Road tripping from Providence RI to Tampa FL - slightly extended weekend. What to see/eat/do/bring?

After some delay it looks like I will finally be picking up my next ride on Friday evening in Niantic Connecticut. We will then make the trip back to Tampa for arrival on Sunday evening or Monday morning.

Preliminary itinerary as follows:

Day 1 Land in Providence RI and 9:30 AM, pick up rental car. Head to Newport RI for lunch/exploration. We can't pick up the car until 4-6PM on Friday when the guy gets off work. So basically we have ~6.5 hours to go from Providence to Niantic. The only thing we may have to do is get a temp tag at the DMV if I can't get it registered in Tampa beforehand. Once we get the car we have to drop off the rental in Groton and then we are heading for Jersey City. We have a place to stay so we will likely get dinner in NYC.

Day 2 Depart Jersey City for breakfast in Philadelphia. We have another friend there and we're hoping to meet her for breakfast around 9 am. Maybe we will get a Phillysteak for a mid morning snack just for the hell of it. After this we don't really have anything set in stone. I was kind of thinking going to Washington DC for lunch and a quick tour (never been...open to suggestions). I figured we would leave there around 4pm and make a run south. Maybe make it to Charleston? Dinner on the road and crash in a hotel or AirBNB.

Day 3 Breakfast in Charleston at around 8-9, maybe a quick tour of the city. Then we would head south. Depending on how we feel we would either go all the way to Tampa with quick stops along the way or we would move a little slower and go to St Augustine FL or somewhere in the armpit of FL. Then Monday morning we would wake up early and go straight to the office. That might be a little rough but it would let us spread the trip out a little more and see some sites.

Any suggestions? What about things to bring? I have some tools, pillows and audio books ready to bring up. The car is a 2013 so I don't expect issues.

Day 2 is wildly optimistic. It doesn't sound like you are going to be leaving Philly until around 11:00 AM earliest. Mid-day isn't so bad between Philly and DC, so you could theoretically make it to DC by around 2. At that point, you are basically talking about a driving tour of DC monuments (which is achievable in those two hours, but then what's the point of just looking at the monuments through the car window?) Leaving around 4pm puts you right in the middle of evening rush hour there, you'll be lucky to make Richmond by 7...which I don't think puts you in Charleston until like 1AM.

I think the entire schedule is wildly optimistic. Best case you leave with the car at 5 PM Worse Case 7 PM. If all of the traffic stars align....Which they never do....It's 3 hours to Manhattan plus it sounds like you have to drop a rental car off somewhere during that time. That can easily turn to 5-6 hours really quickly.

Don't underestimate traffic in the NYC/Philly/DC corridor. It's a mess more often than not.

I've revised your plan for you

Day 1; blast south as quickly as possible until south of Richmond, VA, I'd attempt getting at least to Rocky Mount, NC

Day 2- recover from previous day of driving hell

Day 3- drive to Tampa

Most of the reverse route in 2 days solo, its a grueling drive. 3 days help but you are starting further north and you have car stuff to attend to.

As noted DC area traffic will suck. Weekdays are worse but weekends suck too. The only time traffic in that area isnt terrible is about 2am. I may be exaggerating slightly but its rarely free and clear driving.

edit rethinking a bit, if you are starting in Philly day 2 (after an early drive there) then you are on basically the same path I had in reverse. The day and a half you have left will be for driving, there's not a lot of sightseeing time in your trip. I left Orlando around 3pm, drove until I couldnt take it (1am) woke up at 6am and hit the road, sat in DC traffic on a saturday and got home around 8 or 9 that night. I stopped for gas and bought gas station snacks to eat, no meal breaks.

I wasted a summer in Niantic....

Day one is wildly optimistic too. Groton to NYC on a Friday night will take longer than Google Maps would lead you to believe.

Leave the seller at 6PM, drive to Groton, drop off car, head to the Big Apple? Plan for dinner at midnight.

Well excuse me for being optimistic in a sea of negative Nancys!

Just kidding...that's why I came here for suggestions.

One thing I was going to do is drop off the rental and then use Uber/Cab to get to the sellers house. That will save at least 40 minutes Friday evening. Traffic in DC is that bad on a Saturday? Where else should I go then? I thought it would be a good opportunity to quickly see the sites since I've never been. It's not very high on my wish list so if you think I should just skip it that's fine. I figured I should at least see some of those things in person one day.

Maybe I'll skip DC and just explore Philly instead. Then after lunch head as south as possible.

Also - this will be a 2 driver team.

Maybe we skip NY and head straight for Philly and sleep there instead? Then an early breakfast and hit the road by 9am?

Oh, crap, reading comprehension fail on my part. You're doing this on a Saturday, not during a weekday like I had initially thought. No, traffic's not that terrible on the weekends, but you will run into some issues near the tolls in DE/MD. If you don't have one, an EZPass is well worth your while. VA, I believe, does not charge for the transponder itself as long as you sign up for auto-replenish (you can always turn that off later once you get the car home). You'll make Charleston earlier than I thought, but I still think the amount of "sightseeing" you are going to fit in is nominal at best. I am thinking you'll probably end up finishing day 2 in Rocky Mount.

Philly is tough because a lot of the cool stuff you will want to take a good few hours for (Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Franklin Institute, Betsy Ross House). The Liberty Bell is in a neat little building, but is visible from outside and the line, while fast, gets really long really quickly in the mornings. Independence Hall is on a timed ticket system, and that will back up into the afternoon very quickly. Get your cheesesteak at Jim's on South St.

