driving from PA in sept: stop in SC?

[beckylovestink]

I am planning on a trip in September and we are driving. A first for us. Trying to do a fair amount in day one, then the rest of the way on day two.
Thinking of staying in a Hampton Inn in Dillon, SC. Has anyone ever stayed there? Any other ideas?
THANKS!

[Briansmom]

That is near the beginning of our trip...LOL! ...not quite two hours into it...so can't give you any personal insight into that Hampton Inn. Although you can check out TripAdvisor and see they are rated 2 1/2 stars, mixed reviews...mostly ok for a stop over.

Just so you know, Dillon is right past that granddaddy of all 'theme parks' (and I use that term in a very very BROAD sense!!), South of the Border. Say hello to Pedro!

There is very little in Dillon. Just wanted you to be aware so you didn't think you would be having a fun and exciting stay while there! It is basically your typical one horse interstate town.

You will be about 7 to 8 hours away from WDW at that point.

When are you going in Sept? We are thinking very strongly of the last week in Sept.

[dnickels]

Just keep in mind that setting a particular place to stop and getting reservations there can backfire at times. You can get slowed down by traffic or any number of other things, and all of a sudden that perfect location to stop at 9 PM becomes midnight or later.

I-95 isn't exactly like traveling the Alaska Highway, there are hotels and exits every other mile it seems. I always think it's best to just drive until you're ready to stop then find a hotel and stay rather than booking something ahead of time.

[SurferStitch]

DH and I always stay in Savannah, GA on the way down. We like the Country Inn & Suites in Port Wentworth (technically Savannah, but not quite). We took 81 instead of 95 the entire way. It shaved almost an hour off of driving because we didn't have any of the delays we always seem to get in DC and VA, plus it was a much prettier drive.

I always book our room before we leave because I can get a better internet rate with my points in advance.

We just did this again a couple weeks ago on our way down to WDW. We left PA (Lehigh Valley area) at 4:30 am, stopped for breakfast, various coffee/gas/stretch breaks, and dinner and arrived in the Savannah area around 8:15 pm. We had the evening to relax and get a good night's sleep.

We then left around 5:45 (about 45 minutes later than planned) the next morning and arrived at CBR around 10:30 am. It really worked out very well.

[betteratmk]

I am planning on a trip in September and we are driving. A first for us. Trying to do a fair amount in day one, then the rest of the way on day two.
Thinking of staying in a Hampton Inn in Dillon, SC. Has anyone ever stayed there? Any other ideas?
THANKS!

On your way home, try to spend the night at the Hampton Inn in Dopson NC exit 93 on route 77. Possibly the nicest Hampton I've ever seen. They're associated with a nearby vineyard and we got a free bottle of wine!! The rooms are lovely. It is right on the boarder of NC and VA.

[betteratmk]

DH and I always stay in Savannah, GA on the way down. We like the Country Inn & Suites in Port Wentworth (technically Savannah, but not quite). We took 81 instead of 95 the entire way. It shaved almost an hour off of driving because we didn't have any of the delays we always seem to get in DC and VA, plus it was a much prettier drive.

I always book our room before we leave because I can get a better internet rate with my points in advance.

We just did this again a couple weeks ago on our way down to WDW. We left PA (Lehigh Valley area) at 4:30 am, stopped for breakfast, various coffee/gas/stretch breaks, and dinner and arrived in the Savannah area around 8:15 pm. We had the evening to relax and get a good night's sleep.

We then left around 5:45 (about 45 minutes later than planned) the next morning and arrived at CBR around 10:30 am. It really worked out very well.

We always stop there for lunch on our way down and gas up at the Wal-Mart!!

[wdwfansince75]

Are you driving down in an Edsel?
(My apologies to the moderator, that is an Oxford related joke from years past. The worlds largers collection of Edsels was once in a field near Oxford.)

