Washington DC to Fort Lauderdale drive: Best stops, distance & time

The best road trip stops on the Washington DC to Fort Lauderdale drive are Raleigh NC, Savannah GA and Jacksonville FL. The distance from Washington DC to Fort Lauderdale by car is 1,033 miles, with a 15h6m driving time.

Planning a Washington DC to Fort Lauderdale road trip itinerary

The Washington DC to Fort Lauderdale drive takes you down the east coast of the US to the west coast of Florida.

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.

Fort Lauderdale is a sleek coastal city of beaches and canals. For Fort Lauderdale experiences, try narrated 90 minute cruises on the Jungle Queen, Everglades airboat adventures and snorkelling tours on the Fort Lauderdale reefs.

Alternatively, try an evening boat cruise, renting a powerboat or parasailing.

Great beachfront Fort Lauderdale accommodation options include the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort and the Hotel Maren.

Washington DC to Fort Lauderdale distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Washington DC to Fort Lauderdale is 1,033 miles. That makes for a driving time of around 15 hours and six minutes, mostly down the I-95.

The best stops to add to a Washington DC to Fort Lauderdale road trip are Raleigh NC, Savannah GA and Jacksonville FL.

Washington DC to Fort Lauderdale road trip attractions: Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh NC offers a series of high quality museums. The North Carolina Museum of History, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina Museum of Art are the three big-hitters. Meanwhile, the Mordecai Historic Park is where you’ll find Raleigh’s oldest house and the William B Umstead State Park is the top spot for outdoorsy pursuits.

Top Raleigh activities include trolley pub tours and ghost tours.

For Raleigh accommodation, the Marriott is the prime address downtown and the Store is a gorgeous guesthouse.

Best stops between Washington DC and Fort Lauderdale: Savannah GA

Savannah has a timewarp handsomeness about it. Parks are lined by mossy oak trees, 19^th century buildings ooze history and riverboats glide along the rivers.

Great activities in Savannah include the Ghosts and Gravestones trolley tour, riverboat cruises and a true crime pub crawl.