Long road trips--Yay or Nay?

I love long road trips but haven't been on one that long before. I think it is fun if you plan some stops/sight seeing along the way to give yourselves something look forward to and it breaks up the trip a little. On my most recent trip (about 15 hours), we made stops to see a quilt museum and Laura Ingalls Wilder's home (where she lived her adult life with Almanzo and daughter). Of course we had a final destination, but it helped to have stops along the way and to see parts of the country that we normally wouldn't.

I love long road trips. Without kids.

Depending on the ages of the kids going, I might would consider a long road trip. But I would have to know the kids travel well and wouldn't be griping and fighting the whole way.

As an adult we do them all the time, we love them. But, it’s just the two of us.

As a kid we’d drive to Omaha from Austin every summer and that was pretty miserable with my two siblings in the same row as me. So, I’d say it depends on your children. I don’t remember how old your boys are or how many you have. But would there be PLENTY of room so they weren’t in each other’s space? Do they get along? Do they each have their own electric entertainment/book/whatever floats their boat? Does anybody in the family get car sick? Have you ever taken short road trips before? How did they go? Cause all the extra hours will definitely add up and add to bad moods.

Are your vehicle and tires in excellent repair? Do you have a good roadside service plan?

Did you consider the extra food to feed y’all during the trip as part of the budget? And even if you try and go cheap they’re going to want something from the gas stops. You could always pack your cooler for lunch and bring your own snacks, eat at the hotel for breakfast after the night on the road. 

These are all things I’d take into consideration off the top of my head.

Our trips:
Dallas to Ottawa, Ontario (3 days)
Dallas to Grand Canyon
-to Orlando and NASA
-to Yellowstone
-to St Louis
-to Kansas City

All of these were after we both were retired. I have done the Ottawa trip several times and probably will drive it again in the spring of 2024.

Doesn't Southwest offer Florida in their "wanna get away" flights for $99?

That price will surely go up in 2024.

I drove from Texas to Oregon with dh... 20+hrs... we did make stops and we had a good trip... took turns driving and know how well we travel together...

I have also driven from West Texas to our South Texas coast with dh and 2 grandsons.... about 9ish hours... that 1 day was a nightmare... they both had tablets and i planned for snacks and games and treats... nope i will not be doing that anytime soon...

Soooo i agree with others on how well your boys travel with each other... it will definitely be cheaper than flying... especially since you have other trips you want to take to see him...

I love long road trips. I would go more than halfway day one. Try to get in 13-14 hours.

I hate road trips that are straight driving for 10-12+ hours in a day - that's just grueling even as a passenger. We do FL to VA in a day and it's rough - I much prefer the overnight train, it's not much longer and much more comfortable. Fl to RI in two days stopping in VA was brutal.

I love road trips where we only drive 5-7 hours each day and stop along the way to explore a little - visit a museum, walk a short trail, wander around a scenic downtown, pause at the different scenic overlooks and get out and LOOK and take photos.... We did FL to Chicago in 3 days this way and it was awesome. And we did an Epic road trip in 2017 where we drove from FL to VT stopping in GA, PA, NY, and Quebec along the way and then driving back via Maine, NH, RI, MA, Maryland, and then a brutal final day drive from VA to FL.

disclaimer - I don't drive so I've always been the passenger.

I've done it (from MI to FL) but I don't love it. I would rather fly. BUT I would do it again if I needed to. One way we stopped half way because of a tire issue, the second time I drove straight thru and would NEVER do that again. Well I would if someone else shared the driving. I HAD to stop barely 30 miles from home and sleep for an hour as I kept falling asleep at the wheel. My "friend" refused to drive a manual, after we went thru multiple driving lessons where she did perfectly fine.

I think as long as they have entertainment and snacks it's very do-able.

we did a cross country rv trip from CA to PA and back. i loved it. great sites and we never stayed on the road for more than 8 hours. we plan to do it again when we retire.

i've also done 5 hour road trips that i found enjoyable.  DH says it's fun for me because i'm not the one driving.  he's got a point but i am a good snack-packer and server of snacks to the driver while we are on the road.  

That is 2 very long days with stops. We used to do a lot more driving on our travels but as we've gotten older we really avoid it. DH's family is a 15 hour drive necessitating one overnight particularly as the last few hours going out are 2 lane roads. I hate the trip honestly. It's so tiresome. I can't imagine doing it with children.

We did a 20 hour drive every summer for 14 years. We took 2 days there and 2 days back. We stayed two weeks. I don't know that I could have done that long drive without the 2 weeks in between. Going was always fun because of the excitement of our destination. Going back was awful because the vacation was over, and we were headed back home. I drive 7-8 hours alone a lot, and last summer I did 12 hours. Never again doing 12 hours by myself that long.

I like them if I have time to make stops and have the trip part as part of the vacation.  If I'm just driving to get somewhere and I don't have time to stop and smell the roses, then I am not a fan.

Good question as I get ready to drive to Anaheim friday with my husband and 2 kids. I will be driving because he’s not currently allowed to drive due to his melanoma in the brain. Anaheim is a good 6 hours from home. We will stay the night there, compete gymnastics Saturday morning, drive to see FIL’s new house in Murietta and end in San Diego (about 2 hours according to maps but I’m planning at least 3). We will leave San Diego and drive back home on Monday. That is 8-9 hours. Most likely we will make it for dd to do her silks class and then an hour home from there. It will be a VERY long weekend. I’m glad I got a sub for Tuesday. We will stop at least twice on the way home and probably once on the way there.

I regularly drive 30 to work, 30 home from work, 45 to gymnastics and 45 back home. We spend A LOT of time in the car!