More on point. The welcome areas and rest stops have free state by state monthly travel mags, which typically have coupons for "drop in" rates that are much lower than reservation rates, even with AARP, AAA, or military discounts. (on our last trip to PA, we got a deal at a Springhills Suite near Easton that was about 50% of the posted rate, about 25% cheaper than the Marriot member rate.)
We also used it returning to SC (via 81) in VA, and got about the same break. We usually
When we went to WDW from MD (Waldorf and then Severna Park), we usually made it to Georgia, or even the Jacksonville area. The closer to WDW, the better! Part of the reason we moved here....shorter drive to WDW.
We usually make a specific reservation, and cancel by 6 if we change our mind....which we usually do, if we are certain of a lower cost alternative. We can usually find coupons for Hilton (Hampton Inn, Homestead Inn, Hilton Garden Inns, ect) or Marriott (Fairfield Inn, Courtyards, Springhill, ect) or Holiday Inn Express. All are great for stopovers....almost always clean, inside hallways, light breakfast included...Usually know what you are getting, and those few times we have been disappointed, Hilton, Marriott, or HIE have addressed the problem.

[wdwfansince75]

SurferStitch,
Just noticed that you use the same rule of thumb as I do...North of 78, use 78-81-77-26-95. Unless they extend the Chestnut Ridge Railway to Orlando, that's the best way to go!

[SurferStitch]

SurferStitch,
Just noticed that you use the same rule of thumb as I do...North of 78, use 78-81-77-26-95. Unless they extend the Chestnut Ridge Railway to Orlando, that's the best way to go!

Yeah, the last couple times we did 95 the whole way, and the congestion from DC down through VA was just awful. Didn't matter time of day, either.

We actually grab 81 near Tamaqua rather than taking 78. We've had too many accident and construction related delays on 78 to chance it.

[olivegirl]

We stay in Savannah GA when we drive!! We stay overnight at Hilton Garden Inn which is beautiful! We have dinner at Paula Deans and then walk the Riverwalk!! It is beautiful there on the river!!

[beckylovestink]

I guess i should share that we are surprising the kids and picking them up from school on a Friday and starting our trek around 3 pm. I guess I am a little nervous about not having a reservation but it shouldn't be a big deal. We thought we would try to do 7 hours or so the day we leave and sleep over (around 11 or 12) and get up and finish the trek. Our only desire will be a bed to sleep in. I got a book from my mom with Hampton inns and played with the GPS until we were at 7/8 hours into the drive.
I see a lot of you avoid 95 is that easy to do?

[beckylovestink]

we have reservations for 9/25-10/1
SO EXCITED Last visit was 2/08 and my daughter was not tall enough to ride anything...this time she will be

[SurferStitch]

I see a lot of you avoid 95 is that easy to do?

If you can easily get to 81 from where you live, I would highly recommend doing that. Taking 81/77/26/95 is a much more pleasant drive. Nicer views, lighter traffic, and we haven't had any delays like we have on 95. It's also very easy and all highway driving. Also...NO TOLLS!! That will save you roughly $50 round trip.

It also doesn't add any time to your drive. I believe the GPS quoted the 81 way to be about 20 minutes longer than 95, but we actually made the trek in less time than we normally do with 95 because of the lack of delays from accidents, construction and just general congestion.

You're so close to 95, though...it may just be better to go that way. Google maps says the 81 to 95 option from Oxford is about 18 hours, or about 16.5 hours if you just go straight down 95 alone. BUT (and it's a big BUT), heavy congestion in the DC and VA areas will be hitting hard by the time you go through them.... you could easily eat that time up sitting in traffic, or just going at a snail's pace (been there, done that).

[beckylovestink]

surferstitch-checked out your tip for Savannah and I think that is where we will stop. The short drive on day 2 is much more appealing

[TinyDancer]

Just wanted to say hey neighbor!!! I'm up in West Grove, haha. Anytime we've driven, including our upcoming trip, we're taking 95. BUT, and this is a big one, we're timing it to be leaving at 3am on a Sunday and praying for no congestion around DC/Richmond areas. That would be the only thing I could really think of for you, hitting DC at rush hour. (It once took me almost 5 hours to make the not quite 2 hour drive because I managed to forget about rush hour, haha.)

AND, I forget the name of the town but you can find it either by searchng on here or on Wawa's site, but the LAST Wawa is just south of Richmond. I know you'd want to know, haha.

[PETE FROM NYC]

I am by no means a veteran driver, but DW and I did the drive from NYC last September for the first time. I am the only driver. One way was around 1100 miles, which we did in 2 1/2 driving days.
We left Sunday at 9AM and had no traffic problems anywhere. We stopped for a couple of days in Virginia to do their theme parks, then on to WDW.
We arrived in WDW area Thursday afternoon, a day earlier than our ressies at Pop, found a cheap place to overnight, then to Pop.