How much would you have to save to drive instead of fly?

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

No way. Not for me. Not 17 hours.

I did a 12 hour drive to help one my sisters out when she had emergency surgery and was in the hospital in MD and the drive just seemed to take forever.
About hour 8, I was wishing I'd coughed up the 500 bucks to fly and the other 300 to rent a car.

I live 8 hours from Orlando and when I go solo or just with one other person, I fly. I get there faster so I can begin my vacation that much sooner.

 

[Angie789]

I see both sides of it, but it is really about your personal preferences and situation.

Growing up, my family would always drive. We all traveled well and I have a ton of great memories of all the fun we would have, playing games & talking. Plus money was not abundant, so if we didn't drive, we weren't going.

As an adult, my situation is different. My DH has a high stress job, and because he is the only person at work that does what he does, he can never take more than a week off. For us, it would be a 24 hour trip each way, and there is no way we'd burn that much of our precious and limited vacation time on driving. If we couldn't fly, we'd choose another vacation, closer to home.

So, there really is no "right" or "best" answer generally - it's just whatever makes sense for your family!

 

[Alexander]

Barring an airline strike, there's nothing that would make me choose driving over flying.

It's not all about the money, it's the overall value.

This!

 

[minnierocks]

We drive all the time from Ohio...it takes about 16 1/2 hours...and for us, it is not a big deal. Is flying better? Absolutely! The problem is that it is expensive when you are flying four people and it is not worth it to spend that much. We spent $350 in gas and we drove overnight, straight through in March. It was the first time doing it that way and we really didn't mind it.
We normally break it up over two days and our cost is closer to $600 when we add a hotel stay both ways and food on the road. Still a lot cheaper than flying...and for us, it is worth the savings.
Deciding is based on so many factors that only you can decide if it is worth it. Our kids travel well and we have a great time on the road because we make the best of it. Much of your experience will be based on your mindset...and making it work and fun for everyone. Take new things that will entertain your kids...when someone needs a break, take one. Some of our best vacation memories have been on our road trips!

 

[Yellowstonetim]

It would be almost a 17 hour drive for us so I assume we would break it into 2 days. That is 4 extra days on our vacation just for driving.

It is 2 days, not 4, you need 2 days to fly down and back.

it always makes me laugh when people try to compare flying to driving. if they fly, they are there in two hours, no hassle. driving, woooow, days on the road, meals, wear on the car, car insurance, kids are hanging off the back seats screaming. lol

I have to fly for work a few times a year. you flyers have to direct me to these hassle free airlines and airports. I seem to sit on i78 trying to get to Newark. get stripped search to get on the plane. cant take half of what you need. delays and still have to worry if theres some anti American on the plane wanting to make a statement. gotta hope the bag you were allowed to take is there in one piece when I get there.the little brat behind you keeps kicking the back of your seat. sounds like a blast to me. flying to me is the biggest pita. when you drive, you are in control. you can pee when you want.

I rather more people fly, keeps them out of my way on the road.

a good friend ask me one day, how can you spend all that time in the car with your wife and kid?

I think if you have to ask yourself that, you have more to worry about then should I fly or drive.

there is a lot of reasons people fly or drive. find what is best for you and have fun doing it.

Absolutely! I've flown from PA to Florida once and driven more than 15 times and twice on a motorcycle.

There are pros and cons to both. Airport security, inability to take much in luggage, no car or rental car, etc. Note, trains, including the auto train, are an option although with limitations. If I can save money and hassle, I'd drive anytime. Again, I'd rather drive, I like driving. I do not like the hassles of flying.

I can do central PA to Disney in 15 to 16 hours driving. It can be done in one day: 4am to 8 or 9pm. We usually break it up. We make one long day and the second day is short. We actually enjoyed driving with the kids. They would read, draw, play, we would sing, tell stories, audio books. On the way home we would love to relive and memorialize our time at WDW. It is fun.

I like having my own car and all the stuff I want to take!

Either way you go, the trip down is exciting and the trip home is less so.

 

[juliebug1997]

Since DH has a limited number of vacation days each year and we want to be there longer, we fly. Maybe, once he gets more days, we will consider driving. I do love road trips, but I'd still rather spend more time at WDW.

 

[deb010305]

We drove from Southeastern Mass in April. The airfare was $800 a person, no way am I spending that much. We stopped overnight both ways. DH did most of the driving. It wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be, and yes we would drive again.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It is 2 days, not 4, you need 2 days to fly down and back.

If I were to drive - which, again, I won't - it would be about 24 hours without stopping. I'm not some desperate stalking astronaut, so non-stop isn't happening. So, two days.

Compare to 6.5 hours door to door by plane: 30 minutes to airport, arrive 1.5 hours early, three hour flight, 90 minutes seat to resort via Magical Express.

I still have the afternoon and evening, and I haven't had to watch for a dozens states' bad drivers.

 

[davedmaine]

We've been waiting for flights to drop below $330 pp from northern Ohio to Orlando and it just hasn't happened yet. With our trip in three months we are considering driving down with our two kids on our first Family road trip. It should save us close to $600-700. Would that be enough for you to endure a 17 hour drive each way?

Nope

 

[Yellowstonetim]

If I were to drive - which, again, I won't - it would be about 24 hours without stopping. I'm not some desperate stalking astronaut, so non-stop isn't happening. So, two days.

Compare to 6.5 hours door to door by plane: 30 minutes to airport, arrive 1.5 hours early, three hour flight, 90 minutes seat to resort via Magical Express.

I still have the afternoon and evening, and I haven't had to watch for a dozens states' bad drivers.

