Driving from NYC to Hilton Head w/ 3 small boys!

Hi we are leaving on Sat for the Barony Beach in Hilton Head, SC. We are travelling from the NYC area. I would like to find a place to stay about 1/2 way. Maybe with some sort of attraction nearby or at least a nice pool for the boys to swim...any suggestions? Also any suggestions for activities in Hilton Head for 3 boys under age 4? Pickney Island? We plan to mostly go to the beach but one or two outings would be nice! Thanks!

Joanne

Driving from NYC to Hilton Head w/ 3 small boys!

Half way will be somewhere south of Richmond VA. You will have a tough slog on Saturday down the New Jersey Turnpike and through the always-heavy Baltimore - Washington - Richmond traffic on I-95. Beyond Richmond, the best you can hope for is a modern hotel with a pool. On the other hand, south of Richmond the drive gets easier, so you might want to push through. Be sure you have a motel reservation which you can cancel (usually up to 4 pm) depending upon how the trip has gone.

What time of day to you plan to leave NYC? When I drive from northern NJ on a summer Saturday, I try to leave as early as possible to avoid NJ Shore traffic. I stop for gasoline and a snack at a rest stop on the Maryland Turnpike, then push through to Ashland VA for a larger meal - usually at The Smokey Pig Barbecue, on Rte 1, about a mile off I-95. (Smokey Pig is very kid and family friendly, so we started going there when our kids were tiny.)

After Ashland, I drive straight through NC to Santee, SC, which is located on Lake Marion. Santee has lots of family-friendly accommodations and a ';resort'; atmosphere. We like the Best Western Santee, a single-story motel with a nice included breakfast and small, but very pleasant, swimming pool.

Driving from NYC to Hilton Head w/ 3 small boys!

When I was a child we used to drive to Florida every December from NYC.

After I95 was built, the first night we usually were able to get to Rocky Mount NC. There are still lots of Motels in that area.

The second night was spent in Hardeeville or Savannah.

Since they are just a short hop south of Hilton Head, I would shoot for the overnight in Rocky Mount.

Remember that the kids will want to visit ';Pedro'; at South of the Border.

Stan (hhiguy)

Thanks....Great info! I was thinking Rocky Mount...Very good point about the beach traffic...how early should we leave to avoid most of it?

Hopefully hhiguy will correct me if I am wrong, but ...

You will probably not have too much problem with beach traffic this Sunday. Schools in the south have already started, so there are much lighter crowds traveling to the SC resort beaches.

We are booked into Barony Beach next Easter week and we live 90 miles north of you in the Hudson Valley. Please post a report on your trip when you get back. I%26#39;d love to hear more about the Island and the resort, and we haven%26#39;t been to Hilton Head in over 15 years.

We just returned from a rain drenched week in Orlando and were supposed to stay in Rocky Mount on the way home but pushed north and stayed in the southern suburbs of Richmond. (No kids, just kept on driving). I think I figured it was 16 driving hours from home to HH. Remember that the posted speed limit is often 70 on sections of 95. Most of the construction was in Georgia so not much problem there. I think there is a website that lists planned construction delays. It is something like i95coridor.com , you could google it.

Safe travel, and enjoy the trip.

Will post a report. We are actually in Mahopac so closer to you then thought. Thanks for the info!

I would definitely make a reservation if you are stopping in Rocky Mount-it%26#39;s a very popular stopover town.

We%26#39;ve stayed in the Best Western Rocky Mount, even though it%26#39;s actually the exit before. Nice, but no breakfast-they give you a discount at the Denny%26#39;s next door.

Fayettville is further south, if you make it that far and have stayed in the Red Roof Inn there-it%26#39;s OK and includes a breakfast (continental).]

Have also stayed in Florence,SC, about 4 hrs. north of HH -Sleep INN there works-has a breakfast as well.

All of them have pools, I believe.

Pickney Island isn%26#39;t much to see. There really aren%26#39;t any activities down there for kids that age that I can readily think of, maybe the locals can help you out with that one.

Enjoy and have a safe trip.

IN January, had to drive my son to Orlando for an internship. Left central Jersey at 6:00pm. on a Friday..drove down to Trenton, got on 95, drove past Philly, drove through Maryland, NO TRAFFIC in Washington, DC...drove and pushed through just south of Richmond, then stopped around midnight at a Holiday In Express (I think it was a HIE)

Actually, I got off on an exit just south of Richmond, but it was so desolate around the few hotels, that I got back on the highway and drove down just a wee bit further on 95. Got off the highway, and it really was a little better, plus the area was packed with Sleep Inns, Holiday Inns, Hampton Inns, etc. Charged me $110 for the night. (I am the biggest hotel bargain finder in the world, but when you are on the road like that, they got you when you just drive in off the highway).

Woke up around 8ish on Saturday, helped ourselves to complimentary breakfast, and fruit and yogart for the road. Drove through NC and enjoyed all of the billboards for South of the Border. They are a hoot.

Took the Myrtle Beach exit off of I95 for a McDonalds or whatever for lunch. Jumped back on 95. Arrived in Bluffton, SC around 4:00, looked at some property, drove over to HH, then hit the highway around 7:00pm.

Drove through Georgia (thank God it was night and plus a Saturday) because there was construction EVERYWHERE. Drove through....managed to reach Jacksonville, thought about stopping, but kept pushing through and finally arrived in Orlando at about 12 midnight.

So......get a triple aaa book and research all of the hotels that are just south of Richmond, VA..

Now for the drive back. Left Orlando around 6:30pm....at the end of May. Georgia north didn%26#39;t seem that bad at first, then we hit the construction but at that time of night, it wasn%26#39;t bad. Kept driving on through, past Savannah, past Hilton Head and then finally stopped around midnight halfway between Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach.

Got back on the road about 9:00am Saturday morning, and just kept driving through. Hit Monsoon rains in the bottom of VA....we got one of those warnings on the radio, so I made a mental decision to pull off an exit if the rain got bad. Well, the rain got BAD.

Got back on the road again, and then somewhere in VA, the traffic got really bad, but somehow, I got in a left lane that took me on a separate area of 95 and we sped past everyone sitting in traffic. For the life of me I can%26#39;t remember exactly where it was, or how we did what we did. I almost felt guilty. (ha- Almost)....

Anyway, Washington DC not bad....this was about 5 or 6:00pm on Saturday, and finally made it to central Jersey at about 8:30pm.

Wait...I think we made it back to central jersey around 10:30pm ish, not 8:30.