I grew up driving from Virginia to Maine every year, twice a year. I have taken this trip countless times. Let me share a few great tips for this trip.
I have a simple road trip planning system and I think it can work for every trip. Jump over to the simplest ever printable road trip planning worksheet and let’s get to work!
The first step is to divide the trip into legs. This will give you a timeline and help with packing and budgeting.
Traveling from North Carolina to Maine is about 1,000 miles, depending on where you are starting and ending.
I recommend stopping at least once on your trip, Baltimore would be a great place to stop, New York and New Jersey border is another great stopping point.
For each leg, plan where you will stop and what you will do.
This is a dream trip for many people, you can see some pretty iconic cities in America on this trip: Washington DC, Baltimore, NYC, Portsmouth NH, and Acadia National Park in Maine.
Plan to spend some time exploring a few destinations, take your time, follow the 2/2/2 rule and really enjoy the trip.
Routes from North Carolina to Maine
There are two major roads you will drive between North Carolina and Maine: Route 1 and I-95.
Route 1
Route one is a historic highway and it runs from Florida to Maine. The name of Route 1 changes frequently and it is difficult to follow with a navigation app because it will often route you around major cities.
You will likely spend some time on Route 1, but it is not the best route for the whole trip. Plan to experience this historic road in Virginia.
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 is the most efficient way to get to most places on the East Coast, it is also a really boring drive.
Interstate 95 also has quite a few trouble spots. There is often very thick traffic headed North into D.C. in the early morning and during rush hour around major cities.
Consider planning to leave later in the day and arriving early to avoid as much traffic as possible.
If you find yourself stuck in traffic, be flexible, an app like RoadTrippers can give you interesting detours in real time. Use my link to sign up and get $5 off with code:BTR5QTP. This is an affiliate link and I will earn a commission at no cost to you if you choose to purchase.
RoadTripper will include information like pricing for any attractions you see in the app.
For the best traffic information I find that Google Maps is accurate enough.
How much are tolls from North Carolina to Maine?
Tolls are a big cost on an East Coast road trip. Expect to spend a few hundred dollars on tolls north of Maryland.
You can get an exact cost of your trip by using the app TollGuru, this is my favorite toll app because it will calculate the cost of your trip and give you suggestions to save on toll costs.
There are places in New York where a wrong turn can cost your $12 or more. There are a few other apps you could try for calculating tolls and this is my review of toll paying apps.
Tolls can be paid with the EZ Pass system and it can be used all along the East Coast from Maine to Florida.
You can get an EZ Pass in special offices in your state. We bought ours at Wegmans and they are also available at:
- AAA offices
- Grocery Stores
- Hardware stores
Search or EZ Pass retailers and go to the location most convenient. There are a bunch of them.
You will be asked to add money to your EZ Pass account immediately when you purchase and it can be connected to an account to automatically reload.
How long does it take to drive from North Carolina to Maine?
As a general rule, you want to drive between 2-300 miles each day, so this trip should be 2 or 3 days of driving.
My family and I always did the drive in one day, but now, at 35 I have still never seen the Statue of Liberty and I have driven by it probably 30 times.
I encourage you to plan a few stops. Enjoy the trip.
Hershey Pennsylvania has a free display where you can learn about the chocolate company, Portsmouth New Hampshire is an incredibly walkable town with great restaurants, New York City is visible from Interstate 95. There are countless Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurants along this route.
Plan an epic trip that your family will talk about for years to come.
Packing for Your Road Trip
When you have the stops and legs of your trip planned, add any special equipment that you will need in the bottom of your trip planner.
Include things like swimsuits, jackets, purses, tickets or other things you will need for each day of the trip.
Pack by the day not by the person. Have everything you need for each day in its own bag so that you can bring only one bag into the hotel or other accommodation each night.
Pack a brightly colored toiletry bag for the whole family, and make it easy for everyone to find.
I like to pack in layers so I am not scrambling at the last minute throwing things into a grocery bag. I have a detailed packing system with a printable checklist that you can find in the linked post.
Start by planning outfits, you should plan to have enough clothes for half of the trip plus one outfit for each adult and two extra for each kid. There is a detailed outfit packing post linked and it includes some ideas for how to plan laundry and a chart to help you plan outfits.
Once you have filled out the printable trip planner with any special equipment, and added outfits and a toiletry bag, you are done!
Plan to Document the Trip
I think it is important to keep the memories from a trip alive. You spent lots of time and money planning and driving the trip, you can extend the relaxation benefits of your trip by documenting and sharing memories from the trip.
I wrote 11 unique ways you may choose to document your vacation. We do these things and I love having a cool free keepsake from our trips to display at our home.
You may also choose to vlog the trip, check out the how-to guide for recording your road trip in this post.
Document the trip, talk about the memories every Christmas and Thanksgiving.
