Everything You Need to Know about Driving from New York to Florida in One Day

Have you ever wondered what it would be like driving from New York to Florida in one day?

It’s something I’ve thought about but never really considered doing until the pandemic hit.

I normally fly to south Florida at least a few times a year to visit my parents, who live there. But once the pandemic hit, that wasn’t an option for me. With chronic asthma, I didn’t want to take the chance of getting on a plane.

So, like many other people, I went months without seeing my family except on Facetime and Zoom calls. I assumed that I wouldn’t see my parents until either they or I got the vaccine and felt more protected when traveling.

But then winter came to NY (I struggle with SAD and literally hate the winter) and it was the holidays and my husband and I received some bad news and it all just became too much.

Related: 5 tips to help you cope with the winter blues

I told my husband I needed a change of scenery, so the idea of driving from New York to Florida suddenly became a reality for us we were willing to consider.

The idea of actually doing the drive in one day seemed more feasible after I saw on social media that Ali Maffucci, founder of the site Inspiralized, had done the drive in one day with her husband and two toddlers. I figured if she could do it with two kids under two in the car, then surely my husband and I could manage it as well!

So with only a few days to plan and prepare, we got ready for our epic, drive from New York to Florida in one day.

Was it crazy? Yes.

Was it exhausting? Yes!

But was it worth it so we could finally see my parents after not seeing them for almost a full year because of the pandemic? Also yes.

Now that we’ve done the road trip twice, (we drove back from Florida to NY in one day as well), I want to share all of my tips with you, in case you want to try this epic road trip as well.

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Everything You Need to Know About Driving from New York to Florida in One Day

Safety Precautions We Took Because of COVID-19

First, I want to talk about the safety precautions we took because of COVID-19. Here is a list of the things we did and the stuff we used to stay as safe as possible during our road trip.

• We got tested for COVID-19 before we left
• This GuardMe Personal Protection Travel Kit was perfect because it has cloth masks with disposable filters, latex gloves, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes
• Maybe we’re a little crazy but we also brought extra surgical masks (which we always keep in the car)
• Every time we got out of the car to use the bathroom or get gas, we wore our masks
• When we had to stop, we went to rest stops and gas stations that were less crowded
• Every time we got out of the car, we wiped down high-use areas like the door handles, steering wheel, etc.
• We packed all of our own food, snacks, and water and the only thing we stopped for besides gas is coffee

I would feel remiss if I didn’t share that the further south we got, the more relaxed people were about the pandemic. We actually went into a few rest stops and gas stations (particularly in Georgia and North Florida) where employees were not wearing masks. If I were taking this trip now, especially with the new variants of the virus which are now in the States, I would wear two masks to go inside anywhere.

New York To Florida Road Trip Stats

Here are the stats for our actual trip from Brooklyn, New York to Boca Raton, Florida.

• 1239 miles
• Driving from NY to Florida on a Monday took 20 hours (including stops)
• Driving from Florida to NY on a Saturday took 17 hours (including stops)
• We stopped for gas 4 times each way
• Waze is what we relyed on for navigation and the app mostly kept us on Interstate 95 except in the D.C. metro area

Our Schedule (And the Best Days To travel this Route)

 When we initially made the decision to go, our plan was to leave on a Sunday. We ended up leaving one day later, on a Monday, so we had one more day to prepare. In hindsight, that was a mistake. We traveled on the Monday after Christmas.  We thought most people would still be on holiday break,  but the roads were busy. Surprisingly, the most traffic we had was in North and South Carolina. We got delayed one hour because of a bad accident and then ran into rush hour near Charleston, South Carolina.

On the way back, we traveled on a Saturday and made much better time, making the trip in just over 17 hours, with stops. If you decide to do this road trip, I highly recommend traveling on a Saturday or Sunday, when you won’t run into normal rush hour traffic.

The other recommendation I have is to leave super early in the morning. For both drives, we were on the road by 4:45 am. If we ever did this again, we would leave even earlier, by 4 am at the latest. Those quiet, early hours on the road before the world wakes up are the best. You can make great time when the highway is empty and there’s also something very peaceful about being on the road with very few other cars.

