The last time we took a road trip with our Tesla Model 3 it was pre-covid and it was more of an experiment in, can an EV really do a long road trip? We found out that it was extremely easy and actually really enjoyable. For our first post covid road trip we decided to drive to Hilton Head Island. This is our EV Hilton Head Road Trip.
Much like our East Coast Tesla Road trip that saw us drive and then stop for a few days and then drive some more to various locations, this EV road trip consisted of three main parts. We drove and stayed in Pittsburgh for a few days, then drove down to Hilton Head and stayed there for three days. We then turned around and drove north again stopping for a few days in the Finger Lakes area of New York.
EV Hilton Head Road Trip
From Southwestern Ontario to Pittsburgh is about five and a half hours but with charging stops these driving times are longer. We woke up quite early to start driving and hope to get through the border crossing quickly. We had almost no wait at the border! It was a dream. Many of the Tesla chargers we stopped at along this leg were at Sheetz, which was nice as they always had a clean restroom and eating options nearby.
We made it to Pittsburgh in the early afternoon and were able to check in right away. We used the Marriott Bonvoy app to alert the hotels that we were going to check in early when we knew we were getting close. It is a great feature to make use of so that the property is more likely to have your room ready for you when you arrive.
We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Pittsburgh Downtown, which was in the historic district of Pittsburgh and walking distance across the iconic yellow bridges to PNC Park. This hotel was close to many restaurants and iconic sights. It was easy to access from the highways as well. The only drawback I would say is that it was noisy at night. We could hear street noise in our room at night as there were popular restaurants close by. We also had to use the Valet service as this hotel did not have self park parking. The room itself was large and comfortable. I love the comfy beds at Marriott properties.
We stayed in Pittsburgh two nights. The first day we had dinner close to the hotel and wandered around. The next day was a full touristy day with a hop on hop off bus tour, museum stop and a baseball game at PNC park.
Read more: One Day in Pittsburgh
The next day was a driving day. We drove from Pittsburgh to Statesville North Carolina. We arrived at the Fairfield Inn and suites mid to late afternoon. Another comfortable and clean room. This time it was very quiet at night. This property was fairly new and had great water pressure in the shower. We all took a swim in the outdoor pool and we had dinner at the Chili’s around the corner. This was more of a stop and go stay but this property did have electric car charging so we were able to start out with a full charge.
The next day we arrived at Hilton Head Island. We used points to stay at the Westin Hilton Head Island Hotel which is right on the ocean. Again we were able to get into our room right away as we did the check in on the app. We had a room closer to the ocean but without any sort of real view. The hotel did have free electric car charging in the underground parking. One dedicated Tesla charger and one non tesla charger. This is the only time that we had to wait for charging as there were others using the charging hotel. There is a supercharger on the island as well but we never had to go out to use that.
Read More: Westin Hilton Head Island Resort Review
Our stay at Hilton Head was mostly a mixture of beach and pool time. The hotel has the feel of a large all inclusive resort but food and whatnot is not included. Even the chairs on the beach are rentals. We did eat at the hotel a few times and the food was quite good but also quite expensive. We did a quick afternoon over in Savanah on our last full day as well. It was cool to see although it was very hot to be sightseeing.
Three days might seem too short for Hilton Head but we were ready to get back on the road for the last portion of our road trip. The first stop was Richmond Virginia.
We stayed in the Scotts Addition neighbourhood of Richmond. It is a bit more trendy as there are many restaurants and micro breweries in the area. It was originally an industrial area that has seen these properties converted into condos and startups. For us the Courtyard Richmond Scotts Addition was close to the highway. We had plans to do some sightseeing but really we just found a place to eat and crashed for the night. The hotel was very new and had more of a modern feel than other Courtyard Marriotts we stayed at. There was complimentary EV charging at this hotel.
I do want to highlight where we had dinner. Taza Kitchen was probably my favourite meal the entire vacation. We loved the atmosphere and the food was fantastic.
The next day we drove to Elmira New York. Our plan was to stop here so that we could get up early the next day to visit Montour Falls and Watkins Glen State Park before heading to our last hotel at the top of the finger lakes. We stayed at the Elmira Horseheads Courtyard Marriott. This was probably one of the older properties we stayed at but the rooms were still very nice and on par with every other Marriott we stayed at during our trip. It also had free EV charging. There was a Target close by so we did very stereotypical Canadian border shopping.
From our hotel it was only about 30 minutes to Montour Falls and then at most that again to Watkins Glen. We had a great morning exploring waterfalls and hiking. I would highly recommend taking the time to visit the Finger Lakes area to take in these amazing sights especially to visit Watkins Glen State Park.
We were driving onto our last hotel by early afternoon. Our last hotel was not a Marriott. We stayed at the Lake House on Canandaigua. This was more of a boutique property that I will review separately but it was gorgeous. There was complimentary EV charging at this property but you needed to have the EVO app on your phone.
From our stay on Lake Canandaigua it was about 4 hours to get home to Ontario. We left bright and early again to get across the border before the line ups started.
Compared with our trip in 2019 there are many more hotels that are offering destination charging. I also like that an EV road trip slows everything down. When you stop to charge you have lots of time for washroom breaks and lunch breaks. We also broke up this trip and saw so much more than if we just drove straight through to Hilton Head.
What do you think of our EV Hilton Head Road trip? Have you been to these cities before?