NFT: Those that Drive to Florida and Stop for 1 Night

About 30 minutes west of I-95 but you'll have a much better selection of hotels and especially restaurants to choose from. Get a good dinner and good night sleep for the following day's drive.

South Carolina. Right off 95. Easy on easy off a decent place to stay to get you on your way.

Best advice is plan your timing as best as you can
Expect the unexpected
Personally I like to try to have a list of stops every 20/30 minutes and see how far I can get on the first night, if possible. About an hour or so before I’m cooked, I just call ahead and book a room.
I hate feeling like I’ve got another couple of hours in me but have to stop where I booked in advance. Or worse, you had traffic and have to push yourself just to get to the reservation spot.

NC

A little past Fayetteville. Easy on and off.

my eyes started burning in South Carolina. I pulled into the Welcome Center in Georgia and tried to sleep in my car, but there were too many people walking past for me to get comfortable. My wife drove the rest of the way to Naples.

You didn’t say how far into Florida you’re going. I drive from Northern NJ to Coconut Creek which is 15 minutes north of Ft Lauderdale. It’s 1230 miles so it’s 615 a day. Florence is more than halfway so the 2nd day is a little easier, about an hour less. Florence has some nice places right off 95. Going home, I try to get to Fayetteville which would be more than halfway in the other direction.

Big thing is try to time your trip around Washington both ways so you don’t hit rush hour. That’s a killer.

I would always stop in Savannah. Beautiful city and wonderful people 20 years ago, not sure what it's like today.

Live in East Islip on Long Island. Now I live in Youngsville, 1500 feet from Wake Forest.

The half way point used to be Benson, NC to Disney World.

Now we go to Fayetteville.

I would not go to Raleigh. 40 is a construction nightmare.

Before we moved here we tried pushing to SC, but that is too far on day 1.

Fayetteville is your best spot.

...in November 2020 we went through Charlotte and then on to Delray. It's a bit longer in distance but the drive is far prettier and a much easier drive than 95, as you go through the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. And Charlotte has tons of hood hotels and restaurants. We stayed at Le Meridien which was very nice, not too expensive and right off the highway with free outdoor parking. There's also a Sheraton right next door that is a bit less money.

Coming back in April this year we stopped in Fayetteville and stayed in a perfectly fine but bare-bones motel right off 95. Traveling with two cats, though, does limit our lodging options.

I'm 67 and found that even doing it in two days/one night was debilitating, more mentally than physically, as I do all the driving while my partner takes care of our two cats in the back (theye're great travelers!). I find driving for 10+ hours on 95 takes a lot of sustained concentration with all the trucks and cars trying to pass on the right at 80+ MPH which leaves me spacey for a few days afterwards (another reason why driving through Charlotte was easier). So once we did Savannah/Richmond/NYC and another time we stopped in DC for two nights to see the city (very worhtwhile) and then another night in Santee before heading to Delray.

Good luck and safe driving!

-

In comment 15747882 The_Boss said:

Quote:

-

I second Savannah. I've made the drive from LI to Broward County a few times. Stopped in Florence, SC once -- it is a dump. Better off grinding it out to Savannah where you can enjoy the night, get a good breakfast and have an easy second day drive.

for the night I second the Florence SC suggestion. I know there is a holiday inn express right off 95 and a truck stop with a McDonalds, Zaxby’s, and a waffle house for a quick bite.
I live in the outskirts of Raleigh, and it is a very nice area with a ton of nice options to stay but IMO out of the way if you are using 95.
Also just a heads up 95 starting in the Benson area maybe before I’m not sure has a lot of construction going on for probably 20 plus miles so planning your trip to avoid rush hour times will help. We came back from the beach Friday and south 95 was bumper to bumper for miles.

I had to drive from Suffolk County (LI) to southern Georgia a couple of years ago. I stopped in Lumberton, North Carolina (close to the NC/SC border), which worked well for me.

I made the drive from NJ to Florida several times when I was in college, but I can't remember where I stayed.

I think it really depends on where in Florida you are going. I always try to get as far as I can the first day, so the second is easier. I also wouldn't stop unless I needed gas.

I made the trip a couple of weeks ago, and every decent hotel was booked near where we wanted to stop.

In comment 15747822 Carl in CT said:

Quote:

South Carolina. Right off 95. Easy on easy off a decent place to stay to get you on your way.

+1 for Santee. Just make sure there is availability first!

Used to make the FL-NJ trip a few times a year. And every time, I would get off the highway at Exit 49 - Fayetteville. Im going back to the 90's-00's here and I still remember the exit number. Used to be a hotel there with a GREAT bar (actually was more of a club than a bar). Always enjoyed that stopover:).

Everyone knows the correct answer is
South of the Border!

Ask Pedro.
Or has he been canceled?

when I was a kid. Savannah was usually our stopping point.

In comment 15748075 RIZZBIZZ said:

Quote:

Everyone knows the correct answer is South of the Border! Ask Pedro. Or has he been canceled?

you beat me to it! what a shady dump lol. ( i admit I stayed there overnight)

In comment 15747877 richynyc said:

Quote:

.. I find driving for 10+ hours on 95 takes a lot of sustained concentration with all the trucks and cars trying to pass on the right at 80+ MPH which leaves me spacey for a few days afterwards..

richynyc, are you the kind of guy that drives slowly (<80 MPH) in the left, aka the fast/passing lane? If so, and you don't like trucks and cars trying to pass on the right at 80+, please do EVERYONE a favor and get out of the passing lane. People trying to get past you (like me) would MUCH rather pass you on the left, in the lane meant for passing.

You might not have noticed the signs that say "keep right, except to pass" or "slower traffic stay to the right". The middle lane seems like the place for you. Peace, love and understanding.

..that I take pity on in these cases. We stayed with friends in Hilton Head going down for 3 nights and did 2 nights in Asheville coming back. I like 81 vs. 95 as you can keep things wound to around 90mph with countermeasures; Waze/radar detector. Much nicer drive as well. That said, we left CT around 03:30 and took 95 on the drive south and did pretty well on time.

You can't beat Savannah for an overnight, either.

...on his right.

In comment 15748075 RIZZBIZZ said:

Quote:

Everyone knows the correct answer is South of the Border! Ask Pedro. Or has he been canceled?

+1

at least it used to be.

Just kidding. Stopped by there out of curiosity on a drive down to Hilton Head back in 2004. It was a depressing s***hole back then- I’d hate to see what it’s like now!

In comment 15747822 Carl in CT said:

Quote:

South Carolina. Right off 95. Easy on easy off a decent place to stay to get you on your way.

That's where we stayed.

Hotels right off 95....so no extra driving.

Some people saying Savanah but I believe that's another 1.5 hours from Santee.

In comment 15748391 BUgiantfan said:

Quote:

Just kidding. Stopped by there out of curiosity on a drive down to Hilton Head back in 2004. It was a depressing s***hole back then- I’d hate to see what it’s like now!

LOL, went past it at night and it looked really cool!

definitely a shit hole and definitely don’t stay there overnight.

HOWEVER! SOTB has one of the best reptile aquariums in the world, no exaggeration. it too looks like a shit hole on the outside, but the inside will blow your mind (if you like crocs, snakes and other slithery things). definitely check it out if you’re traveling with kiddos.

i’m making this trip myself in about a month - CT to Boynton Beach.