I will be helping my daughter drive to New Hampshire for her summer internship. Plan is to stop in Virginia to see her friend and have supper there.

Any advice regarding driving up through the Northeast would be appreciated. We will not have firearms with us as she will return to Wisconsin after internship and traveling through Canada. I know...I know. She figured she won't probably drive through there again anytime soon. Wants to check out some of the national parks there. I will be flying back to Georgia after.

Looking for anything advice such as tollway(I still have my IPASS and that is suppose to work), driving through New York, or Boston, etc. What's the best time to drive through some of those areas? What area to stay the heck away from.

We will probably stop here and there on the trip. We have done DC and Philly so we probably won't stop there. She would like to stop and visit a few things in NYC but I am concern with parking in Long Island. Any great stop off Interstate 85 or 95 would be fine.

My only advice would be to avoid I95 at all costs and take 81 up to 88 or 90 and then over.

How long of a stop in NYC/what does she want to see there? Depending on where you intend to go in NYC, you might be best served to park in Hoboken, NJ and take the ferry over to Manhattan. If you choose to park in NYC, I prefer to park at 34th St and 9th Ave. You can walk or Taxi around once there. Again, it all depends on what she wants to see in NYC. Regardless, you won't need to go anywhere near Long Island, especially for parking.

Traveling from the NY/NJ Metro area, I prefer to take the Merritt Parkway in CT (avoiding I95), to I91 N, to I84 E at Hartford, and then I90 E/Mass Pike. Traffic going north out of NYC sucks anytime after 3:00/3:30 PM until 6:30 PM, so plan accordingly. There is also rush hour around Hartford, CT to consider, as well as around Worcester, MA, and everywhere east of there in MA as well.

Where in NH roughly are you headed as this can determine how best to travel through MA into NH. Your IPASS will work in MA and NH, and I assume anywhere around NYC as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
My only advice would be to avoid I95 at all costs and take 81 up to 88 or 90 and then over.

100% do not go through Philly and NY on I-95 unless you relish crazy drivers and misery.

EZPass will get you through MA and NH, and it looks like IPass is compatible with it so you should be good in that regard. To avoid most traffic you'd want to go through MA/NH in the middle of the day. Between 10am and 2pm to avoid the majority of the rush hour. Otherwise early/late evening is fine too.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
My only advice would be to avoid I95 at all costs and take 81 up to 88 or 90 and then over.

100% do not go through Philly and NY on I-95 unless you relish crazy drivers and misery.

Not that the OP asked about this scenario but I was just curious.

I driving through Philly and NY on 95 better overnight?

^^^Driving at night is THE Best Option trafficwise...Unless there's construction!

I'd take the long way up and avoid going up or even near the I-95 corridor here in the Northeast.

Come up through PA through the Delaware Water Gap and into NY state via Port Jervis then head north from there, it's a longer but more scenic and less crazy/stressful drive.

Your IPASS appears to be compatible with E-ZPass here in PA BTW

If possible, hit the Washington DC area at about 11 p.m. after dinner, then roll up I-95 in the early morning hours. You'll get through NYC somewhere between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. I would think. I guess it really depends on the construction. Once through NYC, jump up to the Merrit and Wilbur Cross Parkways to I-91 and into Hartford, then up.

I've done the above, and it works.

You can also head north on I-83 out of Baltimore, up to I-76 East around York through Reading on 222 and up to Allentown and through there up to the Newburg, NY area and take I-84 to the Mass Pike (through Hartford). Less stress that way.

You didn't specify where in Georgia you'd be leaving or where in New Hampshire you'd be going. Or where in Wisconsin she'd be going later. I have used Streets & Trips to plot a route from Atlanta, GA to Manchester, NH and then on to Madison, WI going through Canada. Since you didn't indicate an interest in seeing the eastern coast (DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NYC) I deliberately plotted a route farther in from the coast.

I included Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario as major cities on the route through Canada (because I've enjoyed visiting those places) and something called the African Lion Safari near Hamilton, Ontario--a place I happened across on my trip across there in 2011, and quite interesting. I also avoided the need to go tyhrough Chicago, Illinois on the way to Wisconsin by routing through Michigan (the bridge at Sarnia, ON-Port Huron, MI is quite a sight) and then across Lake Michigan on one of the ferries (I chose the one between Ludington, MI and Manitowoc, WI, SS Badger, but there is another one farther south. I've ridden the Badger twice and it's a lovely ride.

