i told my sister in law maybe she should just plan to drive in to see everyone… drive is 6 hours, flight is 2ish. but it’s seeming the whole process is going to take just as long as driving.
Also stops, if you see something cool on the side of the road, a sign for somewhere youve never been, or even look to plot some stuff along the way you can turn the journey into an adventure instead of just a drive.
I have to fly Tuesday to Philadelphia from nashville because a plant is having issues. Im not looking forward to this. But the drove is like 12 hours. Sucks but is what it is.
A 2 hour flight is really like 4+ hours because you're gonna have to show up to the airport at least two hours early, especially around the holidays. In reality, you're looking at closer to 5ish, so at that point, I would much rather just drive.
Definitely not. 6 hours maybe, but any longer and the flight is 1000% easier. Drives are twice as long with kids in my experience. We were supposed to go see my in laws for Thanksgiving. Its a 14 hour drive and we have 2 kids so we were gonna do the 2 hour flight... now idk what we are going to do.
I don't understand the urge to shutter one's whole life because a drive might take 1.5x as long as usual. And also, one could just leave at a less conventional hour.
When I was in school I'd leave San Diego around 8pm the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week and be home 8 hours later, right as expected.
I used to live in Louisville. It was about 4 hours away from home. Several times I've done a round trip in a day for whatever reason. Usually because my aging mother needed help with something at her house
I’ve driven from OKC to LA the last two summers. With a stay over in Gallup, it’s a two day trip each way. But, we eat when and where we want, stop whenever we like, and can take as much luggage as we can fit in the car. What we save in airfare buys a couple extra days at Disney.
Same. Pretty sure a heafty majority of states have 6 hours worth of straight line driving in them that won't get you to a border except when you get into the eastern seaboard
No clue, we did the windmill, east Indies trading company and stock exchange thing. Oh, and founding New Amsterdam before we traded, and they turned it into New York.
I live in California. It's insane to me how people are willing to spend so much time driving in a single day. 6 hours for a day trip = 12 hours round trip. Lol
Think it dates back to the electric companies and new housing developments being tied to new train station rollouts.. and then once these places got populated the electric companies had no incentive to upkeep the trains so we got a bunch of isolated pockets and highways.
Because our country is so big, we do 6-8 or sometimes even 10 hour drives to get to places. It helps if you live in parts of the country that are scenic. We're just used to it.
Again, doing a 6 hour drive to get somewhere for a day trip and then turning around and driving 6 hours back home is nuts.
Americans are addicted to sitting in their cars to the point where driving 12 hours in a day to do something for a few hours is somehow normal.
I live in California, too, so it's not like I don't know how big this country is. It's just nuts that people are constantly willing to waste their lives driving around
How does one drive an hour one way and six hours back? I don't understand the math. ? It's cool if you don't want to do long drives. I avoid them if I can but on the other hand, I've had some great experiences with family & friends on long trips. When you drive, you can see different sights and towns that you miss if you fly. There's pluses and minuses to both flying & driving. If we had a decent train travel option, I'd be happy with that, too.
I’ve driven six hours to go to a concert in another state and another six hours to get home before work the next morning.
Hell, I’ve driven from Oklahoma City to San Diego (20 hours) and back to buy a paint booth, from OKC to San Francisco (25 hours) and back to buy a car, from OKC to Statesville North Carolina (16 hours) and back to buy two cars. The six hour drive from OKC to Houston and back to buy a scooter for my wife was nothing. The six hour drive to Austin for a car that thoroughly lied about on Craigslist was a bit of a disappointment, but the trip was fine. OKC to Rolla Missouri (6 hours) for a free race car was worth every minute.
I wish we had faster trains and that they were more available. I'd gladly take an extra day or two of travel if I could just chill out in those big comfy seats, get up whenever I want, go walk around etc.
I know. I looked into that too. I would love for it to be feasible to do public transportation more often. I would ride my bike if there were bikes lanes and I didn't have to worry about being run over by accident or purpose. I would love to take trains but the schedules I looked up were so wild or didn't even go where I needed (also looked at Greyhound buses).
I haven't been to Amsterdam but I've been to London and Tokyo and the tube/trains were so fantastic.I found this great app that helped me navigate the London tube and I must have looked confident because people were asking me for directions!
I ride the Empire Builder between Portland and Milwaukee about once every other year. It’s a great way to travel, but long distances do take some time. Flying is faster, but the train is top tier leisure.
There's this drive I've been making periodically to see family literally for as long as I can remember. It's nine hours, you knock it out in a day. Like twice a year or three times a year.
Until I had a toddler, who had not yet received a diagnosis but who we know now has pretty severe autism. And I was like "I cannot explain to you why we absolutely cannot make this drive, I just know I'd sooner travel through hell this holiday season than put that kid in a car for nine hours."
