AMI in rush hour.

[tiddlypeeps07]

Hi all. We are hoping to book an excursion that leaves the Island at 9am. We are coming from Emerald Island Villas therefore conscious that we are going to hit Tampa rush hour. Has anyone got advice on routes that could avoid this.

Thanks :-)

[7SeasSailor]

The shortest and quickest route notwithstanding traffic is I4 and I75. I've done it a couple of times and I would allow at least 3 hours on a good day. You are right about the traffic though, I've seen it come to a standstill around the interchange between I4 and I75 because of the volume of traffic. You would also need to allow time from I75 to whichever part of AMI your are heading for. I would be looking at leaving Kissimmee at about 5am, DW would overrule that and book into a cheap hotel the night before.

[mick]

As 7SS suggests we always use the I-4 down to I-75 whenever we go to AMI. The I-75 leaves the I-4 just before Tampa and should be better than going round Tampa to reach the I-275 and Sunshine Skyway.

We then approach AMI through Bradenton (City not Beach) to Holmes Beach but sadly the traffic through Bradenton can be very busy as well.

We don't get to that area often but we did meet Joan's brother off a cruise in Tampa in February and the last 20 miles of I-4 was horrendous - took us about an hour in both directions at around 9-10am and 4-5pm. Might have been a one off but it could be like that regularly.

Google Maps says 2 hours but as above I would allow at least 3.

Mick

[MikeC1964]

Blimey! Just planning exactly the same thing myself and I never gave rush hour a thought! Won't be a problem on the way back as we will not be coming back unitl well into the evening, but I was planning to take the Sunshine Highway route on the way down, just to see whether the family freak going over it!

Looks like I may need to re-plan a little. Thanks for the warning.

Originally Posted by tiddlypeeps07

Hi all. We are hoping to book an excursion that leaves the Island at 9am. We are coming from Emerald Island Villas therefore conscious that we are going to hit Tampa rush hour. Has anyone got advice on routes that could avoid this.

Thanks :-)

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We're staying at Emerald Island for the last part of our trip to. When you say '..we are hoping to book an excursion that leaves the Island... ' what exactly is that? Or am I mis-understanding you? If this is an organised excursion then presumably you don't have much influence on the route?

[martyn7836]

Think they mean an excursion from Anna Mari island not Emerald Island. They are trying to get to AMi for 9am when the excursion leaves there possibly a dolphin or another boat excursion.
We are planning a day trip and Mick advised me on the route above but I'm tempted to wait for rush hour to finish as I want to get down there mid morning mid day then travel back after sunset.

[MikeC1964]

Originally Posted by martyn7836

Think they mean an excursion from Anna Mari island not Emerald Island. They are trying to get to AMi for 9am when the excursion leaves there possibly a dolphin or another boat excursion.
We are planning a day trip and Mick advised me on the route above but I'm tempted to wait for rush hour to finish as I want to get down there mid morning mid day then travel back after sunset.

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Haha, yes I see now! Too many islands!

I think we'll go the other way and leave earlier than planned. If I'm going to have to spend five hours or more driving then I want a big gap between trips and I'd prefer not to leave too late to come back.

[tiddlypeeps07]

Sorry yes I didn't make it very clear. I think we may leave a little later and arrive for mid morning and so an evening excursion as want to see the sunset too. Think it may be a little early to leave at 530am ish with children... if only we could add another week on all our problems would be solved :-)

[Rowlf]

You can monitor the traffic at different times of the day by using Google maps traffic and the Waze website. It can be a big help.

We're over here at the moment and are really surprised how much heavier traffic has become since we were here just last September. The reason is that Florida currently has a high level of internal migration - and most of the newcomers bring their cars!

We stay in Sarasota which would normally be quieter now the winter season has ended, but it's certainly not on the main routes.

[macjaddie]

The traffic can be really bad! Give loads of time or go the night before and stay nearby.