Three Good Stops

Detroit to Tampa: where to stop

1178 miles, about 17 hr 2 min of driving. Here are the real towns worth stopping in between Detroit, MI and Tampa, FL, and why each one earned it.

Your first stop

Lima, OHStretch your legs in Lima, OH · mile 134

The other 8 stops on this drive

Named for your own departure time and driving style when you plan the trip — your first full plan is free.

C•••••, OHstretch, fuel, meal · mile 270
L•••••, KYstretch · mile 410
F•••••, TNstretch, fuel · mile 546
R•••••, GAovernight, meal · mile 589
A•••••, GAstretch · mile 725
C•••••, GAstretch, fuel, meal · mile 865

Name every stop — first trip free

No card for the first trip. After that it's 99¢ for three trips, or $2.99 a month.

How the days break up

DayMilesDrivingNight in
15898 hr 38 minRinggold, GA
25898 hr 25 min—

How we picked these

Every stop is a real town on your actual route — not a chain billboard. We score towns on what a driver needs at that point in the drive: fuel and food for a stretch break, parks and grass when a pet is along, hotels and restaurants when it's an overnight. Detour distance counts against a town, so nothing here costs you a long side trip.

This page is planned for a 9-hour driving day leaving at 8:00 AM. Change any of that — your hours, your MPG, pets, small children, an EV's charging range — and the stops change with it. Plan Detroit to Tampa your way →

Questions

How far is Detroit, MI to Tampa, FL?
About 1178 miles, roughly 17 hr 2 min of driving before stops.

Can you drive Detroit to Tampa in one day?
Not comfortably. At a 9-hour driving day it splits into 2 days, with a night in Ringgold, GA.

Where is a good place to stop between Detroit and Tampa?
Lima, OH is the first one on this route.