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Old 02-02-2010, 06:40 PM
 
11 posts, read 50,772 times
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This is a great post! I am doing the same drive but need to figure out the best place to stop. We are coming from West Palm Beach and need to cut the drive into 2 days as we are traveling with family of 5 with young kids. Would Valdosta be best place to stop overnight? Need suggestions when and where best to stop...from experience!
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Old 02-02-2010, 07:32 PM
 
Location: Niota, TN
851 posts, read 2,458,282 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lookingforsnow View Post
This is a great post! I am doing the same drive but need to figure out the best place to stop. We are coming from West Palm Beach and need to cut the drive into 2 days as we are traveling with family of 5 with young kids. Would Valdosta be best place to stop overnight? Need suggestions when and where best to stop...from experience!
My husband and I usually drive straight through takes about 14-15 hours to Knoxville. We take the Turnpike and then I-75 straight to TN. If you stop in Valdosta that should be about 6 hours of driving. If you go to Macon that's about 8-8.5 hours. Just remember that you DON'T want to go through Atlanta in rush hour traffic. It's really crazy. IMO it's just as bad if not worse than Miami. Unless you like that sort of thing. Hope you have a safe trip and have fun.
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Old 02-02-2010, 08:30 PM
 
Location: America, Inc.
1,012 posts, read 2,780,380 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lilred0005 View Post
Hi, I live close to Ft. Lauderdale so we went up on I-95 to Raleigh NC, then I-40 across into TN. The only place it got steep was around the Black Mtn./Asheville NC to TN border area. I was in a tiny Toyota Tercel(this was in '97, did same drive again in 2000 but in a Camry,lol) & that car would NOT go over 35mph in the mts. This route wasn't too bad at all BUT, it maybe too far out of your way. Good luck & have a safe trip(wish I was going too, lol)!

Woah that is not the shortest way by a long shot. No matter what anyone says, 75 through Atlanta is still the fastest route. Its longer distance-wise than several routes up through NE Georgia/NC, but is a straight shot up the valley with the least terrain difficulties. Anyone who is familiar with 40 from Asheville to Knoxville (if it's open now) will tell you that the trip takes twice as long as it looks on a map.
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Old 02-02-2010, 08:43 PM
 
13,354 posts, read 39,963,688 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lookingforsnow View Post
This is a great post! I am doing the same drive but need to figure out the best place to stop. We are coming from West Palm Beach and need to cut the drive into 2 days as we are traveling with family of 5 with young kids. Would Valdosta be best place to stop overnight? Need suggestions when and where best to stop...from experience!
South Georgia has tons of motels along I-75. If it were me I'd want to get a little farther up the road than Valdosta before stopping. Niota's suggestion of stopping in Macon is a good one. Assuming you don't leave Macon too early in the morning, by the time you get to Atlanta rush hour should be over and you'll be in Pigeon Forge long before the sun goes down.

If you leave Macon at 9am you'll be able to breeze through Atlanta and should be in Pigeon Forge by 2:30-3pm or so, or earlier if you don't stop very long for lunch on the way up.
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Old 02-02-2010, 08:51 PM
 
Location: On the plateau, TN
15,205 posts, read 12,071,873 times
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Originally Posted by Kitties of Domination View Post
Anyone who is familiar with 40 from Asheville to Knoxville (if it's open now) will tell you that the trip takes twice as long as it looks on a map.
I-40 will be closed through the Smokies till mid-March at least....
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Old 02-03-2010, 09:10 AM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
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We stop in Valdosta when coming from Fort Myers, FL. I don't care for Macon so much. Of course, we are only going to Knoxville. There is a bit more driving time to Pigeon Forge. But I think Valdosta is a nice, safe stopping point.

You can time it to not hit traffic in Atlanta. Just remember that doesn't always work. We drove through Atlanta once at 10 p.m. on a Sunday and the traffic was crazy. And wow, do those people speed. I thought Jersey and NYC were bad, but nope, that place is definitely Nascar nation. And the cops are speeding right along with them.

I have two foster brothers that live in Atlanta and they LOVE it, but I just couldn't do it. I would be terrified every time I got on I-75.
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Old 02-04-2010, 08:57 AM
 
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If you can make it through Atlanta the first night, the motels in Calhoun Ga are very cheap. Then it will be an easy drive to Pigeon Forge.
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:37 AM
 
Location: Niota, TN
851 posts, read 2,458,282 times
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lookingforsnow - When are you leaving? Do you have a BIG suitcase maybe 6ft X 4ft with wheels. You know I have to take my little one or I will never live it down. haha just kidding. Hope you enjoy and have a safe trip.

creeksetter - That would be a long ride for them with family of 5. That would be about 10-12hours. We travel with 1 small child and it's hard. We leave early in the morning. That way she sleeps for a while (6-8 hours) before we have to make a pit stop. And as she gets older (now 6) it will be harder to get her to sleep.

Everyone in TN - Now when we mention going to TN she gets so excited. I can imagine how she will be, when I tell her that we are really moving. You may be able to hear her scream all the way up there.
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Old 02-21-2010, 10:17 PM
 
Location: Sebastian, FL
16 posts, read 35,706 times
Reputation: 12
Jomarfl, of the 3 ways given by mbmouse the best choice with a trailer is the 1st one. I've been to Pigeon 4 times this past year and have tried all theses routes. Definitely the 1st one is the best!
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Old 02-25-2010, 05:25 PM
 
3 posts, read 15,816 times
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Don't forget about the rock slide on I-40 in your travels.
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