Alberta to Florida Fly or Road Trip Advice

[b1crunch]

My parents, who are in their 70s, have booked a house in Florida for about 2 weeks in May of 2023. They want myself, my wife and our two boys to go down there and do a Disney/Universal trip. We're all good with this, but I've been looking at flights and car rentals and the prices seem a bit steep. Also the flight options are also terrible.

So far it looks like a flight with return for my family of four would be around $4000 CAD. A rental car for 2 weeks while in Florida would be about $2000 CAD. So $6000 total.

I'm toying with the idea of driving. As far as a I can tell it would be about 42 hours (so 4ish days) to get there. As a round trip this looks like it'll cost about $1500 CAD for fuel and $1200 CAD for hotels along the way, so about $2700 CAD all in driving. Although I could probably get those hotel prices down with some more time looking for deals.

So in all, I'd save about $3000 by driving but I'd have 8 days of travel there and back versus 2 days of travel by flying. My wife and I kind of like the idea of driving on a long road trip, as its not something we've done a lot. Kind of a 'once in a lifetime' thing.

Was just wondering if anyone else has done it and if they had any tips. Also was wondering if maybe I'm being foolish in thinking a road trip of this size would be fun or doable?

Thanks!

[MoneyGuy]

I think that’s only worth it if you want to see places along that route. Otherwise, eight days in a car with kids, nope for me.

[dino7c]

That seems like a lot for a rental car...are you using a good travel credit card and denying the rental companies scam high cost insurance?
Also I have flown there for a lot less...before covid *. I think you are way too far out to get a good deal though.

The worst part of driving that far is that 8 days of that vacation is travelling, opposed to two days...there is a lot to see down there.

[b1crunch]

Originally Posted by dino7c

That seems like a lot for a rental car...are you using a good travel credit card and denying the rental companies scam high cost insurance?
Also I have flown there for a lot less...before covid *. I think you are way too far out to get a good deal though.

The worst part of driving that far is that 8 days of that vacation is travelling, opposed to two days...there is a lot to see down there.

Just did a quick search on the rental cars and that's what came back. Maybe I should do some more digging? I agree, I'm way out on the flights. When should I book a trip like this if I'm going in May? I'm assuming a lot of these price increases are inflation, etc.

[CaptainYooh]

Don’t rush it. Your prices seem way higher than they should be. WestJet flies to Orlando and they release sale prices in early February. You should be able to find something in $650-$700/ticket. Car rentals do have sales too. $300/week should be achievable. It’s just way too early to book. Also, when you get your airline tickets, look at Turo - a minivan will cost you $500 for 2 weeks, probably. 8 days of driving with two kids - what kind of a vacation would it be, Clark?

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by b1crunch

Just did a quick search on the rental cars and that's what came back. Maybe I should do some more digging? I agree, I'm way out on the flights. When should I book a trip like this if I'm going in May? I'm assuming a lot of these price increases are inflation, etc.

Whenever you rent a car DECLINE everything extra (insurance ect.) and use a good travel credit card. You will be 100% covered by the CC. So many people waste their money on car rental insurance.
45 days out seems to be the sweet spot for flight deals...again before covid.

Another good option is to fly into the US and then book a discount airline from there...last time we went we flew to Denver and from there we flew to Orlando with Frontier airlines for about $99 a person. It's hilariously bare bones but beats 8 days in a car IMO.

[tvp2003]

Wait for flight prices to go down, rental cars should also be MUCH cheaper (if you’re booking through a rental company, you can often cancel for no cost each time the price drops; there are also other options like turo that might work out). I believe WJ used to have a non-stop from Calgary to Orlando; that was before Covid though.

That said, if you have time on your hands I think a road trip is a great way to see a lot of cool stuff. Only downside is that Florida is a LONG drive, and if you’re doing it in four days that pretty much means non-stop driving which kind of defeats the purpose of being able to make stops along the way.

[getbak]

Just to echo what everyone else has said, airfare prices will likely drop but not likely until after the New Year. WestJet has at least one direct flight per week to Orlando.

On Google, you can set up a price tracker and it will notify you whenever the price changes for your dates, so you don't even need to keep checking.


For rental cars, never pay full price. Coupons are usually easy to find. Costco usually has solid discounts if you're a member. You can also buy the Entertainment Book (I think that's still a thing) and it should have a bunch of coupons for every rental company. Try all the variations.

I don't know if this is still true, but Orlando used to be easy to find cheap car rentals if you were travelling in the off-peak time because they have so much inventory to handle the busy times, they have a glut in the slower times (May is getting to be the busy time, especially after the Memorial Day weekend at the end of the month).


In terms of driving it, I don't think there's any problem with doing so, but if I were to do it, I'd want to stop and see the sights along the way. Driving straight through to do it as quickly as possible sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially with 2 kids.

[calgarygeologist]

I would not do the drive as that does not seem like fun. Look into flying to FLL and driving up to Orlando. FLL is usually cheaper for both flights and rentals but you have to fly through Toronto or a US connection (I would recommend Minneapolis.) If you don't mind a bit of a drive you can look at flights and car rentals within 8 or 20 hours of Orlando such as Atlanta or maybe even Houston. I've found that Houston generally has some of the cheapest car rentals.

