I95 Driving Question/DC Loop

[TLM323]

Hi all! :wave:

We are headed (from NJ) to DISNEY ... ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!! :sohappy:

We are thinking of leaving (a day earlier than planned) after-school (around 4:00), with thoughts of getting around DC, by around 7:30-8 (depending on traffic, of course), & then we'll find a place to sleep for the night.

I just did the drive (to FL) last September, and had NO TROUBLE getting around DC (it was a Sunday Morning, very quiet). But, this time, it will be busier, so I want to make sure I know EXACTLY where I'm going. Glancing at the map ... it appears that I95 turn into 495, then goes back to I95 when you get around the loop? Is that the case?

Please let me know. Thanks!
~ Tammy

 

[Mister Toad]

OK, I am someone who lived in Richmond for 4 years and travelled back to Philly to see my family constantly. Did this trip 1000 times. Trust me on this... this is what you want to do....

When you get to Baltimore, take I-895 (not I-95), which will feed you into the "Old" tunnel. Much less traffic. As soon as you go through the tunnel and pay your toll on the other side, you'll go over a steel bridge. Shortly after that bridge is a quick exit to Route 295 (local) Baltimore - Washington Parkway. Take that. It is 200% better than I-95 and will save you about 40 miles.

From there, take it straight into DC. Keep going all the way. Here is where you have a choice.....

#1 If you want to be direction-easy, just keep going past the first entrance to I-495 through DC until it feeds you into I-495 (which is the Beltway), just past the merge for the bridge (REMEMBER- WW BRIDGE IS BAAAAAAAD)... you miss it (you can thank me later). Follow to I-95 South and continue on....

<<<< O R >>>>

#1 When into DC, you'll pass the Entrance for Pennsylvania Avenue. Shortly after that, on your right, is an exit for HOWARD AVE. Take this. Go to the red light. Make a right. This will feed you onto I-395 south. You'll know your in the right place when it looks like you're going straight towards the Capital. Keep going and follow I-395 South through the city, into Virginia and to the same merge with I-95.

Why I like option #2:
> You get to see all the landmarks (Capital, White House, Jeff Memorial, Wash Memorial, Pentagon, etc).
> Save an extra 20 mins

Take a look at the map...

And by all means GET IN THE HOV LANE IF YOU CAN.... AND DO NOT HIT DC BETWEEN 6-9am or 4-7PM. DO NOT!!!!!!!!!

:wave:


Oh, a good place to stay is Route 10 Chester Exit about 10 miles south of Richmond. Great Comfort Inn and Hampton Inn there. Clean. Lots of good restaurants there too.

 

[shoppingnut]

Hi all! :wave:

We are headed (from NJ) to DISNEY ... ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!! :sohappy:

We are thinking of leaving (a day earlier than planned) after-school (around 4:00), with thoughts of getting around DC, by around 7:30-8 (depending on traffic, of course), & then we'll find a place to sleep for the night.

I just did the drive (to FL) last September, and had NO TROUBLE getting around DC (it was a Sunday Morning, very quiet). But, this time, it will be busier, so I want to make sure I know EXACTLY where I'm going. Glancing at the map ... it appears that I95 turn into 495, then goes back to I95 when you get around the loop? Is that the case?

Please let me know. Thanks!
~ Tammy

Yes I95 merges with 495 and then splits again. You can go the other way on 495 also which is the way I generally go when we visit my aunt in VA.

 

[robynchic]

In MD, there will be a 495/95 split. Keep to the left, and you'll be back on 95.

The question is- what day of the week will you be going by DC? If it's on a Friday, you might be safe, but 495 is unpredictable.

 

[tigsmom]

Thats the way we go also. We usually stop for the night at the Holiday Inn Express on Telegraph Road in Woodbridge (I want to say exit 162, but don't hold me to it). Its very clean and quiet and easy to get back on 95 in the morning. There is a Macaroni Grill in the shared parking lot. Only problem is you pay DC prices since its not that far away. :wave:

 

[ChuckElias]

Hi all! :wave:

We are headed (from NJ) to DISNEY ... ONE WEEK FROM TODAY!!! :sohappy:

Tammy, where are you leaving from? If you're leaving from NY or New England, I have an alternative route that takes the same amount of time but avoids the tolls of the Jersey Turnpike and the traffic of DC.

