Safest places to stop on I-95 in North or South Carolina

[SimplicityNow]

We are heading down to the Tampa Bay area for a permanent move. We have to do the trip in 2 days to make the closing.

We will be driving our SUV which will be pretty full along with a rooftop car carrier.

We'd like to make it to at least Lumberton, NC and perhaps as far as Florence, South Carolina.

Since we will have a car full of stuff we want to try and minimize the chance of theft.

I realize that can be difficult along the I-95 corridor but that is the way we will be traveling.

Any recommendations for a "relatively" safe place (town, hotel) in that area?

Thanks.

[8foot7]

Plenty of Hampton Inn-style hotels right off 95 in both locations. The drive between Lumberton and Florence is pretty miserable. 95 is mostly two lanes in each direction with tons of tractor-trailers regularly switching lanes going about two-tenths of a mile per hour faster than the trucks in the other lane.

[John Z]

We winter in FL so do the drive every year. We park nearest the lobby entrance under a light and we pack our most valuable items such that we take them to the room overnight (computers, important papers, medicines, etc.). It's an extra trip or two but worth it. Anything that would be difficult or impossible to replace. If your vehicle gets vandalized you can claim other items on your insurance.

[Nyc10036]

We winter in FL so do the drive every year. We park nearest the lobby entrance under a light and we pack our most valuable items such that we take them to the room overnight (computers, important papers, medicines, etc.). It's an extra trip or two but worth it. Anything that would be difficult or impossible to replace. If your vehicle gets vandalized you can claim other items on your insurance.

I love this advice.

Also, since it is just 2 overnights, fit the valueables into a rolling suitcase along with the clothes, toiletries, etc. that typically go into a suitcase.
Or if you don't want to do that, put the valueables into a 3rd suitcase.
.

[quantAndHold]

Bring the really expensive stuff inside every night. Also, the best thing we did was my wife’s SUV had tinted windows. When we threw a dark colored sheet over all the stuff and put a sunshade over the front window, you couldn’t tell there was anything inside, even in the daytime. I figure that was probably our best defense.

[howard71]

I live in Tampa and have made the I-95 drive as far as it goes and back on numerous occasions.

Never had any concern at all about safety stopping at any of the hotels along the freeway.

[raisinsaregrapes]

I try to plan my routes to stop at military bases when I move, so I don't really have to worry about my open bed truck full off stuff. Probably not an option for you, but maybe air-bnb with a garage to close it up?

-Bob

[tibbitts]

I've driven that route many times and haven't experienced a problem, but would take the most valuable items inside with me. Some motels/locations will seem obviously more or less safe than others. And I have tried to park in less remote locations in the parking area.

[UpperNwGuy]

I usually stay further north at one of the Residence Inns or Hampton Inns between Rocky Mount and Dunn. For some reason the area from Fayetteville to Florence has never inspired confidence.

[hudson]

We are heading down to the Tampa Bay area for a permanent move. We have to do the trip in 2 days to make the closing.

We will be driving our SUV which will be pretty full along with a rooftop car carrier.

We'd like to make it to at least Lumberton, NC and perhaps as far as Florence, South Carolina.

Since we will have a car full of stuff we want to try and minimize the chance of theft.

I realize that can be difficult along the I-95 corridor but that is the way we will be traveling.

Any recommendations for a "relatively" safe place (town, hotel) in that area?

Thanks.

I would stop at exit 49 near Fayetteville; maybe there's a Hampton or Hilton? It looks kind of isolated and it's got a Cracker Barrel. At least check it out.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.002787, ... 384!8i8192

https://www.i95exitguide.com/lodging/no ... a-lodging/

[smitcat]

We just completed a similar 2 day trip (NY to Fla) about 2 weeks ago pulling a larger enclosed trailer with a larger pickup.
We stayed at Fairfield Inn and suits in Florence SC as it offered reasonable security and easy in and out with the trailer in tow.

[utvolfan]

Stay at the Hotel Florence in Florence SC, a lovely boutique style hotel! It is fantastic!!

[wordsmith11]

Not sure where you're coming from but the Amtrak Auto Train is an awesome way to avoid I-95 from just south of DC to Sanford, FL, about two hours from Tampa.

[SimplicityNow]

Wanted to return to the thread and thank everyone for the suggestions.

For future travelers: we stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites - Florence Center. Comfortable, well lit parking lot and we fortunately had no issues.

We had no traffic at all so we made good time but with traffic could be a long ride from NY.

[SimplicityNow]

Plenty of Hampton Inn-style hotels right off 95 in both locations. The drive between Lumberton and Florence is pretty miserable. 95 is mostly two lanes in each direction with tons of tractor-trailers regularly switching lanes going about two-tenths of a mile per hour faster than the trucks in the other lane.