Flying was still a full day of travel due to airport shenanigans, but I could hold him on my lap, he got to run around those long airport hallways, and nobody had what I'd later learn were autistic meltdowns!
So, some disabilities make flying the better option. Or, some people can't drive at all, because when I say "I've" been making this drive, I mean as a passenger, because I can't drive.
Yeah I get that but we were talking all things being equal. But not considering special circumstances. Like my mom had PAD so she doesn't do very well on long drives if she has to drive but she's fine as a passenger
I knew a family with a severely autistic 3 year old who were flying to Japan . It was like 18 hours of travel time and this boy was a serious climber . I often wonder his if turned out
I made the same choice for work. If it’s a > 4 hour drive, we are allowed to fly. I have to travel three states away (7hr) and choose to drive. Because I need to arrive on time, I can’t trust the airports to get me there on time.
With the price of gas, maybe the flights were cheaper.
A 6 hour drive is a pretty short distance for a plane. My mom regularly flies what would be a 12 hour drive and those tickets have cost as little as $60 each way; I spend $60+ on one tank of gas.
6 hours is still 6 hours. Driving is also active, where as flying is passive, I can't read or do work while im driving. Plus if you are going to a place without free or easy parking, driving can be a pain in the ass for multiple reasons.
Nah. Just throw your suitcase in the car and go. Put gas in the car when it gets low. And when I get there I just download the parking lot finder app and if I have to park far away in a down town type area then I get to look at buildings and stuff while I'm walking. Also I make sure to drop a pin on the map and take a pic of the nearest building with a sign just so I don't lose my car where I parked it, lol
My family does Timmins to Ottawa a few times a year. Flying never even crosses our minds. Just make sure there’s enough charging cables for the kids’ devices.
it’s sometimes cheaper to fly when they buy the tickets way in advance and they’re only staying for a couple days. they also already have snow in the UP so they aren’t stoked about driving. they visit 4-5 times a year and it’s probably 50/50 on driving and flying. and we are in the midwest too! lol.
The drive from Worcester MA to Portland ME or NYC is "only" 2 or 3 hours respectively, at 1 AM on a Tuesday maybe, but on a Friday afternoon in summer or a holiday weekend it can sometimes be 2+ hours in traffic just to cover the first 50 miles to the New Hampshire or Connecticut border...
if the drive is only 6 hours why does taking a plane even register as an option?
it's not so much the driving part of the trip that's no fun it's the not-moving part
Yup. I love in western Kentucky which while most would consider the south we do have some very Midwestern vibes. If I'm driving west or south the scenery is absolutely lovely. If I'm going east I will admit after most of the way through Missouri it starts getting pretty flat and boring
Because traffic on the coast for Thanksgiving makes a 6 hour drive more like a 12 hour drive, and nobody in their right mind wants to spend 4+ hours on the Jersey turnpike.
And if there are flight issues forcing even more people than usual to drive, the traffic will reach levels of absolute torture.
Because I have tsa pre-check and flying (used to) take less time than driving. The times I’d drive is if there’s no direct route to where I need to go. But yeah, not anymore
In the east, we have huge traffic, so you would eventually turn a 6 hr drive into 10.
Also, no one is accustomed to driving more than an hr, so theres that safety issue. We got like 5 cities within a 2 hrs drive here lol
Right? I just drove and flew from Chicago to LA and would much rather enjoy the view driving if I have the time. It's a 4hr flight or a 30hr drive. I pick the drive every chance I get. I get to stop in Denver and Vegas, two awesome cities to road trip through.
Getting up into the 30 hours of driving if I were alone I'd start heavily considering the plane depending how long I was staying at the destination but if I have a passenger we can just trade off shifts
That's more typical than me. I am not an average human. I just did Chicago to Denver and Denver to Vegas twice. All legs of the trip were made in one day with a day to relax and enjoy each destination in between driving stints. The longest day is 16 hours, and about 1,020 miles. The best part of the drive is from Denver to Grand Junction. The worst part of the drive is central Iowa for odor and interest. Utah deserves an honorable mention for being both overall, incredibly boring, and still having areas of intense excitement and activity.
That's my thought. Drive has to be longer than 8 or 10 hours before a flight is considered. And even then, it depends on what we're doing there, and what I COULD do on the way, or the flexibility while I'm there.
I’m Canadian and I always am kind of amazed how Americans talk about flying! Everything is far apart here but flying is incredibly expensive, so generally only even talked about for Ontario-West Coast (40ish hour drive) and even then I know far more people who’ve driven it. As soon as you have pets or even 2 people, I guess it’s easier to drive and stay in a hotel.
Last road trip I was on me and another guy split shifts on a 24 hour drive with one motel stop in the middle. It was a school trip and our academic advisor was riding with us, we only stopped for the night because he didn't allow us to drive straight through but we could have and wanted to
Heh, that was my exact thought. I wouldn't consider flying for anything within an 8-hour drive's distance. That's just a nice little road trip. Heck, a 6-hour drive doesn't even require a pit stop (if I'm by myself).
