Driving from Ontario to Orlando fl.

[bankr63]

I prefer the gasbuddy trip calculator. It uses real-time pricing from the gas stations where it is suggesting you fill up along your route. I found the estimate to be quite accurate for our trip in March although I tweaked the highway mileage estimate for my Nissan Titan because it doesn't get quite as good mileage on the highway as rated. As far as I can see the others use average fuel prices?
https://www.gasbuddy.com/tripcostcalculator

 

[Misha72683]

Thanks for making this post OP as I was about to book plane tickets, but read this post instead. We have a trip booked end of April/early May 2023. If we drive down, I calculated we will save about $3000! Totally worth the try for us!

I bought 6 plane tickets from Pearson for $2600 so I might look around.

 

[bankr63]

I bought 6 plane tickets from Pearson for $2600 so I might look around.

But nowadays you have to tack a couple of days onto your vacation getting in and out of Pearson. Driving might actually take less time.

 

[canuckgirl]

Hello Everyone!

We are a large family and are driving down to Disney in august of this year! We have driven before (in 2018) but it was our first time and we were somewhat shocked by the lack of easy & accessible stops along the way. Seriously…. They need to take a page out of the ON route stops!! We are driving the 79/77/95 route and it seemed like the choice was either the state rest stops with no gas or food, but a restrooms and parking or driving (sometimes quite a ways!) off the interstate to some random small town and having to make several stops for both food and gas! Annoying! This time we’d like to have a list of the best places to get food & gas that are nicely spaced for the trip (3-4 hours apart) and that are clean and are easy to get to off the interstate! If you’ve driven before, what are your favourite stops? I’d love to hear! Thanks so much!

Cheryl

 

[starvenger]

To be honest when I went I game planned based on areas I've stopped before (Erie) and "is there a Costco gas bar here". And that speed trap area. You know the one.

 

[chrispeto]

Hello Everyone!

We are a large family and are driving down to Disney in august of this year! We have driven before (in 2018) but it was our first time and we were somewhat shocked by the lack of easy & accessible stops along the way. Seriously…. They need to take a page out of the ON route stops!! We are driving the 79/77/95 route and it seemed like the choice was either the state rest stops with no gas or food, but a restrooms and parking or driving (sometimes quite a ways!) off the interstate to some random small town and having to make several stops for both food and gas! Annoying! This time we’d like to have a list of the best places to get food & gas that are nicely spaced for the trip (3-4 hours apart) and that are clean and are easy to get to off the interstate! If you’ve driven before, what are your favourite stops? I’d love to hear! Thanks so much!

Cheryl

We take I 75 there is a lot of gas stations, restaurants and hotels right off the highway

 

[BlancheNeige7]

Hello Everyone!

We are a large family and are driving down to Disney in august of this year! We have driven before (in 2018) but it was our first time and we were somewhat shocked by the lack of easy & accessible stops along the way. Seriously…. They need to take a page out of the ON route stops!! We are driving the 79/77/95 route and it seemed like the choice was either the state rest stops with no gas or food, but a restrooms and parking or driving (sometimes quite a ways!) off the interstate to some random small town and having to make several stops for both food and gas! Annoying! This time we’d like to have a list of the best places to get food & gas that are nicely spaced for the trip (3-4 hours apart) and that are clean and are easy to get to off the interstate! If you’ve driven before, what are your favourite stops? I’d love to hear! Thanks so much!

Cheryl

Hello! We are also driving down in August from Ottawa. Someone in the "2,000 Mile Round Trip" board suggested the IExit App which shows things like gas stations, hotels and restaurants at the exits of the Interstate. I've downloaded it and it seems easy to use with so much information!

Happy planning!

 

[Norton figment]

I drove down in March and it was about $400 Canadian for gas. I have an Elantra which is great on gas. Hotels have even gone up since March closer to one $50-$200 US now. Thanks to these boards i got a Marriott Credit card a few years ago and this is saved me Some money over the years and hotels and since I wasn’t going anywhere with Covid I had lots of points I could use. The card cost $120 a year and it’s good for one free night up to a certain limit. I used my free night for a hotel in Titusville that would’ve cost me 220 US only cost me 120 Canadian.
Plus last year they had so many deals not sure if it was because of Covid or not but I ended up getting enough credits back that’s the card ended up being free. One of them and I just used recently was if you spend $60 that shell you get five dollars back up to four times I used it three times so that’s a $15 savings. There have been restaurant discounts as well one of them was I think it was $100 get $50 back and there was also a bunch of other things.
It might not work for you on this trip as it takes about two months to get the free night once you apply but food for thought for a future for us drivers. I actually points at Disney springs for a Marriott hotel in March it was 20,000 points which is about $10,000 in spending and I received my free nights which the list price was 175 US so for me I feel this is better bang for my buck than other cashback type cards.

