If you drive to Orlando from the DC metro

[Anonymous]

Family of five, and it's much cheaper to drive. Plus, then you have your car instead of possibly needing to rent one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it worth driving? Isn't airfare relatively cheap?

air fare for 4 people, plus taxis, plus rental car, has to be at least $1,600. gas is probably $400.

Airfare has been <$200 RT (nonstop) from DCA whenever I've priced it this year. We rented a minivan (in Orlando) for 8 days for $260 in September, a regular car would have been $120 for the week. Not sure about taxis, we take Metro to DCA so that's another $10 each, RT. I think you can get 4 people to Orlando from DC and rent a car for around $1000, most seasons.
So, while driving is cheaper, it's also a lost day on either end, vs getting on a plane at 8am and being at your hotel 3 hours later. My vacation time is worth some cash.

$235 is the cheapest flight right now, and does not include luggage. If you are taking kids, you likely have a lot of luggage. So for 4 tickets plus say two luggage fees, that is $1,040. I'm not taking the metro to Reagan, so that is probably another $100 total. The LOWEST price I see for a minivan is $537. You are not getting a minivan for $260. So already that is $1,677. We happen to have a big SUV, so I normally invite another family member (cousin, grandparent, etc.) so there are normally 5 airfares saved, so then it is more like $2,000. No-brainer.

And to be honest, it is not 100% the money. I hate air travel now-a-days and I enjoy driving. You can see more of the country. Stop in out of the way spots and sort-of bond as a family more. We will fly to California and fly to Europe or the Caribbean, but don't mess with my drives down to Florida ....

[Anonymous]

I just came from Disney in Dec. Paid $150pp for airfare and $300 for a 10 day minivan rental (used Pricelline). We are a family of 6, so finding deals is a must.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just came from Disney in Dec. Paid $150pp for airfare and $300 for a 10 day minivan rental (used Pricelline). We are a family of 6, so finding deals is a must.

Spring break is much higher