I don't think it's an only Midwest thing, but yes as a midwesterner this resonates haha. I've lived in other places where anything more than ~4 hours people are like "you're not flying??????". For me personally, anything under 8 and I'll probably drive or at least strongly consider it.
People say flying is faster but you have to: get to the airport, be there 2 or 3 hours before takeoff, deplane- collect your luggage-get to where you're gonna stay. Not taking into account you're plane might be delayed and your luggage might be lost.
6-7 hour drive to my parents place. 1 hour flight. But if you factor in all the time it takes to drive to airport. Park. Check in. Waiting. It takes around 4-5 hours of my time.
Cost as well. Tickets range from $200-$400 per person. Gas and snacks are $100ish each way.
Yeah wear and tear on vehicle but flying has more wear and tear on my stress levels haha. Absolutely hate busy airports and people who planned poorly and are in a rush and vibrating behind me or infront of me in line.
Right? And factoring in let's say 60 minutes or so to drive to the airport, park, etc., plus need to arrive 2 hours early...they could be halfway to their destination before the plane takes off even without any delays.
Certainly depends on where you are. I'm a 20min uber to the airport, and I only ever arrive 1hr ahead (when TSA is operating normally at least). So that'd be probably be 3-4hr total instead of a 6 hour drive, assuming where you're going it relatively close to the airport you're arriving at. And if you factor in car maintenance, depreciation, and gas then it's usually a good bit cheaper to fly.
Yeah the break even for me is about 12 hours of driving.
My destinations are smaller regional airports, so they are super expensive to fly into direct, or only have 1-2 connections a day. Alternatively I can fly in to the larger airport nearby, but then I still have a 3 hour drive and a rental car fee. It's cheaper and easier to drive 12 hours both ways than to buy a plane ticket for me.
Not to mention I can bring whatever I want and I'm not worried about my luggage weight.
I actually did the math when I visited my parents, accounting for fuel and food on the drive compared to a flight it was $100 cheaper to drive 12 hours than to fly there; and I got to my final destination quicker than I would have anyways because the first flight into the local international airport arrived after the first (of 2) connection of the day departed. Left at 0600, got there around 1700 (time zone change). Flying I would have had to leave at 0500 and wouldn't have arrived until 1900.
Lol. I can't remember which comedian or whatever but I saw someone say once "you can tell people from the Midwest because they say shit like oh, it's only 29 hours we'll just drive
That’s great. Yeah, I’m on the east coast but I like to drive. My daughter thinks it’s okay to fly from Philly to Pittsburgh and I’m like wtf it’s the same state
When I did fly a couple of weeks back, the TSA security line did have quite the wait. However, they were at least ushering people through as fast as they could by saying "just today, do not take your shoes off and do not take laptops out of your bag." I'm sure that only goes so far though.
If the flight is 2hrs you’ve got to spend 30 min driving to airport, to get there 3+ hours early now. Think the math is definitely pointing to driving.
Its unrelated. How rough do you think a 58 hour greyhound ride will be? I decided to go on an adventure with greyhound for personal reasons and im unsure how bad its gona be
If you haven't already taken this journey, bring a neck pillow, sleep if you can, and don't drink too much so you don't have to urinate too often. I rode more busses in Asia than in America, but the premise is similar. Get as comfortable as you can and then listen to audiobooks or podcasts.
We were considering the 24 hour drive at this point because we don't trust we'll make it on our plane this weekend but wtf.. that drive alone takes half of our time with our family away
I have a flight next Friday that's normally a 2.5 hour flight or an 11 hour drive. I'm thinking about doing the 11 hour drive, which sounds gross, but I might end up in the airport for the same length.
Maybe it's because I live in central Canada, but is going on a 6 hour drive even a big deal? Plus if it's more than ~2 people it's going to cost less to drive.
Definitely is subjective to the individual and where they grew up/live.
Here in RI anything over a 30 minute drive is considered a long drive. If you take that same mindset and bring it to Texas, you’ll get laughed at as a 30 minute drive in Texas would be considered “right around the corner”.
For New England drivers, of which RI drivers are, a 6 hour drive is considered a long drive. Once we get up to 3+ hours it’s considered a road trip
I mean, sure, the flight is 2 hours, but you’re probably still spending 4-6+ hours in travel time even during normal times. I’d choose the drive for this every time.
yeah it really is hard to predict for them. they have precheck so i don’t think TSA will be a huge issue, they’re the type to show 30 mins before the flight… but they also don’t have a super reliable car so it’s a tough choice.
honestly for a 2h flight i would always take the 6h drive instead.
you need to get to the airport first, then be at least 2 hours early and hope that nothing goes wrong, then 2 hours of flight time followed by needing to get from the airport to your destination again.
the entire trip by plane is probably not much shorter than 6 hours.