If you're interested, let me know.

 

[tigsmom]

Tammy, where are you leaving from? If you're leaving from NY or New England, I have an alternative route that takes the same amount of time but avoids the tolls of the Jersey Turnpike and the traffic of DC.

If you're interested, let me know.

Do tell! I know 287 takes you around the Turnpike. We can get that at Mahwah. :wave:

 

[jim1051]

Drive

Several years ago I did exactly what you are planning. We left from Chadds ford PA around 6 PM. DC was still pretty busy at 8 PM and the drive from DC to Fredericksburg was slow too. It took us 5 hours to get to Richmond instaed of usual 4 hours.

After getting a motel and late dinner and a not too good nights sleep we proceeded the next day. Now that was a Friday night thru DC which is worse than a normal night. Since then we have gone to bed early in our own beds, get up around 2:30 AM and on the road by 3. Just as much sleep as we got in motel. We are in Richmond in 3.5 hrs and having a nice breakfast. Of couse everyone except the driver sleeps this first leg. We drive all day and arrive in Orlando usually around 7 PM, stay in an inexpensive hotel off site and check in to Disney early the next morning.

If thats toomuch for 1 day you can stop in GA or Jacksonville FL overnight , get up early the next day and finish the last few hours.

The advice to use 295 is a good alternative but I have found 95 better as long as you avoid the rush hour times.

By the way, heading soouth or north on I95 at Springfield/ Arlington, you now stay to the left to stay on I95. The weird right hand "exit" to continue on I95 has been rebuilt.

 

[ChuckElias]

Do tell! I know 287 takes you around the Turnpike. We can get that at Mahwah. :wave:

Ok, here's how I go.

I start in MA, so I take the Tappan Zee. You may already be on the other side of it. But I continue on 287 till I hit I-78 West. That takes me into PA. I stay on that until I get to I-81 South in Harrisburg. I stay on 81 through Maryland and a little bit West Virginia all the way into VA. About 10 minutes into VA, you take Route 17 (I think it's East, but it might be South). This is a state highway, NOT AN INTERSTATE. Stay on 17 all the way to Fredricksburg. It joins I-66 but then branches off again, so you have to stay alert. Pick up I-95 South in Fredricksburg, set the cruise control to 80 and you're in Orlando in 11 hours.

It seems like a long way out of the way. And maybe it is. But it has 3 things going for it.

1) No tolls, very little traffic. (A little in Harrisburg, a lot in Fredricksburg.) Completely avoids the NJ Turnpike and DC.
2) Rt 17 is a BEAUTIFUL drive.
3) The amount of time involved is actually the same, or only a little longer (maybe a half-hour or so).

This route was first told to me by a AAA office, and I have used it ever since. Good luck!

 

[robynchic]

Jim made a good point. Even at 7:30-8 pm, you'll have backups on 95, because people will commute from Fredericksburg to DC. And I don't know about anyone else that works in DC, but I know that my dad usually doesn't leave work until around 6 pm- even on Fridays. So if he left DC at 6 pm, he's home by 6:45. Fredericksburg is about an hour from me...so you're looking at backups that could be lasting until 8 pm, easily.

 

[TLM323]

Thanks ALL for your great ideas! :sohappy: We will be leaving on a Tuesday Afternoon, around 4, from Central NJ. We were initially going to get up at 4am (on Wed), and do 12 hours of driving (which we still may end up doing), but, we figured, we'd cut 4 hours off our drive (by getting thru DC, on Tues.). Normally, it takes us about 3 1/2 hours to get to DC ... with traffic, we might not get to "the loop" until 8? 9? We hope to be settled (somewhere) by 10.

Thanks again!
~ Tammy

 

[Mister Toad]

Thanks ALL for your great ideas! :sohappy: We will be leaving on a Tuesday Afternoon, around 4, from Central NJ. We were initially going to get up at 4am (on Wed), and do 12 hours of driving (which we still may end up doing), but, we figured, we'd cut 4 hours off our drive (by getting thru DC, on Tues.). Normally, it takes us about 3 1/2 hours to get to DC ... with traffic, we might not get to "the loop" until 8? 9? We hope to be settled (somewhere) by 10.

Thanks again!
~ Tammy

I once left from Exit 4 NJTpke at midnight.... hit DC at 3 and past Richmond by 6... the rest is smooth sailing.... that's the best!

