Drive or Fly? Pros and Cons of Road Trips & Flights

When planning a trip, we are usually (especially if you’re in the US) left with two options: to fly or to drive. With both options having their own advantages and disadvantages, it can be difficult to decide which option is best for your type of trip. When deciding whether to drive or fly, here are the long road trip or short flight pros and cons.

Driving Road Trip Pros

Long road trips instead of short flights have many advantages from looser schedules to freedom of exploration. Here are the travel pros of a road trip when deciding between whether to drive or fly.

• You don’t have to adhere to a certain schedule like you have to with a flight.
• No inconvenient travel times. Though road trips are probably going to be longer than flights, you don’t have the inconvenience of needing to arrive at the airport 2-3 hours earlier.
• Sight-seeing! You have the opportunity to make pit stops and see sights along the way.
• No carry-on limits or liquid size requirements! This is easily one of the best reasons to choose a road trip over a flight. Not having to worry about keeping your suitcase under the weight limit, you can bring as much (or as little) as you wish on a road trip. This means if you want to bring extra items like a tent, musical instrument, etc you can bring as much as your car or vehicle will allow.
• You have the space all to yourself. Instead of being placed between a smelly old man and a chatty baby, you have the pleasure of choosing your passengers (if any!)
• You won’t need to pay much for public transportation or Uber once at your destination. This can be a real money saver, which makes driving by car so convenient. Just remember not to drink and drive! Always walk, use public transportation, or take a taxi.
• You can listen to audiobooks while you drive. While you can’t read while driving (really, please don’t), you can listen to your favorite books, like Pride & Prejudice for me, while driving. Easily download to save on data costs, listen, and drive.

Driving Road Trip Cons

While road trips certainly have many pros, there are a few cons to keep in mind before planning a road trip.

• You need to do most of the planning yourself. If you’re doing an overnight road trip, you’ll need to plan where you’ll sleep that night. You’ll also need to keep in mind the data usage of using a GPS on your phone. Alternatively, you can buy a portable GPS for your car. (Plus, many states give tickets for using your phone while driving, so it might be a small investment worth making.)
• Tickets are a thing. If you’re not the best driver or have a case of road rage, you might want to keep that in mind when planning a road trip. Check the state’s ticket policies before traveling.
• The price of gas can add up. Sometimes road trips are cheaper or more expensive than flying, but use this website to calculate how much you might pay for gas.
• It can be tiring. Driving all day can be so tiring, so keep this road trip con in mind when planning. You might want to bring coffee or make stops (especially to pee) along the way.

Short Flight Pros

Deciding to fly has quite a few advantages over driving, so let’s dive into comparing.

• It’s faster. If it isn’t obvious enough, taking a flight is going to be the shorter option between driving or flying.
• It usually takes less planning. While there’s still planning involved, flying usually just involves getting to the airport at the appropriate time, boarding, and arriving. From there, you’ll need to decide whether you’ll rent a car in your destination, take a taxi, or use public transportation to your accommodation.
• You can read, sleep, or do work while you fly. Unless you’re in the passenger seat of the car, you won’t be able to do many of these things while driving. So, taking a flight is good if you want to be productive or simply just relax.

Short Flight Cons

Hate the airport? Yup, here are some cons of traveling on a short flight and things to keep in mind when deciding to drive or fly.

• You might have to fly at an inconvenient time. Your only choice might be a 7 a.m. flight, which means getting to the airport around 5:30 (or earlier depending on your trip). You could also have a late flight, which puts you at your destination close to midnight when it’s harder to find taxis and public transportation (and check in to an Airbnb, etc).
• It still takes up a chunk of time. You need to arrive at the airport early, fly, wait to disembark the plane, wait your bags, go through security (if necessary), and then get out of the airport and to your final destination.
• Flights can be expensive. While finding flights for well under $100 round trip is totally achievable, it isn’t always. Plus, when you add in baggage fees, snacks at the airport, paying for a taxi or shuttle to and from the airport, the price quickly adds up. So, do keep this in mind whenever you are budgeting for a trip.
• There are tons of requirements to keep in mind, and it can be stressful. You’ll need a valid ID or passport when you travel, and you’ll need to adhere to airline and airport policies.
  • Keep carry-on liquids in 100 ml bottles.
  • Make sure your carry on bag size is accepted and under the baggage weight limit.
  • Take off your shoes when going through security and remove laptop, camera, and large electronics to be scanned as well.
  • You get the idea!
• You might not like your seating arrangement. If you didn’t pay for a seat, you might not be happy with where you’re seated. Even if you do book a preferred seat, you might not like when you’re seated with.
• Flying is drying. Flying is rough on the skin and dries you out, so keep this in mind before planning a flight.
• Here are my tips for long-haul flights, many of which apply to shorter flights as well.

What do you think? Will you drive or fly for your upcoming trip? Do you have a favorite way to travel?

Save this post for later and pin it below!