Favorite Stopovers and Places to Avoid on the I-95 Road to Florida

[Fried_shrimp]

We drive down 50% of the time. Our first choice for overnight is Hampton Inn - second choice is Holiday Inn Express. Our usual stops are in Santee, SC, Rocky Mount, NC, St. Augustine and Jacksonville. Driving home last month, we were not too happy with the Hampton Inn in Rocky Mount, NC. I could live with "needed some updating", but was not happy that it was not as clean as all the other hotels we have stayed in. It's just hubby and I.

Meals, years ago, my husband was very sick after a meal at Olive Garden. Since then, when we drive down, we bring fruit, we make sandwiches with chicken cutlets - stay better than cold cuts. We are willing to try new places on the road but are always afraid. Coming home, we know Cracker Barrel is a safe place to eat - and a quick bite at McDonalds. Not sure about any other places off I95. I would be willing to try places recommended

We love having our own car - the only problem - good problem - I take the whole house with me .

Every time we make the trip down, we say we are going to stay one or two nights in St. Augustine (I was there many, many moons ago), Savannah, Hilton Head, etc. etc.

We were originally going to fly for our November trip but are now considering driving again. Not 100% sure.

If we drive, open for suggestions for a day trip/overnight in one of the beaches along the coast? St. Augustine? Daytona? Go inland a bit for a hotel instead of one along I95. Hotel or restaurants

Looked up Columbia - I would definitely try it and St. Mary's.

Harry's in St Augustine is absolutely fantastic.

 

[Fried_shrimp]

I'm a sucker for any Exit that has a Zaxby's. First one I visited was in Lumberton, NC about 10 years ago. I95 is my least favorite road to drive on.

Palm Coast, FL, exit 289 but for the life of me (and most of the people in this town) I can't understand why anyone would go there. If our Zaxby's has more than 3 cars on property we think it's being robbed.

 

[Fried_shrimp]

Stop at Dixie Crossroads in Titusville for rock shrimp and a yummy corn nugget free appetizer.

Dixie Crossroads used to be very good. As of late, it's been going downhill with teeny tiny rock shrimp being served.

 

[AnnaS]

Harry's in St Augustine is absolutely fantastic.

Thank you. The more I think about our November trip, the more determined I am to stay a few nights in St. Augustine - on the way home.

 

[pedro47]

Please observe the speed limit in Emporia, VA it is off I-95 South; headed into the North Carolina state line.

Speed trap capital in Virginia.

 

[moonstone]

Thank you. The more I think about our November trip, the more determined I am to stay a few nights in St. Augustine - on the way home.

You wont regret it! We have been vacationing in St Augustine for 44 years, starting off by camping. We bought our first timeshare there in 1982 and will be there the first week of Nov. In 2010 we bought a condo in St Augustine Beach right by the pier, for our retirement. It is rented full time until we pay off the mortgage -hopefully later this year. Make sure you walk along St George St and other streets in the 'old section' of St. Augustine and drive out to the beaches for a walk or drive on the very wide beach.

~Diane

 

[AnnaS]

You wont regret it! We have been vacationing in St Augustine for 44 years, starting off by camping. We bought our first timeshare there in 1982 and will be there the first week of Nov. In 2010 we bought a condo in St Augustine Beach right by the pier, for our retirement. It is rented full time until we pay off the mortgage -hopefully later this year. Make sure you walk along St George St and other streets in the 'old section' of St. Augustine and drive out to the beaches for a walk or drive on the very wide beach.

~Diane

Thank you. We have done quick overnight stops off I95 but have not visited since I was in high school

 

[Talent312]

Harry's in St Augustine is absolutely fantastic.

Harry's is a regional chain w-New Orleans cuisine...
Gainesville, Lakeland, Ocala, St. Augustine & Tallahassee.

Funny story about Harry's:
I once ordered $100 in gift cards. They sent 1 - $100 card.
I emailed them a complaint. They sent another 4 - $25 cards.
I asked the local manager to take back the $100 gift card.
He refused. "Take that up with corporate... in St. Augustine."
.

