Yahoo Finance Americans Are Driving Instead of Flying This Holiday Season — But Does This Actually Save Money?
It isn’t too late to plan a getaway during the holidays to visit family and friends, provided you have room left in your vacation budget to take a trip. And one of the big questions in your last-minute trip planning will be whether to drive or fly.
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A GOBankingRates survey of 1,039 American adults conducted in November showed that 23% of respondents planned to drive to their holiday destinations instead of flying to save money. But how much will they save?
That’s not an easy answer because of all of the variables involved in buying an airline ticket. Deciding whether flying or driving makes the most sense financially during the holidays takes into account the same considerations as at other times of the year. The answer likely will depend on a variety of factors, including the distance you travel, the number of days in the trip, if you want to sightsee along the way and, of course, cost.
The last one, cost, is the biggest variable. Unfortunately, no magic formula — such as X dollars per mile traveled — exists for consumers to calculate airfare. It will take some work to figure out if flying or driving will be the most cost-effective for you.
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Do Your Research
Trip planning starts by creating a spreadsheet, or at least jotting down numbers in a notebook, to compare and contrast.
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Cost of Flying
Your first entry will be the number you find when you search for flights that fit your itinerary. From there, build out the costs of flying. They include:
Parking your car at the airport for the duration of your trip if you don’t have someone to drop you off. Alternatively, if you will use a ride-share service or a taxi to get to the airport, add that.
Fees assessed for checking your bag
Eating at the airport at least once, such as before departure
Getting around at your destination. Will you rent a car, book a rideshare or take public transportation? If you’re renting a car, include any expenses you anticipate, such as parking and gas.
Cost of Driving
With that on your spreadsheet, move on to the costs of driving, which include:
Gas
Pre-trip car maintenance, which includes a tire rotation and oil change at a minimum
Meal expenses along the way
Parking costs and tolls
Lodging costs will be the same whether you fly or drive. They don’t need to be included for consideration unless you will sleep at a hotel overnight on your drive there.
The Intangibles
Your decision about flying or driving probably won’t be based on cost alone. There are other considerations when deciding your method of transportation.
How long the trip will take: If your destination is 1,200 miles away, for example, it will take you two days to drive there and two to get back. If your vacation is only a week, you’ll be spending more time in the car than you will having fun.
Are there sights you’d like to see while driving, or do you have family or friends to visit along the way?
Will your children be too restless on a long car drive?
Is your car in tip-top shape to make the trip?
Could winter weather impact your drive?
Calculating the Costs
In this scenario, say your family, which includes two adults and two children, ages six and nine, will travel from Dallas to Chicago. Your trip will begin on Dec. 26, and you’ll plan to head home on Dec. 31. The distance is roughly 950 miles each way, with a travel time by car of about 14 1/2 hours. Assume $3.14 is the price of a gallon of gas — the national average as of Dec. 12, according to AAA — and assume your car gets 30 miles to the gallon.
For plane tickets, use the cheapest option on Expedia, as priced on the same date.
Flying | Driving | |
|---|---|---|
Airfare or gas and car prep (oil change, tires rotated at minimum) | – $236 per person (assuming no fees for checked baggage) | – 64 gallons of gas: $201 |
Cost of airport parking | – Rates are prepaid, online and depend on the parking lot. | Total: $0 |
Public transportation during trip | – A one-week transit pass on the “L” costs $20 per person, free for kids 6 and under. Add $10 per paid traveler for transit to and from O’Hare Airport. | Total: $0 |
Parking and tolls | Total: $0 | – You’ll pay tolls along the route from Dallas to Chicago and are likely to encounter parking fees if you take your car into the city for day trips. |
Food costs during travel | – Airport meal upon departure: $80 | – $100 a day for a mixture of stops on the road and food you’ve packed. |
Trip total | $1,149 to $1,224.50 | $631 |
The Variables
In this example, the family of four venturing from Dallas to Chicago would pay a minimum of $518 more to fly than to drive.
But what if you have four children? Your driving costs will be altered only slightly for meals, but your airfare will go up by $472. And what if only two people are traveling? Your costs will be reduced by $472, making the difference between flying and driving only about $160.
You also must consider how you’ll get around at your destination. Since Chicago has a vast public transit system, this example presumed the travelers would take the train. In other cities, you might need to factor in the costs of a rental car, gas and parking instead.
The Bottom Line
In this scenario, flying from Dallas to Chicago will cost you at least $500 more than driving for your family of four, but that number can vary widely, depending on all the factors involved.
Once you are armed with all of the information you need for your vacation destination, you’ll make a decision as to which is more cost-effective for your family. It’s all a matter of budget and preference. You can spend that difference on adventures during your trip or splurge on some nice meals — or, of course, you can pocket the difference.
Conversely, you might decide that the extra expense of flying is worth the money to get to your destination faster. Either way, getting this decision out of the way should make the rest of the planning much easier.
Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.
GOBankingRates surveyed 1,039 Americans aged 18 and older from across the country between Nov. 9 and Nov. 13, 2023, asking nineteen different questions: (1) How much do you plan to spend on flights/hotels this holiday season?; (2) How much did you spend on flights/hotels last holiday season?; (3) Are you taking any of the following steps to save money on travel?; (4) How much do you plan to spend on holiday shopping?; (5) How much did you spend on holiday shopping last year?; (6) How would you compare your overall financial situation this holiday season to last holiday season?; (7) How much do you plan to donate this holiday season?; (8) How much credit card debt do you have right now?; (9) How much credit card debt have you added in the past six months?; (10) What is the minimum salary that would allow you to live comfortably in 2024?; (11) How concerned are you about layoffs?; (12) Do you live paycheck to paycheck?; (13) What do you believe is the likelihood of a recession in the next year?; (14) How much do you plan to spend on your next house?; (15) What is the highest mortgage rate you would be willing to pay for your next house?; (16) How much do you think mortgage rates will fall over the next year?; (17) Have you relocated to a different state in the past two years to find more affordable housing?; (18) Which of these states would you consider relocating to for more affordable housing?; and (19) What percent of your take home (after taxes) pay do you spend on your mortgage (or rent)?. GOBankingRates used PureSpectrum’s survey platform to conduct the poll.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Americans Are Driving Instead of Flying This Holiday Season — But Does This Actually Save Money?
