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Courtney Orton reportingWith gas prices going up, does it make sense to drive or fly to your next vacation destination? To help you choose how best to take your next trip, we did the math and this is what we found out.
To figure out which is cheaper, we first found a reasonably-priced airfare for a flight in July at Jetblue.com. We also used AAA fuel-cost calculator to determine how much it would cost to drive to Las Vegas. Keep in mind, there's no way to know how much gas will cost in July.
Las Vegas is 413 miles from Salt Lake City, which means if a couple were to drive there and back in a 2007 Honda Accord, it would cost them $100.98 in gas.
But if you take into account maintenance, depreciation and tire wear, AAA says it'll cost the couple $446.86. Rolayne Fairclough, with AAA of Utah, said, "You're adding miles to your vehicle, which lowers its value."
If the same couple flew Jet Blue to Las Vegas, it would cost $118.50 per person, round-trip. That's just $237 for the two. The difference between flying and driving to Las Vegas is $209.86.
If a family of five flew to Las Vegas for $118.50 per person round-trip, it would cost $592.50. Using numbers from AAA, driving would cost $450 dollars. However, AAA's number is an average, and since family cars typically get worse gas mileage than a compact car, we can assume driving would cost more. Still, it's cheaper to drive, but only by $142.50. The savings do not take into account snacks, a couple of road meals and parking once you get to Las Vegas.
A good rule of thumb: If you're traveling more than 600 miles from Salt Lake to Phoenix, Los Angeles or New York, you're probably going to be better off flying.
If you're traveling to places like Boise, that's just more than 300 miles away, you're probably better off driving.
How much should people plan on spending during their vacation? It obviously depends on where you're going. If you're going to Las Vegas, AAA recommends you budget $358 a day for lodging and meals. Plan on more than $600 a day for places like Honolulu and New York City.