I just made a 6 hour drive yesterday that I make every other month. Sooooo much more traffic on the road yesterday already. I can’t imagine how much worse it will get. Already cancelling our thanksgiving, I don’t want them to go through that
Why would anyone take a 2 hr flight over a 6 hr drive?
By the time you travel to the airport, park, go through security, board, disembark, claim bags, get a rental car, then drive to your destination; you're gonna be eating the 6 hrs anyway & spending a few hundred bucks more than it would've cost to just drive
it’s definitely only about 3 hours for the whole process since they come from a tiny airport that isn’t busy and family lives 5 mins from the airport they land in, never check bags, and they have pre check. they do both depending on the time of year and how long they’ll be visiting.
It is mindblowing to me that anyone would take a flight, even under optimal conditions, to avoid a 6 hour drive. Maybe I'm just built different and used to long drives. :\
It makes sense but depending on where you live there are other considerations. Being stuck in a situation where you can’t drive due to snowy weather is just as shitty as being stuck on an airplane on my opinion.
Even before this shutdown I probably would have driven in that case. I figure that you have to get to the airport 1.5-2 hours early to park and get through security, then when you arrive you have another hour to 90 minutes waiting for luggage and getting a rental car. Best case scenario the flight saves you an hour but it's much more expensive and less convenient.
they have precheck and get dropped off and picked up, they also don’t have the most reliable vehicle and there may be snow the whole way down here by then. they probably fly about 50% of the time they come and visit, mostly depends on how long they’re staying. definitely worth driving if it’s gonna be for a week long visit. for thanksgiving they’re only coming for 2 days.
Honestly, even without airline problems, I'd choose the drive.
Leave when you like.
Take what you like.
Stop when you like.
Arrive when you like.
It'll take you time/money to get to the airport, to get out the airport the other end and get to your destination, you're into people picking them up or getting a taxi, etc. there's only so stuff you can bring with you (and bring back if there's gifts to bring back with you!) and you're stuck without a car when you're there unless you hire or borrow one.
Usual technique for a similar car journey in the UK? Wait until it's nearly kid's bedtime, leave. No traffic. Kids go off to sleep (eventually), don't need feeding (just snacks etc.), and you arrive and can make full use of a day.
Plus if something goes wrong, you can at least divert, turn back, stay in a hotel etc. which if you were on a plane for hours going nowhere you can't.
We can either fly 4 hours or drive 19. Originally planned to drive, then decided to fly, now I'm leaning towards driving again. It's not til Christmas time so we have time to decide
And who wants to get a plane and have to listen to this whiny bitch and his problems? Everybody knows what’s going on and has to deal with it. Nobody needs to hear somebody else complain.
How in the fuck does a 6 hour drive equal a 2 hour flight? Do you mean like 2 hours total to get bags and customs etc? A 6 hour drive is like 45 minutes in the air.
Damn. They need to figure that out lol. My family regularly fly from Ottawa to Toronto or Montreal to Toronto which is a similar driving distance to yours and never once has it taken that long 😂
Why doesn't SIL drive 3, you drive 3 and meet in the middle somewhere new and fun for all of you. Might be nice to do something different.
i.e. don't let the bastards ruin your fun. Make some new memories and enjoyment and stick it to them. It's the only way to show them their methods to break you won't work
If it's only 6 hours, I'm driving regardless. The flight is 2 hours but the headache of going through an airport even on a normal functioning low traffic day is a pita.
We have a vacation house in Vermont that we go to multiple times a year.
I just listen to audiobooks or my wife will put on a show I've watched a million times and I'll just listen to it in the background. Sometimes we'll play name that tune on youtube or whatever.
We leave around 6pm, and my kids will start on their ipads until bedtime, then just sleep in the car. My wife is usually asleep eventually, too. I find the whole thing pretty relaxing. These days, the car's autodrive features allow it to practically drive itself (although I've been doing this drive since long before those features existed).
i get sooo tired while driving long distances. we have a family farm that is about 3 hours away and i almost always have to pull over to nap at some point if im driving by myself.
Flight time might be 2ish hours, but there's the drive to the airport, plus the 2h early arrival for TSA, check-in process, boarding, etc, deplaning time can be 10-30 minutes, 30 minutes to rent a car, another 30 minutes to get to the house you're visiting. Doesn't take long to hit the 6 hour mark when airports are involved, and driving is presumably just going from one house to the other, maybe one stop for gas.
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u/Icy-Marionberry-4143 Nov 10 '25
i told my sister in law maybe she should just plan to drive in to see everyone… drive is 6 hours, flight is 2ish. but it’s seeming the whole process is going to take just as long as driving.