Charlotte to Jersey City

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We live just outside of Charlotte and will be driving to Jersey City.  We are thinking about driving half way or so the first night so we will have plenty of time in NY/NJ the day before our cruise.  Also, just because it's a 9+ hour drive.  It looks like I95 is the fastest route, but some say 81-77 is a better way to go.  We've never drove that way before.  Anyway, can someone recommend a Marriott property along I95 somewhere around halfway?  I was looking at perhaps Stafford, Ashland, or Fredricksburg.  Do they have Marriott properties along the highway?  

[waterbug123]

15 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We live just outside of Charlotte and will be driving to Jersey City.  We are thinking about driving half way or so the first night so we will have plenty of time in NY/NJ the day before our cruise.  Also, just because it's a 9+ hour drive.  It looks like I95 is the fastest route, but some say 81-77 is a better way to go.  We've never drove that way before.  Anyway, can someone recommend a Marriott property along I95 somewhere around halfway?  I was looking at perhaps Stafford, Ashland, or Fredricksburg.  Do they have Marriott properties along the highway?  

 

I'd go 77 to 81 instead of 95.  If you take 95 you have to content with Richmond, DC and Baltimore traffic.  Once through Charlotte, the 77/81 route doesn't go through any cities nearly the size of those, and depending on where outside Charlotte you live, you may or may not have to contend with much Charlotte traffic.  Plus my map app says the 77/81/78 route takes around an hour less than the 95 route.  A quick search shows a Fairfield Inn (Marriott property) near the interstate in Winchester VA.  I'm sure there are others along your route as well.

[navybankerteacher]

Having driven a number of times from CT to Fl, I recommend the 77-81-78 route.  It was about 100 miles longer than the apparently shorter 95, but avoiding the heavy traffic around Richmond, Washington and Baltimore, and the Hell on Earth of the Jersey Turnpike would save over an hour from Charlotte. A side benefit is the beautiful run up the Shenandoah Valley and across central Pennsylvania. 

 

There are are a number of motels along the way -you would want to get at least as far as Harrisburg, PA - but for a cruise, I would want to be as close as possible to the port.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, waterbug123 said:

 

depending on where outside Charlotte you live, you may or may not have to contend with much Charlotte traffic.  Plus my map app says the 77/81/78 route takes around an hour less than the 95 route.  

We live just North or Charlotte. We will certainly get in Charlotte traffic leaving after work Friday night, but we’re used to it.  Google maps says it’s apx 25 minutes longer this way, but that depends on current traffic conditions. 

 

I told dh it was recommended to take the 77-81 route instead so he pulled it up on our tv. He agreed, so if we drive we are taking that route. Our cruise is Sunday to Sunday. We already have reservations in Jersey City Saturday night. We were talking about breaking the drive up over two days so we could enjoy the area on Saturday, besides it’s a long drive to do in one day. Thank you both!

[CarolRoy]

4 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I told dh it was recommended to take the 77-81 route instead so he pulled it up on our tv. He agreed, so if we drive we are taking that route. Our cruise is Sunday to Sunday. We already have reservations in Jersey City Saturday night. We were talking about breaking the drive up over two days so we could enjoy the area on Saturday, besides it’s a long drive to do in one day. Thank you both!

Tami:  Route 78 to Cape Liberty has a lot of hotels you can stay at the night before the cruise.  You can stay in Clinton, NJ which would be about one hour to the port.  Also there are quite a few hotels at Newark airport you can stay at the night before.  You would be less that 1/2 hr. from the port.  See you on-board.  Carol

[NCteacherlovescruising]

4 minutes ago, CarolRoy said:

Tami:  Route 78 to Cape Liberty has a lot of hotels you can stay at the night before the cruise.  You can stay in Clinton, NJ which would be about one hour to the port.  Also there are quite a few hotels at Newark airport you can stay at the night before.  You would be less that 1/2 hr. from the port.  See you on-board.  Carol

 

Hi Carol! I replied on our roll call. See you soon!

[markeb]

As a resident along the southern end of the Eastern Seaboard Parking Lot otherwise known as I-95, I'll agree on the I-81 idea. Winchester and Front Royal Virginia both have Marriott properties, and if memory serves both are along I-81. That's close to your halfway point (as previously mentioned). Actually, the Front Royal property appears to be new and I definitely don't remember it being there the last time we were in that area. 

