Suggestions for best route to take from DC to Hartford?

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

We'll be moving to the Hartford, CT area from Orlando, FL at the beginning of June. When we first moved down here from Maine, we completely bypassed NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC, and whatever other major cities are on I-95 after Boston by cutting through Pennsylvania (I-84 then I-81). BTW, I still consider driving on I-95 through Boston to be pure hell even after dealing with Orlando drivers for the past 3 years.

This time around we'll be traveling with a two year old (who also gets motion sickness when traveling in the car for 20 minutes or longer besides the fact that he hates to sit still). I looked into having the car shipped and taking a plane, but that's too expensive, plus we'd probably have wait a week or two to get our car back. We're considering taking the Amtrak auto train from Sanford, FL to Lorton,VA (near DC), which is as far as the auto train goes. It's too bad the auto train doesn't go further north. We're thinking that taking the auto train would make the first half of our trip a little easier. This way the little guy can move around and play for the first part of the trip, we don't have to drive, and we'll get to the DC area faster. I'm not looking forward to the second part of the trip so much because we'll have to drive it in our car. The shortest route to Hartford goes through most of the major east coast cities. I'm wondering if there are certain stretches of road we should avoid. I'm mostly worried about highway congestion. I-4 in central Florida seems to always have lots of traffic jams. I can deal with some traffic, but I'd really like to avoid the stop-and-go traffic or the just plain stop and no go traffic as much as possible. Any suggestions? Estimates on road tolls would be very helpful too.

-Thanks

[Zuni]

1. It is hard to avoid, but the DC Beltway

is a huge mess at rush hour.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

2. What times are considered rush hour there?

Is the DC beltway the same as the 495 road that loops around DC?

[seemunkee]

11. 495 and the beltway are the same road

It's always rush hour. The best time for avoiding traffic would be 11AM-2PM or after 7:00PM.

[DS1]

3. I dunno about the first bit, but once you get to New Jersey

take the Parkway North until you hit 87 East, follow that to the Tappanzee Bridge, pay through the nose, then jump on the Merrit Turnpike North until you hit 91 North which will lead you right smack into Hartford.

Both the Parkway and the Merritt have plenty of rest stops for the kid.

I've no doubt someone will correct me shortly ;-)

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

6. Is that the Garden State Parkway?

How steep are the tolls?
I notice 95 is the New Jersey Turnpike, a toll highway, in NJ too. Most of NJ is apparently toll highways. Do you have any estimates for the toll on 95?

[warrens]

9. IIRC, toll for NJTP is about $6

A lot better than stopping every five miles to pay a toll on the parkway. After you go across the Tappan Zee, I recommend taking 684 up to Danbury, then 84 to Hartford. A LOT quicker and very little traffic on most days (statement inoperable on Friday nights).

[DS1]

16. ahh, turnpike then

I forgot which one was which, and someone corrected me as planned :-)

[LynzM]

4. Drove from eastern CT down to Virginia

Took 95 for most of it, went around DC. If you avoid DC from about 7-9 am, and NYC from 3-6 pm (ISH!) then it's not so terrible. Have you considered doing the driving at night, so the little guy could sleep, and you'd miss all the traffic? That'd be my first suggestion!

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

7. The train will leave us outside of DC at 8:30am.

I suppose we could eat breakfast and leave at 9:30 or 10. Of course, I have no idea what time we would arrive in NYC vicinity if we left then. I bet probably right in the 3 to 6pm window.

I'd rather drive in the day for the increased visibility, considering I've never driven through these areas before. Plus, I cannot count on him sleeping just because it happened to be nighttime. He likes to stay up until we go to bed also. He usually falls asleep eventually in a long car ride.

[seemunkee]

12. ~4 hours to NYC

I've been having to drive my son to Boston for school from DC and getting past the city usually isn't a problem. There is a lot of construction north of NYC and that's where traffic is a pain.