Same with DC - the Smithsonian Institute museums are awesome, but you will want to budget a few hours to a half day for each museum. All of the various monuments are cool too, but not necessarily right next to each other.

honestly heading west from Conn. to I81, taking that south to US 33, east into Richmond, VA then jumping on 95 may be fastest, avoiding NYC-DC traffic all together.

drummerfromdefleopard wrote: honestly heading west from Conn. to I81, taking that south to US 33, east into Richmond, VA then jumping on 95 may be fastest, avoiding NYC-DC traffic all together.

If you do this just go all the way down to I-64. Higher speed limits will make up the extra 30 miles before you get to 64 to cut eastwards.

So getting an EZ in RI might be a good idea? Looks like they aren't available in CT.

Regarding museums I don't think we have that kind of time. I would rather eat at the required places (ie, philly steak) and see a couple things (ie basically walk on by) than stand in lines.

The new plan may be run to Philly Friday night (eat on road) since Friday night won't have much time for adventure. Then get an early breakfast, see a couple sites in the morning and a philly steak for the road. Then head to whatever city sounds nice in the Carolinas for Sat night.

In reply to szeis4cookie:

not a bad call and it's not warm enough yet for 64 to become a mess on weekends

As long as it's not UVA game day, 64 only tends to be horrible east of Richmond. Even on game day 64 around Charlottesville isn't bad at all.

Sounds like a fun and adventure-filled weekend. For Day One after landing at the Providence airport (in Warwick), Newport is an excellent choice for sightseeing and lunch. Drive around Ocean Drive and Bellevue Ave. I'm sure you've already researched it. Luckily it isn't prime season yet so the traffic won't be bad. Except, there is construction work on the bridge from Jamestown into Newport, so there might be a delay there. Plan for a little extra time just in case. There are many great restaurants in Newport for lunch. Just pick one that fits your budget. Some of them can be quite pricey, for no reason other than that they're in Newport. But fortunately they're not all like that. (I like LaForge Casino on Bellevue near the Tennis Hall of Fame, The Red Parrot and the Brick Alley Pub on Thames Street, and the lounge at the Newport Marriott on America's Cup Boulevard, which has an excellent view of the harbor. All of these are reasonably priced and serve good food). Good luck, have fun, and enjoy the experience!

Enyar wrote: Traffic in DC is that bad on a Saturday?

Yes, and since this weekend is the end of the National Cherry Blossom Festival it will be twice as bad.

I'd seriously consider abandoning any route that takes you near NYC, Philly, DC and 95. Take 84 to 81. If you like animals stop at Virginia Safari Park. Hit one of the caverns on the way thru Va. It's definitely longer, but no drama, better scenery, no tolls, and in the end it takes less time. I'm a veteran of many many trips back and forth from Massachusetts to Road Atlanta, my mom's place near Macon, my brother in laws place in Tampa, Disney, even once to Key West. 95 gives me a headache. Last time I had to go to Roanoke, it took almost as long as it takes me to get to Atlanta. Last Summer it took 3.5 hours to go from Cape Cod to just outside NYC(220 miles). It started raining and it took 6 more hours to get from where I was to NJMP(95 miles).

Edit, deleted the whole thing.....I forgot you were already in Tampa. LoL

Enjoy traffic in the northeast....and skip all the touristy crap.

Hal wrote:

Enyar wrote: Traffic in DC is that bad on a Saturday?

Yes, and since this weekend is the end of the National Cherry Blossom Festival it will be twice as bad.

Oh yeah, good call. Yeah, the more this gets discussed the better 81 sounds at this point...

Hmmmmmmm all very good tips to appreciate. Caverns in VA sound neat. Unfortunately skipping either NY or Philly likely won't happen because it means skipping on a free place to stay. I do think I'll skip NY and go straight to Philly Friday night because it gets a little more driving out of the way for Sat-Sun and then we could explore Philly friday morning and get a cheesesteak to eat on the road when we leave around 11-12. We will probably just get an early breakfast, see liberty bell and independence hall and whatever else I can see in close distance before we hit the road.

Keep the suggestions coming, I'll be sure to document and post the trip on here.

I would still recommend taking 81 south, even from Philly. You can just take the PA turnpike to Carlisle and pick up 81 there. Yes it is longer, but there is no traffic the entire route, and less frustration. I've driven from PA to the south many times and this is the way I go when I do. Anything to stay away from the Baltimore dc corridor.

FWIW, I'd find something to do in Providence rather than going down to Newport. Newport is pretty dormant at this time of year. That said, there are thus fewer crowds, so it's less crazed.

Providence was rated the "best food city" by Travel & Leisure magazine a year or so ago. A lot of phenomenal restaurants for fairly reasonable money (depending on how you define "reasonable".

+1 for hitting 81 after Philly. Then 64 to 95. Much easier drive than going through Baltimore and DC. Stop at South of the Border!! Always good for a few laughs.

Sonic wrote: I would still recommend taking 81 south, even from Philly. You can just take the PA turnpike to Carlisle and pick up 81 there. Yes it is longer, but there is no traffic the entire route, and less frustration. I've driven from PA to the south many times and this is the way I go when I do. Anything to stay away from the Baltimore dc corridor.

Definitely agree! You can visit some of the caverns in VA or hop off 81 to Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway (runs parallel to 81 just to the east) for some more leisurely sightseeing.

Consider it done! That's exactly the type of info I was looking for. We are going to make a run for Charleston Saturday night so feel free to offer recommendations for anything there south. Sunday night we may stop in like Fernadina Beach or St Augustine and then make the run to Tampa early Monday. That gives us a little more time for exploration on Sunday.