 

[canuckgirl]

Hello! We are also driving down in August from Ottawa. Someone in the "2,000 Mile Round Trip" board suggested the IExit App which shows things like gas stations, hotels and restaurants at the exits of the Interstate. I've downloaded it and it seems easy to use with so much information!

Happy planning!

So we aren’t the only crazy ones driving down to Florida in August! Haha! Thanks so much for the information about the app! I hadn’t heard of it, but it’s exactly what I’m looking for and will be super useful! Thanks!

Cheryl

 

[canuckgirl]

I drove down in March and it was about $400 Canadian for gas. I have an Elantra which is great on gas. Hotels have even gone up since March closer to one $50-$200 US now. Thanks to these boards i got a Marriott Credit card a few years ago and this is saved me Some money over the years and hotels and since I wasn’t going anywhere with Covid I had lots of points I could use. The card cost $120 a year and it’s good for one free night up to a certain limit. I used my free night for a hotel in Titusville that would’ve cost me 220 US only cost me 120 Canadian.
Plus last year they had so many deals not sure if it was because of Covid or not but I ended up getting enough credits back that’s the card ended up being free. One of them and I just used recently was if you spend $60 that shell you get five dollars back up to four times I used it three times so that’s a $15 savings. There have been restaurant discounts as well one of them was I think it was $100 get $50 back and there was also a bunch of other things.
It might not work for you on this trip as it takes about two months to get the free night once you apply but food for thought for a future for us drivers. I actually points at Disney springs for a Marriott hotel in March it was 20,000 points which is about $10,000 in spending and I received my free nights which the list price was 175 US so for me I feel this is better bang for my buck than other cashback type cards.

Some great information for others who have more time before their trips!

Cheryl

 

[KCMA]

We are leaving Thursday morning from Durham Region… I’ll try to post some gas prices here as we head down … as for finding amenities right of the highway we never had an issue… sure we may have had to drive from a gas station to a food place across the street or down the road but nothing that was a major inconvenience especially since we do not eat at places that we in Canada … but comparing to an Onroute I understand what your saying

 

[Juventus]

I've been rving around Tennessee and Kentucky the past couple weeks. Gas is hovering just above $4/gal. You can find it for under $4, but probably not right off the highway.

And I just in case people don't know, to pay at pumps that still ask for a zip code, enter the 3 numbers in your postal code followed by 00.

 

[Norton figment]

So we aren’t the only crazy ones driving down to Florida in August! Haha! Thanks so much for the information about the app! I hadn’t heard of it, but it’s exactly what I’m looking for and will be super useful! Thanks!

We drove down end of August a few years ago. Be prepared to have the air conditioning going full blast. Also I’m sure you have thought of this but anytime you stop try and park in the shade to have the car cool down a bit. It was hotter than heck in Florida but when we went it was quieter. Good tips take an umbrella to use for shade while in the parks. Not sure if it was just me but I find the sun to be much brighter in Florida and my darkest sunglasses were needed otherwise my eyes with hurt. Take as much breathable items as possible cotton and Anti wicking make sure there’s no polyester shirts or else you’ll just be trapping the heat and sweat in.

 

[azrivest]

I'm also interested in the EV charging station locations @ccudmore . We're driving down to Lorton in a few weeks to take the Autotrain.

 

[ccudmore]

I'm also interested in the EV charging station locations @ccudmore . We're driving down to Lorton in a few weeks to take the Autotrain.

Check on plugshare.com. It'll give you a complete map of charging locations. DM me if you want more details.

 

[Mikey15]

Check on plugshare.com. It'll give you a complete map of charging locations. DM me if you want more details.

ABetterRoutePlanner.com is a great tool as well. Plans stops based on efficient charging times for your EV.

 

[KNovacovschi]

This is how much we paid on our trip from July 16-24. We were driving a 2017 Hyundai Electra and my husband filled up when we hit half or just under it. We drive from Hamilton so go down through NY/PA/WV/VIRGINIA/NC/SC/GEORGIA.

 

[cslittle999]

Thank you for sharing. I've been looking at average gas prices but it's good to see someone's actual experience. We're driving down in October in our 2016 Prius. Comparing the fuel economy, I'm hoping for around half of that. It's been quite awhile since we've driven and the first time in a car instead of a minivan or SUV.

 

[KNovacovschi]

Thank you for sharing. I've been looking at average gas prices but it's good to see someone's actual experience. We're driving down in October in our 2016 Prius. Comparing the fuel economy, I'm hoping for around half of that. It's been quite awhile since we've driven and the first time in a car instead of a minivan or SUV.

You're welcome. Have a great trip.

 

[Misha72683]

So West Jet decided to mess with our carefully selected flights and with all the horror stories from Pearson these days, we have decided to drive instead.