driving from Maine

[kathik]

My family of 4 will be driving from Maine to CBR the first of July. Last year we drove and did it in 2 days which was really too much. I am thinking that this year I would like to drive to the Richmond area the first day and then Savannah the second day and then to CBR the third day. Since checkin isn't until 3pm I thought the ride from Savannah to CBR should be perfeft without having to leave in the wee hours of the morning. We are planning on going route 84 to 81 to 17 and not picking up 95 til Virginia. I think with all the summertime traffic this would be a good route to avoid 95 in the really congested parts. Any advice on my plans, motels in Savannah (I think exit 94) that are nice? ALso we will be leaving around 2am on June 29 which is a Saturday. Thanks for any input!!!

 

[msdis]

Hi Kathik,

We have driven only from WDW to Maine which was the day after Sept. 11th. We drove the whole entire way up 95 and drove straight thru, 25+1/2 hrs. It really was not a good experience but under the circumstances I'm not sure how it could have been better. We are going next week and will be flying down on Pan Am.(great 1-way rates) Pan Am has gotten a bad rap around here but everyone DH and myself work with have flown with them and love it. Then we will be driving home (great 1-way rate) with a rental car. After MUCH research we have mapped out a route that will take us up 95 till Richmond, then across 64 to 81, then up to 84(about the same as you). I have calculated it and it is about 100 extra miles than 95 straight. But for all the confusion and traffic potential it will be worth it. We plan on 2 days, stopping around Richmond, but we also want to stop 1 night at Disney's Hilton Head Island resort as we are DVC members and have never stayed before. That would put us 5 hours closer the next day. Your time of leaving, Sat 2pm, I think is perfect as I calculated out about the same. We initially were driving down and back and found that Sat very early am, arriving Sun. late afternoon would be the best time to travel. We also were told that returning mid-week was going to be horrible, timing the big cities right. This other route pretty much eliminates all the big cities. I'll be happy to post back when we return and let you know how we made out and any tips along the way. Happy planning! BTW, if you have not stayed at CBR, you are going to love it. We have stayed there 3 times, and before joining DVC it was our fav. resort.