benefits of a road trip? Please convince me!

[PRINCESS VIJA]

We are planning on going to the Grand Canyon this summer. the flights out there when we want to go are very expensive and there are no nonstops. This is important as DD has a VERY hard time clearing her ears.

So we are debating about making it a road trip. According to mapquest it is about 26 hours drive time. We would break it up into 2 days, but that still is alot of driving. For those that have done it, how did you like it, what makes it worthwhile, and what makes it special?

I have a hard time thinking about making many stops along the way because it would add so much more time to the road trip part. Maybe on the way back home?

HELP!

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

I have driven many times to WDW with my family which is about an 18 hour drive. On the way there, we would split it up but on the way home, we would drive straight through.

In 2005, we drove across the country - from ocean to ocean. It was an amazing trip! This country is so beautiful and diverse, something that you could never see from an airplane.

If I were you, I would drive it and maybe add a few stops along the way.

Best of luck deciding what to do!

 

[quasar4legs]

If you had the time, I would spend a few days longer getting there so you can enjoy the journey and see things rather than just being in the car 13 hours a day.

For us, a road trip is not so much about rushing to get somewhere but using it as an opportunity to see the country.

Have a wonderful time, we aussies love our american road trips and your national parks are just wonderful.

Hugs
Quasar

 

[portocall]

I don't like to fly so we avoid it when possible. That is a long drive though so I would break it up even further however, we had done a 23 hour drive in two days and it was not bad at all (and we had a 9month old, 4 year old, and a 6 year old at the time)

To keep the kids busy I usually buy a couple "presents" each. I don't spend a lot on it, but it is new to them and keeps them busy for chunks of time. We hand them out every two hundred miles or so.

Plan on switching off and if possible actually map it off for planned stop offs for gas, snacks, meals, and restrooms.

 

[KellyWasHere]

I don't like to fly so we avoid it when possible. That is a long drive though so I would break it up even further however, we had done a 23 hour drive in two days and it was not bad at all (and we had a 9month old, 4 year old, and a 6 year old at the time)
To keep the kids busy I usually buy a couple "presents" each. I don't spend a lot on it, but it is new to them and keeps them busy for chunks of time. We hand them out every two hundred miles or so.

Plan on switching off and if possible actually map it off for planned stop offs for gas, snacks, meals, and restrooms.

Wow, you are my hero!

 

[golfgal]

First, if you are looking for tickets for the summer they are as high as they can possibly be right now. If you wait for a month or so before your trip they will be significantly less expensive. If you want to fly, give your DD Dimatapp before you fly, that will help with her ears.

How long do you have for the trip? If you only have a week, 4 days out of 7 driving doesn't sound like much fun to me. If you have an extended vacation, 2+ weeks, take the road trip, hit some spots coming and going and make it an adventure.

 

[Acklander]

We enjoy road trips and the trip back home takes about 22 hours. Usually what we'll do is leave home around 2 AM so the kids sleep in the car. Around the time we hit rush hour traffic in the AM we stop for breakfast, and then finish driving for the night around 5 PM and stop at a hotel with a pool so the kids have time to play and unwind. The 2nd day we leave about 4 AM and arrive by lunch time.
By doing it this way, the kids are sleeping during a good portion of the trip which makes it easier.

 

[merrily]

Could you fly nonstop to another destination and then drive from there? A few years ago we flew nonstop from NH to Denver and then rented a car and drove to South Dakota (Mt Rushmore, Badlands) then off to Yellowstone and eventually ending up in Rocky Mountain National Park and flying home again out of Denver. It was much more expensive for us to fly into airports in SD or WY. We still did a lot of driving but saw so much more this way. I am hoping to start planning a similar trip that includes the grand canyon and other sites in the area.

 

[Agri]

I love road trips! To me, the whole point of a road trip is the journey *and* the destination. Most vacations you don't get to see much of the country or how other people live and road trips allow for that. It's one thing to read about a state, but to actually see it in person is a whole other thing. Of course, stopping at different little shops along the way also adds to the fun.

 

[Arenita]

We drove to WDW last summer - 18 hours total driving time - and it was not bad at all. (I am even considering doing the trip this summer as a lone driver.) Coming from Houston, we stopped in Ocala for the night - after a 16 hour drive. We had DVDs, art projects and car-friendly games - and we would jog/play chase at the rest stops to let loose some energy. I also let the kids swim when we got to Ocala (though it was late!) and that exercise helped. I was blessed with very content travellers - no whining 'are we there yet?' - and we laughed our way down the road. My niece says she would prefer to drive every summer. Saving the costs and hassles of flying is appealing to me, so I'm game!

 

[of the seas]

I would do it! When we went to the Grand Canyon, we drove from Chicago and it was the best vacation our family has had!(of course we went to Disneyland and a Royal Caribbean cruise after). I would take a few days more and explore places on the way down.
It is so beautiful there and the surrounding states!

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Thanks everyone for your helpful hints. I am thinking more and more this is the way we might go.

 

[Scott'sAuntJill]

I love road trips! To me, the whole point of a road trip is the journey *and* the destination. Most vacations you don't get to see much of the country or how other people live and road trips allow for that. It's one thing to read about a state, but to actually see it in person is a whole other thing. Of course, stopping at different little shops along the way also adds to the fun.

I totally agree! My family were always road trip people when I was little and even now it's still my preferred way to travel when I have the time to make the travel a part of the vacation. I remember our road trip adventures along the way from Tulsa to Disneyland much more vividly than my first visit there.

