Driving back down to the Villages from Illinois on 10/25. Travel advice needed. Atl?
 

We had terrible luck heading north from the Villages on April 6th. We left at 6:30 am and didn't get through Atlanta until around 4pm. It must have taken close to 5 hours to get through that metropolitan area.

Therefore, we are trying to decide when would be the most desirable time to drive through Atlanta and where would be a safe place to stop if we need a bathroom break.

One option would be to avoid Atlanta altogether. My son flew down last March to visit and rented a car and drove through Alabama instead. Google maps says that is out of the way and will add an hour to our trip although it assumes Atlanta is not a mess. However, I wouldn't think Alabama has the potential for major traffic delays that are possible in Atlanta.

Last year on our way down to the Villages, we lucked out. We made it to the Atlanta are around 5:30 on Dec 31st and stayed in a hotel in McDonough GA and then left early on New Year's Day. We could do something similar this year but we might have a different experience since it won't be Sunday Dec 31st.

Any suggestions? Are there any roads closed due to the hurricane?

It's a crappy trip no matter how you drive it. You don't mention which part of Illinois but allow 2 days to Florida. Start very early first day and bed down in Dalton, Ga. as soon as you arrive. Hit the road at 3:00 AM from Dalton and that will get you through Atlanta about 5:00 AM which is much better traffic. If there are 2 of you, use the HOV lane if that is still a thing. Cruise the rest of the way to Florida, unload essentials when you arrive at your destination. Wind down for an hour and crawl into bed. The next day, work like the devil to set everything up again.

In time, you'll probably decide to fly down like many of us. Traffic behavior is getting worse and worse.

We are actual leaving Green Bay and staying with relatives in Carbondale Illinois Friday night. Is there much traffic in Atlanta on Sunday morning? I would think we could sleep in a bit longer on a Sunday.

There is always traffic in Atlanta and we found the only time for lighter traffic is very early in the AM. We came through Atlanta about 5:00 AM on a Sunday morning one time and drunk driver, all over the highway, just missed wiping us out.

Hopefully, you're missing Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville on your way down but you still have Nashville, Chattanooga and Atlanta. Atlanta is no different than Chicago, get through it very early or deal with it. BTW, good luck!

The last two times we went through Atlanta (June & October) on a Sunday morning, the construction folks were doing road work. However I agree this is probably the best time! Use the HOV lanes and the express lanes if you have a SunPass.

Geez, the trade off of adding an hour versus getting bogged down in stupid traffic with accidents seems like a no brainer. . . like it's not a race, is it?

We make that trade off all the time, and so far in 5 years of at least 1/2 trips a year, have only hit one accident, stand still for an hour. .

Assuming Carbondale, IL, at 8 AM and go 600 miles, 10 hours of driving, to Cordele, GA getting off 75 to go through Rome, GA, then down to Columbus, GA, enjoying a slower drive, a bit more scenic, over to Cordele, GA.

Stay over night there, and then it's an easy 4 hours, arrival around Noon on Sunday, for time to unwind, set up and get ready for whatever you have to do on Monday. .

The route is only 50 miles longer, mostly parallel, and a bit slower, where you can practice not racing, switching off drivers, eating lunch while driving on Saturday only,

Though we drive down the east coast, we will be driving down at that time as well, and we avoid like the plague, NY City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC. .
we leave on Friday, stop and see our grandkids, and get a good night sleep and breakfast for Saturday long drive. . so instead of two long days, we make it two 1/2 driving days and 1 long driving day. . easier on the body sitting for long periods of time.

We also don't always go for the checkered flag, taking different routes to see sights in different parts along the route. We seldom eat at the same place, or stay at the same hotel, other than stopping for family along the way.

Good luck

There was another, similar thread about 2 weeks ago. Google maps and Waze will almost always route you thru Indianapolis, Chattanooga and Atlanta, as this is the shortest distance. However, if you take 57 to 24 to 65 and then US 231 from Montgomery, thru Dothan and then pick up 10 in the panhandle, you will avoid the insane traffic that the shorter route entails. Yes, it is more miles and maybe more time (debatable), but you will swear less for sure. YMMV, literally.

Totally agree, since the whole point of TV is to reduce stress with an adult playground with an overnight camp,, why incur any more stress than necessary?

I wanted to type the YMMV literally, but the post took too long anyway

When we moved down here from the KC area, we made several trips and would go thru Atlanta at about 2am those mornings and would get thru there with minimal traffic.

Agree with those that recommend totally avoiding Atlanta. Our drive to/from Western Massachusetts doesn’t involve Atlanta, but we always take a wide loop to totally avoid going anywhere near Hartford, NYC, Jersey, Delaware, Baltimore, and D.C. We would rather drive more miles and eliminate the likely traffic jams of large urban areas. The only big city we have to pass through on our trips is Charlotte, which typically isn’t bad as long as we avoid morning or evening rush hours. Safe travels.

