Driving from Toronto Canada to Orlando

[LuvSouth]

It's most likely I will check in a hotel/motel before the Jefferson National Forest, then wake up early to continue our trip to Orlando as I prefer not to drive in the forest at night, it's just not safe !

As mentioned earlier, I made my reservation while I was stopping at a tourist centre last Xmas. The tourist centre was so nice they even let me use their phone to make a reservation phone call.

 

[Moemg]

Haven't you read this thread? http://www.early-retirement.org/for...-airport-security-mesures-run-wild-53177.html

I have read that thread and in fact I will be experiencing it tomorrow . If my choice was driving twenty five hours in winter weather or have a pat down I would always pick a pat down but that is just me . I really do not enjoy long distance driving .

 

[LuvSouth]

I have read that thread and in fact I will be experiencing it tomorrow . If my choice was driving twenty five hours in winter weather or have a pat down I would always pick a pat down but that is just me . I really do not enjoy long distance driving .

According to Google Maps, my trip is about 22 hours. Other than that I will have to break it up into 3 sections (2 nights).

Ideally I prefer 8 or 9 hours per day. But I did a 16 hours drive last year (7am to 11pm with breaks in between), but that 16 hours was too much for me.

So on the way back to Canada, I broke it up to 2 nights, 9 hours each day, and it was comfortable for me.

This time, 12 hour is in between.

 

[MichaelB]

I have read that thread and in fact I will be experiencing it tomorrow . If my choice was driving twenty five hours in winter weather or have a pat down I would always pick a pat down but that is just me . I really do not enjoy long distance driving .

I'm with you on flying vs driving.

 

[e86s54]

Wow, I can't believe how much discussion this topic has stirred up. Being from Ontario, I dismissed it as being silly and I thought it made us Ontarians look like rednecks who have never been anywhere.

I've put less thought in renting a car/truck in a developing country and driving across it.

Travel is supposed to be part adventure. Just let go some and go with it. Oh and here's some good advice...pack a lot less that you plan.

 

[Meadbh]

We find AAA to be extremely useful in situations like these. If CAA is an affiliate with access to the same tools, it might be well worth a membership, especially if this will be a regular peiodic migration.

The most useful tool is the TripTik. Not only helps plan the route but has an excellent inventory of hotels along the route. Also advisories for construction and areas of increased police vigilance. In addition, the guide books give detailed info on hotels that you can take along in the car.

Agreed. See post #3.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

I think Robert Frost said it best:

Cowboy poet?

 

[braumeister]

If I were you, when I got almost as far as Beckley, I would make a phone call to try for a room in a beautiful lodge in a beautiful little state park.

Hawks Nest State Park

It's such a pleasant place that it will refresh your soul for the rest of the drive.

 

[LuvSouth]

I might be able to drive pass the Jefferson NF if I get there before 4pm. Then check in between Wytheville and Charlotte NC.

 

[theloneranger]

I did drive down to Florida last Xmas but using a different route (from Tennessee). I checked in the hotel before Nashville as it was dark and I didn't plan to climb the mountain from Chattanooga.

Woke up the next morning at 7am, the driving was smooth as it was a beautiful day. Climbing the mountain was OK with me, 60 km/hour speed.

This time, I am using the Buffalo route so it's brand new to me. I might stop before the Jefferson Forest if it's dark unless I get more info/experience from people who drive through the forest at night.

Climbinga the mountain from C'nooga?
are you referring to the uphill drive from downtown to get back onto I 75 South?

 

[Rich]

LuvSouth:

I've always found the travel info site "TripAdvisor" to be most useful. I tend to be anal in my trip planning and lay out routes in advance. As I know my night stopover destinations I can read the reviews of motels for each area. Very handy and I've found the reviews to be accurate.

Best of luck,

Rich

 

[LuvSouth]

Climbinga the mountain from C'nooga?
are you referring to the uphill drive from downtown to get back onto I 75 South?

Well, I remember I left Nashville TN, to Chattanooga (in a valley surround by mountain), then up the hill very slowly in about 60 km/hour, then down hill, then Atlanta GA, then Florida

 

[LuvSouth]

LuvSouth:

I've always found the travel info site "TripAdvisor" to be most useful. I tend to be anal in my trip planning and lay out routes in advance. As I know my night stopover destinations I can read the reviews of motels for each area. Very handy and I've found the reviews to be accurate.

Best of luck,

Rich

Thank you !

I did read the review from Google Maps. There are lots of hotels/motels after typing in "hotels/motels near Beckley" or other towns.

