Flying vs. Driving...What price difference makes it worth it to you to drive?

[LekiaHall]

Trying to determine if it's worth it to pay more to fly.

Currently, flying will cost us roughly $400 more than driving.

Our driving time is 13-14 hours. Flying is a little over 2 hours. (We're leaving from the DC area).

 

[vicki_c]

$400 would be a no-brainer for me to drive. But we don't mind driving. That has the most to do with it - you will get people that say that would pay way more to fly and people like me who will only fly if it seems dirt cheap.

If we have to pay more than $1200 for our family of four, we would drive or not go (also from DC area).

In fact, I could have gotten airfare for $800 for a trip in the fall and we still opted not to do it, and we're probably going to cancel (it was a 3 day trip so driving wasn't possible).

 

[bigbabyblues]

We don't mind driving either. We have to drive 2.5 hours to get to the airport, and it's generally a hassle for us. our drive is about 15 hours to WDW. We leave after school in the afternoon and drive straight through. We have flown down twice, but only because we had FF miles from DH's job.

 

[vacationclub]

14 hours....each way....total of 26 hours on the road? To save $400?

That's 1700 miles. The IRS puts the cost of gas, depreciation, maintenance and general operational costs for your vehicle at about $935.

Plus extra meals for everyone on the road.

Plus the extra risk of accident compared to flying.

Plus the loss of time, perhaps from work or something else.

Just because you don't see a bill directly doesn't mean that driving isn't costly.

No brainer; Fly.

 

[Christinarella]

We've done it both ways, and we prefer to fly. It's about a 15-hour drive for us, and we would rather have those days in the parks and maximize our vacation time.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

14 hours....each way....total of 26 hours on the road? To save $400?

That's 1700 miles. The IRS puts the cost of gas, depreciation, maintenance and general operational costs for your vehicle at about $935.

Plus extra meals for everyone on the road.

Plus the extra risk of accident compared to flying.

Plus the loss of time, perhaps from work or something else.

Just because you don't see a bill directly doesn't mean that driving isn't costly.

No brainer; Fly.

Yes the IRS depreciational cost is about 0.51 a mile but thats their figure because most people that deduct vehicle cost use trucks that get 10-15 mpg so if your vehicle gets better your actual cost won't be that high.

 

[vicki_c]

Yes the IRS depreciational cost is about 0.51 a mile but thats their figure because most people that deduct vehicle cost use trucks that get 10-15 mpg so if your vehicle gets better your actual cost won't be that high.

Yes, and like I said, in my family's case - we don't mind driving. Maybe I should have said we prefer to drive. Even at the $.50/mile which I already factor into our cost, it's usually cheaper for us to drive. Given typical flight prices that I have gotten, it's usually at worst a wash, sometimes a few hundred savings to drive. Plus I would add in parking at the airport, and we would rent a car in FL as well if we flew (and I wasn't even factoring that in when I answered). Higher risk of accidents while driving - not something I worry about. The time in the car is part of our vacation, to my family, not wasted time. We would always rather not deal with the hassles of flying if it's practical for that particular trip (and I even live pretty close to the airport).

Which is what I tried to say in my first post - answers will vary based on people's preferences.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

14 hours....each way....total of 26 hours on the road? To save $400?

That's 1700 miles. The IRS puts the cost of gas, depreciation, maintenance and general operational costs for your vehicle at about $935.

Plus extra meals for everyone on the road.

Plus the extra risk of accident compared to flying.

Plus the loss of time, perhaps from work or something else.

Just because you don't see a bill directly doesn't mean that driving isn't costly.

No brainer; Fly.

I agree. My vacation time is too valuable to spend it on the road. We can get up early in the am and be in MK by 10am. That's priceless.
OTOH, leaving the same time of day in a car, 10am would put me somewhere in VA. Maybe SC if DC isn't too congested. No thanks.
Sometimes we fly down on a Fri evening right after school and can be at MCO by 8pm. We crash at the Hyatt right inside MCO ($55 on Hotwire) and we all wake up well rested Sat am ready to start our vacay. It's so easy.
For those who prefer to drive, that's fine, but if you're simply doing it to save a little bit of $ it may be costing you more than you think in terms of time, wear/tear on your car, & risk of breaking down or falling asleep at the wheel.

I kinda like going 500+ mph.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

Forgot to say I would drive but I like the drive as much as the destination so I never even compare cost

 

[wereallwet]

I always fly because I can't sit in a car that long. I get really antsy. Driving would take me about 16 hours.

 

[vacationclub]

Yes the IRS depreciational cost is about 0.51 a mile but thats their figure because most people that deduct vehicle cost use trucks that get 10-15 mpg so if your vehicle gets better your actual cost won't be that high.

