Printable View
Toward the end of June, my husband and I are driving from southern Colorado to Tampa. We're taking time off work and driving down for a job interview. We're planning to drive straight through, taking turns napping in the back seat. What is the quickest, best route for driving straight through?
Thanks!
Welcome to the RTA forum!
What sort of experience do you have with Speed Runs? Depending upon where exactly in Southern Colorado you are starting from, you are going to be looking at close to 35 hours on the road. That's a real long time, even for professionals. A two person rotation is also far from ideal, because it doesn't give the driver a navigator or someone to talk to.
You've got a few options for routes, but basically, you'll want to work your way down to I-40, then cut down to I-10 via Dallas and Shreveport, before taking I-75 to Tampa.
Be sure to follow these Speed Run Tips, make sure the "napping person" is actually sleeping during their "off time" and please, if you do get tired, pull over and stop driving.
According to my mapping software, this trip is at least 1700 miles each direction. That means it will take you over 30 hours (probably more). If it's very important to get there quickly, why not divide this trip into two days? It will still be two marathon days of driving (15 or 16 hours each day). There are plenty of inexpensive lodging options in East Texas and Louisiana, about halfway through your route.
Besides, if you're going to attend a job interview, it's probably important to be well-rested, able to perform at 100%. The 8 or 9 hours of rest could very well keep from making you both miserable from such a long nonstop drive.