Affording Family Travel - Road Trip or Flying?

Some families are really feeling the pinch of skyrocketing gas prices and questioning whether they'll be able to afford a road trip, let alone a flight for a family of 4 or more. Although, it takes a lot longer to get to your destination than flying would per se, hitting the road will usually always come out cheaper. To see for yourself, here is a sample price comparison chart of the cost of flying for a family of 4 vs. driving using various departures and destinations across the country.

So looking at these figures, rest assured that although gas prices have jumped significantly in the last few months and have compromised your leisurely drive, a road trip for a family of 4 is still significantly cheaper than flying everyone. Each method of transportation has its positives and negatives. Depending on your schedule, patience, time commitment, and goal for your family vacation, one mode may prove more beneficial than the other.

Parameters:
* Fuel totals calculated using current national average price of $3.72/gal for unleaded gas.
* Flights are based using economy airfare prices for a weekend departure.
* Friday Departure, Saturday Return; early summer; non-holiday weekend.
* Gas/mileage rate of 20mpg with a 17 gallon tank

Note:
* Prices for flights will vary depending on your travel flexibility. It's cheaper to travel Mon-Thu vs. Fri-Sat, so keep that in mind when comparing the figures.
* The closer you are to the destinations, the cheaper your fuel costs will be and the more reasonable it would be for you to drive. Thus, I have tried to include a collection of popular family destinations.

If you want to do your own math, check out sites like:

www.distancebetweencities.net
http://www.travelmath.com
www.cheaptickets.com