Recommendations for Sarasota Fla Trip

[NjNewbie30]

Hi all. My family will be spending the Christmas holiday in Sarasota Fla. We are driving our RV down from northwestern New Jersey. It is a 2015 Jayco Greyhawk 31FS. My initial instinct is to jump on the NJ turnpike and take it to I 95. Take 95 all the way dwn into Fla. and cut across to Sarasota from there. Does anyone have any better routs taking into consideration where I am heading, possible holiday traffic patterns, and anything else that I may be leaving out. I appreciate any and all suggestions/recommendations. Have a safe and happy holiday season! To one and to all....

[Dmarcian]

That is the route I would take. Traffic before Xmas should not be a problem. Sarasota is a wonderful area.

[Tunce the traveler]

Your biggest nightmare will be the beltway around DC (95-495)

[Irishwake55]

I would go 78 west to I 81 south then I 77 S then 26 E in South Carolina to Savanna Ga the 301 in Florida to Sarasota ..
That way you stay out of turnpike NJ Baltimore and DC crappy roads,
Some of 81 is a two lane but MUCH better roads…..
Just my thoughts..
I’ve taken that route and with good success towing …

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Dmarcian

That is the route I would take. Traffic before Xmas should not be a problem. Sarasota is a wonderful area.

Except I-4 getting from I-95 to I-75 will be a mess.

[langewi]

I go 95 south to Jacksonville Fl then take 295 around Jacksonville to I 10 to 301 south to Ocala Fl and pick up I 75 . That’s how I go to Tampa and stay away from I 4

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by langewi

I go 95 south to Jacksonville Fl then take 295 around Jacksonville to I 10 to 301 south to Ocala Fl and pick up I 75 . That’s how I go to Tampa and stay away from I 4

Sounds like a perfect solution. Anything to avoid I-4, it is listed as the most dangerous interstate in the country.

I-4 has earned the designation as the nation's most dangerous interstate for several years running. I-4 is a stretch of interstate that runs from I-95 in Daytona Beach clear across the state to Tampa. Despite being only 132 miles in length, the highway has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years

[norty1]

We take I-95 and get on us301 just inside Fl. Follow it until you get to I-75.

[Scoutmaster253]

[QUOTE=Irishwake55;1085783]I would go 78 west to I 81 south then I 77 S then 26 E in South Carolina to Savanna Ga the 301 in Florida to Sarasota ..
That way you stay out of turnpike NJ Baltimore and DC crappy roads,
Some of 81 is a two lane but MUCH better roads…..
Just my thoughts../QUOTE]

2X

[Kim Gass]

None of 81 is a two lane road as its an Interstate. Depending on where you are in NW Jersey ( we lived near Sussex) 84 to 81 in Scranton,, 81 all the way to 77 in Wytheville Va then 77 to 485 ( depending on traffic in Charlotte) 485 is the outer loop around Charlotte. keep going 77 to Columbia SC then I 26 to I 95. Take 295 around Jacksonville and get on I 10 just a short distance to Baldwin..Get off on 301. Nice four lane highway is 301 Join 75 in Ocala and on to Sarasota.

We have done this about 20 times. Best of all...
It is FREE!

The mantra is : avoid Washington DC, avoid I 4. Perpetual construction.

[jetlag]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Sounds like a perfect solution. Anything to avoid I-4, it is listed as the most dangerous interstate in the country.

I-4 has earned the designation as the nation's most dangerous interstate for several years running. I-4 is a stretch of interstate that runs from I-95 in Daytona Beach clear across the state to Tampa. Despite being only 132 miles in length, the highway has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years

Amen to that. I went to college at Daytona in the early 70's, and do not remember I-4 as being bad. This spring we went to Orlando, by airline, to a business convention for my wife, and I tagged along. One day we took the rental and drove to Tampa to have lunch with friends. By the time we got back that evening, I needed two stiff drinks before I could relax.

[DustyGeek]

Originally Posted by norty1

We take I-95 and get on us301 just inside Fl. Follow it until you get to I-75.

This. ^^^

We recently moved to FL (just north of Tampa) from the DC area (really close to where I-495 and I-66 meet). Having done five one-way trips so far this year, as well as many other trips to FL over the years, I've seen a lot of it at varying times of day/week.

We usually just slog it down I-95 out of DC, leaving as early as possible (like 4:30am) as the southbound traffic isn't too bad until noon or so. We stay on I-95S until exit 373 in FL, FL-200/A1A West. That'll turn into US-301, which is a pretty decent road to travel (55-60mpg most of the way, with not too many towns/lights) until you get to Ocala, then hop on I-75S.

It's about as straight of a line as you can go, which is *usually* the fastest, as most detours take you far enough out of the way (like 20-60 miles or more), adding more time+miles than just trying to do your best to find your inner Zen space during traffic.

Our trip north is just the opposite.

Here's a map showing most of our usual route with tolls excluded. We live near Inverness, so it ends there, just keep south on I-75 to Sarasota.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/38.9...07!2m1!2b1!3e0

[spoon059]

We stay just north of Sarasota every February. Try to aim to hit the DC beltway either on a weekend, or between 10am and 2pm on a weekday, or you stand a good chance of heavy traffic.

We take 95 down to Jacksonville, then 10 west to 301 south. 301 used to be an awful drive, but a couple bypasses have made it much better. You have a lot of speed trap towns that slow you down to 30, then back up to 55, then down to 30, etc. We take 301 south to 75, then 75 down to our destination.

75 is just a boring, boring road though. Its somehow worse than 95 in my opinion.

How far are you looking to drive each day? We have young kids, so we usually break it up into a 3 day trip. We stop around Florence, SC the first night. Then we continue on about 3 hours south to Savannah and spend a couple nights there, then continue on to our destination. On the way home we usually drive to Charleston the first day, spend a couple of days there (always at James Island County Park!). Depending on how we feel we either drive all the way home from Charleston or else stop in the Richmond area. Stopping in Richmond is about 2 hours from home and allows us to time the DC beltway.

[Kim Gass]

Forgot to add: the inland route is never bothered by traffic except when someone does a bonehead maneuver on 81; then the road gets shut bur with Waze we know when to fet on US 11
We never time anything

[Jim Davis]

Fully agree on FL 200 to US 301 for between I 95 and 75.
For going around Baltimore and DC I would put Stevensville in my GPS while still in New Jersey. Then use Waldorf and Bowling Green to get back to 95. This avoids both beltways and while it has traffic lights is all straight forward, four lane divided.

[spoon059]

Originally Posted by Jim Davis

Fully agree on FL 200 to US 301 for between I 95 and 75.

Never taken FL200 before. Does that save time as opposed to going down 95 to 295 to 10?

[Jim Davis]

Originally Posted by spoon059

Never taken FL200 before. Does that save time as opposed to going down 95 to 295 to 10?

I think so and it is all simple and straight forward. Eliminates the joys of Jacksonville drivers. This ties 95 to 75 near Ocala for SWFL or if you want I 10, again no Jax.

[NjNewbie30]

Thanks for all the ideas/suggestions. We are really looking forward to the trip...

[Kim Gass]

Unless they are STILL doing construction in Callahan.. I hope they stopped. We used to have to drive that road six or seven years ago multiple times over one week .
Baldwin can be a nasty knot at the intersection of 301 and 10.. It does clear; you will live.

[Jim Davis]

There is still some construction but it didn't interfere.