Tampa to Disney Springs - traffic?

[nkereina]

We'll be staying in Brandon, FL and would like to drive to Disney Springs for a day. We're planning to leave Brandon around 7am and Google Maps shows a 1 hr 5 min drive, but I'm hoping someone can advise on traffic? How's rush hour traffic in this direction that time of morning? I'm estimating an hour and a half to get there, but please tell me if I'm underestimating the time. Google Maps will take me I-75N to I-4E. Not sure if that's going into traffic or the opposite direction of traffic that time of morning.

Thanks!

 

[Tattylou]

We drove from the St Pete beach area to Universal last April and it took over 2 hours each way and that was close to rush hour (think we left St Pete around 9am and left Orlando to come back the following day around 3:00). I see that Brandon is a little "closer" to Orlando than St Pete, so I think 1.5 seems good estimate.

 

[joelkfla]

If you're looking at Google Maps on a Windows PC, you can specify a departure or arrival time, and it will give you a range of travel times based on traffic history. Click on "Leave Now" under the destination field.

 

[goofy4tink]

Usually takes me about 75 mins to get from WDW to the Tampa/Oldsmar line.
I try to avoid busy commuter times though.

 

[Capt_BJ]

I-4 between Tampa and Orlando can be a monster just about any time of the day any day of the week ....

here's a good site for checking traffic .... http://www.mynews13.com//content/news/cfnews13/traffic.html

 

[NotUrsula]

Assuming there are no jams, 90 minutes from Brandon should be OK (Brandon isn't really Tampa, it's the far burbs. it's rather a long way from Brandon to Tampa proper.) You will probably encounter some traffic in Brandon itself and on I-75, but once you reach I-4 the majority of commuters will be headed the other way. I recommend that you use the Waze app for real-time updates on I-4 traffic, because when there's a wreck all bets are off.

 

[JimMIA]

Assuming there are no jams, 90 minutes from Brandon should be OK (Brandon isn't really Tampa, it's the far burbs. it's rather a long way from Brandon to Tampa proper.) You will probably encounter some traffic in Brandon itself and on I-75, but once you reach I-4 the majority of commuters will be headed the other way.

Right, Brandon is East of Tampa, so in the morning, you'd actually be going against most of the rush hour traffic. There are also a number of possible routes from Brandon to LBV, so if there is a problem in one area, there are multiple workarounds.

I recommend that you use the Waze app for real-time updates on I-4 traffic, because when there's a wreck all bets are off.

Or Google Maps. Use either one real-time as you drive. If there is a problem, they will alert you and suggest an alternative. I personally prefer Google Maps, but Waze is also good. Waze will give you info on police sightings, although I've always found Waze crowd-sourced info pretty unreliable.

 

[nkereina]

Thanks all! I do know where Brandon is in relation to Tampa but thought that Tampa in the title might draw in more responses

On a related note, we want to drive from Brandon to Clearwater Beach one day as well. Opposite direction of Disney Springs, so it sounds like we could potentially hit prime Tampa rush hour traffic. What time of the morning would you leave Brandon to avoid it? 9-9:30?

Thanks again!

 

[NotUrsula]

Yes, the worst of the traffic should be done by then unless there is a wreck or construction, but depending on the time of year & day of the week, leaving that late might put you in a bad position for beach parking in Clearwater. Routewise, the thick of traffic is from Brandon to the Tampa Airport, then it thins after that until you reach the causeway to the island, which can back up badly on popular beach days.

If you are looking just for sand and sea, consider going up to Honeymoon Island park, which is lovely and pretty much never crowded. However, if you want the "busy beach" and/or marina atmosphere, just be aware that public parking near the beaches is quite scarce in Clearwater, and plan accordingly. (Your best bet is probably the new North Beach Parking garage on Poinsettia; $2/hr, $20 daily maximum. It's about 3 blocks from the beach.)

 

[nkereina]

Yes, the worst of the traffic should be done by then unless there is a wreck or construction, but depending on the time of year & day of the week, leaving that late might put you in a bad position for beach parking in Clearwater. Routewise, the thick of traffic is from Brandon to the Tampa Airport, then it thins after that until you reach the causeway to the island, which can back up badly on popular beach days.

If you are looking just for sand and sea, consider going up to Honeymoon Island park, which is lovely and pretty much never crowded. However, if you want the "busy beach" and/or marina atmosphere, just be aware that public parking near the beaches is quite scarce in Clearwater, and plan accordingly. (Your best bet is probably the new North Beach Parking garage on Poinsettia; $2/hr, $20 daily maximum. It's about 3 blocks from the beach.)

Thanks for these tips! We are going the first week of February. Its still early, but temps are looking like high 60s/low 70s that week. My initial thought is this will not be a popular beach time due to the cooler weather. How does that typically impact crowds in Clearwater? We were also considering St. Petersburg instead - mostly looking for some drinks, lunch, and sights of the gulf. We'll dip our toes in if its warm enough but not planning on a full beach day. Where would we be better off?