This is what the route looks like:
GA to NH to WI by David Casteel, on Flickr

It takes I-85 to Charlotte, NC; I-77 north to I-81; I-81 to I-88 (at Johnson City, NY); I-88 to I-90 southwest of Schenectady, NY; I-90 to I-87; north on I-87 to NY-7; NY-7/VT-279 to Vt-67A to VT-9 t Bennington, VT (interesting town); VT-9 to northbound I-91 at Brattleboro, VT; a few miles to NH-9; NH-9/31/US-202 to I-89; I-89 easto to I-93; I-93 north to Concord, NH.

The trip from Concord, NH backtracks to I-89 and follows it northwest all the way into Quebec, Canada. I won't detail the route from that point here.

I'll be happy to modify it for you if you give me some ideas.

flashguy

As nhracecraft said, take the Merritt Parkway (CT15). The little bit you go through in Hartford is still way better than going 95. It also skirts around Boston.

If you want to visit NYC, find an ICON Parking garage and prepay through the website. It's almost valet, you pull in, and they take over. They have numerous locations, find one convenient to the location you want to visit. I use them any time I visit the city (few time a year).

I95 should be banned!

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
My only advice would be to avoid I95 at all costs and take 81 up to 88 or 90 and then over.

Where in New Hampshire?
You want to avoid all the congestion around DC, Baltimore, New Jersey and especially the George Washington bridge.
Rt77 to 81 bypasses all of the Baltimore/New Jersey/NYC traffic.
Cross at Tappen Zee continue east to Hutchison parkway which becomes the Merrit parkway. Need end destination in New Hampshire to determine either 91 North or 84 East.
I have directions from Myrtle Beach area including rest stops/gas stations if you want them.

NYC and Long Island are 2 separate areas of New York State.
Georgia to NY is about 13+ hours. Are you planning on doing an overnite?

Canadian crossing will need passport or enhanced driver’s license.

Merrimack, NH is where her internship is. We are leaving from south of Atlanta.

Thanks for the feedbacks. Keep them coming. I will have to plan a few alternative routes.

Anyone know what is legal in Canada? Pepper sprays? Or knives…folding pocket knife?

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
My only advice would be to avoid I95 at all costs and take 81 up to 88 or 90 and then over.

Exactly what Gustofer says, or try to be in Richmond at 2am and head north on I-95, that corridor is the worst in the states, LA is gold compared to it.

quote:

Originally posted by Beanhead:
Merrimack, NH is where her internship is. We are leaving from south of Atlanta.

Thanks for the feedbacks. Keep them coming. I will have to plan a few alternative routes.

Anyone know what is legal in Canada? Pepper sprays? Or knives…folding pocket knife?

Merrimack County, or Merrimack in Hillsborough County?

flashguy

Best Route from NY/NJ Metro area to Merrimack, NH:

• Hutchinson River Pkwy/Merritt Parkway N (Same road, in NY vs CT)
• I-91 N
• I-84 E @ Hartford, CT
• I-90 E
• I-290 E @ Worcester/Auburn, MA
• I-495 E
• US-3 N @ Lowell, MA and then North towards NH

- If you're headed out of NYC you should take take the West Side Highway N (NY-9A)/Henry Hudson Pkwy N, then continue North onto the Saw Mill Pkwy, to Exit 4 - Cross County Parkway to the Hutch. Depart NYC well before 3:00 PM (2:00 is Better!)...Traffic!
- If you bypass NYC/thru NJ take I-287 to the Tappan Zee Bridge (It's the Mario Cuomo Bridge now, but I'm NOT calling it that!), and continue on to the Hutch. Be on the Hutch before 3:30 PM (3:00 is Better!)...Traffic!

I presume her internship is at Fidelity in Merrimack, NH. I live in Merrimack County, just 15 minutes due north of Merrimack, NH...If she ever needs anything, runs into difficulty, car trouble, just let me know.

I've made this trip over 300 times (down and back for business/visiting family) since I moved from NJ to NH in '97. It is THE Best Way to go...Shortest distance and least amount of traffic. Email in Profile if you want to reach out

quote:

Originally posted by fischtown7:

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
My only advice would be to avoid I95 at all costs and take 81 up to 88 or 90 and then over.

Exactly what Gustofer says, or try to be in Richmond at 2am and head north on I-95, that corridor is the worst in the states, LA is gold compared to it.

This! x1000!

The Richmond/DC corridor along I-95 (pretty much the whole thing) can, and does, turn into a parking lot at the wrong times of day. Especially northbound. Avoid at all costs during daylight hours and especially afternoon through at least 10pm.

Can’t remember the last time I had to take it during that window without spending at least 45+ minutes in stop and go traffic.

-Rob

Plan to go on a Tuesday or Thursday. Weekends on I-95 are nuts as people flow into and out of the beaches. I assume a Tuesday or Thursday is as slow as it gets. I've heard some rentals do 1/2 weeks, so I assume Wednesdays may have a bump in traffic.