TRAVEL TIPS - Road Trip or Fly?

Many trips now start off with the question of mode of transportation...should we drive or fly? Here is our thought process on that question.

UPDATE: Please see our update at the bottom of this article.

DRIVE

Driving can be a good choice, especially if you're not going too far. In fact, for trips of 500 miles or less, it's pretty much our default transportation.  Here are some of the Pros of driving, followed by some of the Cons:

Pros - 

You can pretty much take whatever you want. You don't have to travel as light as possible like you do when flying. Shower chairs, extra pillows, pool toys, sports equipment...it's not the problem to take them like it would be on a plane.

If you're a wheelchair user, you can have your own personal car with you and don't have to worry about how you'll get around at your destination. If you're a power chair user, this goes double for you.

It's usually cheaper (at least for the shorter distances).

With all the early check-in required at airports these days, baggage claim, and transfers, travel time can be pretty competitive too for shorter distances.

You'll have a more comfortable seat when traveling.

You don't have to share your car with 100+ strangers in close quarters.

If you get tired of the drive, you can pull over to take a break, eat, stretch your legs, etc.

You get to see more scenery along the way and when something interesting pops up, you can stop to check it out.

You can travel on your own schedule.

Cons - If it's a long distance, you'll have a long drive...probably boring too.

If it's a real long distance, say over 1,000 miles, you probably won't save money over flying.

It's up to you to keep the car clean.

You're at risk of an auto accident...much more common than plane crashes.

There are some places...like San Francisco or New York...where having a car is more of a handicap than not having one.

You can get stuck in traffic.

If you need to go to the bathroom, you generally have to wait until one comes along.

FLY

Flying used to be much better but since 9/11, deregulation, mergers, and bankruptcies, it has gotten to the point of being quite a challenge much of the time. Still, it is the fastest way to get to your destination.

Pros - Fast. A distance that would take you a week to drive can be covered in 6 hours. You can fly coast-to-coast and cross an ocean in less than 12 hours.

Since you get there much faster, you can save money, not only on gas but on hotel rooms and meals along the way.

Safer...you are much, much less likely to get injured or die in an airplane accident than you are in a car.

You don't have to do the driving.

Cons - Economy class can truly be tight. Crossing the Atlantic on a 10 hour flight being squeezed into a 17 inch seat is just not fun.

Going through security at the airport...especially in the states...takes a long time and can border on humiliation.

Parking at the airport can be expensive...so can a taxi ride to the airport.

Service can be anywhere from pleasant to rude to downright mean.

Food, if available, can be barely edible.

You need to pack light, very light, or you will not only be lugging a lot of cumbersome luggage but  also paying big fees to take it along.

It's crowded, not only on the plane but in the airport as well.

If you're a wheelchair user, you need to get to the airport an extra hour earlier than anyone else, then you have to beg, cajole, threaten, to get someone to help you check your chair and carry you to your seat.

So for us, if we could comfortably do it, we'd always drive but long trips don't always lend themselves to it.  Flying is something we endure to get where we'll have a good time. Hopefully, you can go through the pros and cons of each mode and come up with a good way to get where you're going.

UPDATE: What this story needs is a real world example. Here is one from a fairly recent trip we took from Ontario, California to Seattle.

FLYING
Airfare, including taxes, $184 each on Southwest. That's $552 for three
Parking for 5 days at ONT - $40
Link train from Seattle airport $16.50, round trip for three
TOTAL TRANSPORTATION COST FOR FLYING: $608.50

DRIVING
Gas, round trip for 2,300 miles round trip at 18mpg, $3.90 per gallon - $132
Meals for four days of driving (two days up, two days back)- $240 ($10 for breakfast, $20 for lunch, $30 for dinner)
Hotel halfway to destination (one each way) - $140
TOTAL TRANSPORTATION COST FOR DRIVING: $512

Now, when we consider it will take us two days each way to drive and less than 3 hours flying, that $95.50 difference doesn't seem so bad for the three of us. That's two vacation days I don't have to take if I fly and the cost difference is small enough to make it worth it to fly instead of drive for two days each way.

We also take into consideration that Seattle have very good wheelchair public transportation available and we won't really need our own car while we're there.

Of course, the more of you there are, the bigger that price tag will be.  As always, your situation, tolerance, and costs may be different. This is just an exercise to show you how to figure what method of transport will suit your needs and budget.

Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
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