OP, we lived in Carbondale, Illinois for a few years. Home of southern Illinois University and its mascot the Saluki. The Villages now has a recreation Center named Saluki.

We have driven the trip from Illinois to TV many times. There is a rest area on I 75 between Chattanooga and Atlanta. We always stop there and drive to just north of Atlanta and stay Saturday night. Early Sunday morning we drive through Atlanta. Easy peasy. Going through Alabama is no piece of cake. You encounter miles of four lane through towns and about 70 miles longer than going through Georgia. Trust me we will be in TV and chilled out before you get to Ocala. Have a nice trip.

We drive Knoxville/The Villages early on Sunday morning and “usually” do not have major traffic congestion. Waze does a good job of rerouting, if needed.

We lived in North Ga just below Chattanooga Tn , if you hit Atlanta around 6:00 to 6:30 am your usually good , if you we always leave at 5:00 am going south to the villages and going north back to Ga from the villages and you hit Atlanta at a great time , takes 7 hours

whatever WAZE says, is the direction you should follow! Always include a stop at The American Legion along the way if you are a member... Don't drive anywhere near Western North Carolina, it's a complete disaster

We lived in Indianapolis and also always took 65 South to Montgomery, Alabama-----then got on 231 over to 10 to 75. We went through Atlanta once and said never again.

Take 57 south to I24 towards Nashville. In Nashville Take I 65 s towards Huntsville AL. Stay on I 65 until you get in Montgomery al and then take I 85 east. You go about 11 miles and get on rt 110 towards union spring AL( good place for gas and bathroom) and get on rt 82 towards Eufala, AL. Stay on rt 82 all the way to Tifton, Ga and get on I 75 south. These state roads are mostly 4 lanes. Easy drive. I usually get gas and bathroom around Montgomery as there is not much too stop at until you get to Albany ga. where there is a loves truck stop that is clean. These state highways are about 3 to 3 1/2 hrs total until from Montgomery to Tifton

We travel TV to and from NW Indiana. Agree… either hit Atlanta at 5am, or go through Alabama. And always use Waze. We keep Waze running constantly for up to the minute re-routing.

I saw this post on FB and sent it to my husband. He left IL yesterday and drives through Carbondale. He does try to either drive through Atlanta in the wee morning hours or avoids it.
He will arrive today and I will try to remember to post his route. Meanwhile, I had read enough to know there were issues with getting gas as well as even worse than usual traffic on 75 here in FL and that is what the attached post addresses.

Atlanta is a nightmare! travel through there between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. !!
 

Made that trip numerous times the past few years...Atlanta is a raging nightmare. It's less of a nightmare, more bad dream, between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.
Recommendations to utilize WAZE are spot on.
john

Best time to dtive
 

I am from Atlanta. I find it best to drive through on the weekend. Sundays are great. Or, late at night. If you must go through on a weekday, hit the city between 10 and 2. You can’t predict when an accident might happen to slow things down but these are the best times. I use my phone maps program as well which tells you if you need to reroute.

Just make sure there are no major sporting events taking place in Atlanta if you drive through on a Sunday.

WOW - someone should get into their auto - get to the highway and drive the speed limit in the right lane - stop for bathroom breaks and also to gas up - anyone who needs help should make sure to have their phone fully charged - if anyone needs help just follow the above and you will be alright. Good luck on your first trip to Flirida.

I have traveled multiple times back and forth to Illinois. I use the route through Alabama to Nashville. It’s a little longer, but no heavy traffic or mountains. Good luck.

I lived in the Atlanta area for 22 yrs. Always keep in mind rush hour in Atlanta is from 5:00 am to 8:00pm. LOL
Seriously : Try to get through Atlanta before 6:00 am and have your SunPass to use on Express Lanes whenever possible.

We just came through Atlanta on our way back from Wisconsin on Sunday, Oct 13th, and it was absolutely brutal.......all the way from going into Nashville, through Atlanta and past Macon. We lost 4 hrs sitting in backups and parkinglot situations. We went through Atlanta proper at about 4 p.m. on a Sunday, no less. We've decided we'll NOT do that trip again anytime soon. There was a lot of construction to deal with as well, a lot of "left lane closed" things which made matters worse. We kept the tank filled all the way and had a 5-gal gas can full onboard to be safe. As you get closer to Valdosta and certainly after crossing the FL border, gas becomes an issue. Many closed/shuttered stations. We left Wisconsin at 8 a.m. and pulled into our driveway in TV at midnight. I'd say find another route or fly. Neither is optimal. Going by way of Alabama might prevent such long driving times. I'd certainly opt for an hour out of my way as opposed to losing 4 hrs sitting in backups, worried about your gas situation or potty breaks. Good luck!!

Come through Alabama on 65, it's a nicer drive in a lot of ways, no traffic whenever we go through there. Also has a few quaint places to stop at.

