quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:

This makes for an interesting trip, but will cost you some time. Rte. 27 goes through old, agricultural, and big sugar Florida. If I were doing this, I would take Rte. 60 off I-75 out of Brandon, pick up 27, and work my way down.

Rte. 70 just south of Bradenton is another way to do this.

I haven't done it from up there, but from Punta Gorda, it adds about 20 minutes to a 3 hour 15 minute trip. The traffic is incredibly light though and I tend to run a little faster than the speed limits except in town.

I like going that way. It really is less boring, and much more pleasant than riding the superhighways.

How do you cut over from Punta Gorda? Do you take 74 over, or go south to 80?

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:...from Orlando area (yeehaw junction) to Florida City/Homestead. ...

Dont confuse the poor guy, Yeehaw Junction is just west of Vero Beach. almost 2 hours south of Orlando. radinski, just disregard this. only reason to ever stop in Yeehaw Junction was to see the Desert Inn, and the stuffed Jackolope, but a semi just ran through the whole place so just keep driving. :-)

Presume you're running 65 south to 10 East to 75 south...

If you would like a little FL back country and to get off the interstates, take 19 off I-10 which connects to 19/27 south out of Tallahassee to Perry FL, then jump on 98 south to Chiefland, and then 27 Alt from there to I-75/Ocala,

This route drops you on 75 just a few miles north of the Turnpike exit at Wildwood.

The roads are good, 4 lane highway, light traffic, very few FL Highway Patrol, mostly local cops, you'll get to see some of old FL There are plenty of places for gas and food.

It will add about 20 minutes to your trip, or less depending on traffic and issues on 75 south. This is the route we take when taking the motorcycles up through eastern Alabama and Georgia to avoid the interstates.

Get a Sunpass online before you leave and take the turnpike, it's worth it. They advertise you can buy passes at rest stops, but I've never seen them actually available.

"Now, for the big warning, either way you will find yourself driving through South Miami/Kendall region of Florida, be prepared, it is a different world and it SUCKS. Picture the worst of USA drivers mixed with every third world Caribbean and South American driver, all seemingly following different rules. Try to avoid doing it during rush hour (morning or evening)."

As SouthFloridaLaw states beware of this area at rush hour. I had a doctors appointment a few weeks ago and to get approx 15miles northbound at 8am from the north Homestead area to Kendall drive it took 1hr 20min, for what would normally be about a 15min drive outside of rush hour. And you'll also note quite a bit of construction going on in that stretch. Has been for almost 7yrs now. And don't believe in my lifetime it will ever be completed.

So you'll be traveling southbound to get thru on this stretch of the Turnpike and also whenever you head back north. So this would be good advice to plan traveling thru outside of rush hours. Morning commuters 7am-10:30 at least, and afternoon commutes 3pm-5:30pm weekdays.

And yes, stay alert of many of the local commuter drivers, they're not a happy camper type driver!

I drive more than 80,000 miles in Florida per year and I would like to suggest I-75 straight to Exit 5 and connect with the Turnpike there. You will cross Alligator Alley and see some Everglades scenery.

A problem with the turnpike is that if there is a major accident, there is no way to get off.

We just flew to Key West and drove up to Ft. Lauderdale.
We didn’t have our EZ Pass and all the tolls were pay by mail and were something like $1.80 or so. The pass does offer a discount if I remember correctly.
The traffic flew ...80 mph was fairly normal. We just kept up with the traffic and didn’t have any issues.

quote:

Originally posted by Ironmike57:
I drive more than 80,000 miles in Florida per year and I would like to suggest I-75 straight to Exit 5 and connect with the Turnpike there. You will cross Alligator Alley and see some Everglades scenery.

A problem with the turnpike is that if there is a major accident, there is no way to get off.

I'll agree with the scenery but that adds about an extra 2 hours and almost 100 miles to his trip. Not to mention the joy of passing Tampa on I-75.

And you think its tough getting off the turnpike, good luck on the alley when it gets shut down. That run on 29 from the Alley to the Trail is fun!

I love SR 29. I am going to start fishing the canals between the Alley and the trail.

I am cheap and do not like to pay tolls. I always use SR 29 to avoid the plaza at mm 100.

Either way the op has a bunch of choices.

quote:

Originally posted by Southflorida-law:


And you think its tough getting off the turnpike, good luck on the alley when it gets shut down. That run on 29 from the Alley to the Trail is fun!

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by zipriderson:

Regardless of what route you take, know that FL drivers are the worst. Nobody stays right except to pass.

