Seeking Advice on Drive to Cape Cod

[Anonymous]

We are traveling to Cape Cod for 4th of July week. Current plan is to leave at 5 a.m. from NW DC in the hopes of beating at least some traffic (I know this is wishful thinking). My question for those of you who regularly travel to the Cape: what bridge do you take over the Hudson River, the GW or Tappan Zee? If you take the Tappan Zee, what route do you take to get there? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Do the drive to the ISLANDS (messing with a tool from the other thread) at least twice every summer. Drive up and drop off all the stuff and then pick it all up in late August.

IF you get out that early, go GW bridge and stay on 95 all the way as it is the quickest and most direct. That said, monitor the traffic from mid-Jersey up so that you don’t get clipped by something in the Bronx or up 95. You can also go through Westchester via various routes after the GW bridge if the cross Bronx and 95 are bad. Check WAZE.

IF you want to take the Cuomo Bridge (the name has changed), 95 to NJ Parkway to 287 to bridge is best.

All that said, I have gotten to Conn border from NW DC in less than 4 hours leaving that early only to get crushed by 95 or the Merritt in Conn. Plan for traffic to be awful there. It is always awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are traveling to Cape Cod for 4th of July week. Current plan is to leave at 5 a.m. from NW DC in the hopes of beating at least some traffic (I know this is wishful thinking). My question for those of you who regularly travel to the Cape: what bridge do you take over the Hudson River, the GW or Tappan Zee? If you take the Tappan Zee, what route do you take to get there? Thanks in advance.

Waze took us over Tappan Zee on our last drive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are traveling to Cape Cod for 4th of July week. Current plan is to leave at 5 a.m. from NW DC in the hopes of beating at least some traffic (I know this is wishful thinking). My question for those of you who regularly travel to the Cape: what bridge do you take over the Hudson River, the GW or Tappan Zee? If you take the Tappan Zee, what route do you take to get there? Thanks in advance.

Tappan Zee. NJT to Garden State to 84E, over the bridge, to Wilbur Cross/Merrit. From there you can take 84 in CT. Into MA and drop south to the Cape on 495 from the MA Turnpike or cross over to 95N around Norwalk and then follow that into Providence, and take 195 to the Cape off 95N

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do the drive to the ISLANDS (messing with a tool from the other thread) at least twice every summer. Drive up and drop off all the stuff and then pick it all up in late August.

IF you get out that early, go GW bridge and stay on 95 all the way as it is the quickest and most direct. That said, monitor the traffic from mid-Jersey up so that you don’t get clipped by something in the Bronx or up 95. You can also go through Westchester via various routes after the GW bridge if the cross Bronx and 95 are bad. Check WAZE.

IF you want to take the Cuomo Bridge (the name has changed), 95 to NJ Parkway to 287 to bridge is best.

All that said, I have gotten to Conn border from NW DC in less than 4 hours leaving that early only to get crushed by 95 or the Merritt in Conn. Plan for traffic to be awful there. It is always awful.

Can go West once you go into CT and loop around to Hartford

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are traveling to Cape Cod for 4th of July week. Current plan is to leave at 5 a.m. from NW DC in the hopes of beating at least some traffic (I know this is wishful thinking). My question for those of you who regularly travel to the Cape: what bridge do you take over the Hudson River, the GW or Tappan Zee? If you take the Tappan Zee, what route do you take to get there? Thanks in advance.

Tappan Zee. NJT to Garden State to 84E, over the bridge, to Wilbur Cross/Merrit. From there you can take 84 in CT. Into MA and drop south to the Cape on 495 from the MA Turnpike or cross over to 95N around Norwalk and then follow that into Providence, and take 195 to the Cape off 95N

Yup we’ve done this too but I think PP meant NJT to Garden State to 87/287E.

[Anonymous]

I just always do the Tappan Zee (95 to Delaware bridge (not Philly) to NJ turnpike to Garden state parkway).

In theory the GW bridge can save you maybe 15 minutes under ideal circumstances and PP’s suggestion of just monitoring the situation and making a call when you are in NJ isn’t a bad one but I have found that generally by the time I get to NY* the GW bridge isn’t saving me any time and I dislike the Cross Bronx Expressway so I just plan on using the Cuomo/TZ.

*I used to make the drive at night and generally if I hit NYC at 11 pm the GW was fine but even then on a Friday or Saturday night you could hit traffic.

[Anonymous]

PS the map services will probably send you on the coast via 95 through CT vs up thru Mass and 495. Just like with the GW bridge, CT will usually look 10-15 minutes faster but will usually end up more congested and the same time or slower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are traveling to Cape Cod for 4th of July week. Current plan is to leave at 5 a.m. from NW DC in the hopes of beating at least some traffic (I know this is wishful thinking). My question for those of you who regularly travel to the Cape: what bridge do you take over the Hudson River, the GW or Tappan Zee? If you take the Tappan Zee, what route do you take to get there? Thanks in advance.