The IRS rate hasn't been .51 in a long time....it's .555. And it says nothing about cars that get 10-15 miles per gallon...which is a small fraction of cars on the road. And why would they cater to that group anyway? It's for using your vehicle (not just a Winnebago or a Hummer) to drive somewhere and get reimbursed for it's use. It's a formula that determines the average cost of using a car. Note..."average". I get paid .555 all the time and my vehicle get's nearly double your figures in MPH.

But, even at your old number of .51/mile it's $867. Plus time. Plus risk. Plus meals. Plus responsibility of driving vs. sleeping, reading a book.

The key question here to the OP is, how much is the actual airfare for everyone involved? The OP said $400 more than driving, but how did the OP arrive at that figure?

Higher risk of accidents while driving - not something I worry about. The time in the car is part of our vacation, to my family, not wasted time. We would always rather not deal with the hassles of flying if it's practical for that particular trip (and I even live pretty close to the airport).

Which is what I tried to say in my first post - answers will vary based on people's preferences.

Whether you worry about the higher risk in driving or not doesn't take it out of the equation. It still exists even if you care to ignore it.

The wasted time issue is all relative to something else you had to sacrifice, like hours at work, time with someone else, etc. Otherwise you might as will say that walking to Orlando is not wasted time because...you're on vacation.

What are the "hassles of flying" that you mentioned?

Now, if you LIKE the drive, and it's part of your experience, then that's another issue altogether. But if it's just a question of cost for each choice of getting from A to B....flying seems to be a better deal by a significant margin unless flight costs are very high.

OP, please state your flight costs, that can help others add more info to the discussion.

 

[pigletto]

It's a 22-24 hour drive for us. After you add in hotels for stops, food, gas etc.. the price difference is negligible and the time cost is just not worth it.
I wouldn't mind trying once, but it would have to b a significant savings to consider it at this point.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Yes, and like I said, in my family's case - we don't mind driving. Maybe I should have said we prefer to drive. Even at the $.50/mile which I already factor into our cost, it's usually cheaper for us to drive. Given typical flight prices that I have gotten, it's usually at worst a wash, sometimes a few hundred savings to drive. Plus I would add in parking at the airport, and we would rent a car in FL as well if we flew (and I wasn't even factoring that in when I answered). Higher risk of accidents while driving - not something I worry about. The time in the car is part of our vacation, to my family, not wasted time. We would always rather not deal with the hassles of flying if it's practical for that particular trip (and I even live pretty close to the airport).

Which is what I tried to say in my first post - answers will vary based on people's preferences.

Like the saying goes, "Ignorance is bliss."
I worked in xray at a large trauma center in Philly for over 9 yrs that is also a regional spinal cord injury center. I see things from an entirely different perspective. I could write a book.
I would fly to PHL from my backyard to avoid I-95 if I could.

I've worked in a different division for the past 13 yrs (mammography) but still simply chatting with a lady we got talking about vacations and I had just returned from WDW the day before, still "high" from my trip, and topic turned to Orlando. She started crying & broke down telling me how her dd, SIL, & 3 grands drove their minivan to WDW. They never got there b/c her dd was driving & fell asleep while driving. She died but the rest of the family survived and told me how her SIL is struggling as a single dad with 3 small kids. My gosh, we were both crying together.

Statistically speaking, flying is way safer than driving.
Like pp said, even if it's something you don't consider, the risk is still there.

I think the 'hassle of flying' is more for those who like to pack a lot of stuff and feel restricted by worrying about luggage weight, etc. We're not big packers so it's easy for us. If you like to pack a minivan to the ceiling, flying is not for you.

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm a lot farther than you---about 19.5 hours total drive time, so two more or less full days. For a WDW trip, we either fly, or we don't go. I don't imagine driving it until my snowbird days when I'm spending several weeks in a row down there.

Even 13-14 hours is just a little bit more than I normally want to drive in a single day. We pulled a 14 hour drive-time trip (16 hours with traffic and stops) coming home from OBX this summer in a single shot. We were all completely useless the next day. But, breaking that up into two days costs more time and more money (the extra hotel night), at which point flying becomes a lot more interesting. We don't fly to OBX because we've got a metric ton of beach equipment that goes with us. But, it's right on the edge of "too far for a road trip" for me.

Ultimately, you have to ask yourself what your time is worth to you. Even with generous arrival buffers, flying is a half-day tops, while the drive is a *full* day, and more likely 1.5 days unless you've got a lot of stamina behind the wheel.

 

[3 MEN AND A BOAT]

The IRS rate hasn't been .51 in a long time....it's .555. And it says nothing about cars that get 10-15 miles per gallon...which is a small fraction of cars on the road. And why would they cater to that group anyway? It's for using your vehicle (not just a Winnebago or a Hummer) to drive somewhere and get reimbursed for it's use. It's a formula that determines the average cost of using a car. Note..."average". I get paid .555 all the time and my vehicle get's nearly double your figures in MPH.

