Need some friendly advice on traveling..fly or drive?

momof2divas · **Need some friendly advice on traveling..fly or drive?**

Hey ladies I need some friendly advice/opinions. In June we are planning a trip to St Louis, MO for a week to visit my dad for his 50th birthday and see the rest of my extended family. We are in Vegas and Dh and I are trying to figure what would be our best way of getting there. I have been pricing airline tickets and for the 4 of us to fly and there is nothing under $1000 the cheapest I have found is $266 per person. We also thought about driving which would take about day and a half (including stopping at a hotel) but I don’t know if my 3yr and 7yr old could handle the long drive. (When I was younger we would always take road trips back and forth so its no biggie for me) I have prices rental cars and they are running at an estimated price of $250-$400 for 2weeks and with the price of gas I am not sure if it would be better to drive I know I wont need the car for 2weeks but it may come out cheaper to keep it that long. I guess I am looking for a what would you choose and if you know of any other options please share. Thanks!!!

calimari · 04-16-2008, 10:47 AM

Well, I hate car trips. If it's longer than 5-6 hours, I fly. Period. And we don't have kids in the car. On the other hand, most people I know can't afford to fly places with their kids and then have to get a rental car once they are there. I know many people who take road trips w/ their kids all the time (frequent stops) and nowadays they can watch a movie in the back seat whereas all I had to do as a kid in the back seat was either pester my sister or throw up.

Is there a train route? Is that an option?

3boys · 04-16-2008, 11:00 AM

I'm the same way. If it's more than 6-7 hours, I'll drive. $266 is not a bad price at all. Just think, you'll pay $250-$400 for the rental car. It's about 1600 miles to St. Louis, so you'll probably fill up about 6-8 round trip (plus the local travel you'll do while in MO. That's about $400-$500 just in gas. Plus, since you'll be on the road for more than 3 days (round trip), you may end up stopping over to eat, plus two nights of hotel stays. And most importantly, THE TIME. It's way cheaper to fly in this case.

HAPPY2BAMOM · 04-16-2008, 11:04 AM

The gas prices are too crazy to drive any where these days.

Cookie2 · 04-16-2008, 12:30 PM

Okay, let's do the math ...

Cost of driving:
- Car rental - $500. I'm figuring you'll need it just over a week. Weekly rates are usually your best bet but you might be able to do 9 days which is a weekly rate plus a weekend rate.
- Gas: Las Vegas to St. Louis is 1600 miles. If the vehicle averages 20 miles to the gallon, you need 80 gallons of gas - one way. If you pay an average of $3.50 per gallon, that is $280 for gas. For a roundtrip, that is $560.

Oops ... we can stop there. You're already above the cost of flying, not counting two hotel nights (approx $250) and meals ($60/day x 4 days = $240) along the way.

Oh BTW, it takes 23 hours to drive to MO from Las Vegas so that's a tough two full days. I have travelled many times with very young children in the car (by myself sometimes) and 10 hours of driving is stretching it. I can do 13 hours of driving with a little one in one day, but I couldn't make them spend that much time in the car two days in a row.

The only question is, what will you do for a vehicle once you get to MO?

Oregano · 04-16-2008, 12:46 PM

Where are you getting you rental car? The costs for the rental seem really high to me...I get week long or longer rentals a few times a year when I travel and don't usually pay more than $100 for the week. Dh is a superior travel planner though...so he knows all the ins/outs, coupons etc So I could be woefully uninformed. LOL

If it's not so much a cost issue...IMO, it really just boils down to what you'd prefer to do. I've driven to places when it was cheaper to fly just because I really dislike flying. LOL I drive to my mother's house (10 hours away by car) when I could fly for less than $200 and get there in less than two hours. Does it make sense? Maybe not to some, but I like driving, like having my own car. So nobody can really make that decision for you, you have to figure out what you want to do and what works for your family.

smilingangel · 04-16-2008, 01:25 PM

Traveling anywhere now days is pricey and with the cost of gas, you just might be farther ahead to fly and then you won't have to worry about the kids and the long ride in the vehicle.
But only you can make that decision and what is best for your family, but it's always nice to hear other people opinions also!!

3boys2anglz · 04-17-2008, 07:22 AM

My DH calls me the most frugal traveler alive.

If you are flexible with the flying times, do a "Name Your Own Price" bid on Priceline. To get help with what and how to bid, check out the message boards at Priceline and Hotwire Forum. They have lots of great tools to help find the lowest price and the folks there will help you navigate the Priceline system and give suggestions.

I have used Priceline many times for travel and have had great success saving TONS of money. When we went to the Oprah show in Chicago we stayed at the Hyatt overlooking the lake for $65/night (the lowest rate I could find anywhere else was $159/night). I have lots of other examples of what we have saved on hotels, airfare and rental cars. We haven't always been able to get a lower price than is available elsewhere (sometimes the airline websites have the best) but we have saved up to $75-$100/ticket on airfare on Priceline. The only drawback to the airline tickets is that you don't have a say about what time you fly or the airline you fly on. Once your bid is accepted, you find out the travel details. You can leave anytime on the day you request between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Here is their guarantee about naming your own price:

Your flights will be confirmed for the dates and airports you agree to.
Your flights will have a maximum of one stop each way, unless you agree to two connections each way.
If you have a connection, your layover time will never be longer than three hours for domestic flights.
You will never be put on a red-eye or off-peak flight unless you agree to one.
You will know the total amount of your purchase before completing your transaction.

Good luck! Once you finalize your travel plans, let us know what you decided and get suggestions for travelling with small children whether flying or driving. The ladies here have wonderful tips.

lizer3 · 04-17-2008, 09:35 AM

For us the cost is too high to fly, there are six of us. We will be going to CA in June and I just wouldn't be able to afford to fly. we will drive straight though. Stopping only for food and fuel. It will cost us just under $500 in gas and I will pack food in the car so I don't have to stop at restrants on the way. On our trip there are a few nice rest areas that are like parks so we can stop there and run around.
Now I did some research for flying and we can get a flight for myself and the three boys for $570 but I will have to go visit gma and gpa and I'm not to sure how we would get there since I wouldn't be able to take carseats and I guess I would borrow moms car. I still think I would drive just so I could do what I want when I want. KWIM??

Noahsmommy · 04-17-2008, 09:44 AM

You can check your carseats Elizabeth. I personally would fly. I hate car trips! I think it would make more sense to fly. Two full days in a car with a bunch of kids on the way there and on the way back would be torture! No one calculated this womans sanity in the price. You know the reprocussions of the trip the therapy and Electroshock therapy etc. Also don't forget the 4 extra days your dh would have to take off or a shorter trip. Good luck!