To Greenville, SC from Florida in May....alternate route?

[carreramia]

I'm here for any tips regarding this wedding trip we'll be on in about 6 weeks, leaving Port Charlotte in Florida to Greenville, SC. Google Maps has me on 75, around Atlanta, then NE to Greenville. I'll be driving north on a Friday and that route has me in the Atlanta area in the afternoon. To avoid Atlanta does anyone know if taking a route through Athens would be preferable? Although the estimated driving times on Google Maps are about the same, 9.5 hr staying on 75 and going around Atlanta, or diverting off 75 and taking 129 through Athens, the devil is in the details, meaning expert opinion may suggest one of those alternatives (or something else for that matter) as assuredly better than the other. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Your instinct that avoiding Atlanta on a Friday afternoon are solid. Going through Athens looks like a reasonable alternative, although I think an easier option would be to actually head over to Jacksonville, via US-301, then up I-95 into South Carolina, and onto to Greenville via I-26 and I-385. The distance is similar to going through Atlanta, but you should be much less likely to run into traffic.

One warning, however, is that travel time estimates provided by online mapping programs are a complete and total fantasy. This trip is nearly 700 miles. That's actually more than we generally recommend for a single day on the road, although as a 1 day trip you'll probably be ok. The biggest thing you need to keep in mind is that you'll almost certainly be on the road for at least 12-13 hours.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

There's actually another more basic concern I would have if I were planning this trip for myself. The simple fact is that driving time estimates from Google or any computer-based mapping program are notoriously 'optimistic'. All they do is calculate the number of miles and divide by the speed limit. They make no allowances for traffic, construction, lights, stop signs, anything. They include no time for sight-seeing or stopping for gas, meals or even bathroom breaks. You need to look at the miles, 650-690 in this case depending on which way you go. That's significantly more than the 550 we usually recommend as a good day's drive. It's even greater than the roughly 600 miles professional long-haul drivers are permitted by law for safety reasons. You might be able to make it to Greenville in a day if everything goes right, but even then you'd be exhausted and would still be feeling the effects the next day.

If I were going to make this journey I'd do two things. First I'd plan on taking I-75 north only as far as Macon GA, using US-129 north from there to Athens and then US-29/GA-106/I-85 to Greenville. Second, I'd plan to spend the night somewhere around Madison GA and finish up the drive to Greenville the next morning. Alternatively, if I had to be in Greenville early in the morning, I'd leave Port Charlotte one evening earlier, and get two to three hours in before spending the night near Wildwood FL.

AZBuck

[glc]

The best way to get to I-95 would be I-75 to just north of Ocala, then FL-326 to US-301 to Callahan, then FL-200 to I-95. This keeps you out of Jacksonville traffic.

[carreramia]

thanks to all that provided suggestions and the overnight in Wildwood is a great idea...we can't get started out of PtC until about 8pm on Thursday due to work obligations but Wildwood is about 3 hr away...I'll drive north as far as I can, maybe Gainesville, then get an early start on Friday to Macon, then off 75 thru Athens to Greenville.

[glc]

It's about 3.5 hours from PtC to Gainesville with minimal stops. Ocala is an option if you can't get quite as far as Gainesville.

Coming out of Athens, if you want a bigger road than Buck's suggestion, you can take US-441 to I-85.