Driving down the east coast (i-95) vs flying

[andrea9873]

We'll be driving to the World this July from Maryland (Baltimore area) in a V8 SUV, from WDW we'll be taking a detour for a day to Busch Gardens, Tampa and then driving to Vero Beach and then back home to Maryland. Does anyone know of an estimated gas calculator planner where we can compare if its worth driving vs. flying 4 passengers and renting a car for over 13 days? total miles according to mapquest is about 1200 miles altogether.

[Cindernaenae]

Well, if you use the .385 per mile that last I knew was the standard for per mile reiumbursement would that give you an idea?

.385 x 1200

and add the cost of your rental.

Don't forget the added time of driving. Your time is an opportunity cost. (So tired of studying for my econ test this week!!)

[dcfromva]

Hmmm. Here's a couple of links to the I95 exit information guide:

i95 home page

Here is a link to the I95 Exit mileage information guide


Good luck with your decision...

-DC

[uscwest]

Andrea, for starters I'm not sure how Mapquest came up with only 1200 miles total for all of that driving. We drive to FL reqularly from NO. VA which is about 75 miles from Baltimore. Most of the time we stop in No. FL before driving on to Orlando but it is over 700 miles from our house to Lake City, FL. It normally takes us about 11 hours. If you were to continue straight down I-95 to I-4 and on to Orlando figure on another 2 1/2 - 3 hours and 200+ miles. Then it is about 75 miles from Orlando to Tampa. Not sure how far it is to Vero Beach from there. So I would be willing to venture that your total trip would be about 2000 miles. Unless you can find REALLY cheap airfare, figure that flying from Baltimore to Orlando will cost you at least $500.00. Then two weeks of rental car + gas for the rental car will probably run you another $300 at least. I have an SUV with an 8 cyliner engine that I drove from BWI to FL and back to our home in VA last summer but I put a lot more than 2000 miles on during the course of my trip because I also made the round trip from Lake City to Orlando plus some other side trips. On the road I averaged over 18 MPG and gas was running over $2.00/gallon then except in Georgia. Georgia consistently has the cheapest gas on the east coast.

[andrea9873]

Originally Posted by uscwest

So I would be willing to venture that your total trip would be about 2000 miles.

I was wayyyy off! You hit it on the button, USCWest!!!! I just totaled up the estimate again, 2170 estimated mileage...

Thanks for the links DC...

That includes mileage door-to-door from
- Forest Hill, MD (north of Baltimore) to Wilderness Lodge : 950 miles (est 15 hrs 30 min)
- WL to Tampa 75 miles (1 hr 20 min)
- Tampa to VB 150 miles (3 hrs)
- VB to Forest Hill, MD 995 miles (16 hours)

If I use Cindernaenae's .385 per mile rate...we are looking at close to $850. (OMG....on GAS??!!!)

I've been able to find pretty good airfare both previous trips but they were in early spring! Under $600 for all 4 of us flying out of Norfolk/VaBeach (we recently moved from there) our rental was also under $250 for a week. there's almost a breakeven.

DH loves the idea of driving...

I will have to build my case...

[andrea9873]

Originally Posted by uscwest

Most of the time we stop in No. FL before driving on to Orlando but it is over 700 miles from our house to Lake City, FL.

If we drive, we would likely stay overnight in either southern GA or northern FL and continue on the next morning. Is Lake City right off of I-95?

Sorry for the annoying questions.

[Cindernaenae]

That figure I gave you is what companies were using as reimbursement. Supposedly to include gas, insurance, wear and tear on your vehicle.

I also knew a guy when we lived in Texas that would rent a car to make the drive to Iowa to visit his fiance's parents just he wasn't putting the extra miles on his vehicles.

[Josette]

It comes up with 1200 miles for me and i live in Pennsylvania!

We take my mom's honda and it gets good gas mileage. It's kind of hard to really get an acurate amount of gas being that gas prices are always fluctuating.

We also look for cheap gas. Some gas stations are right next to each other and compete and one has a lower prices than the normal one. Typically we drive until we're almost out of gas until we get to Georgia.

Not recommended.

We do take a short-cut too, we go into WV to avoid the Capital Beltway. We also take another one to avoid I-4 in Florida.

It takes me about 15 hours to get to Orlando, and on Mapquest it says 19.

The good things about driving is that you get to see a few different states
It's a little cheaper.
You don't need to worry about losing your luggage
You can pack as much as your car can hold.


Goodluck when you do drive down!

[uscwest]

Originally Posted by andrea9873

If we drive, we would likely stay overnight in either southern GA or northern FL and continue on the next morning. Is Lake City right off of I-95?

Sorry for the annoying questions.

No Lake City is west of Jacksonville at the intersection of I-10 and I-75. And your questions are not annoying, they make a lot of sense.

[Johnie]

Originally Posted by andrea9873

If we drive, we would likely stay overnight in either southern GA or northern FL and continue on the next morning. Is Lake City right off of I-95?

Sorry for the annoying questions.

We always spend the night in Brunsick, GA. It's 3 hrs to WDW from there.