Would you rather fly than drive?

Status
Not open for further replies.

smit0847

Established Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2011
Posts
4,041
I attended a country wedding last weekend in another state. The only practical option was to drive there (from home - MEL) which was 6.5 hours each way. While I enjoyed the wedding I didn’t enjoy the drive and I realised don’t like road trips at all. We alternated the driving and when I was the passenger I kept drifting in and out of (a very restless) sleep and while I driving I felt tense the whole time making sure I kept to the speed limit, took the right route, stayed awake etc.
I kept thinking ‘in six hours I could fly anywhere in Australia’ and would rather fly 3+ hours to PER or CNS than drive 6 hours again. What I missed about flying when on the road trip (other than the time saving) was that someone else was doing the ‘driving’, I could get up and walk whenever I wanted to (toilet etc), I could drink, and I could watch movies etc. Especially for intl flights, I would much rather a few drinks and a long chat over a leisurely lunch onboard a plane (especially in a premium cabin!) than a road trip trying to keep the driver awake by making conversation.
If someone said to me ‘lets drive 6 hours somewhere for a holiday’ I would answer with ‘no, lets fly 6 hours somewhere instead’. Someone at work said they were driving 10 hours for their new year’s holiday (NSW Central coast I think?) where as I am flying about 10 hours to Cambodia for mine and would much rather my trip than theirs.

I find flying exciting and relaxing, while driving is tiring, inefficient and frustrating.

Given we all enjoy flying here, do you still enjoy long road trips? I’m not talking about an hour sunrise tour being driven in some exotic country to see a natural wonder, I’m talking about an all-day Australian drive through regional areas where its 100s of kilometres of forgettable highways.
 
Used to love driving. Not anymore. Even with glasses eyes get tired and driving becomes stressful. Not fun.

I would prefer to fly if possible. If not then look to get there via bus/train.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

When a bit younger I used to love driving up to say 6 hours - but all in one go and only as the driver. Always hated being the passenger. But now I'd struggle being awake or enjoying anything more than 3 hours I reckon. Definitely fly if I could!
 
Used to love driving. Not anymore. Even with glasses eyes get tired and driving becomes stressful. Not fun.

I would prefer to fly if possible. If not then look to get there via bus/train.

I still love driving, but only for about the first 2 hrs before numb b*m sets in, and the knees begin to complain. I would rather fly as a general rule, so if going on holidays I tend to think about where I can fly to rather than where can I drive to.
 
Driving is something I avoid at all costs. Way too many inconsiderate/stupid/ignorant/etc people on the road.

Sold the second car about 10 years ago and moved closer to a train station. Best thing we ever did.
 
I love driving holidays but I think most of this was because when I was young my Dad was a truck driver so during school holidays we used to all jump in and off we would go. I remember my Dad driving me to start University - from Cairns to Brisbane in the one day with a stop in townsville to visit my sister (who ended up jumping in the car) - then only stopped for petrol for the rest of the trip. We have done the drive from Brisbane to Melbourne a few times for family visits and I don't actually mind it that much - the most annoying thing for us is Dad is a driving hog and rarely gives up the wheel.
 
I love driving holidays but I think most of this was because when I was young my Dad was a truck driver so during school holidays we used to all jump in and off we would go. I remember my Dad driving me to start University - from Cairns to Brisbane in the one day with a stop in townsville to visit my sister (who ended up jumping in the car) - then only stopped for petrol for the rest of the trip. We have done the drive from Brisbane to Melbourne a few times for family visits and I don't actually mind it that much - the most annoying thing for us is Dad is a driving hog and rarely gives up the wheel.

My memories of family road trips as a kid:
- Dad waking us up very early due to an obsession with meeting a tight schedule on holidays 'we have to be on the road by 8am'. If we were behind schedule meals and toilet breaks would be skipped to regain time.
- Mum and Dad arguing about directions, stopping/not stopping for breaks/meals etc.
- Fidgeting with my sister in the back seat because we were both bored.

I don't really remember why we did it?!
 
If I possibly can I will always fly. Have not driven up or down the highway for many years either as a driver or a passenger. Although I did drive to Goulburn to meet the BAM last year for lunch. And, that cost me a new windscreen.
 
My memories of family road trips as a kid:
- Dad waking us up very early due to an obsession with meeting a tight schedule on holidays 'we have to be on the road by 8am'. If we were behind schedule meals and toilet breaks would be skipped to regain time.
- Mum and Dad arguing about directions, stopping/not stopping for breaks/meals etc.
- Fidgeting with my sister in the back seat because we were both bored.

