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Driving home to MA from FL last summer I stayed at a motel 6 in SC. What a total dump! Stay away from motel 6 no matter what. Days inn are pretty good, so is econolodge.
I use a garmin nuvi GPS and when I need to rest it tells me how far and names of motels on my route. Restaurants too. Garmins are very helpful on long trips.
I disagree on days Inn and Econolodge. They are equally dumpy.
Better bets for budget hotels would be Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn.
I'm going from the Hudson valley to the area of The Villages ( Central Florida). My GPS says it is 17-18 hrs......
It's probably closer to 19 unless you are very used to driving long distances, don't have kids or pets with you, leave at a time which will allow you to avoid all rush hours in NYC/NJ/Philly/Baltimore/DC/NoVa/JVille, and have no bad weather, construction, or accidents.
Just don't measure distance using units of time.
When google or a GPS says XXhours that is only the time spent rolling at posted road speed.
Steadily maintaining that pace is not a reasonable expectation.
kids, pets, rush hours, weather, construction, accidents to name just a few.
Fueling, stretching, restrooms, meals, motel check in/out are a few more.
Showing up exhausted isn't fun either.
We drove down from MA Dec 27th and got back at the end of January. We took I-95, picked up coupon books at the rest stops, and looked for motel signs before the highway exits. The driving took forever but it would be easier in summer when the days are longer and it's still light after 4pm.
We didn't spend a lot on places to stay but found a few Red Roof Inns that were just fine and something called America's Best Value Inn. There was a Red Roof in near the Jacksonville Airport that was sufficient, pleasant enough. Nothing fancy but the ones we stayed at were clean and had comfortable beds. That's about all we needed because we were traveling, not staying. BTW, in FL we stayed at a Sheraton and it was not much better than the low priced places. Neither was the Sheraton in DC on the way back!
BTW, we left MA on a Sat. morning and avoided any rush hour traffic around the hellish NY, NJ, DC areas.
Although I have no suggestions as to where you should stay, as we travel in a motorhome, from upstate to FL every year, in order to avoid 95 traffic (and tolls), we drive the following route: 87 to 84 to 77 to 26 to 95. We have been doing this for quite a few years and it only adds an hour to our travel time.
Although I have no suggestions as to where you should stay, as we travel in a motorhome, from upstate to FL every year, in order to avoid 95 traffic (and tolls), we drive the following route: 87 to 84 to 77 to 26 to 95. We have been doing this for quite a few years and it only adds an hour to our travel time.
You missed putting in I-81.
I used to travel 81 but truckers made for hard driving and crowded.I woud use I-78 to I-684 on to 84
I disagree on days Inn and Econolodge. They are equally dumpy.
Better bets for budget hotels would be Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn.
I've had some good and bad experiences with Econolodge. Some locations will be much better than others, but on the whole, I've been disappointed. Days Inn have been a much better option in my experience.
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