 

[Fried_shrimp]

Harry's is a regional chain w-New Orleans cuisine...
Gainesville, Lakeland, Ocala, St. Augustine & Tallahassee.

Funny story about Harry's:
I once ordered $100 in gift cards. They sent 1 - $100 card.
I emailed them a complaint. They sent another 4 - $25 cards.
I asked the local manager to take back the $100 gift card.
He refused. "Take that up with corporate... in St. Augustine."
.

Yes, they have 5 restaurants but I have only eaten at the St Augustine location which I do quite often being a Floridian.

Why did you complain about the $100 gift card? That is the norm when you get a $100 gift card from them. I like to take advantage of their get a $30 gift card free when purchasing a $100 gift card during their Christmas promotion.

 

[nerodog]

I do the trip from the DC area to Hilton Head often and have driven down to Orlando several times. The problem with 95 is that after Richmond, there really isn't much in terms of metro areas until you get to Jacksonville or St. Augustine. I wouldn't stay anywhere in NC other than Wilson. There's really nothing in SC at all IMO. I've stayed in Pooler and agree with your assessment. What you get on these exit hotels is what you would think. Rooms turn over every day, staff generally don't care because you are on your way the next day, etc.

My recommendation is to not worry so much if you have to drive 20 or so miles off of 95 for a place to stay. That gets you Fayetteville in NC, Sumpter in SC, and Savannah in GA. In the scheme of things it adds less than an hour to the trip each way. It may be worth the trade off.

I stayed in Wilson , NC at a cute B and B...the name escapees me now but we liked the town as a stopover. Going back we ended up in the Chesapeake Bay area in Maryland... Havre de Grace. We usually pick a town that has some interest for a few hours before getting back on road. Another stop off was Petersburg, VA. We usually drove to Myrtle Beach area.

 

[Brett]

That place has cracked me up for about 30 years. Gloriously cheesy. Unfortunately probably more than a little bit racist, too.

Probably everyone stops at least once at South of the Border
Now I just pass by ---- and get cheaper gas, food and fireworks at the next several exits

 

[Talent312]

Why did you complain about the $100 gift card?

Sorry, I wasn't clear about what happened...
1. I ordered 4 - $25 gift cards from their website. (The $30 bonus was nice.)
2. But what they sent me was one $100 GC (it cannot go into 4 envelopes).
3. I wrote them: "Folks, I wanted 4 - $25 cards, not 1 - $100. What shall I do?"
4. They mailed me 4 - $25 cards. I now had $230 in GC's, for which I paid $100.
5. I tried to return the unearned $100 card at nearby restaurant, but no dice.

If anyone from Harry's asked me to return the $100 GC back, I would've done so.
.

 

[jmhpsu93]

A little bump as we head into snowbird season.

We just drove down this week and the traffic was somehow worse than last year. A total of 16.5 hours from Baltimore to Orlando over two days (should be 13.5 or so). We had a couple of maps detours (once around Lumberton, and the other around the middle of nowehere SC), the longest one almost took us to Beaufort. I'm convinced the Carolinas put zero money into I-95...I'd hate to live there and depend on driving on it for a living.

Against our previous judgement, we stayed again at the Residence Inn in Florence and it was better than last time - my wife got her first suite night upgrade to a 2 bedroom (for the two of us LOL). Had another lunch at Barley & Burgers and St. Mary's Seafood in St. Augustine.

Finally here for three weeks or so and the weather's in the mid 80s - almost record highs for central Florida. And COVID still doesn't exist in Florida. ;-)

Happy New Year everyone.

 

[pedro47]

Probably everyone stops at least once at South of the Border
Now I just pass by ---- and get cheaper gas, food and fireworks at the next several exits

I must agree with Brett, South of Border is a total waste of time. Restrooms needs to be Covid clean from the top of the ceiling to every inch of the restroom . Drive to the next exit and you can buy cheaper gas, food and fireworks. IMHO

 

[pedro47]

A little bump as we head into snowbird season.