 

A quick look tells me there's a fair amount of construction on I-81 in Virginia, but it would have to work really bad to be worse than DC/Baltimore/Philly and the NJ Turnpike for your route. And a lot of that in Virginia is along the Blue Ridge, and is a very nice drive (in the daytime).

 

I'm assuming you have an EZPass for the toll roads?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

46 minutes ago, markeb said:

As a resident along the southern end of the Eastern Seaboard Parking Lot otherwise known as I-95, I'll agree on the I-81 idea. Winchester and Front Royal Virginia both have Marriott properties, and if memory serves both are along I-81. That's close to your halfway point (as previously mentioned). Actually, the Front Royal property appears to be new and I definitely don't remember it being there the last time we were in that area. 

 

A quick look tells me there's a fair amount of construction on I-81 in Virginia, but it would have to work really bad to be worse than DC/Baltimore/Philly and the NJ Turnpike for your route. And a lot of that in Virginia is along the Blue Ridge, and is a very nice drive (in the daytime).

 

I'm assuming you have an EZPass for the toll roads?

No passes. Why?  We will be on toll roads?  

[markeb]

24 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

No passes. Why?  We will be on toll roads?  

 

I'm showing I-78 as having tolls in New Jersey. If you take I-95, there are toll tunnels in Maryland, and tolls in Maryland, Delaware, and of course, the New Jersey Turnpike. Depending on how you go, there can be tolls in Hampton Roads/Newport News area of Virginia.

[138east]

8 hours ago, markeb said:

 

I'm showing I-78 as having tolls in New Jersey. If you take I-95, there are toll tunnels in Maryland, and tolls in Maryland, Delaware, and of course, the New Jersey Turnpike. Depending on how you go, there can be tolls in Hampton Roads/Newport News area of Virginia.

I78 in NJ has tolls between I95(NJ Turnpike) and the Holland Tunnel.  It looks like the OP is going to the Residence Inn at Grove St in Jersey City,  Tolls would be $2.15 or $2.45 depending on whether they are routed to get off at exit 14B or exit 14C.  Cash is accepted on the NJ Turnpike and there should be no significant backup to pay them.  Google should route them to get off at Exit 14B, which is local streets and IMO much better than getting involved with the Holland Tunnel area at 14C.

[waterbug123]

10 hours ago, markeb said:

 

Depending on how you go, there can be tolls in Hampton Roads/Newport News area of Virginia.

 

The OP is going from Charlotte to Jersey City, via 77/81/78 (likely) or 95 (unlikely.)  There would be no reason to be all the way over in Hampton Roads/Newport News.

[markeb]

8 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

 

The OP is going from Charlotte to Jersey City, via 77/81/78 (likely) or 95 (unlikely.)  There would be no reason to be all the way over in Hampton Roads/Newport News.

 

Duh!  Late night brain cramp. Absolutely true!

[NCteacherlovescruising]

5 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Duh!  Late night brain cramp. Absolutely true!

 

I get those myself occasionally!  Lol

[lab_love123]

It's more 2/3 of the way into your trip, but Frederick, MD is an easy detour off i-81 and the area has lots of Marriott and Hilton-branded hotels. I stayed in a Homewood Suites (Hilton) last time there, and it was a nice area. From Frederick, you'd have the option of hopping back to 81 or going over to 95 fairly easily. This would be beneficial because you would be able to change your route to NJ in case of any major accidents on 81/78.

 

If you take the i-95 route, Chester, VA is a good mid-way point. You'll be on i-85 out of Charlotte until it hits 95. Chester is about a half hour south of Richmond. I've stayed in a Residence Inn (Marriott) and a Homewood Suites (Hilton) there a few times and both were nice. I'm staying in a Fairfield Inn in Chester in a few weeks, so I can let you know how that is if you take that route. 

 

What month is your cruise? Leaving your mid-way hotel on a Saturday AM won't really result in an obscene amount of traffic on 95 through Richmond/DC/Baltimore. You won't travel through Philly because you'll go up through Delaware onto the NJ turnpike and bypass the city. When crossing from DE to NJ, you could also take 295 up through NJ if there's any kind of backup on the turnpike. If you're traveling in the summer, you'll hit shore traffic in Delaware. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Thank you so much for all your replies, but we decided to fly this time. I’m sorry I wasted your time!  I haven’t been on a plane for 14 years!  

[138east]

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Edited July 29, 2019 by 138east