Help - Driving from Tampa to Cocoa Beach

[dopeyfav]

We are staying in Cocoa Beach the end of April. The airfare to fly into Tampa vs. Orlando is half. I am strongly considering flying into Tampa & driving to Cocoa Beach. I would like to know how busy the interstate is on a Saturday for the drive back to the airport. MapQuest says it is a 2.5 hour trip; is this accurate considering traffic and any construction, etc?

Any tips, pros or cons would be very helpful.

Thank you.

 

[Nancy]

More Time

I-4 can be an okay drive or a nightmare. If there is an accident or construction, it can slow way down. I'd plan at least 3 hours.

Nancy

 

[jercal10]

there is a good bypass route. When we get closer email me & I'll give it to you
jercal10@hotmail.com

 

[silvib]

I-4 on a Saturday is usually fine - unless there's an accident, but if you worried about accidents on interstates you would never use them. Straight run and take the 528 BeachLine/BeeLine/toll road.

 

[rreno]

You might consider flying into Daytona. Airtran and Delta service that airport.

 

[Big Matt]

It takes 50-60 minutes to get from Cocoa Beach to 4 via 528 (toll) and another 80-90 minutes to the Airport.

Two more things to consider:
1) construction on 4 is mostly over except for when you get close to the airport. Look for some alternate routes when approaching 275 from 4. You should be able to avoid the major delays going into Tampa
2) The Tampa airport is much smaller than Orlando and getting in and out is much faster. Security lines are very short. Getting to the airport 60 minutes before your boarding time will give you plenty of time to drop off the car, check bags, get through security, etc.

Planning on leaving Cocoa beach about 4 hours before take off should give you more than enough time.

You could also time the trip from getting off the plan to Cocoa Beach on the way for a decent idea of how long it will take in reverse.