Car Travel Tips: New York to Florida

The trek from New York to Central Florida is approximately 1,100 miles, most of it on Interstate 95. If you prefer a road trip to flying, the journey from New York to Florida can easily be accomplished in two days. Here are some car travel tips for a road trip from New York to Florida.

With brief stops for fast food and gas, car travel from New York to Central Florida consists of approximately seventeen to eighteen hours of driving. These hours are best split up over a period of two days.

Day One: Once you leave the New York metropolitan area, you will travel through southern New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. The first leg of the journey is the toughest, as you could hit traffic in Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, near the nation’s capital. Driving through Virginia, however, is a breeze. Plan on spending approximately nine hours in the car on Day One.

You will want to make reservations at a hotel for the conclusion of Day One. The halfway point between New York and Central Florida is Dunn, North Carolina, and believe it or not, many of the hotels in Dunn are completely booked weeks in advance. As a result, I had to stay in Fayetteville, North Carolina at the conclusion of Day One. And I don’t recommend you follow suit. So, book early.

Day Two: Once you leave Dunn, North Carolina, you will travel through South Carolina, Georgia, and Northern Florida. Day Two is a much easier drive. The southern states have less traffic (I hit absolutely none), and the places you visit are friendlier. Plan on spending approximately eight and a half hours on the road on Day Two.

During my trek from New York to Florida, I filled my Jeep Wrangler approximately six times, and my total gas expenses were $240. I put approximately eleven hundred miles on my vehicle. I drove a total of seventeen and a half hours. Lodging costs were just over $50 for a horrible stay at the Fayetteville Ramada. I stopped for food four times, for an approximate cost of $60. All together, the journey from New York to Central Florida cost me approximately $350.

I recommend traveling on weekdays. Begin travel as early in the day as possible. Avoid the Washington D.C. area during rush hours. Keep your drinking to a minimum to avoid the necessity for frequent bathroom breaks. Avoid speeding. Much of the journey on Interstate 95 is smooth sailing, with posted speed limits of 70 mph, which is an optimum traveling speed on 95. There are plenty of state troopers in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, and a speeding ticket or two can quickly add hundreds of dollars to your budget.

Be safe. And enjoy the ride.