Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

Id say its going to cost my family of 5 $2k - $3K to fly, possibly with a stop each time Feb 18-26. My parents drive and think we should too. Im afraid Id want to kill myself after bring with the kids all those hours? LOL

Im thinking... how much in gas with a V8? We would stop once?? Ive never done the drive so know nothing about it.

Any recommendations? Am I crazy for thinking it? My kids are 2, 5 & 10. LOL

Message edited 12/29/2011 10:57:45 PM.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

We dont have any kids but dh and i drove once and i swore never again. It was insanely boring and i just wanted to get out of the car in the worst way and never see a highway again.

We spent one night in a motel somewhere behind god's back and when we were leaving in the am heard gunshots of deer hunters like, behind the motel

Plus do you want to loose all that time in a car vs getting there in 3 hrs?

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

i do not fly and dh and i drive to florida every year..well i should say he does lol

we leave queens at midnight and go through manhattan,no traffic at night

we drive straight and have made it in about 16 or 17 hrs

we only gas up twice..we always rent a car and we get a big truck so not sure if that is why we do not need to gas that often..

we stop for super quick meals and use of bathroom

it is usually just dh and i so i do not know if we had kids if it would be better but if iw as bringing kids i would leave at night so they all slept in the car for the bulk of the trip

it is a pretty straight run..we actually love the road trip...we get snacks for the car..play stupid gamesinvolving license plates or the signs by south of the border lol

i dont think i helped lol but just wanted to give you our experience

good luck

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

have u looked into jet blue for airfare? I find that they can be cheaper than the other airlines

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

I think some of the best conversations I have ever had with DH have been on I-95. We take it easy, stop along the way overnight and have DVD players for the kiddies. Since I am a teacher it is usually much less $$ to drive as the flight prices are crazy during the school breaks. We have a Disney Vacation Club so we drive at least once a year to FL and love it.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

Did it once, never again. Almost killed me.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

Every April break growing up, we drove down to Florida. It was not as bad as you would think. We usually left at about 5:30-6 am, so we would miss rush hour traffic. On the way down, my parents would stop in South Carolina. On the way back, we would drive through the night. We were traveling with 7 people so it was definitely more cost effective to drive.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

LOL So its either wonderful or absolutely horrible LMAO! Honestly, I dont know what Im thinking. My DH cant take a half hour ride with the kids...LOL

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

Just want to say I feel your pain. Im trying to plan a trip to Florida for April and it will cost about $1600 for airfare for my family of 4. It's crazy! But we may just bite the bullet because the trip is to visit my grandparents who are in their 90s and I want my kids to see them again and I'm pretty sure I'm not driving with a 2 and 4 year old!

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

$2k is really high! When would you be flying and what airline is that? Even in high season, tickets shouldn't be much more than $300/pp round trip. I usually don't pay more than $200.

If you haven't already, think about the convenience factor. I would happily pay more to fly for that reason alone.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

I drove from FL to NY. Never again
Very long and boring drive.

Can you look into getting a package (hotel/air/car)? Sometimes that comes out cheaper.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

We drove to Fla the past 2 years with the kids and its the only way I would do it. First off I am not going to subject everyone on that plane to 2 yr old triplets and besides I have to much crap to take with me so we drive and its cheaper that way. We leave after dinner the kids are in their pjs and sleep pretty much thru the nite. We drive straight thru and stop for gas and bathroom breaks and breakfast in the morning. I dont think it really is that bad. My kids love being in the car and I make sure they have stuff to keep them busy. Good Luck to you.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

We have done both.
We drove once with both kids and this past March, we flew first time with both kids.

All I will say is, we are so DONE with driving!

With flying, we booked an late morning flight, got to FL around 2PM.

Leaving, we booked an evening flight and got home around 10PM (I think).

We got almost 2 extra days out of it. My DH who doesn't mind the drive even said "we will be flying from now on".

Flying just worked better for us. With driving, we stopped a few times, let the kids stretch, had to diaper changes, give snacks, etc.

Flying, none of that had to happen.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

Oh he!! No to driving! Dh wants to drive down w our 3yo and 19 month old. That would be my worst nightmare

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

DH and I haven't done the trip to FL but we have flown home twice from Toronto with two kids - one of whom is a lap child. We both already said that we are never flying again unless the tickets are almost free. It's just SO expensive and there are so many limits on what you can bring. Plus between getting up early, driving to the airport, waiting for boarding, waiting for your bags to come down, waiting for your ride, etc... it's not that much shorter than just getting in the car and going!

I've done the drive before to FL and IMO it's easy, but I love road trips. DVDs for the kids in the car, games, lots of snacks and multiple bathroom/leg stretching stops.

Think about it - are you going to spend $1000 in gas? I don't think so

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

With the time at the airport, and the time for your flight delays, leaving on time, on some airlines, paying for luggage, paying for a car there or shuttle service arrangements to an from etc....what are you saving?

as a child I never went to florida, but I was always jealous of hearing about the car ride down from all my friends....was their fighting YES...crying, whining, extra pee stops on the side of road..YES YES YES, BUT...

There were lots of laughs, funny stories, fun games, traditional spots they HAD TO stop etc. Lets face it....i wouldn't see it as losing two days of memories...i would look at it as creating two days, that in 5 years, your teenagers will probably bribe you into flying because they only appreciate this time when they are a little younger....and then, when you are flying, stuck in the airport, they will start reminiscing about all the funny things that happened in the car rides down before.

