How long of a drive (or vacation) is TOO long?

[disney4us2002]

Not a chance. It sounds dreadful to me. Thirty hours in a car? 20 days away from home? Nope. We did 10 days at Disney which included a 15 hr car trip broken down over two days on the way down and back and I swore I would never do it again. We had 3 boys with us with apparently no bladder control and the inevitable are we there yet a thousand times so that contributed to my feelings of never again. Even if it were just my hubby and I, nope. I want to be at the destination as soon as possible and start vacation mode, not dilly-dally around several days.

Of course, it really only matters if you think it sounds like a fun trip or root canal surgery.

 

[Vijoge]

Anything over 8-10 hours is about our limit. My ex, however, drove to Anchorage from Chicago. Some people like to drive more than others.

 

[Govols1997]

I get antsy at six hours, crazed at eight hours and all out crazy train at 10 hours in the car. So nine hours is usually my limit.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I wouldn't do it, but only because of the pet concern. Otherwise, it's a trip I would thoroughly enjoy!

It would be tough to take that much time out of our lives but after getting our cat..no way can we do that long of a trip. Longest we've been gone is 10 days. If we didn't have a cat and it was easy to take that much time out of our lives heck yeah I would do a 20 day trip

 

[The Mystery Machine]

And if so, any must-see, non-obvious things to visit in Nebraska, South Dakota, Idaho, Utah or Kansas?

Yeah, the loose itinerary I put together has us taking about 5 days to make the drive, each way. I don't think we can stretch it out any longer, but I was also worried that was too fast and we wouldn't really have enough time to enjoy . . .
The longest driving day on my itinerary is 10 hours. Most are closer to 5 with part of the day spent in a location along the way
The added benefit was that taking the dogs now becomes an option. Though our hotel in Vancouver isn't dog friendly . . .

No children. 3 adults to share driving

I just did cross country last yr. STL MO to AZ and back via scenic route, where we took our time.

So just throwing this out there for you....you drive straight through up to Vancouver and then on the WAY BACK you do the scenic tour. Much more relaxing that way imo.

You can skip Kansas, nothing to see there lol.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I just did cross country last yr. STL MO to AZ and back via scenic route, where we took our time.

So just throwing this out there for you....you drive straight through up to Vancouver and then on the WAY BACK you do the scenic tour. Much more relaxing that way imo.

You can skip Kansas, nothing to see there lol.

Kansan here..them fightin' words ...if it was flipped I would say you can skip Missouri, nothing to see there lol jk..sorta..no really jk

I do agree with scenic on the way back..I'd be too anxious anyways to get to my destination.

 

[endy]

We have driven Calgary to San Diego dozens of time, 27 hours each way. I also, as PP mentioned, love seeing the landscape change as we go. There's so much to see that you don't see from a plane.
The first few times my DS was little and I wanted him to enjoy or be bored with the scenery and we would discuss the mountains, farmland, etc. As he got older and we did the trip several times he was more into watching movies as it is a pretty boring drive.
We have driven to Yellowstone, throughout WY, Seattle, Mt Rushmore and LL the coast from LA to Seattle. Now DS has no problems with road trips himself, he drove out to Whistler last summer and plans on going again this summer.

There is so much to see that you would miss if you flew. However travelling with with FIL might be more challenging than the drive.
I have never taken the dog tho we miss him when we go it's all the stuff we wouldn't be able to do while having him along. And I am to cheap to use doggie day cares plus having to watch the time to pick him up so we have always left him with friends. My dog doesn't care if he's looking at scenic views and it's too hot in the summer to leave in the car.

I'll add that we were always tent camping and have stayed at most KOA'S in all the places we've been. Prefer to sleep on my own air mattress than a motel bed. 20 minutes tops for setting up the tent and crawling into bed.

My comment would be to pull out maps and see what places of interest there is along the way and use that as your starting point and fill in the blanks.
Glacier park and the Going to the sun road is almost on your way. From there up to Waterton, thru Banff, Lake Louise and head to Vancouver. Also driving thru the Cascades. You could do a circle up thru Canada to Vancouver and back across Washington, ID and Utah tho you didn't mention where you are starting from.

 

[smiths02]

My DH has brought this up. He would want to do it with the kids, so it would just be the two of us as drivers.
I am a nervous driver, and I also tend to get motion sickness when riding. Anyhow, just being in a car isn't fun for me. I'm not a road trip person. I'm really not even a travel person. I like to vacation, not necessarily travel. I don't like camping.

My DH hates flying, though. He will do it.

Anyhow, for now, we just drive places we can get to within 8 hours or so.