Our experience as well. Was almost comical after a while.

[Tubes]

Sounds like you got good advice and everything went well. Congrats on your move!

For everyone else: I-95 gets messier each year. NC (and SC) are seeing massive growth from people moving down or becoming "halfbacks". "...transplanted Northerners, moving out of Florida to mid-south states halfway back to the North — to the Carolinas,..."

Because of this growth, states are concentrating on roads in urban areas. I-95, especially the rural areas, is becoming more and more of a parking lot.

There is hope on the way. In NC, the state is widening a bit in that troublesome Lumberton area and a few others. It is going to take a few years and a half billion or so. Unfortunately, it will only be a drop in the bucket, but it is a start. News here: https://www.robesonian.com/news/148298/ ... -september

[Cheez-It Guy]

Pedro's South of the Border.

Fun financial fact: Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke used to wait tables at a restaurant there.

[retirebeach]

Florence, SC is the most violent city in SC and one of the most violent in the country. We stopped there and were lucky not to get killed. It's filthy and a dump along with being dangerous

[Cletus Davenport]

Pedro's South of the Border.

Fun financial fact: Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke used to wait tables at a restaurant there.

I stopped there once, because of the approximately 100 billboards I saw for it driving back from Florida. What a dump. I’d never stop there again. (To be complete, this was many years ago. Although a dump, it did not feel unsafe)

On a different trip from NC, I did see a very large gator just chilling by the side of the highway. I don’t remember whee it was, but I don’t recommend stopping there either.

[rogue_economist]

When I used to travel with a car full of things moving I would make it look like a homeless person was half living in it. Throw old sheets and a tarp over most of the stuff and a nice layer of fast food bags and other garbage and it starts to look more like there isn't anything worth stealing.

Also another place where having an actual trunk is a plus.

[Hebell]

I grew up in Florence South carolina. I do not like stopping at South of the border anymore. Has gotten kind of sketchy.

There are two major exits for Florence. The much nicer one is the intersection with I-20 that heads off Westward towards Columbia. There are new hotels there. I recommend the Home2suites by Hilton.

The only time I ever had a problem there is when it got taken over by a lot of youth for some event. Even then, it wasn't a problem with the room, it was just loud and noisy in the common areas.

[Hebell]

Florence, SC is the most violent city in SC and one of the most violent in the country. We stopped there and were lucky not to get killed. It's filthy and a dump along with being dangerous

You stopped at the upper exit. I agree with you. It's a mess there.

The lower exit by I-20 in the shopping mall is quite safe. I grew up in Florence South Carolina. Trust me, I was glad to get the hell out of there.

[adamthesmythe]

Is there something wrong with me that I don't fear for my life and property when I stop at a chain hotel along the interstate??

My strategy- look for a good hotel with someplace nearby to eat that is better than a Cracker Barrel. Carry in my valuables. Make the rest look as uninteresting as possible, a pile of clothing and large boxes. Lock the car.

[bikefish]

When I saw Lumberton mentioned in the original posting, immediately my mind switched gears to the movie “Blue Velvet”. Never had a concern with motel/hotel parking areas. But I wouldn’t leave my wallet in a car.

[Hebell]

Is there something wrong with me that I don't fear for my life and property when I stop at a chain hotel along the interstate??

My strategy- look for a good hotel with someplace nearby to eat that is better than a Cracker Barrel. Carry in my valuables. Make the rest look as uninteresting as possible, a pile of clothing and large boxes. Lock the car.

Nothing wrong with being generally not fearful, but there are a lot of muggings at the northern exit. Just a statement of fact. The hotels there have been around longer, are run down, and serve as a sort of transient housing. You wouldn't know that if you just got off the highway

[retirebeach]

I grew up in Florence South carolina. I do not like stopping at South of the border anymore. Has gotten kind of sketchy.

There are two major exits for Florence. The much nicer one is the intersection with I-20 that heads off Westward towards Columbia. There are new hotels there. I recommend the Home2suites by Hilton.

The only time I ever had a problem there is when it got taken over by a lot of youth for some event. Even then, it wasn't a problem with the room, it was just loud and noisy in the common areas.

I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to insult where you grew up. I'm trying to let drivers know of our recent experience.I grew up in Springfield, MA which wasn't great at the time but now is a dangerous city too. My children can't believe that's where I lived. I do appreciate your suggestion to go to I-20 towards Columbia to stop at the Home2suites. Thank you for the help.

[66Sally]

We travel between NOVA and SWFL quite often. We usually spend the night in Pooler, GA. We travel with a dog and cat so we frequent LaQuinta. Not my first choice of hotels but if you need pet friendly the La Quinta in Pooler is pretty good. We leave many things in our car but take in our meds and laptop. So far, we have not had a problem.

