Would you drive or Fly to FL this Summer?

[leebee]

Foolish tourist that I was, I thought Rt. 1 from Northeast MA up to the Portland, ME area on a July weekend would be interesting. Certainly was if you like crawling much of the way in bumper-to-bumper traffic. YOICKS!

Oh I'm SO SORRY... my family lives in York, ME, and I am all too familiar with what Rt. 1 is like in the summer!

 

[PepperjackDragon]

Probably already made your decision (stopped reading at page 2) but given the cost of gas/oil, wasted hotel certs, exhaustion and increased risk of accidents, I personally think the decision is pretty easy to fly. Moreover, Unless there is something very specific your daughter wants to visit on route I have to think you can create a better bonding experience doing something near Orlando with the extra couple days (or just add a couple Disney off site days) than trying to chat and drive for 18 hours.

 

[Donald Duck888]

Oh I'm SO SORRY... my family lives in York, ME, and I am all too familiar with what Rt. 1 is like in the summer!

So true. We avoid that road from May thru Oct especially on weekends.

 

[Cheburashka]

No way would I ever drive 20+ hours from my home to get to Orlando for a vacation, and drive back again afterwards. I'd rather just stay home than go through that. I'm flying.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

If you don’t like Boston what about driving down to Bradley and flying from there? It’s a small enough airport to be manageable and there are a lot of nonstop flights. Albany probably has options as well.

Or if the issue is just driving to Logan you can always take the Dartmouth coach.

Summer traffic is notoriously bad pretty much the whole way south. I would avoid it at all costs.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

FWIW depending on where you live I would try to get to a major airport. My mom prefers White Plains, except the 3 (!) times this past year where I have had to figure out how to get her home when her flights were cancelled or she missed connections due to weather.

We had some drama once out of Newark because of weather/arrival restrictions at Orange County but otherwise it is a lot more reliable.

 

[npatellye]

If you don’t like Boston what about driving down to Bradley and flying from there? It’s a small enough airport to be manageable and there are a lot of nonstop flights. Albany probably has options as well.

To add, if you’re open to Bradley, Tweed New Haven isn’t too far away (it’s just off of 95) and only has non-stop flights to MCO. It’s a tiny, tiny airport with plenty of parking and never any lines at security.

However, Avelo is an ULCC so it may not be your cup of tea. We flew it with our kids in December and January and were totally fine with it. We paid for luggage, extra legroom, and picking our seats (kids are too young for us to be comfortable allowing them to sit without us next to them).

 

[Donald Duck888]

If you don’t like Boston what about driving down to Bradley and flying from there?

Thats actually a pretty good idea. I had not thought of that. I always assumed Bradley was actually closer to Hartford then it actually appears to be. Not a bad drive either, just go west to VT and pick up 91. Right now we have flights booked out of MHT for if we decide to fly but this sounds like a much better back up plan vs dealing with Logan.

 

[Meglen]

Thats actually a pretty good idea. I had not thought of that. I always assumed Bradley was actually closer to Hartford then it actually appears to be. Not a bad drive either, just go west to VT and pick up 91. Right now we have flights booked out of MHT for if we decide to fly but this sounds like a much better back up plan vs dealing with Logan.

Yea I still have no ideas why Bradley is labeled Hartford. It's in Windsor Locks which is atleast 15min from Hartford. I live 10 min from Bradley so we always fly outta there to MCO using JetBlue.

 

[Cheburashka]

I'll add that aside from the tedium and fatigue of a very long drive (in my case, it's over 20 hours each way), I don't want to put the miles and wear on my car. I like to give my car a little vacation when I go on vacation. And with the price of gas now, plus an oil change will be needed sooner... I usually rent a car when I get to Orlando now that ME is gone, so I don't save on parking fees, but the cost of gas & maintenance and an overnight hotel stay for a drive from home, certainly would rival the cost of a flight plus rental car, given that I typically travel as a party of 1 or 2.

Plus, in the summer sometimes there are thunderstorms, and the bad ones are miserable and dangerous to drive through.

 

[sam_gordon]

Plus, in the summer sometimes there are thunderstorms, and the bad ones are miserable and dangerous to drive through.

That can also be a negative to flying, as they are miserable and dangerous to fly through, and can affect (delays or cancellations) flight schedules.

 

[Cheburashka]

That can also be a negative to flying, as they are miserable and dangerous to fly through, and can affect (delays or cancellations) flight schedules.

I'd much rather sit in a dry airport or a delayed or turbulent plane than have to drive through a severe thunderstorm. I've done each, and the latter is a lot more dangerous. The sky is safer than the road.

