Philadelphia to Wilmington NC drive: Distance, time & best stops

The best road trip stops on the Philadelphia to Wilmington NC drive are Baltimore, Washington DC and Richmond VA. The distance from Philadelphia to Wilmington NC is 508 miles, with a 8h4m driving time.

Planning a Philadelphia to Wilmington NC road trip itinerary

The Philadelphia to Wilmington NC drive takes you from historic Pennsylvania to the North Carolina coast.

Historic Philadelphia has a series of absolutely stellar attractions. Independence Hall, the Eastern State Penitentiary and the National Constitution Center are all utterly engrossing.

Other key attractions in Philadelphia include the Museum of the American Revolution, the Independence Seaport Museum and the Penn Museum. For great Philadelphia tour options, try the Old City historic walking tour, a night tour exploring the city’s dark side or an It’s Always Sunny-themed tour of South Philadelphia.

If looking for Philadelphia accommodation, the Club Quarters Rittenhouse Square is often great value, while the Kimpton Hotel Monaco has style and personality.

Wilmington NC is a port city that acts as a gateway to the beaches of Cape Fear. Wrightsville Beach is the best known of these. Attractions in the city itself include Battleship North Carolina, which took part in every major WWII Pacific offensive. Visitors can now go on board and explore.

For historic homes, you can try the Burgwin-Wright House and Gardens or the Bellamy Mansion. And, on a sunny day, the Airlie Gardens and the Wilmington Riverwalk are a delight.

Good Wilmington experiences include nighttime ghost walks, history and architecture walking tours, e-bike tours and sunset sailing cruises.

For Wilmington accommodation deals, search here.

Philadelphia to Wilmington NC distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Philadelphia to Wilmington NC is 508 miles. You can expect a driving time of around eight hours and four minutes. The quickest route is along the I-95 and I-40.

The best stops to add to a Philadelphia to Wilmington NC road trip itinerary are Baltimore, Washington DC and Richmond VA.

For more suggestions, check out the guides to the individual legs of the journey.

• Philadelphia to Baltimore drive.
• Baltimore to Washington DC drive.
• Washington DC to Richmond VA drive.
• Richmond to Wilmington NC drive.

Best stops between Philadelphia and Wilmington NC: Baltimore

Baltimore is a character-packed port city that has spruced itself up in recent years and has a wealth of attractions to explore. The National Aquarium and the Fort McHenry National Monument are arguably the biggest two sights, but there’s an excellent range of Baltimore experiences to tackle.

Top choices include historical sightseeing tours, sailing on Inner Harbor and ghost tours in the Fell’s Point neighbourhood.

For other options, try brewery-hopping tours, helicopter rides and Fell’s Point food tours.

Waterfront Baltimore accommodation options include the Canopy at Harbor Point and the Sagamore Pendry in Fell’s Point.

Philadelphia to Wilmington NC drive: Washington DC

Washington DC has an enormous range of tours, experiences and attractions available. You could happily spend weeks in the Smithsonian Museums alone. Top choices, however, include the nighttime monuments and memorials tour, small group guided visits to the Capitol and National Library of Congress and Lincoln assassination tours that visit Fords Theatre.

Memorable Washington DC accommodation options include the Willard, where Martin Luther King Jr wrote his I Have A Dream speech. There’s also the Watergate Hotel, a luxurious conversion of the offices from the Watergate scandal.

Philadelphia to Wilmington NC road trip attractions: Richmond VA

Once the capital of the Confederacy, Richmond VA is not entirely weighed down by its history. The surprisingly wild James River runs through it, and the west end feels energetic and more of the North than the South.

The top attraction, though, is the huge American Civil War Museum at the historic Tredegar Ironworks. After that, walk the suspension bridge to Belle Isle in the middle of the James River, see the dubious Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue, or see the grandiose tombs of the Hollywood Cemetery.

Other good Richmond experiences include food tours of the Arts District or Church Hill, Segway tours of the city landmarks, nighttime ghost walks and guided hikes along the James River.

For Richmond accommodation, the Moxy Richmond Downtown brims with fun, youthful energy. The Residence Inn by Marriott, meanwhile, is a short walk from the lively Shockoe Bottom neighbourhood.

More Philadelphia road trips

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