwood south may be about that much, but then there are toll plazas from Boynton south. DUnno what they are this year, maybe someone else will chime in.


The route is boring from Orlando to Ft Pierce, but the rest of it isn't too bad. If you DO get off the pike on the ticket portion, you'll pay to get off, and then again to get back on. It is cheaper to stay on the pike all the way, even with the higher gas prices.

[heydade]

i read somewhere that the turnpike is the highway with the LEAST amount of exits in the entire U.S. It's very true....very very few exits especially when you start getting up North past Palm Beach. The plaza's are about 30-50 miles apart as well. Be prepared for this.....and make sure you always have enough fuel. You will see what I mean...it will say "Next plaza...50 miles" and so on and so forth. There is also a ton of construction near South Palm Beach and North Broward County because of the fly-by sunpass lanes they are installing. Besides these inconveniences, the turnpike is always better than I-95 anyday in my books.

[doom1001]

The Turnpike from I-75 north of Orlando all the way to Miami is going to cost you over $20 in tolls.I like taking the Turnpike in the daytime,at night it's pretty dark most of the way and as others have said you just have a few exits and a service plaza about every 40-50 miles.