81 or 95

Greenfield1984

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Driving straight through from ottawa.
Ive looked this up in the past.

The consensus was the 95 is faster by about 25 minutes but the 81 is more scenic and a more relaxing drive due to less city traffic and just general ammount of drivers on the road.

Is this still a fair comparison?

If so I am planning on going with the 81 unless there is something else i should factor.

What say you's?
 
We are in Mtl and unless the forecast is for a snowstorm in the mountains, we take the 81 instead of 87/95. On Google maps it might be faster to take the 87 but because you have to drive close to NYC, Trenton, Philadelphia and Washington,DC, traffic can add significant time. I also don’t like paying all those tolls! Our favourite route is 81/15/95 but we are in Washington,DC around midnight so no traffic!
 
We are in Mtl and unless the forecast is for a snowstorm in the mountains, we take the 81 instead of 87/95. On Google maps it might be faster to take the 87 but because you have to drive close to NYC, Trenton, Philadelphia and Washington,DC, traffic can add significant time. I also don’t like paying all those tolls! Our favourite route is 81/15/95 but we are in Washington,DC around midnight so no traffic!

Im not seeing the 15.
Where is it near?

I was thinking 81 77 to 95
 




My parents used to be Florida snowbirds and they and everyone did 81. It may be “longer” but there are soooo many places for traffic issues on 95 you will thank yourself for avoiding it much of the trip.
 
I drive from Montreal a couple of time per year. I've never done the 81 route. I've always done 87-95.. If you time it right the traffic isn't that bad unless there's a crash and that can happen on any route.
 
81-77-26-95

We used to do this every year but the last few years, we've simply stayed on 95 the whole way and it's worked well for us. We just keep the destination set with Google Maps and find that it's very good about routing us around severe traffic.
 
81-77-26-95. Have driven at least three different routes from Ottawa several times to Florida or the south-east coast states, and this is by far our preferred route.

Last year we hit a delay at Charlotte as they moved a giant electrical transformer down the causeway on the interstate, but we still managed to arrive in Orlando with the same usual drive time. There is very little planning required to avoid traffic on this route (Charlotte at rush hour can have some delays, but nothing too painful; Queensway on a Friday afternoon level).
 
81-77-26-95. Have driven at least three different routes from Ottawa several times to Florida or the south-east coast states, and this is by far our preferred route.

Last year we hit a delay at Charlotte as they moved a giant electrical transformer down the causeway on the interstate, but we still managed to arrive in Orlando with the same usual drive time. There is very little planning required to avoid traffic on this route (Charlotte at rush hour can have some delays, but nothing too painful; Queensway on a Friday afternoon level).
Just completed this route yesterday from ottawa.
We drove it straight with no overnight stop.

It was super smooth all the way till the i4. There was construction at night but did not cause any delay.

We stopped at a cracker barel in the morning.

And a major accident on the i4 right beforw arriving at our destination that added an hour to our trip.

Even with those two additions it was only about 23 hours. Not bad.
 
Greenfield, tell the wife Ive spent 20 days of my life stuck in traffic somewhere on the 95 between Boston Ma and Richmond Va. Go 81-77-26-95, we actually start out on the 95 in Maine and get off as soon as we get into Mass. Google Maps and GPS cant predict just how fast traffic can change (or stop). You will lose the 20 mins Google claims you'll save in traffic from Philly to DC any day of the week. Fuel is more expensive on the 95, rest areas are a lot better and safer on the 81 as well.
As Bankr63 said rush hr around Charlotte can be a bit painful but its not crazy and it really only lasts about an hr, good time to do a Cracker Barrell for dinner :tiptoe:
 
It was super smooth all the way till the i4. There was construction at night but did not cause any delay.

And a major accident on the i4 right beforw arriving at our destination that added an hour to our trip.

Even with those two additions it was only about 23 hours. Not bad.

Which brings up my recommendations for bypasses along this route.

1) I recommend taking the I-295 East (JAX Beaches) bypass at Jacksonville FL. The reconstruction of I-95 through the center of the city seems to be taking forever (I drove it 2 years apart, and nothing seemed to have changed). Still waiting to hear if they have completed the work; last person I know who drove it about 18 months ago said it was still a bit of a mess.
2) I recommend taking the 417 toll road (Central Florida GreeneWay) around Orlando (from the I-4 near Sandford to LBV/Celebration area) as long as the twinning of I-4 construction is ongoing. It is about $6 in tolls end-to-end with a transponder, probably $8-9 cash fares. This is well worth it to me to avoid the possibility of delays on the I-4. We have SunPass transponders mounted in both our vehicles so we don't have to slow down for toll booths.

Note, I have never tried the bypasses at Charlotte as they seem to be very big (out of the way) rings, and the traffic has never seemed that bad.
 
Another vote for 81-77-26-95 with I-295 East to bypass Jacksonville.
Just did this in July.
We had a map, a GPS but what we used the most was the Waze app for route, traffic, speed traps. And the iexit app which shows you what services are available in all exits on all US highways. It was very useful for gas, food. Both apps are free.
Just be aware that in many states there is no law for slow traffic in the right lane.
 
Another fan of the 81 option here!

We did the road from Montreal to WDW twice with very young kids and it was by far a better option to skip trafic, which was a real nightmare the one time we used the 95.
 
Coming down from Ottawa, my preferred route is 81, 66, 17, 95. The #17 is all twinned and empty and just scoots you around DC. But maybe I've been lucky to not hit much traffic on 95 south of Fredericksburg
 
Driving straight through from ottawa.
Ive looked this up in the past.

The consensus was the 95 is faster by about 25 minutes but the 81 is more scenic and a more relaxing drive due to less city traffic and just general ammount of drivers on the road.

Is this still a fair comparison?

If so I am planning on going with the 81 unless there is something else i should factor.

What say you's?

Recommendation: I-81, I-66, Route 17 from the I-66 to the I-95, then I-95 all the way to I-4. I-4 to Disney. As others have replied, this avoids several metropolitan areas that can slow you down. And unless it's a Sunday morning, you'll want to avoid the Beltway around Washington DC as traffic there will likely eat up any time saved by the fewer miles on the route. My suggested route which is the same as some others who have replied will avoid Washington (and NYC, etc).
 
A question for the folks doing the 81 route from Montreal... Do you go to the Thousand Island border crossing or do you cross in the US closer to Montreal and then head west to the 81? I know what google suggest but I'm looking for real world experience with that route. I've only ever done the 87/95.
 
A question for the folks doing the 81 route from Montreal... Do you go to the Thousand Island border crossing or do you cross in the US closer to Montreal and then head west to the 81? I know what google suggest but I'm looking for real world experience with that route. I've only ever done the 87/95.

If you’re doing 81 instead of 87/95, 100% stay on Hwy 401 until you get to the Thousand Islands Bridge (I-81) border crossing.

Route 11 through northern New York is a perfectly nice country highway, but you’re adding time compared to 401 to what’s already a long drive for you. That said, there is almost always some construction on A-20 west, and the 401 is prone to closure by tractor-trailer accidents in the Brockville area. Fortunately detouring on Hwy 2 if that happens is usually decent.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top