Help on planning trip from western MA to Central FL

[Bose04]

We are planning our first long road trip from MA to Florida and would like advice on how many stops we should make on the trip down and tips on where to stay and route. I believe we will take the "longer" route down which avoids NYC and Washington DC

[dblr]

This is hard to answer as everybody is different, so to help how far a day do you want to travel and then deciding which way you want to go might depend on where to stop. I am sure you will get lots of advice here then just narrow down what fits you best, good luck and safe travels.

[Ortep]

As DBLR said, there are a lots of factors that would go into determining how far to drive per day. A good rule of thumb though is to drive 300 miles or 6 hours per day so that you can have a relaxing break before the sun sets. If you can drive longer go for it, especially if you are limited for time, but remember that it's easier to get into a campsite and setup camp during daylight hours than after dark. If you do adhere to the 6/300 rule you should be able to determine where you can start looking for CG's and try making reservations for those CGs before you leave home. We did a long trip last year to the Midwest and I had a few days where I drove for 10+ hours and it was hard to find our campsite then get setup in the dark. Just plan ahead and it should be an enjoyable trip.

[MrNiceGuy]

This link might help. I live in Upstate New York and have made a similar trip a number of times using this information to assist.
Locating the Best RV Routes - RV Campgrounds - Restaurants - Workmping for Snowbirds & other RVers

[Mike and Rose]

We did the trip from MA to Florida and took 84 through CT and cut over to upper NY state through northern NJ into PA to Harrisburg, then south through MD. Avoided all the cities. We had 4 d rivers so just drove straight through only stopping for, gas. Also left MA in the evening so missed all the rush hour traffic and made it passed them before dawn. MA to Daytona in 19 hours. Since you will be stopping, I would pick points of interest and stop over if time permits. West Point in Ny, Pocono Mountains and Gettysburg,PA, Cherry Hill Campground ,MD to visit D.C., are some of the stop overs we have done over the years depending on the route and our timeframe. Most of the Florida trips were in April and we never
Hand reservation problems. Just once we were in PA and had full. Hookups but no ware due to cold temps so just used our own tank of water.

[MainelyUS]

Mike and Rose
Our Rts last spring from western MA...I91, I84, I81 ( stayed at Flying J Carlisle, PA), back on I81(exit 300) to I66 to Rt 17(divided highway) to I95 at Fredericksburg, VA (We did a side trip to Colonial Williamsburg, VA), back on I95 (stayed at Lazy Acres Campground Fayetteville, NC), then I95 to FL. stayed with friends.
This route brought us away from the "major cities". It's not that much longer and I95 south of DC is a decent drive.
Do you use Good Sam Club-Road Trip Planner...it helps with routes and campgrounds and Flying J locations.
Hope this helps.
Happy Trails

[conceptumator]

Like others here, we try to limit our days to 300-350 miles. We've done a few 450-500 days before but they are really looooong days. Since I assume you're not planning on I-95 per your desire to miss some places, are you planning on going through Atlanta? If so, the I-85 bridge fire this week could impact you as Atlanta is a parking lot under normal conditions! There's a nice KOA at Forsyth, GA that's a day's drive on into Central Florida. If you go I-95, the Savannah KO?a is also nice and a day's drive on to .Central Florida.

[wicked1]

I won't push myself but we are doing NJ to Florida in December and I have a plan of running thru two full tanks of Diesel then we are pulling over for the night getting a good night sleep before we leave and when we stop over, seems to me between 700-800 miles is a sweet spot for me then I call it quits, never ever drive or push myself if I am tired not worth it. Florida for us is like 17-19 hours so we can make it in about 2 days but we pull over to refuel and take breaks from driving, important to get some time away for the Truck and 5th wheel when on the road