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.