Ocean City MD road trip (June)

[noelbotevera]

Hello everyone! I'm considering a road trip to Ocean City and book a hotel near the boardwalk. Three things I want to avoid is:
US-50 (beach traffic)
I-97 (connector between Baltimore and Annapolis)
Chesapeake Bay Bridge (high winds, heavy traffic)

Please tell a good route I can use. THANKS! 

[hbelkins]

Looks like your best (only) option is coming down US 13 from Delaware, then.

[jeffandnicole]

I think you're going to have to tell us your starting point. 

You're also making some incorrect assumptions...

You could easily take DE 1 thru much of Delaware, and then you would want to pick up US 113 anyway (not US 13).  Weekdays, there are two $1 tolls.  Weekends, two $3 tolls.  But again, we'd need to know about where you're starting from to see if this route is worthwhile to you.  And it'll help to know the day you're traveling. 

So far, you seem to claim every possible route is going to be congested or has high tolls.  And that you're going to be in a rush...which is never a good thing.  At the hotel, I've never really heard of a check-in 'deadline'.  If you're going to be late, just let the hotel know you are on the way.  I've checked into hotels at midnight or later without any issues.  (I checked in one night at 4am, and the night auditor already did his work for those checked in for the night, so he didn't charge me for that first nigh!)

[froggie]

If you're trying to avoid the Bay Bridge, your ONLY other alternative is to make it to either Elkton, MD and head down 2-lane MD 213, or to the Wilmington, DE area and head down US 13, DE 1, or DE 9 (DE 9 also being only 2 lanes).

With where your origin and destination are, there's no way that you can avoid both slow travel and tolls.  You'll have to choose between one or the other.

[hbelkins]

Or go to Hampton Roads and backtrack up the CBBT. 

[froggie]

You do realize that such a route would require taking the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, right?  Unless taking the ferry is actually part of your plan.  If not, you'd be better off paying the tolls on the PA Turnpike and DE 1.  Ferry fees would be $37 at a minimum ($45 if over a weekend), plus $10 for each teenage-and-older passenger you have ($5 for kids).

[oscar]

I have a route in mind that uses I-81 to I-78, then hightail it to NJ, use the GSP, exit in Toms River, use US 9, then use either US 13 or DE 1.

That seems to takes you across Delaware Bay on a ferry, which as froggie notes is not cheap, and you want to make advance reservations to make sure there's room for you. Or you can slog down US 1 to I-295, then I-95 through Philly to Delaware.

But that seems to take you far out of your way, too much for even the most aggressive shunpikers among us. I-81 to I-78 would make more sense if your destination were somewhere on the Jersey Shore, though even for that I'd suck it up and pay PA/NJ turnpike tolls to get you more within range of free routes to the shore. 

[mrsman]

In my mind, probably the best way to head there unfortunately is via the Bay Bridge:

I-81 to I-70 to MD 32 to I-97 to US 50 over the Bay Bridge.  Once over the bridge, your options involve staying on US 50 all the way or taking some side roads to make your way to US 113 in Delaware and then heading south.  I'll leave the others to discuss which of those ways tends to be better as I'm not terribly familiar with MD east of Annapolis.

If the Bay Bridge must absolutely be avoided, the only other way is basically heading down the length of Delaware along either DE 1 (toll) or US 13 and then eventyually making your way to US 113 toward Ocean City.  To reach northern Delaware, you'd basically travel some way to Lancaster (US 30 or I-81 to Penn Turnpike to PA 283) and then head on local roads towards Elkton, MD or Newark, DE (PA 896 or PA 41).  I would really think that this would be a lot longer than by using the Bay Bridge, but if you hit the wrong travel time, I guess this may be quicker.

But as said earlier, you'd have to at least pay some of the toll to make this trip at all practical.  The best thing would be to altar your departure time to avoid the worst traffic backups.

[Pete from Boston]

Good choices! I have a route in mind that uses I-81 to I-78, then hightail it to NJ, use the GSP, exit in Toms River, use US 9, then use either US 13 or DE 1. That's a long route, but usually I leave at 8 AM (sometimes earlier - we left at 3 AM once to go to Philadelphia and Lehigh!). If there's any hotspots that can be highlighted, please tell me. I can see if I can detour them. Also if you guys noted the month, I can see why heavy traffic will be present here. June is when schools end, and beaches are prominent destinations.   

Do your companion adults/kids have the patience for your very long roundabout route?  You should ask them to pay the tolls, offering that long route as an alternative.  Everybody wins.

