It’s that age-old holiday question. Should you fly or should you drive? While flying gets you there fast, road-tripping can lead to a fun journey as you explore spots along the way to your ultimate destination.
Air travel has come soaring back. Even though delays can be a pesky problem, it’s still one of the best ways to jumpstart your holiday journey.
Driving is also a fun way to make the holiday trip, especially if you travel by RV. So how will you decide the best way for you to travel this holiday season? Let’s dig in to help you weigh the pros and cons of both.
Should You Travel This Holiday Season?
Planning holiday travel under the best of circumstances can be stressful. Meshing family expectations, work or school schedules, and travel logistics can combine into a complicated cacophony of stumbling blocks that threaten to derail your travel plans.
You could simplify your plans this holiday season by removing some of those complicated layers. For some people, simplicity starts with travel close to home. And for others? Getting out of town is the only way to celebrate the season. Whether you travel near or far, deciding where to go is half of the battle.
And it also sometimes just pays to push through the complications that seem to be holding you back from getting out. While that might be stressful on the front end, the effort usually pays off by the time you make it to relax with family for the holidays.
The Best Way to Travel This Holiday Season
If you’ve decided where you want to travel this holiday season, choosing how to get there should be your next step. Whatever you decide, trust your instincts. The best way to travel this holiday season is to travel in a way that makes you and your family feel comfortable and relaxed.
The best way to travel this holiday season also depends on the amount of time you have for an adventure. While a road trip can be a blast, it can also be time-consuming if your final destination is far from you.
Everyone’s travel style is different, so to help you better weigh your options to decide if flying or RVing is the best way to get to your holiday travel destination, we’ve put together some of the pros and cons of flying vs. RVing to help make your decision a little easier.
Flying Pros
- Airplanes help people get to where they need to go faster.
- Deals can still be had if you keep an eye on fares and are willing/able to travel at non-peak times (e.g. we know it’s not for everyone, but airfare on Thanksgiving Day is usually dirt cheap)
- Airlines have increased their sanitation process helping to combat the spread of some illnesses.
- All-inclusive travel vacations with airfare included appeal to people who want a stress-free vacation.
- People who have limited vacation or travel days don’t have to exclude holiday travel since flying is faster than driving long distances.
Flying Cons
- If you are a pet owner, you will have to pay for pet boarding while you’re away.
- Airline bag restrictions might make it harder to travel with gifts.
- Severe winter weather causes flight delays and cancellations, so the potential for costly trip disruptions increases.
- Ticket prices are on the rise and don’t show signs of slowing down.
- Even with increased travel safety measures, it becomes impossible to avoid people inside the airport at the baggage claim, security line, airport transportation areas, restaurants, public restrooms, and on sold-out flights.
- Overnight accommodations, including hotels, vacation rentals, and people’s houses, require more contact with people outside of your immediate group.
RVing Pros
- RVs have more space, so you can potentially save money by taking your gifts with you instead of spending money shipping presents to your family and friends.
- Self-contained RVs have restrooms onboard, so you won’t have to use public bathrooms en route to your destination.
- RV travel makes it easier to bring your pets along.
- RVs are little homes on wheels, so it’s possible to avoid restaurants, hotels, and public spaces for the entire trip.
- Larger families can save money by renting an RV since you don’t have to pay per person to get to your destination.
- RV travel makes it easy to control the cleanliness of your environment. You decide how you clean, what you clean, and who comes in and out of your rig.
- RV travel makes last-minute plans or tip changes often more manageable.
- People who work remotely or have kids enrolled in online schooling have more flexibility with time because it’s possible to schedule your traveling hours once the work and the school day are complete.
- If you don’t have a lot of spending money to pay for a campground, give moochdocking — dry camping in someone’s driveway — a try! Just make sure you mooch off of people you know!
RVing Cons
- RVers have a higher probability of hitting inclement weather along their route.
- RV parks — especially the popular locations — may have decreased availability during peak holiday seasons.
- RV travel might add up to longer, more exhausting travel days.
- Not all pit stops and restaurants are RV-friendly.
- If you don’t have a vehicle to tow behind your larger Class A or Class C motorhome, you may have to rent a car once you arrive.
- If you decide to moochdock, you need to be mindful of your tanks. You don’t want to freeze or overfill your systems!
Travel has come roaring back and that means more of us will be venturing out this holiday season. Deciding whether to fly or drive depends on the amount of time you have and the type of journey you’re up for.
Team Outdoorsy is here to help you if you opt for the road trip. If you have questions or concerns about your upcoming RV rental, give us a call at 1-877-723-7232, or shoot us an email at [email protected].
