Toronto to Florida Drive I75 or I95??

[LukesMum]

Hi, leaving for St.Pete's Aug. 6 and am just wondering...we've always driven I75 to Florida but have been told I95 is shorter...just wondering other than the shorter distance what about the scenery and places to stay and stop at? any info would be appreciated.Thanks

 

[dancin Disney style]

It depends where you are starting from as to which route is shorter. If you are in the GTA to Niagara area then yes the I-79/77/95 is shorter. If you are closer to London/Windsor then the I-75 is the best route.

As far as where to stay that really depends on how much driving per day that you do. Scenery....just not into it so I can't comment.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

My family and I always take Interstate 75 when driving down because we think it's the fastest route, so that's what I would recommend.

 

[hockey mom]

We take 75 down during winter months but 95 any other time. It is a far more beautiful drive.

I can't help with hotels because we always drive straight through.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

When it comes to places to stay at I would say no matter which route you take that you should try and stay at Hampton Inn's. Everyone I have stayed at has always been very clean and each of their locations offer a complimentary continental breakfast with hot and cold items.

 

[cslittle999]

We've found the I79/77 route to be about 3 hours quicker than I75 from the GTA. Some of it was the number of cities that you drive through on the I75 route. The speed limit goes up and down and there is a lot more traffic. How much the traffic impacts you depends on time of day.

If you want to leave late in the evening and drive through the night then I would take the I75 route because the exits are a lot more regular and there will be gas stations open.

Weather can be a deciding factor too. You really don't want to be in a winter storm in the mountains in West Virginia and Virginia. That said the stretch of 401 between London and Windsor can be nasty too.

The mountains on the I79/77 route only make up about four hours out of a total driving time of 21 hours (actually it less than that since the 21 hours includes all stops except for the overnight hotel stay).

 

[stefanospops]

According to Triptiks from the caa site leaving from near Toronto airport is about 150 kms shorter to go I79/77/95 versus I75.

 

[4boyz]

We always take the I-79/77 route and it can save 2-3hrs over I-75.
Depending on time of year the drive through the mountains and the tunnels can be really spectacular.

If you are planning to drive in the winter I-75 is the better route.

As others have said it all depends on how many hours a day you plan to drive and do you make this an enjoyable part of your trip or just want to get to Florida as fast as possible.

We make the drive part of the trip and start shopping in Grove City and Washington, PA because of no tax on clothes. We stay in Cranberry, PA night one and drive to Charlotte, NC for night two and hit Orlando day three.
By day three we have a good idea of what we want to buy and the best place to get it.

 

[Mortlives]

Another vote for the I-77 route. Driving through the mountains is stunning. We normally stop in Summersville/Beckley. Obey the speed limit and you won't have a problem.

 

[cslittle999]

Another vote for the I-77 route. Driving through the mountains is stunning. We normally stop in Summersville/Beckley. Obey the speed limit and you won't have a problem.

I refuse to spend any money in Summerville as a personal protest for their preying on non-locals with their speed traps.

 

[Frameboy]

We've done I-77 / I-79 about 8 or 9 times now and we prefer that route.

We did I-75 once, but we went through so many cities, and the traffic was NUTS, plus we waited HOURS at the Detroit border crossing.

I DID get a speeding ticket on State Hwy 19 once (Summerville)... $165 for 10 mph over, so beware that. Other than that, no problems.

We normally stop about an hour or so into North Carolina, so we can zip through Charlotte early in the morning.

Really the only cities you pass through are Charlotte and Jacksonville, which is GREAT!

I'm leaving tomorrow for Disney... and I'll be on I-77/79! Honk if you see me

 

[bdoyledimou]

We've done I-77 / I-79 about 8 or 9 times now and we prefer that route.

We did I-75 once, but we went through so many cities, and the traffic was NUTS, plus we waited HOURS at the Detroit border crossing.

I DID get a speeding ticket on State Hwy 19 once (Summerville)... $165 for 10 mph over, so beware that. Other than that, no problems.

