Need route help

We are driving from New Brunswick (Canadian side of the Maine border, eh?) to Orlando in March and I need some input on routes. We had originally planned to hop on the I95 all the way down, skirting the big cities, but someone suggested going inland. We looked at leaving the I95 below Portland, Me, going through Hartford, Ct and heading in to hook up with Rte 81, then take that down to Charlotte, NC, before joining back up with the I95.

Its farther in distance but supposedly faster in terms of time as you avoid the major city traffic. We are doing the drive in two loooong days and would hit Washington, DC at about 6pm on a Friday evening if we did the I95 route all the way. Probably not good.

Anybody have any experience with this drive, or part of it?

We are driving from New Brunswick (Canadian side of the Maine border, eh?) to Orlando in March and I need some input on routes. We had originally planned to hop on the I95 all the way down, skirting the big cities, but someone suggested going inland. We looked at leaving the I95 below Portland, Me, going through Hartford, Ct and heading in to hook up with Rte 81, then take that down to Charlotte, NC, before joining back up with the I95.

Its farther in distance but supposedly faster in terms of time as you avoid the major city traffic. We are doing the drive in two loooong days and would hit Washington, DC at about 6pm on a Friday evening if we did the I95 route all the way. Probably not good.

Anybody have any experience with this drive, or part of it?
Hey Hez,
You might save some time if you hit I81, but you need to drive like a race car driver on that road. Traffic is heavy and fast with no room for slow or pokey drivers. I95 is good once you get past DC, but is heavily travelled as well. Looks like it will take you at least 24 hours either way though. DC on a Friday at 6:00 pm? Been there, done that and won't do it again. I was going West to East though, and I could have rode my bicycle faster than traffic was moving on the beltway. Good luck.

We are driving from New Brunswick (Canadian side of the Maine border, eh?) to Orlando in March and I need some input on routes. We had originally planned to hop on the I95 all the way down, skirting the big cities, but someone suggested going inland. We looked at leaving the I95 below Portland, Me, going through Hartford, Ct and heading in to hook up with Rte 81, then take that down to Charlotte, NC, before joining back up with the I95.

Its farther in distance but supposedly faster in terms of time as you avoid the major city traffic. We are doing the drive in two loooong days and would hit Washington, DC at about 6pm on a Friday evening if we did the I95 route all the way. Probably not good.

Anybody have any experience with this drive, or part of it?

I did the I95 from Baltimore to Tampa twice about 5 years ago. If I recall, it took about 18/19 hours all the way to Tampa. I jumped off I95 at Jacksonville, so you can subtract that from my total. I also tend to stop only when out of gas - one stop for bathroom, gas, food. No extra stops.

Having lived in the DC area for 15 years, I can say that there's no real good time to do 95 and 495. It's busy from say about 5am until late at night. And then late at night construction starts, and it seems there's always construction somewhere. Now, having said that, I think 6pm on a Friday is one of the worst times to be going through there. 2pm on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving may be worse, but ...

Kevin

We are driving from New Brunswick (Canadian side of the Maine border, eh?) to Orlando in March and I need some input on routes. We had originally planned to hop on the I95 all the way down, skirting the big cities, but someone suggested going inland. We looked at leaving the I95 below Portland, Me, going through Hartford, Ct and heading in to hook up with Rte 81, then take that down to Charlotte, NC, before joining back up with the I95.

Its farther in distance but supposedly faster in terms of time as you avoid the major city traffic. We are doing the drive in two loooong days and would hit Washington, DC at about 6pm on a Friday evening if we did the I95 route all the way. Probably not good.

Anybody have any experience with this drive, or part of it?

Looks like I-95 is your most direct route, I-95 to Daytona Beach then the short run on I-4 to Orlando. I-81 ends in the foothills of the Smokies around Dandridge, TN. The southern end of I-81 is terrible this time of the year if you are going South late in the day. The setting sun is terrible in that area.
Enjoy your trip and Orlando, been to Epcot and Sea World 2 times and would like to go again. If you get a chance, check out Daytona Beach, I love to drive the beach.

i'd say go I-95. just try to adjust your times so you dont hit DC until after 7 pm, 8 pm may even be better. once south of virginia 95 moves pretty fast unless its a holiday or something.

I agree with staying on 95. I take 81 twice a year and agree with hiPSI. Not only is it fast but it is the busiest interstate for semis in the United States. Once you get into the mountains you occasionally get one rig trying to pass another and they are both going 30 mph. On the down hill side they really speed up and can be right on your bumper.

If you take I95 try to time it so you don't hit the major cities during rush hour. The drive from New Brunswick to Boston is fairly easy (I've done it a few times). Boston to NYC should take about 4 hours, and from NYC to DC should take about another 3 - 4 hours. After that it's pretty easy. You can also opt to take the Garden State Parkway in NJ for a while.

Good luck!

Mom & Dad are "Snowbirds" who travel to FL each winter. They swear by the inland route you described. They have done both many times and Dad says the slightly longer route is much more relaxed, no traffic and probably faster. He is kind of a pokey driver, by my standards, and I have never heard him complain about hiPSI's concern. $0.02

When heading South from Baltimore, we like to bypass DC on Rt301 to join back up with I95 in Richmond.

Thanks for the input!