When going through Atlanta, take the HOV lanes (need 2 people in car) and use the Express lanes when available (need an E-Z Pass, SunPass or equivalent). Makes the trip much easier.

And less mountainous. Been taking that route the last couple years.

Drive to Annapolis often. And sometimes to Asheville. Saturday seems the best travel day.

I would connect to I-65 South at Nashville and take I-65 to Montgomery, AL.
Take US 231south all the way to I-10.
I-10 to I-75.
We take this route all the time to Michigan and back. I would much rather spend an extra hour in the car than to deal with Atlanta.
Safe Travels!

Alternate route North to avoid Atlanta
 

Take 75 N. to I-10 W. on I-10 to 231 toward Dothan continue to Birmingham, pickup I-75 N. of Birmingham. Mostly 4 lane all the way.

If you have a Sunpass for Florida toll roads (I-Pass and EZPass do not work) you can take the Toll Express lanes through Atlanta. If we are not traveling on a Sunday, we leave Chattanooga about 9 AM, hit the PeachPass Toll Lanes around 10 to 10:30, and these end where the HOV lane start. Sunpass is good on the Peachpass lanes, and two people in the car qualifies for HOV. Otherwise, Take I-57 to I-55 to I-155, to US 412, In Jackson Tn use the US 45 ByPass to US 45 South, the at Tupelo take I-22/US 87 east to I-65 in Birmingham, I-65 South to I-81 East at Montgomery, take Exit 15 for AL-10 to US 81 East, take that to I-75 at Tifton GA and you will then be 62 mles from the Florida state line. The roads are very lightly traveled, plenty of places to stop, and except for Birmingham the locations are safe and benign. No Atlanta or Nashville traffic. The route takes an extra hour, but you can lose that easily in Atlanta or Nashville. Overnight stay in Montgomery or along I-22 west of Birmingham rather than Birmingham is recommended.

We drove down from WI just before Milton didn’t see any serious damage on the route but took over 4 hours to get through Atlanta on a Saturday afternoon Stop and go traffic into through and out of town Could see no reason why A different route that adds an hour or two would be a good idea

We drive from Michigan and I totally agree with this post. You will run into traffic in Nashville, but that is a small delay compared to what you can encounter around Atlanta. And that route is quite interesting. And much of the route from Montgomery to Tifton is 4 lane and an easy drive. We usually decide whether to do the I-75 vs I-69/I-65 route based on the weather forecast in KY & TN.

And when we do decide to go through Atlanta, we always plan for a potty stop at either at Buc-ee's in Adairsville (I-75 exit 310) or Cracker Barrel in Kennesaw (I-75 exit 271), where it's not obvious you are only going to the bathroom. :) You definitely need a stop before getting any closer to Atlanta because you will never know how long it will take till you hit the rest area by Macon. Trust me, there aren't many opportunities between !!!

And finally, I find it interesting to read the comments about Carbondale in this thread. My mother's family is from that area and I've always enjoyed visiting my relatives who lived between Carbondale and Marion and hearing all of their stories about life back then.

I drive back and forth to Michigan about 6 times a year taking 75 all the way. I drive straight through and can usually make the trip in 16-17 hours. The only recommendation I can make is travel on Sunday. I've tried doing the drive during the week and the weekends and found Sundays seem to have the least amount of traffic and backups.

Dalton is a very impoverished town. I stayed at a Marriott near the University, but 1 block away is poor & nothing close to eat.

I always try to leave central Illinois late on a Saturday morning, stop a little north of Atlanta for the night, and go through Atlanta on Sunday morning. I go through the middle of the city, never around the bi-pass.

Are you taking I-75 THRU Atlanta? Don’t. Hope you’re taking the beltway I-275 AROUND. it surely is faster but not sure how much. Also, go around Atlanta at a non-rush hour. That’s your best hope.

Going through Atlanta totally depends on timing. Early Sunday mornings you can shoot a cannon on I 75 as you drive through Atlanta and not hit anything. This is especially true on January 1 New Year’s Day morning. Going through Alabama (Birmingham, Montgomery, Dothan etc.) is about 70 miles further, lots of traffic signals, and about hour and half longer. We tried Alabama. No thanks. But to each their own.

Impoverished? I'll bet Dalton is surprised to hear that. All the years we've stayed there we never had any issue with poverty, hmmm. But then again, it depends on one's sense of pretentiousness.:icon_wink:

Is Dalton, GA a good place to live?
Living in Dalton offers residents a dense suburban feel and most residents own their homes. Many families live in Dalton and residents tend to have moderate political views. The public schools in Dalton are above average.

What is special about Dalton, GA?
Dalton | Explore Georgia
Dalton's charming downtown, with numerous unique shopping and dining choices, is great for an afternoon of shopping and dinner. Dalton's attractions include: Festivals, Fine Arts, Civil War history, and Prater's Mill Country Fair.

Yeah, Dalton sounds like a real dive...