 

[ChuckElias]

I usually leave Springfield, MA around 2 am. I get to Harrisburg at 6. I get to Richmond at 10. I get to Savannah around 4 pm and into my dad's driveway in Orlando at 8 or 8:30 pm (depending on the traffic on I-4).

Have a great trip, Tammy. Be safe.

 

[jim1051]

trip

If you are determined to leave at 4 PM, I'd try Chuck's alternate route. Anything to avoid DC plus you'll save $10 on tolls in NJ, DE, and MD.

 

[tigsmom]

Ok, here's how I go.

I start in MA, so I take the Tappan Zee. You may already be on the other side of it. But I continue on 287 till I hit I-78 West. That takes me into PA. I stay on that until I get to I-81 South in Harrisburg. I stay on 81 through Maryland and a little bit West Virginia all the way into VA. About 10 minutes into VA, you take Route 17 (I think it's East, but it might be South). This is a state highway, NOT AN INTERSTATE. Stay on 17 all the way to Fredricksburg. It joins I-66 but then branches off again, so you have to stay alert. Pick up I-95 South in Fredricksburg, set the cruise control to 80 and you're in Orlando in 11 hours.

It seems like a long way out of the way. And maybe it is. But it has 3 things going for it.

1) No tolls, very little traffic. (A little in Harrisburg, a lot in Fredricksburg.) Completely avoids the NJ Turnpike and DC.
2) Rt 17 is a BEAUTIFUL drive.
3) The amount of time involved is actually the same, or only a little longer (maybe a half-hour or so).

This route was first told to me by a AAA office, and I have used it ever since. Good luck!

Thanks! :sohappy:

You're right, I'm North of the Tappan Zee,(about 45 miles north of NYC (Exit 16 on the NYSThruway). The DH says to save these directions and we will give it a try. :wave:

 

[inDisney]

I don't know how you all do it! I live in South Florida, and driving to Orlando takes 3 hours. I hate driving those 3 hours, so I just don't understand how any of you can drive for 12+ hours. I would shoot myself. lol. :hammer:

 

[ChuckElias]

I don't know how you all do it! I live in South Florida, and driving to Orlando takes 3 hours. I hate driving those 3 hours, so I just don't understand how any of you can drive for 12+ hours. I would shoot myself. lol. :hammer:

18 hours for me, inDisney, driveway to driveway. For a long time, I got hellacious headaches when flying. Literally the worst pain of my life. So I started driving it. Turns out, I liked it! Load the car with snacks/sandwiches/soda, get several books-on-tape from the library, load the 12-CD changer. . . and I'm good to go!! The added benefit is that I take all the luggage in the car so my wife and daughter (who would still fly down) didn't have to check bags at the airport.

I have since discovered a solution to the headaches (or nearly a solution, they're not nearly as bad) and so for the last couple years, I've been flying with the rest of the family.

All that is to say. . . I envy you the 3 hour drive.

 

[orangewarrior]

One alternative to Chuck's plan which may even save more time (as it doesn't take you as far west) is take I83S at Harrisburg to Rt581 to 15S to 17S. 15 isn't as clear of sailing as what you'd have on 81 to the west, but its a decent highway. And you would spend more time on 17, so it might not be as quick, but it might be worth looking into.

Driving - its 14-15 hours for us (Gettysburg, PA) isn't so bad. And I love having the car at Disney. We do it over two days, leaving mid-day the first and driving 9-10 hours. That leaves us with 4-6 hours the next day, and gets us to Disney in time to check in and enjoy a good afternoon and evening. It works well.

 

[shybre]

I don't know how you all do it! I live in South Florida, and driving to Orlando takes 3 hours. I hate driving those 3 hours, so I just don't understand how any of you can drive for 12+ hours. I would shoot myself. lol. :hammer:

Well this will be our first time driving to Disney from Delaware it is about a 15 hour drive don't know if i am really looking forward to being in a suv for that long with a 6 year old and 4 year old but it is cheaper for us to drive and we will have more money to spend in Disney. Hopefully I won't end up in a straight jacket by time we get to Disney lol. They should sleep most of the ride considering we are leaving around 8 pm. Hopefully they will fall asleep by time we hit DC I believe we should at least make it to Georgia before they wake up.