I haven't tried TripAdvisor for this route yet but did read some reviews for hotels/motels in Florida from TripAdvisor.

LS

 

[My Dream]

LuvSouth, I went from Brampton to Orlando earlier this year and went down the center, although it was a faster route I got lost and spend another 6 hrs getting my sense of direction. Keep in mind I took 20 minutes to plan my trip and left without packing anything including directions..........Long story but there's a thread on this forum somewhere.

Let me know how you make out on your return including hotel etc, since I won't be driving straight through next time. I can claim stupidity only once and I'm too old to be that spontaneous again

Good luck on your trip.
.

 

[LuvSouth]

LuvSouth, I went from Brampton to Orlando earlier this year and went down the center, although it was a faster route I got lost and spend another 6 hrs getting my sense of direction. Keep in mind I took 20 minutes to plan my trip and left without packing anything including directions..........Long story but there's a thread on this forum somewhere.

Let me know how you make out on your return including hotel etc, since I won't be driving straight through next time. I can claim stupidity only once and I'm too old to be that spontaneous again

Good luck on your trip.
.

Thank you !

This route (via Buffalo/Erie instead of Windsor/Detroit) is not "straight forward" as seen from Google Maps. Though I have a GPS with me, but I will spend time printing out the route, pay attention to areas where my route will change from Ixx to Iyy (not straight forward).

From my personal experience, I know that sometimes I will forget to look at road signs while driving, hence missing out exit ramps easily.

Even when I came back from Florida last year, I simply missed the ramp where people cross the bridge to Canada. BTW, that road sign was so close to the ramp that I wasn't the only person missing the ramp !

Road signs in the US are not as clearly marked as Canada's, plus some road signs are so close to the ramps in such if not pay attention, one can easily miss the exits.

 

[e86s54]

Thank you !

This route (via Buffalo/Erie instead of Windsor/Detroit) is not "straight forward" as seen from Google Maps. Though I have a GPS with me, but I will spend time printing out the route, pay attention to areas where my route will change from Ixx to Iyy (not straight forward).

From my personal experience, I know that sometimes I will forget to look at road signs while driving, hence missing out exit ramps easily.

Even when I came back from Florida last year, I simply missed the ramp where people cross the bridge to Canada. BTW, that road sign was so close to the ramp that I wasn't the only person missing the ramp !

Road signs in the US are not as clearly marked as Canada's, plus some road signs are so close to the ramps in such if not pay attention, one can easily miss the exits.

Yikes...finish planning every kilometer of your drive...there may be a syndrome associated with this!? You can't plan for everything...like what if a truck overturns and you need to take a sudden detour...would you pack it in, go back home and re-plan everything?

Don't want to miss and exit or on-ramp...simple, turn on the speaker for your GPS.

 

[My Dream]

Road signs in the US are not as clearly marked as Canada's, plus some road signs are so close to the ramps in such if not pay attention, one can easily miss the exits.

There ya go................that was the reason I got lost.... and all the time I thought it was just me.

 

[LuvSouth]

There ya go................that was the reason I got lost.... and all the time I thought it was just me.

Oh no ! You are not the only one.

Even after I came back from Florida Xmas 2009, people told me they also missed the ramp.

If you cross the border from Ontario, the signs are so clearly marked but not the other way around (the ramp near Detroit).

No offense but road/highway signs in Canada are definitely better marked than those in the US (sometimes the sign is immediately next to the ramp, I would miss it as I am not a local driver).

One thing to note is GPS is not 100% accurate, even when I used it in Toronto or southern Ontario.

 

[travelover]

..............If you cross the border from Ontario, the signs are so clearly marked but not the other way around (the ramp near Detroit)..................

Yea, but I can't believe how fast they let you drive in Canada - 100 posted speed on 401, for instance.

 

[LuvSouth]

No, it's 100 km/hour in Ontario Canada, not 100 miles/hour So it works out around 60 miles/hour in Ontario's highway.

If you drive 100 miles/hour in Ontario, you sure get your license suspended by our OPP (Ontario Provincial Police), and 6 demerit points.

Unless you meant 100 km/hour (60 miles/hour) in Canada's highways is fast ?

 

[travelover]

No, it's 100 km/hour in Ontario Canada, not 100 miles/hour So it works out around 60 miles/hour in Ontario's highway.

If you drive 100 miles/hour in Ontario, you sure get your license suspended by our OPP (Ontario Provincial Police), and 6 demerit points.

Unless you meant 100 km/hour (60 miles/hour) in Canada's highways is fast ?

Oh, this explains all the red lights in the rear view mirror.