But, even at your old number of .51/mile it's $867. Plus time. Plus risk. Plus meals. Plus responsibility of driving vs. sleeping, reading a book.

The key question here to the OP is, how much is the actual airfare for everyone involved? The OP said $400 more than driving, but how did the OP arrive at that figure?

Whether you worry about the higher risk in driving or not doesn't take it out of the equation. It still exists even if you care to ignore it.

The wasted time issue is all relative to something else you had to sacrifice, like hours at work, time with someone else, etc. Otherwise you might as will say that walking to Orlando is not wasted time because...you're on vacation.

What are the "hassles of flying" that you mentioned?

Now, if you LIKE the drive, and it's part of your experience, then that's another issue altogether. But if it's just a question of cost for each choice of getting from A to B....flying seems to be a better deal by a significant margin unless flight costs are very high.

OP, please state your flight costs, that can help others add more info to the discussion.

My bad!
I don't claim to be an accountant, but the point I was making is that it isn't a true cost to use the IRS's figure of .555 you say because for starters that is the amount you are allowed to deduct per mile, it doesn't matter if your real world costs are .25 per mile or $1.00 per mile, they allow ".555"
So the use of their formula was what I was questioning because as you said its an average. Which its more than enough to cover the cost of operating a vehicle that gets 10-15 mpg (my 3/4 ton cargo van gets 12) which is why I used those numbers because I know most people do not drive such vehicles.

 

[sam_gordon]

$400 more to fly the FAMILY? I'd fly. We're also around the 12-14 hours. Compared to about 6 hours (counting getting to the airport early, two flights, and layover). So we're saving about 12 hours of vacation time. That comes out to $33/hour... with a family of 5, that's just over $6/hour.

$400 more to fly each INDIVIDUAL? I'd drive or not go. That's $2000 more to fly the family.

 

[CindyV]

i know there are people who think it is crazy to drive, we are not one of those. We have about a 19 hour 45 minute drive and we enjoy it. We dont do it to save money. We have flown once, i dont enjoy flying much at all but would do it.
For us we think about the 2 hour drive to the airport, the being there 2 hours or so early, the almost 3 hour flight, then the time to get out of airport and to get a rental car.
When we went my son was 3 so we had a lot of stuff we had to take with us, we packed a lot. This time it wouldnt be as much, but i dont want to be resticted in what i can bring back. I like to buy some collectibles and dont want to worry about more luggage fees etc.
There are obviously more of a risk to drive then fly, more wear and tear on your car. But those are not things we think about much when we decide. We have looked and can get a cheap flight (500 total for our trip) but when you add in luggage fees and car rental, we save from driving.
We enjoy it, so that makes our decision easy. We leave early, drive a lot the first day and only have 4-5 hours the second. Its not a matter of thinking its wasting time, its a road trip with your family. We have lots of good talks and enjoy seeing different cities

 

[vacationclub]

My bad!
I don't claim to be an accountant, but the point I was making is that it isn't a true cost to use the IRS's figure of .555 you say because for starters that is the amount you are allowed to deduct per mile, it doesn't matter if your real world costs are .25 per mile or $1.00 per mile, they allow ".555"

They allow .555 because that is the average cost. So why isn't it a "true" cost? It's only an inflated amount if you're driving a vehicle that is more efficient, with less maintenance, and less deprecation that the "average" car. Some peole might have this situation, some might not.

So the use of their formula was what I was questioning because as you said its an average. Which its more than enough to cover the cost of operating a vehicle that gets 10-15 mpg (my 3/4 ton cargo van gets 12) which is why I used those numbers because I know most people do not drive such vehicles.

So you're saying the IRS gives you more than you need? Stop the presses! Every mile you drive contributes to: Oil and all other fluid and filter changes, brake wear, tire wear, battery wear, wheel bearing and various suspension wear, general engine wear, exposure to weather that fades and rusts, and depreciation of the car's resale value......not just how much gas you pumped to drive to Disney.

Even if you're driving the most efficient, least depreciating, lowest maintenance car on the road, and you only need about .25/mile, that still adds to more than $400 ....not including all the other factors I mentioned such as risk, time, comfort, food cost, responsibility.

Fly.

 

[scholastica]

Fly! You lose a couple days just traveling plus sitting in a car is so boring! I have an 22 hour drive and I can't do it.

 

[vicki_c]

.

Even if you're driving the most efficient, least depreciating, lowest maintenance car on the road, and you only need about .25/mile, that still adds to more than the $400 claimed by the OP....not including all the other factors I mentioned such as risk, time, comfort, food cost, responsibility.

Fly.

I don't want to debate it any more but one thing in this post caught my eye. It sounds like you're saying the OP said it would cost $400 to drive. Didn't they say it would cost them $400 MORE to fly than drive ? Not $400 to drive. Since we don't have the OP's details, it's hard to know what was factored in and what wasn't at this point.