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We are moving in about 10 days
We are trying to get opinions on the best route. My husband has done straight down 95, and we have also done 81 through PA.
We will want to stop after 8 hours to sleep and need to find a hotel that will allow our dogs.
Anyone have opinions on which they prefer and why?
We will be leaving mid day on Saturday if that helps.
We are moving in about 10 days
We are trying to get opinions on the best route. My husband has done straight down 95, and we have also done 81 through PA.
We will want to stop after 8 hours to sleep and need to find a hotel that will allow our dogs.
Anyone have opinions on which they prefer and why?
We will be leaving mid day on Saturday if that helps.
I would suggest avoiding large parts of 95 if possible, even if it means spending more time on the road and driving a few extra miles. I've driven virtually every stretch of 95 between Miami and New York, and there's not one single stretch that I enjoy. It has to be one of America's worst roads, at least in terms of the stress factor.
Let us know what you end up doing and how it works! I'm driving to Boston in about two weeks, so if you end up taking a decent alternative to 95, please do share the details!
On another note - the stretch of 85 between Petersburg, VA and Durham is usually very pleasant and lightly-traveled. I'd recommend that for the last leg of your trip, even if you are headed to Raleigh and it adds a few more miles.
If you have the time, take 81. We've never driven all the way to Raleigh, but we've done the Boston-DC route often. When we have the time, we go that way.
95->84->81->64 (to richmond)->95 (for a bit)->85 (there might be a few more roads in there, its been awhile). Advantage: less traffic disadvantage: more construction (will they ever finish PA?), fewer places to stop/hotels, longer.
or
95 the whole way until just below richmond and pick up 85 - Advantage: lots of hotels, a bit shorter, more hotels disadvantages: as you stated <grin>
best of luck
oh, last time I did that trek with animals, I visited a website 'petfriendly hotels' or some such (search on that term) to find hotels on the way that would accept animals.
Like StoneOne I have driven most of 95. I call it the "highway of hells"... it goes from hot as hell (Miami) to cold as hell (Maine) with hell on earth right in the middle (DC).
I agree about I-85 - it's usually an easy ride - hardly any traffic.
Whatever you do, avoid hitting the stretch of 95 from DC to Fredricksburg during rush hour (6-10am and 3-7pm).
If you can take the extra time, take 81 as far as you can. It does add time and miles, but probably will save on your sanity.
Like StoneOne I have driven most of 95. I call it the "highway of hells"... it goes from hot as hell (Miami) to cold as hell (Maine) with hell on earth right in the middle (DC).
I agree about I-85 - it's usually an easy ride - hardly any traffic.
Whatever you do, avoid hitting the stretch of 95 from DC to Fredricksburg during rush hour (6-10am and 3-7pm).
If you can take the extra time, take 81 as far as you can. It does add time and miles, but probably will save on your sanity.
Going South from DC to Fredericksburg in the morning is not too bad, it's going North in the AM and South in the PM that can be hell on earth. Although the beltway can be congested on both sides in the AM, once you get back onto 95 south in Fairfax County it should not be too bad at all.
We were doing the drive from Boston to Greensboro for several years, and found Mass Pike to 84 to 81 much more pleasant than 95. We'd come down to Roanoke and take 220 to Greensboro; once we took 29 from Lynchburg. So it's slower at the end - but a less-agravating ride overall. We'd break the trip at Winchester or Martinsburg or Hagerstown, but I don't know about pet-friendly places. It does take you substantially farther west and adds miles, which could be a consideration with gas prices what they are, but the traffic is so much better. Lately we've been doing Boston to South Boston, VA, and now we've moved to Durham so we've done Boston <> Durham and it's been all I-95, which is usually horrible. The advantage is that you can drive it in one day (which you're not planning to do) but the traffic out of DC southbound is always awful.
On another note - the stretch of 85 between Petersburg, VA and Durham is usually very pleasant and lightly-traveled.
But also the most godawful BORING stretch of road that ever existed. I prefer to take 95 to Rocky Mount and then come over on 64, which is a wonderful stretch that actually lets you see some pretty parts of NC.
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I-81 vs. I-95