[Murphys_Unlawful]

5. I suggest doing your best Superman inpersonation.

[welshTerrier2]

8. a few tips ...

my folks live in Connecticut in the summer and in Florida in the winter ... they tried the auto train and hated it ... they especially didn't like that smoking was allowed on the train ...

the best solution they've come up with is having their car shipped and flying ... they load up the trunk of the car with all of their junk so they don't have to ship stuff back and forth ... the car usually gets picked up on Sunday and is at the airport waiting for them by Tuesday ... i think it costs something like $500. but i'm not sure ... PM me if you want me to try to find out the name of the company they use ...

as for driving, i can't help you with the whole route but i can help with part of it ... i would NOT take 95 from New York to New Haven and then 91 North to Hartford ... that's the shortest way but i hate driving that stretch of 95 ... a better way is to take the Garden State Parkway to route 287 (i think ... look at a map) and go over the Tappan Zee bridge ... then, take 287 east to route 684 north ... no traffic on there ... take 684 into route 84 east to Hartford ... 84 gets a little windy at points and it's often only two lanes but it's the way i always go and it's not bad at all ...

whatever you do, plan your trip so you avoid rush hour in all the major cities ... even Hartford has a bit of a rush hour ...

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

10. Were there other things they didn't like about the autotrain

besides the smoking? I think the smoking is only confined a lounge in one car.

[welshTerrier2]

15. not sure ...

but the smoking (this was about 5 years ago) was allowed throughout the train ... i remember they said they weren't able to get any sleep either ... they complained that people were talking and coughing all night long ... they never did it again ...

if you have the money, i think shipping the car and flying is by far the easiest way to go, but it's also the most expensive ... i've done the drive from the boston area down to the west palm area many times ... it's about 24 hours of driving ... that doesn't sound like a very good option for you ...

one other idea is to hire someone to drive your car for you ... no idea what this would cost but my understanding is that it's very commonly done ... you might find something like that in the classified ads ...

if shipping is too expensive and driving the whole way isn't an option, perhaps the auto train would work ... i'd recommend comparing the costs of both options ... the auto train coupled with an 8 to 10 hour drive is no picnic with a kid ... and it might not be that much cheaper than shipping and flying ...

[seemunkee]

13. Get an EZ Pass

All the toll roads from MD to Mass use the EZ Pass. It will make you life a lot easier. They will mail you one and it takes a few weeks but you got time.

[gypsy11]

14. Once you get over the Tappen Zee

Take the parkway (15) to I-91 which will bring you right into Hartford.
If you take 684 to 84 the traffic in Danbury on 84 can be a nightmare at rush hour (from like 3pm to 6pm), it also adds some time onto the trip.
Avoid I-95 from New York to New Haven, Ct if you can. There is always traffic and sometimes it's quite a jam. Also There's lots of road construction from the NY line right into New Haven on I-95.
The parkway to 91 is your best bet.
Oh, and welcome to Connecticut! :hi:

[NewJeffCT]

17. what day of the week are you leaving on?

If it is a weekend, it is best to avoid the Garden State Pkwy in NJ in June - tons of beach traffic & Atlantic City traffic...

However, you also won't have nearly as much rush hour traffic around NYC, but will encounter beach traffic in June.

And, definitely avoid 95 in Connecticut if you're traveling there from 6:30am to 9:30am or 3:30pm to 6:30pm on a weekday. However, if there is an accident, the Merrit Parkway (Route 15) is even worse than 95.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

19. When you speak of the weekend do you mean

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, or just Saturday and Sunday? We haven't decided what day yet, but most likely some time in the first week of June.

[NewJeffCT]

20. Unless there is construction

If you go onto 95 in Connecticut it should not be too bad on a weekend unless there is some sort of construction going on...

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

18. Any recommendations for Baltimore?

Should I take 95 or 695? 695 loops around Baltimore. In the longest path (695 to the west) around the city there are no tolls according to my map. 95 seems to cut through the city more. 95 is the shortest path and there is a toll tunnel. 695 to the east has a big toll bridge. Anyone know which is a better route?

[Zuni]

21. Best way is to take

95 through the Ft. McHenry Tunnel, or to take 895 through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. It is much quicker than going around the beltway (695)
The Ft. Mchenry tunnel is your best bet, because you stay on 95 and cut right through the city.