 

[jIMOh]

I read one page of responses... curious why you would not take I-75 straight from Windsor to Florida? Is I-77 really that much shorter?

77 goes thru mostly rural areas- where as 75 takes you thru many big cities-Detroit, Toledo, Dayton, Cincinnati, Lexington, Atlanta. The 10 hour mark is somewhere between Lexington and Atlanta.

 

[LuvSouth]

I read one page of responses... curious why you would not take I-75 straight from Windsor to Florida? Is I-77 really that much shorter?

77 goes thru mostly rural areas- where as 75 takes you thru many big cities-Detroit, Toledo, Dayton, Cincinnati, Lexington, Atlanta. The 10 hour mark is somewhere between Lexington and Atlanta.

I did take I75 from Windsor to Florida Xmas 09, it was a longer drive according to Google Maps.

I agree I75 goes through many big cities, it's good for snowbirds who live in Windsor but I am from Toronto so this year I would like to try the Buffalo/Erie Ohio route which is shorter.

The problem I met coming back to Toronto from Windsor was it was blowing snow Jan 3/2010. I had to drastically reduce my speed to 40 km/hour with my hazardous lights on. There were a couple of cars simply ignored my warning, the drove passed me. Guess what ? 10 minutes later, I saw ambulance coming from the opposite direction and one minivan was in the median, upside down.

I asked those who live in the London Ontario area and they told me hwy 401 from Windor and well pass London Ontario is wide open field, hence susceptable to blowing snow. According to my experience Jan 2010, the driving condition was very risky !

Do you have any experience to share ?

 

[LuvSouth]

Oh, this explains all the red lights in the rear view mirror.

Hwy 401 is the busiest highway in North America, believe it or not !

The police will tolerate 15 clicks above the 100 clicks posted max. However, the speed you see (through traffic, no delay) is "normally" at 120 km/hour. The reality is if everyone is driving at 120 km/hour (20 km above the limit), it's very hard for the police to nail down anyone.

So they (the police) don't take any action, especially the section in the Toronto area (from Oshawa, Ajax, Pickering, Toronto, Mississauga, probably to Milton) because it's too busy and the police can't afford to slow down the traffic.

Having said that, but if you do 160 clicks then of course you will be nailed.

The redlights you see from the rear view mirror is not because cars going 100 km/hour (60 mile/hour). It's mostly because of volume and accidents, and cars slowing down to see the accidents in the opposite direction.

 

[jIMOh]

I did take I75 from Windsor to Florida Xmas 09, it was a longer drive according to Google Maps.

I agree I75 goes through many big cities, it's good for snowbirds who live in Windsor but I am from Toronto so this year I would like to try the Buffalo/Erie Ohio route which is shorter.

The problem I met coming back to Toronto from Windsor was it was blowing snow Jan 3/2010. I had to drastically reduce my speed to 40 km/hour with my hazardous lights on. There were a couple of cars simply ignored my warning, the drove passed me. Guess what ? 10 minutes later, I saw ambulance coming from the opposite direction and one minivan was in the median, upside down.

I asked those who live in the London Ontario area and they told me hwy 401 from Windor and well pass London Ontario is wide open field, hence susceptable to blowing snow. According to my experience Jan 2010, the driving condition was very risky !

Do you have any experience to share ?

I believe I-75 is the longest US interstate, and I believe it is also the most used (or in top 3) of all US interstates. It is more populated than I-77, so easier to find stops.

I went to college in Flint, MI, grew up in Buffalo NY and now live in Cincinnati. I know the routes well north of the Ohio River. My college commute was I90 to the 403-401-402-I69. I have done the I75-I90 commute a few times too.

Weather is hit or miss. I have driven I-90 to I-71 and take I75 from Detroit to Cincinnati. When next to the lake (Erie) it was snow, the moment I got south of the lake it was clear (as in dry roads). I90 is rough. There is a portion by Dunkirk/Fredonia where we have seen the thruway closed (I90) and we had to take side roads into Buffalo. I have seen the drive clear all thru NY, then hit Erie and it be a white out for 30 miles. I have seen it be whiteout in Cleveland and clear once south of the great lakes.

My advice is travel where you have 2 routes- one west of the lake, one east of the lake, then those routes merge and take I77 down (I77 hits I90/I71 outside of Cleveland). I75 will have less snow being further west. The wind patterns and snow belts differ- Buffalo-Erie-Cleveland all have different weather patterns, even though all are east of the lake. The pattern on the 401 west of the lake will also be different. My experience was Canada takes better care of the roads with snow removal than does Pennsylvania. NY does EXCELLENT on I90 and Ohio does OK on I90.