Driving to Fort Lauderdale, Hotel the Night Before

[geoherb]

We may be driving to Fort Lauderdale next month for a cruise that leaves December 27. I'm wondering how far I should plan on driving the day before. We live in Raleigh, N.C., and I'm not sure I want to drive all the way in one day. Google Maps says it's about 11 hours of straight driving--and obviously longer with pit stops and meals plus even longer if there's any traffic. In looking at the map, Port St. Lucie looks to be a good stopping point--far enough along and about 90 minutes away from the port. Would people recommend going all the way to Fort Lauderdale, or does stopping in Port St. Lucie sound like it would be OK?

[OCruisers]

We drive from Columbia, SC. Our stopping point is Melbourne at a FULL service (good restaurant, bar, etc.) Holiday Inn which is right off I-95.

LuLu

[rkacruiser]

geoherb,

 

Often when I sail from Port Everglades, I will leave from a friend's home in Fort Pierce, just North of Port St. Lucie. 90-120 minutes is usually needed to reach the port from that location, depending upon traffic on i-95. Plenty of choices for both hotel accommodations and dining facalities in that area.

[Husky61]

It is really your choice how far you are willing to drive. I don't see how anyone on this forum can make that choice for you.:)

[BlueHerons]

If I'm going to drive all the way to Port St. Lucie, you might as well go to Fort Lauderdale.

 

Whatever you do, make sure you have hotel reservations. Everything will be sold out that week.

Edited November 7, 2014 by BlueHerons

[geoherb]

Thanks. I guess it will depend on where we can get a hotel reservation. We learned our lesson a few years ago when driving back from Cape Cod that we should have reservations. We drove farther than I wanted to because the hotels along the way where we first stopped did not have any vacancies. As of now, there are still some good prices available on Hotwire in the Port St. Lucie area.

Edited November 8, 2014 by geoherb