Hypothetical:

Say family of 4 wants to take a cruise vacation sometime....

There are 3 Full G drivers and a G2 driver (maybe G when /if we go). Google maps says it wil take 19.5hrs of driving to travel 2088km to Orlando, FL.

What time would you depart? I'm thinking in the evening, say 9pm. If you get decent weather, you should be able to pull into a hotel in the Orlando area by 9pm the next day

What are your experiences 'driving straight thru'?

 

Hey Pete - I have personally only done it twice: once solo from Toronto to Panama City Beach and the other from West GTA to Siesta Key with 2 other drivers. Solo was in hindsight rather foolish but at the time I wasn't able to get time off work and had to be there for a specific day. I would personally be more concerned with other drivers on the road in the wee hours of the morning vs grabbing a quick hotel night and getting back on the road at 6:00am etc. I am very biased however as a friend of my wife's has their family wiped out doing the overnight southbound when another car hit them head on. We are contemplating doing the same trip in March to Dunedin with two adult drivers and a one night stop.

 

I did it once because my then GF pissed me off so much that I wanted to drop her home as quickly as possible and never see her again

Seriously uncomfortable driving or being a passenger for that long without proper rest. Would never do it at my age now for fear of clotting etc. My advice, do it over 2 or 3 days and pick nice stopping spots and enjoy the ride!

 

I would only go that far in one go in a very spacious and comfy car like a long wheelbase S class.

 

I do long distance all the time -did a round trip 8000km a month ago.

Depending on your route I would check when you are crossing the US border. I always aim for 4-5am. No delays. You can back up your departure time from that.

With bunch of drivers that os not a difficult trip- go straight through.

 

It's currently a 2015 q7 TDI with lots of leg room/headroom , and probably 900+km/tank.

 

I've done this a few times.

I did it in what I considered the "fastest" car I've ever owned, a 95 subaru Saturn wagon. What made it fast is that it would cruise at any speed you could contemplate, it sipped gas, and most importantly, fueling stops were very short.

It also wasn't so comfortable that it put you to sleep.

Today, I would buy a Prius if I had to do this often

 

Wouldn't a drop off at the first Dunkin Donuts south of the border been sufficient :-) 'I'll be right back - just heading across the street to fuel up'

 

Did it when I was younger and my dad insisted the boys drive down. My mom flew down and met us…. I see no point in doing it straight through. Even with multiple drivers. Weather along I95 is unpredictable. Would only do it over two days.

 

I've done many straight through and many with stops.

Both have pros and cons.

Pro of stops is you're refreshed the next day and don't need recovery time at the destination.

Journey is more enjoyable when you stop to smell the flowers

 

I did it 2 weeks ago from Oakville with the wifey. We both drive and drive straight through
I'm still in Orlando until no snow home. I've done it lots of times since 1984.
The most direct route for me is through Erie, Buffalo unless I'm stopping in Nashville for a show in which case I go through Windsor

If I'm planning on driving straight (no staying over in a hotel) my trip takes 18 to 19 hours
Two of the biggest delays are getting through Pittsburg (Pa) during the morning rush (7 - 9 a.m)
and Charleston (SC) in the afternoon 3-7 pm. You may want to use their HOV lanes through here.

So, to beat both I leave home at 1 - 2 a.m, to get by Pittsburg in 5 hours if no wait at the Border
and squeak through Charleston using the HOV lanes. The rest is a breeze except for accidents.

If you need any more help PM me.

 

Did it once and will never do it again unless I am taking my jolly Ole time... it took me 28 hrs and that's with a few pit stop.. body was messed up.. honestly jsut fly... it costs more but at 4 people..I still would fly.. if I was like a group of 6 or 8.... that's a huge savings lol

 

No issues going past Charlotte NC? In our trips south from Pittsburgh we’ve hit terrible traffic around Charlotte at various times of the day, both north and southbound, sometimes with no reason other than volume (no accident).

We’ve also experienced road closures on 95 in FL on three different trips, all due to accidents. Thank goodness for WAZE which allowed us to detour well before we were stuck waiting for the road to open.

 

I once towed a boat non stop from Sarasota to the GTA. Three drivers, We left around 9am and took I-75. We were in the GTA the following day around 3pm. I drove from 10 at night until sun up before crossing the border in Detroit. That was 14 years ago. Never again.
I just got back from Pompano Beach. We drove but stopped twice heading down. We left Guelph at 6 am and crossed the border around 8 am. We crossed at Buffalo and drove through the mountains. It was only foggy in Virginia for a bit. Heading home we only drove 3 hrs. to spend the night in Titusville so we could visit Kennedy Space Center the next day. We did see the Space-X rocket launch and see the booster rockets land. The sound was unreal.
I only drove 4 hours after leaving Kennedy. The next day I drove 12-13 hours and reached Pittsburgh. From Pittsburgh we did the final leg, picked up car parts in Lewiston then headed home.
The 12 hour drive was to much for me. I have a Tahoe and it's quite comfortable cruising at 70-80 unless the speed limit drops to 55

 

My Garmin has Live HD Traffic and lets me know if I need a detour.
Charlotte has 30 miles of HOV lanes approaching Charlotte (this is new 1 year now)
Use it and easy peasy