Tappan Zee. NJT to Garden State to 84E, over the bridge, to Wilbur Cross/Merrit. From there you can take 84 in CT. Into MA and drop south to the Cape on 495 from the MA Turnpike or cross over to 95N around Norwalk and then follow that into Providence, and take 195 to the Cape off 95N

THIS can be a nightmare due to Mass traffic coming south.

All of the options have been set down on the responses. I really think be able to adapt and adjust becomes the key. No route is perfect and all routes are very much subject to traffic/accident/construction issues.

Leave at 3 am for the best outcome!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do the drive to the ISLANDS (messing with a tool from the other thread) at least twice every summer. Drive up and drop off all the stuff and then pick it all up in late August.

IF you get out that early, go GW bridge and stay on 95 all the way as it is the quickest and most direct. That said, monitor the traffic from mid-Jersey up so that you don’t get clipped by something in the Bronx or up 95. You can also go through Westchester via various routes after the GW bridge if the cross Bronx and 95 are bad. Check WAZE.

IF you want to take the Cuomo Bridge (the name has changed), 95 to NJ Parkway to 287 to bridge is best.

All that said, I have gotten to Conn border from NW DC in less than 4 hours leaving that early only to get crushed by 95 or the Merritt in Conn. Plan for traffic to be awful there. It is always awful.

Can go West once you go into CT and loop around to Hartford

PP. I have done that. I think best plan is to read and react. Or go earlier in the am.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PS the map services will probably send you on the coast via 95 through CT vs up thru Mass and 495. Just like with the GW bridge, CT will usually look 10-15 minutes faster but will usually end up more congested and the same time or slower.

+1 we always regret it when we take 95 through CT even when Waze recommends it. And I say that as someone who used to live in Providence RI and loves to stop off there for a coffee break but it is just not worth it.

[Anonymous]

I do this drive a couple of times a year. Leave at 4:30 if you can at all swing it. On a normal day you'll be in NJ in about 2 hours, which is unthinkable any other time of day.

Starting this early it almost never makes sense to take the Tappan Zee. Go for the GW bridge, but keep a map app on to redirect you if there's construction or accidents.

I don't know that I've ever done the same route through CT twice. Some combination of 15 and 95 is the way to go, so long as you get there early enough.

The bridges over the canal are a crapshoot. Traffic there will depend more on the day of the week than the time of day.

Getting up early really makes the difference. Traffic gets worse as the day goes on, so every delay compounds itself with delays further north. Taking alternate routes like the Tappan Zee or up to 84 in CT only "saves" time by going around the most congested areas. I find that leaving a half hour earlier will save up to 2 hours in travel time, whereas byzantine detours might shave 30 minutes off a traffic-clogged nightmare.

[Anonymous]

I am doing the drive on Sunday. Will probably take the Cuomo bridge - that's what we ended up taking when we drove up in May. The closer we got the longer the GW bridge backup got. But we also don't leave until around 9 am, so you might find GW to be faster if you are there a lot earlier.

Google maps does not like the Cuomo bridge. I have to put it in as an extra stop to check the two routes as it will not pop up as an alternate route.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am doing the drive on Sunday. Will probably take the Cuomo bridge - that's what we ended up taking when we drove up in May. The closer we got the longer the GW bridge backup got. But we also don't leave until around 9 am, so you might find GW to be faster if you are there a lot earlier.

Google maps does not like the Cuomo bridge. I have to put it in as an extra stop to check the two routes as it will not pop up as an alternate route.

Very important advice! Google maps has (or had) the same glitch with using Chain Bridge between DC & Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are traveling to Cape Cod for 4th of July week. Current plan is to leave at 5 a.m. from NW DC in the hopes of beating at least some traffic (I know this is wishful thinking). My question for those of you who regularly travel to the Cape: what bridge do you take over the Hudson River, the GW or Tappan Zee? If you take the Tappan Zee, what route do you take to get there? Thanks in advance.

Tappan Zee. NJT to Garden State to 84E, over the bridge, to Wilbur Cross/Merrit. From there you can take 84 in CT. Into MA and drop south to the Cape on 495 from the MA Turnpike or cross over to 95N around Norwalk and then follow that into Providence, and take 195 to the Cape off 95N

THIS can be a nightmare due to Mass traffic coming south.

All of the options have been set down on the responses. I really think be able to adapt and adjust becomes the key. No route is perfect and all routes are very much subject to traffic/accident/construction issues.

Leave at 3 am for the best outcome!

OMG. The tool from the other thread is back. No one from MA goes south in the summer. In fact, most people I know from MA have a place in FL for Dec to March, and A place at the Cape for the rest of the year. Will you give it up and stop trying to ruin the MA threads? Jeff should have banned you by now.

This poster is such a strange GUY.