[hbelkins]

I-81 to I-70 to MD 32 to I-97 to US 50

Interesting. Would I-70 to MD 32 to I-97 be better than I-70 to US 29 to MD 100 to I-97? Since I'm going to be traveling either to or from Annapolis via I-68 in September, that's a relevant question for me as well.

[froggie]

Basically 6 of one, half-a-dozen of the other.  Whether it's best to take MD 32, US 29/MD 100, or even I-695 between I-70 and I-97 almost completely depends on traffic conditions at the time of your travel.

MD 32 is slightly shorter than 29/100, but that's countered by the remaining stretch of single-lane travel (between MD 144 and MD 108) plus a couple remaining traffic signals (near I-70 and MD 144).  Via I-695 is longer by a mile-and-a-half and is most prone to heavy traffic, but also has longer 65 MPH segments.

So it's really a crapshoot and all depends on traffic conditions at the time.

[jwolfer]

It seems you are worried about too many what ifs. The bay bridge is a bottleneck for sure. But any way you go to OC that time of year will have traffic.

Coming thru Delaware you do have some options ( DE 1, US 13, US 113, MD 213)

You are just gonna need to buck up and deal with traffic

Or have the Enterprise transport you

[noelbotevera]

It seems you are worried about too many what ifs. The bay bridge is a bottleneck for sure. But any way you go to OC that time of year will have traffic.

Coming thru Delaware you do have some options ( DE 1, US 13, US 113, MD 213)

You are just gonna need to buck up and deal with traffic

Or have the Enterprise transport you

I'm thinking about driving to DC, then following the Lee Highway. is this a good plan?

[PHLBOS]

3 adults, 1 teen, 1 kid (2 children if teens under age 18 and children are both consolidated.)

We want a direct route,but am not afraid to alter the route if I can jump heavy traffic. Best I can do is leave somewhere at around 10 PM and arrive at about 1 AM and check in. I'm not going through another time zone so I should be good.

Assuming that the age listed on your profile (which everybody can see on the left margin under your username) is true & current (Age: 11); aren't you just a tad young to be driving?  Route planning at age 11 for directionally-challenged parents, I can see (I did such myself); but actual driving (based on your above-wording), I think not. 

Personally, I'm surprised that nobody else here has yet noticed this.

Back to the topic at hand; if you haven't already done so and for grins & giggles, I would use either Mapquest/Bing Maps/GoogleMaps to see what routing options show up and go from there.  I believe that one can alter/edit their plotted route (at least on Mapquest anyway).  Estimated travel times are also listed, so one can get an idea of how long the trip (& routing options) could take.

Posted quickest route (based on Mapquest's posted travel times) is 3 hours, 58 minutes involves using US 30 E/I-81 S/I-70 E/US 29 S/MD 100 E/MD 2 S/US 50 E/MD 528.

Mapquest also lists 2 other routing options as well (with longer posted travel times as well).

[Mr_Northside]

Posted quickest route (based on Mapquest's posted travel times) is 3 hours, 58 minutes involves using US 30 E/I-81 S/I-70 E/US 29 S/MD 100 E/MD 2 S/US 50 E/MD 528.

MD-2?  Really?  Instead of I-97?? What the hell!  Even if it were shorter, I wouldn't care.  It has all of those traffic signals, and I remember it being a pain back in the late 80's.  (I think it's one of the reasons my dad opted to try I-270 & The Washington Beltway a few times back in the day).

Either US-29 -> MD-32 or US-29 -> MD-100 has been S.O.P for me (and friends/family) for trips to Delmarva now for just about 2 decades or so (I don't think the MD-100 option has been around quite that long).
The last couple of years, I've occasionally taken just MD-32 in between I-97 & I-70 - It's not too bad if you don't get behind someone going slow on the 2-lane portion or get screwed by lights at MD-144 and I-70.

[davewiecking]

Lee Highway from DC will take you towards, um, Charlottesville, VA. I guess you really do want to use the CBBT. I frequently make the drive from Bethesda, MD to the DE coast, and if it takes me under 2:45, I'm happy. Over 3:00 and I'm annoyed. Expecting to take an incredibly non-direct route a much longer distance in about the same amount of time seems ludicrous. Regardless of month of year or time of day.

[jeffandnicole]

We want a direct route...

From what I can tell, the most direct route is a bit over 4 hours.

And yet you proposed this, which according to Google Maps is over an 8 hour trek.  And you want to use US 9, which not only is a 25 mph residential/business road in many places along with the time-consuming ferry, but before that winds up right back on the GSP that you exited from earlier...