Woah. 24 hours. Where are you coming from? That is one long drive. I'd fly, too. I think the OP has about 17 hours, ours is about 15 or 16 depending upon route. A lot more doable.

You mention another factor I don't think was discussed: Airport proximity. If someone is close to a large airport that can get a direct flight at a reasonable price this makes a BIG difference. If the drive is hours to a secondary airport with a connection required, this will greatly increase the time and hassle involved.

OP, just figure out what works for you. Anything can work with a little planning and imagination. And if you drive, be careful and make sure the driver stays alert.

Have a great trip!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

It is 2 days, not 4, you need 2 days to fly down and back.

No, not really. For us it's 5 hrs door to door. We'll be spending a long weekend in Sept in WDW because our kids have a Thurs & Fri off school. We're flying down on a Wed after school and our arrival time is 10pm. So our kids will still get a full day of school, not even an early dismissal, and we'll all get a full night's sleep at AKL. That is not a full day to fly. Then going home on Sunday our flight is at 2pm. ME will pick us up at 11 and we'll be in Philly by 4-4:30. Ds can still mow the lawn after dinner. I can unpack & have the luggage put away before we go to bed. There's no way we could do this trip by driving.

We've had 6:45 am flights where we were in MK by 10am. Again, not a full day at all. Most of our day was spent at MK.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

You mention another factor I don't think was discussed: Airport proximity. If someone is close to a large airport that can get a direct flight at a reasonable price this makes a BIG difference. If the drive is hours to a secondary airport with a connection required, this will greatly increase the time and hassle involved.

This is so true. If I had to drive 3 hrs to an airport that only flew 1 flight per day to MCO, it would discourage me too. In our case, we're about 30 mins to PHL and up until the last year or so, most airlines flew around 6-10 non-stops per day. I never could understand what drivers meant about being "stuck with the airlines schedule" when we had so much to choose from. Now there's only 3-4 nonstops on SWA which is a bit more limiting but still works.
Prior to SWA flying out of PHL in 2005, US Airways flew non stops to MCO literally every hour from 6am to 11pm.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Whoa. 24 hours. Where are you coming from? That is one long drive. I'd fly, too. I think the OP has about 17 hours, ours is about 15 or 16 depending upon route. A lot more doable.

Thirteen hundred miles at 55 mph is just the tiniest shade under 24 hours. That's without any stops: meals/snacks, bathroom breaks, hotel, dozing while driving...

eta Yes, the speed limit is higher than that along much of the route; 55 is a good average speed that allows for traffic, accidents, speed-trap states...

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I took ds13 to camp 3.5 hrs away in PA. Well, it should have been 3.5 hours. We took a bathroom/fruit cup breakfast break around 8 am then a bathroom/lunch/gas break at 11:30. It was closer to 5 hrs. total. Granted it was a table service lunch but still....
I finally realized I need a lot of bathroom breaks. I would not do well on such a long drive. I'd probably have to pee in every state. Maybe twice in NC.

 

[nugov2]

We just drove from the chicagoland area not for savings, but b/c of my fear of flying. My husband was against it and have never drove anywhere, but I wanted to try just one road trip. We made it both ways with a 2, 6 and 8 year old straight through. We left at 7pm and we went to Clearwater(stayed for 2 days and headed to Orlando) first and got there at 3pm and left at 12pm(Orlando time) and got back at 6am(Chicago). So it was around 19hours and we stopped 3-4 times each way. The kids were surprisingly great. I thought the way home would be awful, but the kids were so tired they slept most of it. It only cost us a little under $300 in gas roundtrip and we ate a couple of times, but also had a cooler so I'd say at most we spent maybe $100. So $400 total for cost. Yes, there is wear and tear on the car but I hardly drive my car at all. I only work a couple of hours a week and pretty much just drive the kids locally. I only put a couple hundred miles on every 3-4 weeks. The moral of the story....taking another roadtrip to the Smokey mountains next summer for a week...I hope they continue to go well so that I will not have to fly very much anymore

 

[pigletgirl]

Lots!!!! Disney is a place we fly too. Just easier for our family.

 

[aliyasmomma2003]

I took ds13 to camp 3.5 hrs away in PA. Well, it should have been 3.5 hours. We took a bathroom/fruit cup breakfast break around 8 am then a bathroom/lunch/gas break at 11:30. It was closer to 5 hrs. total. Granted it was a table service lunch but still....
I finally realized I need a lot of bathroom breaks. I would not do well on such a long drive. I'd probably have to pee in every state. Maybe twice in NC.

This is so me! I hate driving through Georgia. I think I have peed in every county in Georgia along I-75. Ugh! My DH says liquid restrictions for me when we travel further than 30 minutes from home.

 

[nugov2]

I also wanted to add that I made some great road trip kits for the kids for the car. They had games, puzzles and arts and crafts. They were mostly magnetized or dry erase. I made them activity tables out of dollar store cookie sheets. I also got a ton of Disney themed books and movies from the library so they had some new things to keep them occupied. I say try it once. I know if it didn't go well my dh would never want to do it again, but like I said in our case it went better than anticipated so we will give it another go. Here is a pic:

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

No amount of savings would make me drive. Two days of driving each way is losing way too much time. I also dont think it is safe or comfortable to just keep driving. Not for my family anyway. I would reschedule my trip before I would do that.

 

[jlw29]

For us, it would have to be enough to replace 2 days of income because it would take us 2 additional days to get there and back. And we're so short staffed, it would be difficult for me to even get the extra days off. I guess for our family it's about value to us, not cost.