Flying vs. Driving

[disneysteve]

This is true. It is also why my "8 hour rule" was determined. It was originally a "6 hour rule," but that changed after the TSA got going. If you're looking at more than two plane tickets, the driving range would be extended; I figure about 2 to 4 hours per additional ticket.

That's a good point. The more people going, the better a deal driving becomes since the cost is fixed. It doesn't matter if there is one person or 4 people in the car. There are 3 of us which helps tip the scale to driving.

there's no way you're driving more than about 12 hours per day

Why not? I can leave Orlando at 7am and arrive home in NJ at midnight assuming no significant traffic. We've done that several times.

[Blessed]

That's a good point. The more people going, the better a deal driving becomes since the cost is fixed. It doesn't matter if there is one person or 4 people in the car. There are 3 of us which helps tip the scale to driving.


Why not? I can leave Orlando at 7am and arrive home in NJ at midnight assuming no significant traffic. We've done that several times.

We have driven 13 hours many times in one day. No issues with it here either.

[Chris Leese]

I agree that that short of a time between flights is not ideal. I have had some trips for work this year and every time there was a delay where if I had only a 39 minute timeframe between flights, I would have missed it.

I personally like to get places in the quickest manner possible, so flying would be my choice, but that is because the time factor outweighs the increased cost, airport hassles, etc.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

8 hours is the cut off. Anything shorter driving is worth it because of airports. Anything longer well the flight is easier. And of course flying over water.

[kork13]

I really enjoy long drives, and I significantly prefer the mobility of having my own car with me while I'm on a vacation or business trip. In general, I will always choose to drive over flying. I wouldn't blink twice about making an 8-hour drive somewhere. I'm even willing to drive up to 16-20 hours (or more) if I'm staying long enough and it means having my own car readily available to me. However, if I don't have alot of time available to me, I'll fly.

As a rule of thumb for myself, I generally follow a 2:1 rule. I'll drive for 1 day (6-8 hours) for every 2 days that I'll be able to stay there. So a Friday-to-Sunday weekend trip? I normally won't go much further than 3-4 hours away. But when my brother graduated college, I spent 5 days in Virginia, and happily made the 2-day drive to get there. I've also made multiple cross-country drives on the order of 4-6 days driving when moving from Oregon to Florida (for example), and never regretted a minute of it.

[Wino]

Federal rules for over-the-road truckers limit them to 11 hours driving in any 14 hour period, and they must have 10 hours of rest before beginning the next 14 hour period. This is for alertness and safety. I'm sure that many people have driven longer times than this, but these numbers are there to prevent "drowsy driving," which has been shown to be as dangerous as drunk driving.

I don't mind stretching those numbers a bit for one day or maybe two, but once you go over about 16 hours, you're NOT going to be as alert and you're definitely not going to be driving safely. At work, I have an iron-clad rule that my guys will never work beyond 16 hours, after which they must have 8 hours of uninterrupted down time. They can do this for a maximum of three days, after which time they're limited to 12 hours for the remainder of the job. If I did not do this, the clients would want 16 to 18 hours per day, every day "to get their money's worth."

It is not wise to drive for extended periods without rest, and rest does not mean stopping at a Buckee's or Cracker Barrel for a cup of coffee and a meal.

[JoeP]

I hate flying for many reasons, and thankfully our lifestyle doesn't require a lot of travel. Only way we fly is direct or layovers of > 2 hours.

Driving takes more time, but this has good side-effects: you can stop at sights along the way, eat what and when you want, take a lot of dangerous and forbidden stuff like shampoo and tweezers.

[jIM_Ohio]

I'll be the voice of opposition here. We drive to Disney World every year. It is just over 1,000 miles each way and takes about 17 hours of travel time. We stop overnight going down. Coming home we sometimes stop over but occasionally drive straight through. It is cheaper but more importantly it is far more convenient. We are able to leave when we want. We're able to pack what we want. We have our own car when we get there and don't need to deal with a rental.

I did not suggest what to do if it was more than six
but if its less than 6 I am driving unless there is an unusual reason not to...

[JoeP]

I'll be the voice of opposition here. We drive to Disney World every year. It is just over 1,000 miles each way and takes about 17 hours of travel time. We stop overnight going down. Coming home we sometimes stop over but occasionally drive straight through. It is cheaper but more importantly it is far more convenient. We are able to leave when we want. We're able to pack what we want. We have our own car when we get there and don't need to deal with a rental.

Agreed. For us, we simply take a little more time on each end of the vacation to account for travel. We like being in control and being able to make our own decisions on how to adapt when something unplanned arises. That freedom is something you give up in exchange for paying more money and flying to your destination with little effort on your part.

Think of all the stress point in a typical family vacation where you fly: child gets ear infection and cannot fly so you have to reschedule, rental car not available, flight delays, missed layover, plane mechanical problems, storms divert your flight to another airport, miss your cruise ship, lost luggage, late airport shuttle, sick people on plane, TSA security line delays, less exposure to rude people.

[keen3105]

My wife and I are taking a trip next March from Cadillac, MI to Savannah, GA. It's obviously cheaper to drive i figure $500 i gas round trip (2,500 miles) for flights I have seen $1,035 plus bag fees for the two of us. My one concern with flying is the return flight has a layover of only 39 in LGA. Is this enough time to get my connecting flight to DTW? I have only flown once 6 years ago.

Any advice on flying vs. driving is appreciated.

Financially, driving would be better for your wallet.

[dojo]

We fly if it's over 2K miles. We drive anywhere else. It depends on time constraints most of the time, both I and husband work from home at our own businesses, so we can take 1 month off if we feel like (or even 6 as we already did). If you're tight on time, then driving longer distances will mean more time wasted.

[greenskeeper]

We just got back on sunday from driving PA to FLA (1050mi each way). Never considered flying when plane tickets were $1200 and driving was $170 in fuel round trip (TDI = 50 m p g). Also we were able to have a car while in florida without adding the cost of a rental. We did the trip straight through both ways....going was 15hrs, coming back closer to 17hr thanks to MD closing I-95 down to 1 lane for construction sunday night.

[kork13]

Never considered flying when plane tickets were $1200 and driving was $170 in fuel round trip (TDI = 50 m p g).

I have a TDI as well, and it's no joke. I LOVE the mileage on that thing, and on long road trips, it can cut the cost of fuel by as much as half. The biggest differentiator is the diesel premium in the states you're driving through... In some states, diesel is about the same cost as mid-grade or premium. In others, it's another 20-30+ cents above premium, which definitely does cut into the benefit.

[greenskeeper]

GA and FLA the spread was 70 cents more per gallon for D2 than RUG. I'm still coming out ahead compared to driving a gasser but it was pretty sweet when D2 was always less than RUG which changed around 2007. I have a few theories as to why this happened.

[snafu]

I fly a lot and believe it's getting worse, more uncomfortable, more hassle and more expensive with less benefits every trip. I'd rather drive our whipsaw highway to the coast [11-12 hours] a couple of times a year than fly. If DW can drive an hour here and there the trip is do-able offering you the list of benefits already mentioned. We pack a cooler with sandwiches and snacks, use audio books from library, and create a list of comfort stops with WIfI access like tourist offices and McDs who have hot, fresh coffee 24/7.

If you think it's too hard on your car or if your vehicle has issues, you can likely find a cheap, basic car to rent.