We just drove down this week and the traffic was somehow worse than last year. A total of 16.5 hours from Baltimore to Orlando over two days (should be 13.5 or so). We had a couple of maps detours (once around Lumberton, and the other around the middle of nowehere SC), the longest one almost took us to Beaufort. I'm convinced the Carolinas put zero money into I-95...I'd hate to live there and depend on driving on it for a living.

Against our previous judgement, we stayed again at the Residence Inn in Florence and it was better than last time - my wife got her first suite night upgrade to a 2 bedroom (for the two of us LOL). Had another lunch at Barley & Burgers and St. Mary's Seafood in St. Augustine.

Finally here for three weeks or so and the weather's in the mid 80s - almost record highs for central Florida. And COVID still doesn't exist in Florida. ;-)

Happy New Year everyone.

jmhpsu93, please enjoy your three weeks in the sunshine state of Florida.

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

That place has cracked me up for about 30 years. Gloriously cheesy. Unfortunately probably more than a little bit racist, too.

Over the last few months, South Of The Border has worked to get rid of the "racist" signs. It's still open, but I would not be surprised if it closes at some point. The parking lot - except gas station - is always empty. No one is in the tower or motel, no one is using the mini golf. At least they maintain the exteriors.

TS

 

[jmhpsu93]

Over the last few months, South Of The Border has worked to get rid of the "racist" signs. It's still open, but I would not be surprised if it closes at some point. The parking lot - except gas station - is always empty. No one is in the tower or motel, no one is using the mini golf. At least they maintain the exteriors.

TS

Yeah, I noticed the lack of billboards on 95...much fewer than in the past.

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

And those that are up have less Mexican cheesy sayings.

TS

 

[Big Matt]

In Virginia we are in the midst of a big expansion on 95 complete with new on and off ramps and flyovers. Currently heading south the lane splits into five lanes with three going through and two for local exits. It creates a horrific backup as the five lanes revert to three south of Fredericksburg. If you are coming from points north, just take route 301 in Maryland and get back on 95 at the Bowling Green exit.

 

[AwayWeGo]

That place has cracked me up for about 30 years. Gloriously cheesy. Unfortunately probably more than a little bit racist, too.

Keep yelling, kids. They'll stop.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Armada]

I have always been a fan of the Monte Cristo sandwiches at Bennigan's. One of the few remaining Bennigan's is in Melbourne, FL about 1/2 mile east of I-95.

 

[amycurl]

Having just made this trip in the past week, I would have liked to have seen this thread about a week ago, LOL! Maybe this could be made a sticky, and updated by folks--kind of like Marty's HHI restaurant thread? i don't know who the mod of this forum is, so I'm just going to tag @DeniseM and see if she'll pass it to the right person.

And COVID still doesn't exist in Florida. ;-)

Except that we just got back late Saturday night (about 12 hours exactly,) and my spouse tested positive tonight (myself and DD tested negative.) So, yeah, definitely picked it up in FL. Be safe down there!

 

[jmhpsu93]

Glad we weren't making this trip yesterday. Virginia got hammered with a snowstorm, causing major road closures, accidents, power outages, etc. People were stranded overnight in their cars both directions on 95 south of DC.

Meanwhile in Orlando it was only in the 60s yesterday and windy - brrrrr!!!!!

 

[Laurie]

Like the first part, great idea!

Yikes, your edit! Hope he'll be okay and that you and your daughter stay healthy!

Having just made this trip in the past week, I would have liked to have seen this thread about a week ago, LOL! Maybe this could be made a sticky, and updated by folks--kind of like Marty's HHI restaurant thread? i don't know who the mod of this forum is, so I'm just going to tag @DeniseM and see if she'll pass it to the right person.

Except that we just got back late Saturday night (about 12 hours exactly,) and my spouse tested positive tonight (myself and DD tested negative.) So, yeah, definitely picked it up in FL. Be safe down there!

 

[Laurie]

For a decent cheap sleep, recently we've liked Best Western Plus in Brunswick GA, been 2x now. And we like the restaurant across the street for take-out, Toucan's Ale House, 2x now also, good burgers and salads; we forgot to use the 10% discount they mention at the hotel desk for showing your room key, but they do. There's a cluster of other hotels at the same exit if you want to upgrade your room a bit.