To Fly or Drive:
A Midwesterner’s Dilemma

The running joke among Midwesterners going on vacation is, “we don’t need to fly, it’s only a 20-hour drive.” I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say this! When my friend went to Colorado a few years ago, he and his family drove 15 hours one way. I, on the other hand, flew. If you’re debating between flying or driving to your vacation destination and don’t know which one to choose, take a look at these considerations to help you decide.

1. Cost

Depending on fuel prices and how close you are to an airport, cost is usually the biggest deterrent when it comes to flying. Where I live, there are limited flights out of our regional airport so the prices are about $300 higher than the neighboring big city airports. In addition to the price hike, if a whole family of people are traveling (my friend’s family consists of 2 parents and 5 kids), buying airline tickets for everyone would break their budget. In their case, if they’re all going on a trip, they might choose to carpool instead of fly.

I drive a pickup truck, so it can get pretty pricy to fill up or go on a longer road trip. If I’m going by myself, and depending on where I’m going, I can sometimes find a flight cheaper than it would cost me to drive myself. On the other hand, if I’m going to have to rent a car once I get to my destination I might just drive because the cost of the flight and rental would be more than just driving my own vehicle down. Driving my truck also means I can pack as much as I want, and don’t have to worry about additional cost, TSA, or the liquids rule for carry-ons.

2. Time

Here is usually the math I use to determine if it would be quicker to fly or drive:

Driving is simple – Put in the destination into Google Maps, add an hour or so for breaks. It is important to carve out time for pit stops to refuel, get snacks, and even see local tourist attractions and sights.

Flying is a little more involved – First, find a flight and look at the departure and arrival times. Next, add about 3 hours (depending on the airport) for TSA, boarding, and arriving. I usually drive to Nashville to get better flights at cheaper prices, so that’s another 2.5 hours. If I don’t have to drive to Nashville, it definitely cuts down on time. Usually, my drive vs. fly time is usually between a 6-to-8-hour radius; anything outside of 8 hours I’ll look at flying instead of driving.

3. Stress

For some, the stress of going to the airport (especially if there is a large group or little ones) is enough to make driving the win over flying. It is less stressful to be on your own timeline than it would be to get everyone at the right place with the right items at the right time. The possibility of flight cancellations, delays, and changed gates is also another stressor many people chose to avoid because they are at the whim of the airline/airport. For me, I feel stressed because I want to be at my destination as soon as possible with as few stops as possible, so driving isn’t always the best option.  

Regardless of where I’m going in the continental United States, I typically run through each of these three things to determine if I’m going to fly or drive. Don’t let the sticker shock of an airline ticket deter you from booking that flight!

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