Best route from Albany NY to Tampa Fl

[bsgarner]

We are traveling from Plattsburgh NY to Seffner Fl and would like to avoid NYC area . Has anyone tried I-87 to I-84

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

For avoiding NYC and the rest of the I-95 mess, you've picked one of two decent options. The other would be to take I-88 to Binghamton and pick up I-81 there.

In either case, I'd continue down I-81 all the way to I-77 and take that south through the Carolinas. That adds about 100 miles vs going through NYC, Philly, Baltimore, DC but should be much stressful. In any case, you're looking at a 1500 mile drive that's you should plan for 2 overnight stops.

[glc]

I-87 to I-84 to I-81 is about 20 miles shorter than I-88 to I-81, but it involves more tolls. Either way, I'm showing more like 1550 miles which should definitely be planned for 3 days.