I don't really remember why we did it?!

The main family road trips we did were either Sydney to Port Macquarie, to grandparents, and sometimes on to QLD to visit the cousins in the outback. I was one of 4 boys, and to say we niggled, fought and generally showed our levels of boredom on the driving sections is to understate it. But I don't see there was an alternative back then, and we enjoyed getting out to the cattle properties, getting on a horse, milking cows etc, none of which we did at home.

We also used to do Melbourne to Sydney straight through when coming home for Christmas during our years domiciled in TAS. They were hell!! Stinking hot weather and 6 crammed in a car.

I can also think of many road trips I did with my girls that would have not happened any other way but driving.
 
I like them both for what they are.

Most of my driving trips are great because that’s the only way to appreciate the area you are in eg the Simpson dessert or Kimberly’s. One I particularly like is the Oodnatatta track where the holiday is the journey along the track.

I don’t have much interest in driving to Melbourne for the weekend, that’s the type of trip I’d rather fly for.

Also there is a certain thing I like about being in a foreign city without the responsibilities of a car.
 
I quite like driving. That being said I was lucky enough to grow up in a family where anything over a 2.5 hour drive meant we flew there.
 
I much prefer to fly pretty much anywhere if possible. However, as a regular traveller on the Sydney-Canberra route the cost of flying between these two cities is often prohibitive. I quite often take the train for ~$30 instead of flying for ~$150-$200. The savings add up if you're doing it a couple of times per month.
 
If you only going to a wedding I say you better just fly, then you dont have to worry about drinking and been tired and all. Safer option I say.
 
+1 and I usually do 2 road trips per year from Adelaide to Armidale NSW.
We just returned from one a few weeks ago clocking up 3,811Km. Most of the driving was done by me.

Our next road trip will be in February when we will again drive to NSW - there is an AFF wine tour organised for the Hunter.
As part of that we will visit family, friends and spend a week in Nelson Bay.
Might go via Bathurst this time and check out the Motor Museum. And then there is a piece of equipment I want to buy from a place at Seven Hills. And then I have a watch to pick I left with a jeweller at Nelson Bay a year or 2 ago to be fixed.
 
My memories of family road trips as a kid:
- Dad waking us up very early due to an obsession with meeting a tight schedule on holidays 'we have to be on the road by 8am'. If we were behind schedule meals and toilet breaks would be skipped to regain time.
- Mum and Dad arguing about directions, stopping/not stopping for breaks/meals etc.
- Fidgeting with my sister in the back seat because we were both bored.

I don't really remember why we did it?!

Replace sister with brother and this was my exp.... Dad would do all the driving, we wouldn't stop except for petrol which is the only time you did toilet breaks, unless about to have an accident (no joke), and then he would stand there and swear at every car driving passed while we were pulled over, as it would then be another car he had to re-overtake.

Oh the memories
 
Thread reminded me of this quote:

A mile of road will take you a mile, but a mile of runway will take you anywhere.
 
It depends, I would never drive Syd to Bris or Syd to Melb if the only reason for driving is to get from A to B. However, I absolutely love my driving holidays especially overseas and will drive whenever I get the chance. I always try and stay on the back roads and we do generally have a lot of stops. Did 10K in Europe a few years ago and the entire USA east coast a couple of years later and my ambition is to keep doing these types of trips for as long as I am physically able to. We will definitely do the big Australian circumnavigation when I retire in a few years time
 
My memories of family road trips as a kid:
- Dad waking us up very early due to an obsession with meeting a tight schedule on holidays 'we have to be on the road by 8am'. If we were behind schedule meals and toilet breaks would be skipped to regain time.
- Mum and Dad arguing about directions, stopping/not stopping for breaks/meals etc.
- Fidgeting with my sister in the back seat because we were both bored.

I don't really remember why we did it?!

Yes to number one! I completely forgot how absurd this policy was.

I'm with you entirely smit0847. I would never get back into another car if I could (apart from the odd Uber or F chauffeur). Gave up driving a year ago and never been happier.
 
This thread is giving me flashbacks of my childhood. We used to go from Brisbane to Sydney and with a large family flying was cost prohibitive in those days.

My mother insisted it be done in a day so we'd start at 4am and be allowed only two stops between BNE and SYD. For some reason it was always me in the third row of the mini van, without air conditioning, suitcases piled up around my ears and no water to drink so we didn't require an unscheduled stop.

These days row 3 means something totally different and I quite like it!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top