We normally stop about an hour or so into North Carolina, so we can zip through Charlotte early in the morning.

Really the only cities you pass through are Charlotte and Jacksonville, which is GREAT!

I'm leaving tomorrow for Disney... and I'll be on I-77/79! Honk if you see me

We will also be doing i-79 route.. done it many times before, and prefer the country atmosphere.. we also have always departed Toronto at 5 PM, and ended up driving through the mountains at night every time (both directions!). This time, we are leaving at 9 am, so we will get to actually see the mountains this trip.. i hear they are beautiful!!

 

[Alderbrook]

When I was a kid we used to go down the 75 until they started doing triptiks from CAA, then we found out that the 77/79/95 was a shorter way from CAA & from then on we've always gone down 95. I love their triptiks at CAA & how they take you away from the cities & show you short cuts.

Just missing Atlanta is a huge timesaver because of traffic. My mom used to have a panic attack everytime we got near Atlanta. It's very rare to hit large amounts of traffic going down the 95 route & it is much more scenic. & we've never got lost going that way.

& do watch the speed limits near Beckley on that whole stretch of highway, there are speed traps & are they are undetectable at dark. I always do the speed limit & most of it is 70, but I have seen the police sitting waiting for people.

 

[bdoyledimou]

Question for those with smart phones..

has anyone used the Trapster app? it's a free navigation app that apparently alerts and warns about known speed traps in real time as you travel.

Just wondering if anyone uses it.

 

[slalanc01]

Another vote for the I-77 route. Driving through the mountains is stunning. We normally stop in Summersville/Beckley. Obey the speed limit and you won't have a problem.

Regarding speed limit I supposed we can 'cheat' a little bit in USA? (ex: if speed limit is 65Mph, driving until 70-72Mph should be ok)

 

[Mortlives]

Regarding speed limit I supposed we can 'cheat' a little bit in USA? (ex: if speed limit is 65Mph, driving until 70-72Mph should be ok)

For most of the US yes, but not in Summersville/Becksley. They advertise that the speed limit is strictly enforced and it is. If you're going 70 there, you can, and probably will, get a ticket.

 

[Frameboy]

Regarding speed limit I supposed we can 'cheat' a little bit in USA? (ex: if speed limit is 65Mph, driving until 70-72Mph should be ok)

Yea... I don't cheat on 19. They got me doing 75 in a 65 and it was $163. It's a flat rate ticket, and they don't even tell you how much on the spot.

"Call this number and they'll tell you the fine." When I called it, they didn't ask me for my ticket number, name or anything. She just grumbled "$163 on a postal money order" and hung up.

Of course... the only reason I paid it is because I drive through there just about every year.

It's only a couple of hours through 19, so I drive it at the posted limit the whole way... and you have to watch because it changes!


ALSO... watch out for the storms! We came home in May once, and it rained the WHOLE first day, HARD. They don't have good drainage on their highways so you can hydroplane if you are not careful. We once saw a tornado forming in the clouds near Charlotte.

 

[Tower]

I refuse to spend any money in Summerville as a personal protest for their preying on non-locals with their speed traps.

I agree 110%!

 

[NancyK]

Regarding speed limit I supposed we can 'cheat' a little bit in USA? (ex: if speed limit is 65Mph, driving until 70-72Mph should be ok)

Agree with everyone else. Okay in most areas. Don't speed on Highway 19.

 

[Thumper_ehhhhh]

If you leave 9am you will hit traffic at the border buffalo and pittsbourgh. We always leave 5am from oakville. Border by 630 am and you will clear bufalo before the morning rush, pittsbourgh just after 930 beckley by 1pm. Thats with one fuel stop just south of pitts and food. With the odd bathroom stop. We made it to orangeburg holiday inn express by 730 pm. Then a short 5 hrs to daytona. Oh and i agree do not speed on us-19 they pray on out of state plates and love canadian plates big time. We had one guy from ontario follow us until about 10 miles from the end and decided ot was safe to speed again. Well we passed him 5 miles down the road while he was getting a ticket.