Good choices! I have a route in mind that uses I-81 to I-78, then hightail it to NJ, use the GSP, exit in Toms River, use US 9, then use either US 13 or DE 1. That's a long route, but usually I leave at 8 AM (sometimes earlier - we left at 3 AM once to go to Philadelphia and Lehigh!).

Also, you mentioned leaving about 10pm and arriving at 1am.  It's a 4 hour trip at best, so that time frame won't fly.

[PHLBOS]

Posted quickest route (based on Mapquest's posted travel times) is 3 hours, 58 minutes involves using US 30 E/I-81 S/I-70 E/US 29 S/MD 100 E/MD 2 S/US 50 E/MD 528.

MD-2?  Really?  Instead of I-97?? What the hell!  Even if it were shorter, I wouldn't care.  It has all of those traffic signals, and I remember it being a pain back in the late 80's.  (I think it's one of the reasons my dad opted to try I-270 & The Washington Beltway a few times back in the day).

Don't shoot the flipping messenger.  I only posted what Mapquest generated verbatim (no edits).  If I was plotting this route for my own use; you're right, I would've probably would've edited/dragged the route and used I-97 (off MD 100) as a means of getting to US 50 instead of MD 2 as well. 

Whoops, error for me. But where I live is a pretty bad place because it's gonna be hard to pay a toll or jump heavy traffic. Saving money on tolls will pay off in the long run.

I'm a bit confused here.  Based on the above-plotted routing (including I-97 being substituted for MD 2); the only toll one would encounter is for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (US 50/301) eastbound which is $ 6 (cash)/$ 5.40 (EZ-Pass).  Big Whoop!   One will spend more on gas (especially if such is a round-trip) for this journey than on the one-way toll.  If one's worried about one relatively pidly toll (we're not talking about extortion toll rates one sees in/around NYC here); then maybe one shouldn't be taking the trip at all.

BTW, I noticed that although you quoted my entire previous post; you didn't answer about your listed age of 11 being true or not (there are some younger members on this forum).  I only ask because it does seem odd for an 11-year-old to worry so much about tolls and traffic.

[PHLBOS]

Six dollars can REALLY stack up (I like to buy snacks, and truth be told, I'm still in school, and my lunches are just under $3 and my snacks are under $5. Those purchases have stacked to be about (guessing a little) 100 dollars). Yes I really am 11 and do love this forum (I actually procrastinate on school stuff and check up on this forum). (check out my welcome post: it's true. really am 11.)

That being the case (at age 11, you're certainly not driving); isn't whoever's driving (one of your parents, I presume) paying the toll(s) and gas costs?  You're acting as if the entire travel expenses are coming directly out of your actual pocket/allowance.

On topic, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is also a heavy traffic hotspot due to it carrying US 50, a major freeway here to around 20 miles east of Annapolis; the only preferable is I-81 to cross the Susquehanna, but sometimes the Harrisburg area can get a little hectic. My family either has to bite the bullet here and pay the toll and bearing heavy traffic.

Welcome to the real world, my friend.  Not every road journey can be congestion and/or toll free.  As one who has done many Philly-New England trips over the last 25 years; I know that tid-bit first-hand.

[noelbotevera]

Six dollars can REALLY stack up (I like to buy snacks, and truth be told, I'm still in school, and my lunches are just under $3 and my snacks are under $5. Those purchases have stacked to be about (guessing a little) 100 dollars). Yes I really am 11 and do love this forum (I actually procrastinate on school stuff and check up on this forum). (check out my welcome post: it's true. really am 11.)

That being the case (at age 11, you're certainly not driving); isn't whoever's driving (one of your parents, I presume) paying the toll(s) and gas costs?  You're acting as if the entire travel expenses are coming directly out of your actual pocket/allowance.

On topic, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is also a heavy traffic hotspot due to it carrying US 50, a major freeway here to around 20 miles east of Annapolis; the only preferable is I-81 to cross the Susquehanna, but sometimes the Harrisburg area can get a little hectic. My family either has to bite the bullet here and pay the toll and bearing heavy traffic.

Welcome to the real world, my friend.  Not every road journey can be congestion and/or toll free.  As one who has done many Philly-New England trips over the last 25 years; I know that tid-bit first-hand.

I'll take your word for it  and yeah sure, I won't worry. I do get a LITTLE irritable when there is heavy traffic. Given that my location is pretty poor (seriously four hours?) I think I'll take it. Thanks for the advice