Is 6 days enough time...?

[rsluna]

Heading out from (south of) Boston and then doing a loop to D.C., through the Skyline Drive, on to the Williamsburg area for Busch Gardens and Virginia Beach and then up through the Delmarva Peninsula and finally back home.

This trip would be in early June, and we would be departing very early Sunday morning and returning Friday evening. Is this itinerary reasonable, or am I trying to cram in way too much here? Total driving time would be 22-24 hours.

Sunday:
*Amish Country (a quick stop, no more than 2 hours)
*Washington D.C.

Monday:
*D.C.

Tuesday:
*Luray Caverns
*Skyline Drive

Wednesday:
*Busch Gardens

Thursday:
*Virginia Beach
*Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

Friday:
*Head home.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. My boyfriend is having doubts about this schedule, so it would be great to have some outside opinions.

[Lifemagician]

Hi, and Welcome to the The Great American RoadTrip Forum.

Looks like a nice trip you have there, with some great points of interest. I don't think it is necessarily going to be too rushed, though some of the places, like DC and Williamsburg you might find you will want to spend more time than you have allocated. Your driving times are a bit optimistic, and look like they come straight of a computer program. Add at least 20% to these for real world conditions. Skyline drive is particularly slow, make sure you allow for that, and the frequency with which you will want to stop and admire all it has to offer. It is a great drive.

Your first and last day are particularly long, and take you through some very busy traffic areas. You might like to consider an alternative to I-95. On the other hand, leaving on a Sunday may make it a little less congested. Your last day is a long day. However, if you are running late, the latter part will probably be over familiar territory. I never mind running late when I am heading home. At least I am in familiar territory.

Have a great trip.

Lifey

[rsluna]

Thanks, Lifey!

I did realize after posting this that it would take a bit longer than I stated, more like 24 hours +. And trust me, I plan to steer clear of I-95. Even if it adds some mileage, it's better than sitting in traffic. I have us hopping on 84 to get through CT and then taking 287 to avoid the worst of NY metro.

I've been to Williamsburg before so I think I'm okay skipping a lot of it (my boyfriend doesn't care much for history anyway), but I was a little worried about rushing through D.C.. I fear I may have to cut a destination or two, but it's so hard!

For the drive home I was hoping to stop somewhere along the way. For example, driving Thursday evening in the direction of home for a couple hours and then spending the night somewhere to save a couple hours of driving on Friday. There wasn't much of interest in the New Jersey or Connecticut area for us on this particular trip, and we're saving NYC for another time, so I guess it wouldn't matter where.

Thanks again for your help!

[glc]

If you want to visit Amish country on your way to DC, to completely avoid the NYC area take I-84 all the way to Scranton and pick up I-81. Take PA-125/501 or PA-72 toward Lancaster. To get to DC from Lancaster, take US-30 to York, take I-83 to the Baltimore beltway and I-95 to DC.

A tip - the best way to avoid the Hartford mess is take I-84 to the Charter Oak Bridge (CT-15), then I-91 to I-691 back to I-84.

[rsluna]

Very useful information. Thanks so much!