[Amethyst]

My cousin and her family did the drive and all survived it. But they are used to long roads trips and they made the whole trip part of the vacation, stopping at various places along the way. If you were driving just to get there, it might be a very long trip.

Yes, you are a long way out yet, but be careful basing things on pre-pandemic experiences. Rental cars have been hard to find at all in a lot of places this summer, and those you could find were expensive. I wasn't looking at Florida, but the flights I did have this summer were more expensive and harder to find than in the past.

I would make the choice based on whether I wanted a trip to explore the US, including Florida, or if I wanted a trip to Florida. Although, I hate long roads trips, so personally I would choose flying every time.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by b1crunch

My parents, who are in their 70s, have booked a house in Florida for about 2 weeks in May of 2023. They want myself, my wife and our two boys to go down there and do a Disney/Universal trip. We're all good with this, but I've been looking at flights and car rentals and the prices seem a bit steep. Also the flight options are also terrible.

So far it looks like a flight with return for my family of four would be around $4000 CAD. A rental car for 2 weeks while in Florida would be about $2000 CAD. So $6000 total.

I'm toying with the idea of driving. As far as a I can tell it would be about 42 hours (so 4ish days) to get there. As a round trip this looks like it'll cost about $1500 CAD for fuel and $1200 CAD for hotels along the way, so about $2700 CAD all in driving. Although I could probably get those hotel prices down with some more time looking for deals.

So in all, I'd save about $3000 by driving but I'd have 8 days of travel there and back versus 2 days of travel by flying. My wife and I kind of like the idea of driving on a long road trip, as its not something we've done a lot. Kind of a 'once in a lifetime' thing.

Was just wondering if anyone else has done it and if they had any tips. Also was wondering if maybe I'm being foolish in thinking a road trip of this size would be fun or doable?

Thanks!

There is a difference between a road trip and driving.
What you're talking about is the latter.

What you're looking at is 10 hrs/day on an interstate with stops at McDonald's and Cracker Barrel. If you are gonna do this in 4 days you won't have much time to stop and do anything. 4 days in the car won't be fun for anyone.

[Derek Sutton]

https://www.expedia.ca/Flights-Searc...trip=roundtrip

I would look at these direct flights, you'd be $3412 plus bags, contrary to the other advice I would book this now as this flight will not drop much if any, certain flights only get so cheap and these direct flights are great value. FWIW this is about what we paid in 2018.
You can also look at Turo for rental cars much less expensive and better variety then standard companies, rental prices are insane right now. https://turo.com/ca/en/search?countr...mDistance=true

Not sure what you have for air miles but I like to use air miles for rental cars when I can. I would not want to do this drive and I like driving. Just so much could go sideways with an accident or vehicle issues being my biggest concern. Never mind 8x 10 hour days in the car with the wife and kids...

You could also drag your feet about going do to the overall cost and see if the parents will cover some of the expenses to spend a few weeks with the grand kids in sunny FLA.

[troutman]

Drive to Montana and fly from there?

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by troutman

Drive to Montana and fly from there?

Nothing direct and more $$$ then flying out of YYC. https://www.expedia.ca/Flights-Searc...trip=roundtrip

[dammage79]

Book the extra time off, do the drive. See the spots yall wanna see on the way down, involve the kids in the decision making process. The world's a very big place and I dare say this generation of kids won't be able to do much travel in the future. And I'm almost certain fewer will want to road trip when they do travel.

The bonus is at the end of the drive down, Orlando!

[Ryan Coke]

I’d just add that if it is a financial decision, don’t forget about wear and tear on your vehicle. We don’t tend to think about it, but the km’s we drive have a cost in maintenance and overall life of the vehicle. Average vehicle life is about 250000 km, and putting on 10000 km on this one trip most definitely has a significant cost. It would be easily over $1000 depending on the vehicle (lots if other variables too of course).

Then it becomes what an extra 6 days of your time is worth to be driving. For me 6 days of actual vacation time with my family (or time I could work if I wanted to) is worth a way more than the difference in cost between driving and flying.

As others have said, it would be different if the goal was the drive, but if you were stopping and exploring the trip would be 8 days each way instead of 4.

I would add…rental cars can be cancelled easily, so book the best price now and just continue watching for a better price. Nothing to lose.

For airfare, it is usually cheaper the sooner you book, but not always. I would try to find a seat sale in the next little bit and book sooner. I know with westjet you can sign up on the email list and get notified of seat sales right away. But it is all demand based with airfare, so if lots of people are buying seats to MCO, the price is going to increase.

[MoneyGuy]

^Truth. People usually just consider the fuel cost with no regard for the other costs of operating a car. There is a reason why you can charge something like (I can’t remember, my accountant claims this for me) 35 cents a kilometre for the use of your vehicle.

[blankall]

I drove from Miami to Calgary. It was actually a fun drive. You get to see lots of places like rural Georgia, the Dakotas, North Florida, etc.. that you might not otherwise ever see.

With kids though.....that might be a different kind of scenario. It's a very long drive and not overly exciting. I doubt they would appreciate things like the plant life in Georgia...I dunno maybe you could bribe them with Disney World?

[MoneyGuy]

I’d do that trip with just my wife; it’d be a blast. With two kids? No way!

[Bigtime]

Did this trip in March 2017, kids were 5 and 8. WestJet non-stop to Orlando all the way.