[rkhusky]

My strategy- look for a good hotel with someplace nearby to eat that is better than a Cracker Barrel.

Is there really anything better than Cracker Barrel?

[Cletus Davenport]

My strategy- look for a good hotel with someplace nearby to eat that is better than a Cracker Barrel.

Is there really anything better than Cracker Barrel?

Cracker barrel is top notch in my book.

If you’d like to see something that may truly epitomize the American experience all in one place, consider the Buccees in Florence SC. Buccees is really something……..

[Elysium]

A couple of times we did the trip to FL and back, we stopped around Fayetteville, NC at a Hampton Inn. Never had any issues either with surroundings or the hotel. I don't think from the way the parking lot and surroundings looked or the people around there was going to be any safety concerns. Never crossed my mind. I also did stop over at the Buccees in Florence, that looked okay too. I wasn't thinking of staying off I-95 anywhere near there though, because somehow NC looked better place to stay for me.

[bogles the mind]

We used to travel I95 to Florida. Now we bypass it mostly. I81>I77>I26>I95. Charlotte is about halfway for us. Slightly longer but way less stressful and more scenic. No Washington and Baltimore beltways.

[Joey Jo Jo Jr]

Florence, SC is the most violent city in SC and one of the most violent in the country. We stopped there and were lucky not to get killed. It's filthy and a dump along with being dangerous

Where are you getting your data? I spent a good number of years inFlorence and don’t recall anyone getting attacked. Of course I don’t necessarily consider a motel on I-95 as representative of Florence either, but rather its own thing that is not too dissimilar from other motels along I-95 in other towns. Like going to a town’s McDonald’s and concluding that town has puny hamburgers.

[mhadden1]

Pedro's South of the Border.

Fun financial fact: Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke used to wait tables at a restaurant there.

The OG!

[retirebeach]

https://www.thecentersquare.com/south_c ... bfff2.html
This is my source

[retirebeach]

Florence, SC is the most violent city in SC and one of the most violent in the country. We stopped there and were lucky not to get killed. It's filthy and a dump along with being dangerous

Where are you getting your data? I spent a good number of years inFlorence and don’t recall anyone getting attacked. Of course I don’t necessarily consider a motel on I-95 as representative of Florence either, but rather its own thing that is not too dissimilar from other motels along I-95 in other towns. Like going to a town’s McDonald’s and concluding that town has puny hamburgers.

My source is https://www.thecentersquare.com/south_c ... bfff2.html and also my own experience in the town. or you can google it for even more sources stating the same fact. Florence is the most violent city in the state. Not just my imagination so just because you haven't heard anyone getting attacked or your opinion doesn't mean a thing. You really need to open your mind and not focus on belittling others when you don't have the actual facts.

[Joey Jo Jo Jr]

Where are you getting your data? I spent a good number of years inFlorence and don’t recall anyone getting attacked. Of course I don’t necessarily consider a motel on I-95 as representative of Florence either, but rather its own thing that is not too dissimilar from other motels along I-95 in other towns. Like going to a town’s McDonald’s and concluding that town has puny hamburgers.

My source is https://www.thecentersquare.com/south_c ... bfff2.html and also my own experience in the town. or you can google it for even more sources stating the same fact. Florence is the most violent city in the state. Not just my imagination so just because you haven't heard anyone getting attacked or your opinion doesn't mean a thing. You really need to open your mind and not focus on belittling others when you don't have the actual facts.

My goodness, who is belittling whom here? You said Florence was a dump and you were lucky not to get killed, which must make me and many others I know there lottery-ticket lucky. But aside from that:
1) Florence MSA does not equal Florence the town as the MSA covers a lot of nearby locales with much poorer demographics.
2) there are many SC towns not in an MSA so you can’t even claim the Florence MSA is more violent than those
3) the pockets of violence within a given MSA are often relatively easy to avoid with even a modest amount of awareness. No need for you to bash an entire city because you didn’t care for the motel you stayed at off of I-95.

[cisvp]

Where are you getting your data? I spent a good number of years inFlorence and don’t recall anyone getting attacked. Of course I don’t necessarily consider a motel on I-95 as representative of Florence either, but rather its own thing that is not too dissimilar from other motels along I-95 in other towns. Like going to a town’s McDonald’s and concluding that town has puny hamburgers.

My source is https://www.thecentersquare.com/south_c ... bfff2.html and also my own experience in the town. or you can google it for even more sources stating the same fact. Florence is the most violent city in the state. Not just my imagination so just because you haven't heard anyone getting attacked or your opinion doesn't mean a thing. You really need to open your mind and not focus on belittling others when you don't have the actual facts.

No metro area in the northeast made the top 50 list. So using that source, we can say the metro areas in the northeast are very safe.