If you are driving just to get there and don't have much extra time, then you may want to look into ways to make flying more comfortable. We drive to Florida from PA frequently and usually non-stop (about 12 hours) and it does make the first day or so rough. If your DD is old enough, have her learn a little about the states you'll be visiting and it will help with the "are we there yets". If she's old enough/young enough Highlights has a great series of kid-mysteries that take them to different states.

 

[tonilea]

Some friends of ours took a train to the Grand Canyon. They dreaded it, but it was kind of a "bucket list" thing for her dad, so they went. They LOVED it. You might look into that.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Totally agree with many of the others that you should do stops along the way. about 2.5 years ago, we did cross-country and back (Virginia to San Diego, and then back) with our kids who were 8, 6, 4, and 2 at the time. Best time of my life!

I'm not sure where you'll be coming from/what areas you'll be passing through, but some suggestions I have:

--White Sands National Monument in New Mexico--you can rent sleds from the visitors center and slide down the sand dunes!!!
--Saguaro National Park near Tucson, AZ
--Hoover Dam
--Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, and Cedar Breaks National Park isn't that far away from there either. Zion Park is also nearby (We didn't really stop in Zion because it was much bigger/more crowded, but I'd love to experience it someday!)

 

[manning]

In 1971 we took a 4 week honeymoon trip out west from Chicago. On the road by 7am stop at 4 pm. That was a great grand tour of about 7,000 miles.

Mother nature puts to shame anything man designs.

 

[WDWMom]

We have taken many roadtrips but none as long as you are planning. We break up the driving every 2-3 hours but stopping for potty breaks, play tag at rest areas, getting a bite to eat. Only about 10-15 minutes is all we needed. Sometimes we will stop at a scenic outlook or something we saw on a billboard.

DH would love to go to the Grand Canyon. I've never been and can give or take it. If we go, I would rather drive because, I too, believe the journey is just as important as the destination.

 

[minkydog]

I have been on many, many road trips in my life and I think I can safely say, a road trip is what you make of it. When i was a kid we traveled back home every summer for a two week visit with relatives. My parents would pack the 5 of us kids, plus our Saint Bernard dog, and off we'd go for 2 days of hard driving. The treat of the day was getting to stay at a hotel with a pool. We rarely diverted from the plan: Drive straight there and back, don't stop for anything other than food and sleep. As a kid, it just was the way we traveled and yes, it was boring. But we sang songs and made up games to keep us occupied and we all lived through it(many times, in fact.)

Now that *I'm* the adult, I changed the rules. I still love road trips, but i'm more about the journey than the destination. I love to take the 2 lane roads and just see what i can see. We have taken our kids on a big cross-country trip and that was totally awesome. But we had 2 months to work with so if we decided to take one or two days off to just do laundry or get over a cold, it wasn't the end of the world. It is very important to build in time for things that can go wrong, because something always does.

So, I guess first you have to decide what kind of trip this is, a journey or a destination. If you only have a short amount of time, then you have to either drive farther and push harder, or you have to limit your distance. Decide which is the lesser of two evils. I'm not sure where you will be starting, but take a look at the map and see if there are any must-sees between you and the Grand Canyon. Remember that everything out west is farther apart than it looks on a map. Get your car in good repair now. You don't want to overheat or blow a hose out in the desert.

Have fun planning!

 

[OK!]

I absolutely love road trips. I love being able to see things that you'd obviously miss if just flying over them (roadside attractions, etc.) and it's a nice time to get to really talk to the people you're traveling with. I also like taking them by myself, too, though (drove to FL and back to St. Louis 3x while figuring out if I wanted to live down here, and then for the move). Well, it was me and the cat, but he was stoned out of his gourd on tranquilizers so TBH, he wasn't the greatest company.

I made the drive once from St. Louis to LA (picking up a dear friend in Amarillo, TX, en route) and we had a blast. It was such a good time, talking and hanging out, stopping at Stuckey's, etc.

 

[endy]

This is what I just posted for someone over on the Disneyland & CA board.

I've driven from Calgary to San Diego for the last 9 or 10 years. It's a 25 hour drive each way. Me the only driver and DS is now 14. Twice with an extra kid.
Make the drive half the fun. Stop and smell the roses. We've seen lots of things that weren't planned, we stopped at bear world one time and it was so cool we've done it three more times, looked for opals in Idaho, stopped at Calico a couple of times really enjoyed it but it was so hot in August. We'll stop at an outlet mall for an hour just go get out of the truck and move around. We stop at a video store in Utah just to buy some cheap movies and that keeps him entertained for a few more hours. And then we're there.

I drive for the savings. It costs approx $600 to drive vs $5-600 each in air plus rental car. We tent camp usually, that saves a ton. I can get the tent and air mattresses set up in 20 minutes. We've stayed at 2 campgrounds in Anaheim (around $50/night) and the campground in SD is the same price.

Never been in your neck of the woods or travelled with 4 kids before.
Set the rules ahead of time, mine was you're not allowed to ask how much farther. I taught ds how to read road signs and figure out how long to such a place. Then he could look at a map to see our progress.

Not sure how old your kids are, mine was 3 the first time we did a long trip. get them involved, show them a map of the state or the country. I would show him at the of the day where we started, where we are and where we go tomorrow. When he was 5 or 6 we would look at the license plates and have him find the state (I think I had the big Rand Manally road atlas) and he would cross it off. Teaches where states are, if he couldn't find it I would tell him it's north of or east of another state. Then he learned some math, how many miles, how many minutes, we're in Canada so we go by kilometers or he'd have to convert that to miles and so on.

Scary part is now he'll have his learners and thinks he can help drive to CA this summer. Yikes.