 

[sam_gordon]

I'd much rather sit in a dry airport or a delayed or turbulent plane than have to drive through a severe thunderstorm. I've done each, and the latter is a lot more dangerous. The sky is safer than the road.

Totally agree. I prefer flying no matter the distance, but it's not really practical (IMO) until driving would take about 10+ hours. Over 15, and it's pretty much an automatic flight for me (except under special circumstances).

 

[DJFan88]

We are bottom Mass/border top of CT and drive 6 1/2 hrs. to the Autotrain too. It’s a lot more relaxing than driving the whole way, done that. Plus we have a car when we get there. If you leave super early on a Sunday to VA it’s no traffic

 

[parasail_of_congress]

We are bottom Mass/border top of CT and drive 6 1/2 hrs. to the Autotrain too. It’s a lot more relaxing than driving the whole way, done that. Plus we have a car when we get there. If you leave super early on a Sunday to VA it’s no traffic

I've looked into the Autotrain a couple of times, but the pricing just seems so much higher than flying that I haven't yet found a reason to use it. Going from Maryland/Virginia to Orlando, the price per person is roughly the same as flying, maybe 5-10 percent cheaper. But adding on the $500 charge for the actual vehicle, not to mention that the trip takes 17 hours, just doesn't seem advantageous. Have you found any discounts or use points to minimize the price?

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Hi,

Have an upcoming trip to FL (Disney) planned for this Summer and not sure if I want to fly or drive. I live in NH so it's not a short trip. Flying is much faster, although more expensive but especially lately it has its share of downsides like delays,cancellations, limited flight offerings and such.

It is just myself and my 15yr old daughter going this time so I would be the sole driver. We do have time as she is out of school for the Summer so I can stop overnight a night or two each way if that is what we wish and I have hotel certificates that are actually expiring soon that we could use for those stays. We are going to be in Disney for 6 nights.

Just curious what others may be doing and what they think of the two options.

Thanks.

I voted for fly. Even with hotel covered, your fuel costs (not sure of your car) will be high and of course, you run the risk of a vehicle not making it, stalling, whatever could happen. We drive often to WDW but we are a state away so it's not that far and we make it in less than a day's time. I don't mind driving if I can split duties but from that far, that's a hard pass.

There is a site you can add your make/model of your car and add your address to/from and it will give you estimated fuel costs https://www.fueleconomy.gov/trip/ Also, it's two plane tix while expensive, it's not many people. Keep checking as flights prices will fluctuate from time to time and also check discount airlines like SW/Spirit/Frontier.

Good luck.

 

[Donald Duck888]

Dang, I was starting to think we may decide to fly and then I see what I disaster this weekend appears to have been with flying and am back to square one with my decision.

 

[meremac]

Until a few weeks ago, I would have voted fly, no question. But these last few weeks (and the last five days in particular) have been such a mess in the airline industry. Over half of my clients' flights were at least delayed, and quite a few were cancelled with no alternate flight options for DAYS. These poor people are having to drive anyway, cut short or completely cancel their vacations, take extra time off work, etc. Worse, it doesn't appear that there is any immediate solution to the mess on the horizon, so I would expect this to continue at least through the summer (ebbing and flowing in terms of intensity, but still continuing). I'd vote drive for at least the next few months.

 

[brockash]

Hi,

Have an upcoming trip to FL (Disney) planned for this Summer and not sure if I want to fly or drive. I live in NH so it's not a short trip. Flying is much faster, although more expensive but especially lately it has its share of downsides like delays,cancellations, limited flight offerings and such.

It is just myself and my 15yr old daughter going this time so I would be the sole driver. We do have time as she is out of school for the Summer so I can stop overnight a night or two each way if that is what we wish and I have hotel certificates that are actually expiring soon that we could use for those stays. We are going to be in Disney for 6 nights.

Just curious what others may be doing and what they think of the two options.

Thanks.

I'm generally always a fly rather than drive person, however our flights over the last year have almost all been near nightmares with huge delays/cancelations etc., so if I were within 12ish hrs I really think we'd drive...maybe even up to 14ish, but coming from NH I'm assuming it's a few hrs even more than my max now so probably still fly, but I'd really only want an early flight and/or direct if possible.

 

[Donald Duck888]

so if I were within 12ish hrs I really think we'd drive...maybe even up to 14ish, but coming from NH I'm assuming it's a few hrs even more than my max

You are correct it is a bit of a long drive from here (about 20 hours). But if we do drive it would be over 2 or 3 days so it would be about 10 hours a day at max for driving. Hard to decide though. If i had any confidence in air travel right now I would fly, but unfortunately I don’t. There is also the fact that flying in and of itself would probably be around a 7 hour experience when you add in having to get to the airport so early, travel to or from the airport etc.

tough to decide.