Is this Crazy or would you do it???

[tinkerbell423]

OK I have been searching prices for a flight to MCO in Jan and I found 268 leaving out of our "local" airport 1 hr away. Then I found $150 leaving out of an airport 5 hours away. I considered gas and hotel/parking prices and we are still ahead. Am I nut for thinking this is doable? Would you wait for Jetblue/Airtran/Southwest (only Southwest leaves out of the "local" airport we would have to drive 2-3 hours for the others.

 

[Karenj2]

How long is the flight from the airport to MCO? Do you have kids? Are you really going to want to drive 5 hours after traveling from your vacation back home? (If you still decide to, you ought to factor in the drive time to when you ultimately want to get home...)

IMHO, I wouldn't do it UNLESS - you could add a night before and after and stay overnight at a local airport hotel so the travel time isn't as long...

 

[bigdisneygroup]

We have often driven four plus hours to get a better flight time/price. I definitely think that it is doable if the price difference is worth the time.

 

[christinou]

How much would you save, we generally drive all the way to Florida, so 5 hours is nothing....

 

[Irin997]

I probably would not do it only because once I got home I don't think I'd want to drive another 5 hours to get home, ya know? So it really depends on what matters to you. Convenience or cash?

 

[crisi]

We don't have the extra vacation time. Taking five days off (six for me because I pack on Friday) to fly out Saturday, fly back Saturday and have Sunday for laundry is challenging enough. Having to take an extra day on each end would be nearly impossible.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you can make a fun before and after trip out of it, then yes. For our honeymoon, instead of flying up to Vancouver to catch our cruise, we took Amtrak up, stayed a night in a lovely hotel, saw some sites, then got on the ship. When we got back, we had another whole day, one night in the same hotel, then most of the next day before catching the train back home. It was lovely. A nice easing into and out of the big vacation.

So if you can do that, I'd do it. But some icky hotel chosen for proximity to airport, etc etc, then probably no.

 

[Soon2B4]

I would have to consider kids and flight times. If you are getting back in at 8pm and then have to drive 5 hours, then no. If you get a hotel so you don't have to drive that night, how much are you really saving. Same goes for how early in the AM is your flight to leave.

We went in Sept. and the Cleveland airport is 30 minutes from us. We did drive an hour to another airport to save a few hundred, but that is no where near 5 hours.

 

[uva185]

That's only $118 cheaper per ticket. There is NO WAY I would do that....not worth the time and hassle.

I have flown out of an alternate airport that is 90 minutes away but ONLY when it is at least $300 cheaper per ticket!

 

[HGD24]

NO WAY would I drive 5 hours to save some money. My family lives 5 hours from us and those trips can be exhausting, especially on the way home from a busy weekend of visiting. I can't imagine driving and riding for that long after a week's vacation at Disney. You have to factor in your time and patience and mood when factoring in the cost savings too.

 

[clutter]

For January? No way. Prices will come down at the local airport before then. UNLESS the other airfare is Southwest. Then, when prices come down, you can rebook.

 

[Colinsmom]

January, coming from upstate NY? No way. The weather is so unpredictable, you could have to pay for a hotel room the night before you leave and the night after you come back. And if you get to the airport and your flight is cancelled, then you are either driving all the way back home (only to do it all again another day later) or paying for more time in a hotel + food.

 

[pianoronni37]

Can I ask, where are you in Upstate NY?

I'm out of Utica, and I have used Syracuse, Albany, Rochester, and even Ithaca airports.

I've found a fare with Delta through Rochester for $144 RT, and out of Syracuse for $168 RT... leaving in January 2010, when we'll be going ourselves. I haven't purchased yet because I'm hoping the Syracuse one drops a bit lower so we can use our delta credit without paying extra, but these aren't bad fares.

I wouldn't plan on driving 5 hours here in January - you never know WHAT is going to happen!! NY winters have attitude problems, I'd hate to be stuck somewhere because of the snow!!!

 

[extremesoccermom]

SWA prices are only out till the end of OCT. I would wait. (I am in St. Louis - I haven't checked prices from Kansas City) Our flights to Orlando are $84.00 each way which only $168.00 RT + tax. That is better than the 4 hour drive depending on how many of you there are.

 

[extremesoccermom]

SWA prices are only out till the end of OCT. I would wait. (I am in St. Louis - I haven't checked prices from Kansas City) Our flights to Orlando are $84.00 each way which only $168.00 RT + tax. That is better than the 4 hour drive depending on how many of you there are.

 

[shoes99]

We wouldn't do it. We live 20 miles from Newark NJ and 100 miles from ACY. DH refuses to even drive to ACY for better prices on Spirit. We pay for the convenience of a 20 minute drive to the airport and we fly on Continental or JetBlue.

 

[HGD24]

We wouldn't do it. We live 20 miles from Newark NJ and 100 miles from ACY. DH refuses to even drive to ACY for better prices on Spirit. We pay for the convenience of a 20 minute drive to the airport and we fly on Continental or JetBlue.

We live 20 mins from airport #1, 90 mins from airport #2 and 2 hours from airport #3. 95% of the time, we fly out of #1 because of the convenience of the short drive. The difference in fares is usually offset by the costs of driving further, parking at the other 2 airports which are larger and charge more and the additional time it would take us to get there.

 

[Karenj2]

I should add - we often drive ~50 miles out of our way to BWI instead of PHL, but that's because the drive is nicer (less traffic), the airport is nicer, the flights are cheaper, and the parking is WAY cheaper! (Unless we park at DH's parent's house and have them drive us to PHL. )

BUT - that's not much of a distance timewise, and the parking cost absolutely makes up for the higher mileage.

And if I had noticed you were in upstate NY, I would have definitely said no!

 

[kkmcan]

We used to fly out of Phoenix vs Tucson but it no longer makes sense. YOu have to factor in that you need to be at the airport about 2 hours before your flight + the five hours of driving so now you need 7 hours of extra time. This equates to going an day ahead especially if you have an early or mid day flight. Now you are talking a hotel room and food. It all adds up.

Same reason why we just pay more to fly out of Tucson. Hotel room + food+ gas+ parking our car at airport + the extra time it takes.

 

[tinkerbell423]

Thanks for the replies. My DH doe not think it is a good idea either. I should have mentioned there are 11 of us (5 in my family and 5 in my brother's plus my mom) and 6 are school ages kids.
We drove the last two times so 5 hrs seem good to me BUT taking into account everyone's opinion it seems like I should keep looking.