this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2023
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Why would you drive that far when it would be more economical to fly?
Driving from one state to another is reasonable; a 16 hour road trip is not. Unless of course you don't care about the money and just want to sight-see. In which case, enjoy your road trip.
Flying is cheaper when you're solo, sure. For a family of 4? Flying is expensive. But the really expensive part is having to rent a car where you're going.
For me, a ~12 hr drive to Florida for 1 week of vacation is about $400 in gas. That's a lot more than plane tickets, until you add a $600+ car rental when you get there. Plus the flight dates have to line up with the resorts dates, which they usually don't for cheap flights.
I hate it but driving is often the more economical option.
How much for you to fly to Florida? I'm in Canada, I can't get anywhere for less than $400.
It depends a lot on what day you want to go. Allegiant runs non stop flights that are pretty cheap, maybe $200 round trip? But they claim as low as $50 one way if you pick the right day. Only a couple days a week though and prices vary a lot week to week.
Also the one time I did fly with Allegiant to Florida, I ended up stuck in the airport for almost 12 hours while they fixed a maintenance issue on the plane. 12 hours of "Just another 30 minutes. Stay near the gate" was miserable.
And of course all this depends on where you live and where you're going. If you don't have a big airport close by, the flights are going to be longer and more expensive. Or you have to drive for hours to get to a big airport, what's the point?
Anecdote that happened to my dad:
My dad drove to Kansas with my mom and little sister; ~11 hour drive. Mom and little sis decided they would fly back instead, and my dad doesn't mind (he likes driving, and probably enjoyed the solitude).
Dad drops them off at the airport in Kansas, and starts driving back home. He made it home before them, and ended up picking them up from our local airport as well.
I guess my point (besides just a funny little story) is that sometimes flying vs driving is dependent on a lot of factors. At least in the US, from what I've experienced. It really all just depends on the situation and what you're trying to do. I have traveled a bunch within the US, both flying and driving (furthest drive being around 24 hrs straight, with a driving partner), and which one I choose is almost completely dependent on why I'm going and what I'm doing when I get there
Just my 2 cents though
I learned that day that it's not a very scenic drive, but I made that trip a few times - one with a car full of camping and backpacking gear, and the other I drove a 26' moving truck for my brother.
Welcome to frontier. Here's a $75 per carryon item fee for each of your kids. Congrats. It's no longer cheaper.
And, the flight is cancelled... Here's the website for the refund request we'll see in 4-8 weeks.
16 hours of driving, let's say averaging 70mph, is 1120 miles. Even at a moderately shitty mpg for a modern car of 30mpg, that's 37.3gal. Around most of the Midwest I can count on gas averaging $3.50 or less a gallon, so that's $130 each way. That's cheaper than anything other than extreme budget airlines, if you don't need any luggage whatsoever. If you have more than a carry on, then you're already saving money.
I'm basing this off Midwestern multi state drives, since that's what I've done the most. I can get a cheaper flight on Frontier or Spirit, but again, that falls apart as soon as I add any luggage, and I prefer to travel with luggage when it's a reasonable option.