Is Buc-ee's Worth the Hype?
One of our most recent adventures took us on on the open road from Baltimore to Orlando. On the way, we were determined to make a stop to visit at least one Buc-ee’s location! This gas station/convenience store has been recommended to us time and again by fellow road warriors in our circle, and as a result, it has been on our travel bucket list for quite some time. Knowing that we wanted to have our own vehicle at our disposal for this trip, we decided that there was no better time to check out the fabled ‘Buc-ee’s’ for ourselves, so we made note of the three locations between our starting point and our destination, and hopped in the car.
The drive from Baltimore to Orlando takes roughly 14 hours if you never stop for food, gas, or bathrooms. Such as it is, we anticipated at least 16 hours on the road, assuming that traffic and weather conditions were favorable. We left home in the evening with the plan to drive through the night and the intention of being able to enjoy a pretty full day once we reached our final destination. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and by the time we made it Buc-ee’s in Florence, South Carolina, we were about two and a half hours behind our planned schedule. If you aren’t familiar with the chain, Buc-ee’s is a roadside attraction in itself, featuring multiple gas pumps, electric car chargers, multiple clean bathroom stalls, freshly prepared food, and merchandise. When we pulled into this location it was about 3:00am. Fortunately, Buc-ee’s is open 24/7 and the early hours of the morning are comparatively quiet, which made this a perfect time to explore.
Above: Buc-ee the beaver greets guests outside the Florence, SC location of Buc-ee's!
Our first impressions were quite good. The staff greeted us warmly and energetically, which almost caused us to forget the late (early?) hour. The store itself was clean and bright, and in fact, they were busy mopping up the floors as we arrived. The bathrooms were everything that had been described to us, very clean and very large. We spent enough time there that we both used the facilities twice. In addition to selling several brand name snacks and beverages, Buc-ee’s has its own line of snacks and beverages to choose from - including the famous Beaver Nuggets and Craft Sodas. The chain also famously sells freshly-made sandwiches such as chopped brisket and pulled pork barbecue. The made-to-order counter wasn’t operating at this time of night, but there were still plenty of food options being sold and prepared. While we selected our sandwiches, we were assaulted by the scent of freshly-made candied pecans - so, naturally, we took a cone of nuts and a bag of Beaver Nuggets for the road.
Now, the one caveat of making a food stop at Buc-ee’s is that there is no formal dining or seating area, inside or out. This helps to explain why so many of our friends in the vlogging and travel communities have conducted “food reviews” inside their cars. I have a pretty strict policy about eating in my car, especially when it comes to messy sandwiches…so we found a well-lit area around a light pole and dug in. Tim chose the Pulled Pork sandwich and I choose Chopped Brisket, and both were delicious. We also sampled the candied pecans which were exactly as advertised on the bag - “sinfully” good. There were other things that we made note of definitely wanting to try during a future visit, such as the tacos and the banana budding. Before leaving Buc-ee’s, we did gas-up and finally got back on the road.
We made it into Georgia as the sun was coming up and it seems left most of the rain behind us, and before we knew it, Florida was greeting us with blue skies. Unfortunately, the sunshine state also greeted us with a wall of traffic. So, when “nature called” and we were still hours out from our final destination, where else would we go for a short break but another Buc-ee’s? This second location we visited was newly opened in St. Augustine, FL, and featured even more bathrooms, gas pumps and food options than the last. We observed that the made-to-order counter was indeed open at this time of day (roughly 8am), but we also observed that it was four to five times as busy as the location we had visited at 3am. After using another delightfully clean, if slightly more congested bathroom, we got back into the car and made our way back into traffic for the last two or three hours of our drive.
So, was Buc-ee’s worth the hype? Ultimately, I think we would say that the answer is yes - our expectations were met in every category, from snacks to restrooms to ample parking. Tim likened the experience to that of an airport terminal - similar amenities, similar crowd levels dependent on the hour of your visit, cleaner bathrooms, and much better food. Check out our travel vlog for our on-the-road shenanigans and first impressions of Buc-ee’s. This video kicks off our Summer central Florida series - so be sure to catch up on our other adventures and EPCOT, Seaworld, Discovery Cove, and more!