Most drivers here in Florida do not use turn signals. Those who do use them, leave them on permanently.

Having rode in the car with you, you are definitely the former.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
I like going that way. It really is less boring, and much more pleasant than riding the superhighways.

How do you cut over from Punta Gorda? Do you take 74 over, or go south to 80?

Neither. I take SR-17 to Bermont Rd. Bermont Rd is a straight, two lane black top with plenty of passing zones. There's little traffic and great visibility, so passing is easy. It goes past Cecil Webb and Babcock Ranch all the way to SR-29. Left on SR-29 and a half mile up, right on US-27 just south of Palmdale and north of Gatorama. I then stay on US-27 (a 4 lane divided highway) all the way to Krome Ave (4 lane divided highway until a bit north of Homestead) and Krome Ave to US-1 south of Homestead.

I've done I-75 to the Ronald Reagan Turnpike and I-75 to US-41 to the Ronald Reagan Turnpike. Both routes had a lot of traffic. I'll never drive towing my 5th wheel on the Ronald Reagan Turnpike again. It was a zoo both times.

I'll second HRK's suggested route. US-19 and US-98 are great. Little traffic and just a pleasure to drive.

Trapper, thanks for this tip. I will give this route a try today. At least to South Bay. I am traveling from Ft. Myers to Delray Beach. SR 80 gets old.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by ArtieS:


Neither. I take SR-17 to Bermont Rd. Bermont Rd is a straight, two lane black top with plenty of passing zones. There's little traffic and great visibility, so passing is easy. It goes past Cecil Webb and Babcock Ranch all the way to SR-29. Left on SR-29 and a half mile up, right on US-27 just south of Palmdale and north of Gatorama. I then stay on US-27 (a 4 lane divided highway) all the way to Krome Ave (4 lane divided highway until a bit north of Homestead) and Krome Ave to US-1 south of Homestead.

I've done I-75 to the Ronald Reagan Turnpike and I-75 to US-41 to the Ronald Reagan Turnpike. Both routes had a lot of traffic. I'll never drive towing my 5th wheel on the Ronald Reagan Turnpike again. It was a zoo both times.

I'll second HRK's suggested route. US-19 and US-98 are great. Little traffic and just a pleasure to drive.

Publix supermarkets also have the Sunpass. The turnpike is the best way to go in my opinion, but the closer you get to Miami the crazier the traffic becomes. If FHP were not aggressive down there it would be a slaughterhouse.

We are headed down to visit friends in a couple of weeks. My brother has a current SunPass and loaded it up for me so we should be all set that way.

What I'd like to know is if a DeLorme road atlas would be a good purchase? I refuse to rely 100% on the SatNav in the car and like the big picture of where I am so I can have my navigatress find alternate routes if necessary.

quote:

Originally posted by Blackmore:
We are headed down to visit friends in a couple of weeks. My brother has a current SunPass and loaded it up for me so we should be all set that way.

What I'd like to know is if a DeLorme road atlas would be a good purchase? I refuse to rely 100% on the SatNav in the car and like the big picture of where I am so I can have my navigatress find alternate routes if necessary.

WAZE is your friend.

Thanks for all the feedback! Registered for my Sunpass account today.

Not all of us Florida drivers are bad drivers. It's the tourists and the snow birds that make it bad. Just be warned, if you take the turnpike to the Keys, most of it through southern Dade County has been under construction for the last 10 years or so with no end in sight.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:

The speed limit on the turnpike is 70 mph until you get to South Florida and they only write you if you're going over 80 mph, so how fast do you need to go? I set the cruise control at 79 mph and steer.

Yup. But just to clarify, the speed limit is 70 until you get the SFL at which point there is no longer a speed limit. I clock a lot of miles from Orlando to FLL/MIA and almost always take the Turnpike. I set my cruise control just under 80 and I've never had FHP fuck with me. The turnpike is set up very well with good rest stops (food, gas, clean bathrooms) about every 50 miles. I wouldn't even consider taking 95/75 versus the turnpike for this stretch.

Good call on Bermont Road. I tried this yesterday and it was a nice change of pace


Neither. I take SR-17 to Bermont Rd. Bermont Rd is a straight, two lane black top with plenty of passing zones. There's little traffic and great visibility, so passing is easy. It goes past Cecil Webb and Babcock Ranch all the way to SR-29. Left on SR-29 and a half mile up, right on US-27 just south of Palmdale and north of Gatorama.