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My wife and I are moving to the area on Wednesday, completely site unseen. While the drive is completely doable in a day, we are opting not to push it. We're coming from northern NH and I'm considering several routes with the goal of avoiding traffic in the least roundabout way possible. I'm hoping I could get some advice from more seasoned travelers.
In addition, I'm hoping to get some advice on where we should stop to spend the night. I'd rather avoid stopping in a city and would prefer something close to the highway. We are traveling with a dog and cat. I suspect we will stop anywhere between Philadelphia and central-Virginia (I'm guessing I95 will make up the bulk of our drive). I know that's a wide range but it all depends on traffic.
When we moved, we stopped on the border of Pennsylvania. With stops, we did about 10 hours on the road for day one. The next morning was the Baltimore hell and Richmond traffic. After that it was smooth sailing.
Good luck to you.
Thanks. One route we're considering swings us out to Harrisburg, PA and then drops back onto 95 just south of DC. Adds some mileage but I'm wondering if it's worth it to avoid the traffic.
Suggest that you stay in Mount Laurel, NJ off the Jersey Turnpike- that is about halfway for you and there are a number of hotels to choose from- also helps you avoid the heaviest hours around DC the next day
Thanks. The route I'm most closely eyeing goes something like:
Northern NH to Albany to Harrisburg, PA to Charlottesville to NC. I91 to I87 (by way of Rt 7 through VT) to I80 to I78 to I81 to I64 which gets us to Charlottesville. Then we would go due south to NC.
I guess that's a bit more roundabout than I91 to I95.
I think we stopped in Harrisburg. We had a triptik from AAA that was gonna bring us around 84 maybe?? We decided to turn on the GPS it brought us around the beltine and back to 95 I believe.
That is very close to the route I have developed over the years. I have made this very trip for close to 25 years now! (Rte 302 in NH to I91, Rt 9 over Hogback Mtn in Vermont to I87, then I84 to Scranton, then I81 to Staunton, VA. I64 to Charlottesville, Rt 29 to Danville, Rt 86 to Durham)
I81 is much less stressful than I95, any day of the week. Consider your halfway point to be south of Scranton-Wilkes-Barre. Hazleton has a "miracle mile" exit with many motels.
I use Route 29 from Charlottesville to Danville. Very very pleasant drive and you'll be wanting something like that after two days on the road!
I make the drive in ONE day and it takes 16 hours (plus however long you need for stops). While using I95 takes maybe 14 hours, you will most likely encounter traffic jams, thus losing your time advantage at the price of greatly increased stress. Plus I81 has some breathtaking stretches, beautiful scenery.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdc001
Thanks. The route I'm most closely eyeing goes something like:
Northern NH to Albany to Harrisburg, PA to Charlottesville to NC. I91 to I87 (by way of Rt 7 through VT) to I80 to I78 to I81 to I64 which gets us to Charlottesville. Then we would go due south to NC.
I guess that's a bit more roundabout than I91 to I95.
I don't know where in NH you are, but we have made the drive up to Manchester a few times. I'm a "straight through" driver. We took 95 the whole way (well till 93), drove through every city. We didn't have a problem. In fact the least amount of traffic we hit was in DC. I routed us from 95 to 395 (going from memory here) which took us over the Potomac, Pennsylvania Ave and then hooked back up with 95.
We didn't stop to sleep, though (just a catnap at a rest area). But there is no shortage of hotels from Virginia north.
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