What to Pack to Eat and Drink for Your New York to Florida Road Trip 

If you’re driving from New York to Florida in one day, you probably want to pack all of your drinks and food. We did so for two reasons. The first was safety, because of the pandemic, and the second was because of time. We already knew we’d have to stop for gas and bathroom breaks, but we didn’t want to waste additional time having to wait for food as well.

We packed up our beach cooler with breakfast, lunch, and dinner plus canned coffee drinks, and fruit. I also had a full bag of snacks (thank you Trader Joe’s!) including nuts and dried fruit, granola bars, crackers, chips, and chocolate. For water, I filled up every single S’well bottle that we have, plus our Corkcicle (which we normally fill with wine when we take it with us to the beach). We also filled two metal water bottles with hot coffee.

For breakfast, I made bagel sandwiches with smoked salmon and cream cheese. For lunch, we had turkey sandwiches on the way down, and grilled vegetable wraps on the way back. (Yes, it’s a lot of sandwiches but those are easiest to eat on the road.) On the way down to Florida, I packed leftover stir fry for our dinner. On the way back, I had extra wraps which we didn’t even end up eating. From the late afternoon on, we were satiated with snacks plus coffee.

Speaking of coffee, My husband and I both love it. We stopped both ways in the late afternoon for a fresh cup at Starbucks. While we could have used the drive-through (which is probably safer), we wanted to stretch our legs. Both times the stores were pretty empty because everyone else was using the drive-through, so we felt pretty safe.

Entertainment for a 15+ Hour Road Trip

You might be thinking, what could possibly keep you entertained for a 15+ hour drive from New York to Florida? Well, I have the answer. And even better, this kept us occupied for both drives, for a total of 30+ hours.

The answer? True crime podcasts! For us, it was one in particular. We stumbled upon Up and Vanished and as soon as we started listening, we were hooked. We listened to season one of this podcast.  It’s about the disappearance of the high school teacher and former pageant queen, Tara Grinstead, from a small town in Georgia. Between the regular podcast episodes plus all of the bonus shows, it was more than enough content to keep us occupied for the entire trip.

The other bonus? It kept us from arguing! The car seems to be the one place my husband and I tend to argue (is it like this for all couples?!), so having this podcast to keep us entertained was perfect. We were both so engrossed in the story, we had no time to get into arguments. It was perfect! 

Would We Do the One Day Road Trip from New York to Florida Again?

So, now that we’ve done the drive from NY to Florida (and back), would we do it again?

The short answer is probably not. While it was an exciting and somewhat fun experience, (and certainly earned us a badge of honor!) it was also exhausting. We literally felt like we had jet lag for a couple of days after each drive.

So what will we do instead if we want to travel to Florida again before it’s safe to fly? Well, there are two options. One is to drive again but this time make an overnight stop somewhere in the Carolinas. Since we traveled to Florida in December, my husband and I have now stayed at a hotel and an Airbnb, so we feel more comfortable with staying somewhere overnight.

The second option (which I’m actually excited to try) is the overnight Amtrak Auto Train where you bring your car with you. The train leaves late afternoon just outside of Washington D.C. and drops you in the morning near Orlando, Florida. There are a few great things about this option.  It’s significantly less driving. It’s fewer miles on your car (this matters to us since we are leasing). And how cool is it to take an overnight train? It’s not something that is very common in the States so I’m excited to try it.

As for safety, you can book a private cabin with your own bathroom, so you have total privacy. It costs approximately $600. This is only a little more than my husband and I would pay for two one-way flights to Florida. I’ll let you know if we try out this option. And of course, I’ll write a blog post about it too!

So what do you think?

Would you ever consider driving from New York to Florida in one day? If so, I hope this blog post has given you the tips you need to plan your trip.

Interested in more road trip ideas? If so check out these posts!

Take a road trip to the Catskills to check out Woodstock and Livingston Manor, and here’s where you should stay.

Spend the weekend in Saint Michaels, Maryland.

The North Fork of Long Island is one of my favorite places to visit and here are my tips for visiting the vineyards during the pandemic.

Plus 10 Coastal towns in Maine that should be on your radar.

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