 

[hereyago]

I used to be a HUGE road tripper in my single days,lol. Then, I got married,ha ha. No seriously, I was pregnant and we went from VA to Missouri in about 24 hours.

I made the mistake of falling asleep and my then th for turned around. I woke up at a rest stop far from where we should have been. (This was way before gps).
I ended up taking the wheel and drove until we got near St. Louis then he drove to Springfield.

I drove all the way back with breaks until we passed the VA border. No more after that.

 

[endy]

Money saving tips - Canadian National Parks such as Banff are free to enter this year as part of Canada's 150th birthday. You get a pass at the park gates.
The US Parks annual pass is a great deal if you are going to be entering several parks. I think, last summer, the US side of Glacier Park was $25.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Kansan here..them fightin' words ...if it was flipped I would say you can skip Missouri, nothing to see there lol jk..sorta..no really jk

I do agree with scenic on the way back..I'd be too anxious anyways to get to my destination.

Oh I agree, lol.

 

[DawnM]

We are thinking of driving 35 hours each way this summer. Long road trip, but may be necessary.

 

[Bilberry]

I personally would not enjoy a long driving trip such as that. Each year I dread the drive from Florida to the mid-west. It's 18 hours on the road and is about all I can handle.

With that said, I know many that enjoy long drives in their RV camper. I know people that head out in the RV and can be gone for months at a time. I know of people also that love long car drives, being gone for a week or two at a time, looking the country over. To each their own.

 

[melanielll]

For me it depends on the trip and the company.

I drove from Houston to Denver and back twice last summer. One of my kids was moving there. The first trip we went through Kansas. God, I hated it. Five hours with no cell reception (in the state that is the home for Sprint!), tolls on the interstate highways (I want the Feds to arrest someone in the state for that) and lots of exits with no services. That was the first trip. It sucked. The second trip we went the angled route - Texas, New Mexico, Colorado. That one was enjoyable. I was with my noncomplaining daughter, driving my car (comfy), and I did the bulk of the driving (12 or so hours on the first day and whatever there was on the second day).

So, Houston to Denver (nonKansas route) - a breeze. Houston to Denver (Kansas route) - suckage. Houston to Disney easy peasy (but I wish Walt had built the thing near the Florida/Georgia line).

 

[cluvsdisney]

I wouldn't plan a trip like that...I'm not a road trip person so my limit is a 5-6 hour drive and I don't like going away from more than 8 maybe 10 days but that's really pushing it.


Have fun planning your trip...it does sound amazing.

 

[AuntieMe3]

If I had that much time, yes.... I love road trips! As long as we can take our time to get where we are going and back home again. I hope the non stop driving when we have to be somewhere by a certain day/time and not having time to stop and enjoy the trip.

 

[tvguy]

ME: 450 miles each way (which is how far Disneyland is from our house). The longest I have every done is 1750 miles each way.

MY FAMILY: 200 miles. Any longer than that, they want to fly.

 

[pryncess527]

My comment would be to pull out maps and see what places of interest there is along the way and use that as your starting point and fill in the blanks.
Glacier park and the Going to the sun road is almost on your way. From there up to Waterton, thru Banff, Lake Louise and head to Vancouver. Also driving thru the Cascades. You could do a circle up thru Canada to Vancouver and back across Washington, ID and Utah tho you didn't mention where you are starting from.

Coming from Kansas City.

I figured we'd take different paths each way. On the way, head North out of KC up to South Dakota, across Montana & Idaho, spend a night in Seattle and then end in Vancouver
On the way back, head south to Portland, over to Salt Lake City to Denver, and then across Kansas to get home.

That's just based off the first suggested paths from Google Maps though, if I can get my traveling party on board, the planning will really get fun

 

[22Tink]

We live about 9 hours north of Vancouver. We'll drive to Vancouver if we have days to spare (I still prefer to fly there) but that's about my limit for driving. Anything further away I fly. I'm not a fan of road trips though, my husband would happily drive! I'd much rather just get on a plane and get to my destination.

Enjoy your trip, whatever you decide. Vancouver has lots to see!!

 

[pryncess527]

We live about 9 hours north of Vancouver. We'll drive to Vancouver if we have days to spare (I still prefer to fly there) but that's about my limit for driving. Anything further away I fly. I'm not a fan of road trips though, my husband would happily drive! I'd much rather just get on a plane and get to my destination.

Enjoy your trip, whatever you decide. Vancouver has lots to see!!

thanks! We are coming to Vancouver for the fireworks, lol! My FIL has always wanted to see the contest, I'm excited about spending some time there