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Hello!
I'm about to relocate to Atlanta from Toronto end of the month and drive south on the I-75. Planning to leave July 29th and try to arrive by July 31st (3 days total). I have 2 kids, aged 5 & 9 and it will be their first road trip!
Would like some recommendations on:
1) where to stop each night (hotel/motel recommendations would be welcome!)
2) where to stop along the way for short breaks for the kids
3) anything else I should be aware of
Thanks in advance!
Welcome to RTA!
At about 1600 miles from Toronto to Atlanta, and three days, you will need to drive about 525-550 miles each day to break this up evenly. Another regular on here has software to do that for you, so perhaps he will chime in and give you those markers. With kids, we always chose places with a pool, or even a playground nearby, and it helped them a lot.
Stopping along the way for short breaks is easy. One of our moderators has put together a marvelous list, of places to stop along all of the major interstates. Plus, every small town seems to have a park with a playground for kids to blow off some steam. Carry a Frisbee or a ball in the car to toss when you find a rest area with a good play area, or have them run relay races across the grass (as long as it's not too crowded at the rest area).
If you are traveling through a city and plan to stay overnight there, stay on the "far side" of it so that you don't have to contend with rush hour the next morning. Also, you can take advantage of most hotel breakfasts. These may range from sweet rolls-cereal-milk-coffee to something more substantial like scrambled eggs-bacon-toast-biscuits-gravy-sweet-rolls-etc.
Donna
I don't know what you are using, Donna, but my software shows it's only 950 miles from Toronto to Atlanta via the fastest and most direct route which is via Detroit. Perhaps you were looking at kilometers? This could be done in 2 days with an overnight around Cincinnati.
If you want to stretch it out some, you could take 2.5 days. Get a mid morning start the first day and drive to Toledo, make the 2nd night around Knoxville. This will give you plenty of time to break the trip up with a lot of rest and activity stops.
Toledo and Knoxville both have plenty of hotel options in all budget ranges (as does Cincy). I'd stay just off the Interstates on the outskirts, not downtown - and as Donna recommended, on the "far side" of town.
I make it a 'mere' 950 miles or so from Toronto to Atlanta rather than the 1600 miles Donna quoted, so you have quite a bit more time than you need. That in turn means that you can do more than the minimal roadside stops. With that 'extra' time in mind, you might want to look at a slightly more scenic and 'interesting' route than over to Detroit and then down I-75 (admittedly the shortest route). Let me suggest, as one possible alternative, that you cross into the US at Niagara Falls, then take I-90 along the southern shore of Lake Erie to Erie PA, then head south from there using I-79/I-64/I-77/I-85 through the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
If you'd like suggestions for some major attractions worth stopping at for a few hours, let us know which route you finally decide on and what your interests (and those of the kids) are.
AZBuck
Wow thanks for the tips Donna, glc and AZBuck!
My first instinct was to take the I-75 since it's the fastest route. But Google maps seem to suggest that the I-90 takes about the same time with only a 30-40 min difference.
AZBuck, where would you make the over night stays if I am to take your route?
I think the kids are easy, a pool and playground will b be sufficient. The scenery along the way would be to keep me entertained. Haha.
If you were going to try to make this one-way drive in just two days, then I'd second the recommendation that you go by way of Detroit and I-75. But with three days, you've got a fair bit of time to take it easy and explore a bit. As a general strategy, I would try to do less on days one an three and do a bit more driving on day two. That gives you a little more time to get organized and packed on the day you leave as well as some time for the border crossing, and a little extra time to either navigate Atlanta at, or try to beat, its rush hour. 300/400/300 miles made good on the three day would be a good balance I think. That would make your overnights roughly around Pittsburgh and Statesville NC. The great advantage of figuring out beforehand where you'll be stopping is that you can 'shop' for your accommodations from the comfort of your home and find motels with pools and family-friendly pricing.
One 'shortcut' you should also consider if your going via the I-79/I-77 routing is to use US-19 between Exit 57 on I-79 in West Virginia (south of the town of Sutton) and I-77 at Beckley WV. That will save you about 45 miles of driving and, more importantly, a good bit of the (toll) West Virginia Turnpike.
And don't underestimate how much more pleasant your driving will be if you let the kids out of the car three or four times a day to just blow off steam in a state or local park.
AZBuck
I asked my software to give me mileage, and it gave me kilometers. My apologies. Pththth on software, it might have been more correct to just figure it out myself.
Donna