Message edited 12/30/2011 5:56:06 AM.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

A few things to consider:

1. Will you be able to share some of the driving? How does DH feel about driving many hours in a row? Not everyone is comfortable doing this.

2. Tolls - After the DC area, there really aren't any more tolls but getting to DC will be a solid $30 - 40 each way. Just reminding you to add this to your 'budget'. This, plus the cost of a hotel, and gas will add up.

3. Time - to me, this is the biggest factor. Do you want to spend 2 days getting there and 2 days getting home? How much is a vacation day worth to you? I don't think its realistic with kids to get there without stopping and sleeping somewhere along the way. Also, you/DH will need a rest so that you can safely drive - you don't want to ruin the trip because DH is so tired from trying to drive all the way through.

4. Will your kids generally behave and be quiet in long car rides? If not, this could be torture.

My family did this growing up and we enjoyed it. My mom made a game of it and every 2 hours, we got to pick a present - something super small like a mini doll and then an outfit an hour later. We took 2 days to get there with a sleep over somewhere along the way and stopping for meals for at least an hour at a time. Sometimes we would picnic and run around for a little bit at rest stops (with picnic areas) to get our energy out.

DH and I tried to do this in college but we were involved in a major accident and never made it. I know he and I will never attempt this because of the horrible memories of the accident. But, if we hadn't done that, I could see myself trying it once.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

We just drove to FL and back with the 3 kids, but my kids are much younger (3.5 years, and two 16 month olds). It actually was not as bad as we were expecting. DH and I took turns driving through the night, and when everyone woke up we were already halfway there (NC). We stopped for breakfast and got back on the road for another 3-4 hours, then stopped for lunch. Got back on the road 3-4 hours and stopped at an outlet center to walk around and have dinner. Another 3-4 hours and we were there. Took 24 hours total with the stops included. We HAD to drive bc there is no way DH and I could have lugged the 3 kids, stroller, luggage, carseats, etc through the airport, and then have to rent a monster SUV or minivan to fit everyone... it was just easier to drive.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

I love a good road trip. but I would probably fly.

I did a roundrtip to VA in one day, me doing all of the driving. 17 hours straight down to Virginia & back. It was supposed to be a 10 hour trip but they closed I-95 for over hours & hours. Cars were running out of gas & causing even more of a traffic jam. We had a very patient 4 year old in the back, good tunes & good conversation but I wouldn't do it again.

In February, I wouldn't chance driving with my kids in the snow for that long.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

Growing up we drove from FL to NY at least twice a year. My family (parents and sister and I) lived in Florida and my extended family lived in NY. It was too expensive for all 4 of us to fly so we drove.

My parents would leave around 8pm at night and drive straight through only stopping for gas, bathroom breaks and food. They would usually stop at South of the Border in SC for about an hour to stretch out and rest their eyes. My parents would switch driving half way through the trip. We made this trip so many times that we always knew when and where we were going to stop.

We lived outside of Tampa and it would take 18 hours to get to LI.

As a kid, I didn't mind these trips. My sister and I mostly slept and when we weren't sleeping we would play games. We didn't have portable DVD players back then...lol.

I think with a 2, 5 and 10 year old it is def. do-able and will cost less than flying. Even with a V8, you are going to get better gas mileage on the highway than in the "city" and gas is cheaper once you leave NY.

As another PP said, there are only tolls through the DC and you can use your EZ Pass for them.

ETA: We always packed a cooler and brought snacks. In the cooler were sodas, waters and juice. We also used to make the Banquet Fried Chicken (from the freezer section) and keep it in the cooler to have as one of our meals.

Message edited 12/30/2011 10:10:33 AM.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

Thats expensive! It costs us less to fly our family of 4 from the UK to Florida!

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

I've never done it as a adult, but we used to drive down to Disney at least once a year when I was a kid.

My parents would put us to bed and then carry us down to the car (or wake us in the mddle of the night - which was around 10 pm but as a kid it definitey felt like middle of the night).

We'd sleep in the backseat and my parents would drive till morning. We'd stop for breakfast and then drive till around lunchtime. We'd stop for lunch and then get a hotel room. My dad (who did most of the driving) would go to the room and sleep and my mom would stay with us by the pool. We'd have dinner, go to bed and then my dad would wake up, load us back into the car and drive again. We'd be in Disney by the next morning!

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

You could not pay me to drive to FL with my kids. My 12 year old is the best car rider and always has been since I brought her home from the hospital. I'd drive to texas with her bc you don't even know she is there. If all my kids were like her then sign me up to drive to FL any day.
Not the case though- my other 3 are non stop in the car. It's starts out talking, laughing, then goes to complaining, fighting, crying, screaming, and then back to talking and laughing. You would have to pay me mega bucks to ride that many hours with them.
I would rather roll out of the car doing 30mph.
Torture.

We are a family of 6 so we have the same issue. I can't answer for you bc I don't know your kids temperments, but for me, I'd rather save every single penny for a 3K plane ride than to drive 19 plus hours with them- in a packed car-no thanks.

Message edited 12/30/2011 12:42:44 PM.

Re: Is it worth it to fly to Florida?

Couldn't pay me to drive either! Sitting in the car for that amount of time with kids would make me crazy. Doesn't make for a good start to a vacation! My max in the car is like 5 hours!

We went to Disney this past February during President's week, however, we flew out mid-week and came back Tuesday of the following week. The price was more reasonable.

Having the entire week off from school seems to be a very regional thing.