Flying versus Driving- Updated April 1, 2017
Most of my working life when going on a long-distant vacation flying was the preferred choice. I wanted to go south where it was warm and I didn't have a lot of time to waste getting there. That is no longer the case particularly on golf vacations. I don't need to travel as far south to get good golfing weather, and I have more time to vacation.One area of concern is cost. For example I did a SmartFare check (2012) on a flight to Orlando, Florida for the end of November. The lowest cost was $232.32 plus another $131.25 for fees and taxes. The flight included a stop over and plane change totaling 6 hour then tack on a minimum of 2 hours for check-in and security clearance at the airport on the way down (about half that for customs clearance on the way back).
Now that jet fuel costs have declined I thought I would update the flight costs (2017) for travel at the end of November. A non-stop 3 hour flight could be purchased for $177.98 but then there is another $248.73 in taxes. The airline also charges $30 to $40 per checked bag as well. Then there is the dreaded extra charge for golf clubs - upwards of $125 depending on the airline.
Other areas of concern are the inconvenience factors of air travel. Travel to and from the airport adds 30 minutes of time each way, plus the need to be checked in 2 hours before the flight leaves from Toronto for customs/security clearance. Airport parking costs between $70 and $140 per week depending on the lot or $50+ for a cab to and from the Toronto airport. Once in Orlando there is the need for a rental - large enough to handle clubs and luggage. I got a quote for a van at $550/week although I am sure that I could get it somewhat cheaper by shopping around. In fact I found (2017) that with my Costco membership I could book a mini-van with unlimited mileage for the end of November for $161.36 + 61.46 taxes and fees with unlimited mileage - a pretty sweet deal.
The point is the cost to fly can be an expensive proposition versus driving depending on how far you are going. I own a van which is in still in good condition - easily big enough to comfortably handle four golfers, clubs and luggage.In my mind I would prefer to drive if I can get to my destination in one day and fly otherwise.
Can I get somewhere warm in one day of driving in April and October? Absolutely! No need to fly to Florida or drive more than a day to get to Myrtle Beach. Williamsburg is in an ideal location to meet my needs; far enough south to expect great golfing weather in the shoulder months, close enough to drive in a day and keep travel costs low. I find the drive itself to be relaxing and enjoyable. Time seems to pass by quickly; a chance to catch-up with friends on the way down and re-live the trip highlights on the way back.
The Road to Williamsburg
There are multiple routes from the border at Buffalo to Williamsburg and over the years I have tried a number of them. On the first couple of trips we took I 90 S to Erie PA, I 79 S to I 76 (the Pennsylvania turnpike), I 70 S and I 270 to Washington, I 95 S to Richmond and then I 64 E to Williamsburg. The trip took 11.5 hours of driving time to cover 1,101 km (660 miles). The tolls on I 76 came to about $20 US. This appears to be the default route on older GPS units and on some on-line mapping programs.
On one trip we stayed on I 79 S to just past Fairmont W. VA then took US 250 through the mountains to Elkins before meeting up with I 81 S. From there we took I 64 E to the Richmond by-pass and on to Williamsburg. That was the longest trip at 1,250 km (750 miles) and 13 hours of drive time, in part because we got lost briefly and had to retrace our steps. This is undoubtedly the most scenic route as the mountains are as beautiful as the road is slow - if you have the time it is worth the trip at least once.
 |
| A View of The Allegheny Mountains in Western Virginia |
 |
| Traveling on I-99 S (South of Altoona) |
The other change was fairly substantive in that we tried out a route to stay away from Washington - too much traffic even on a weekend and the seemingly never ending road construction. To do this we exited I 70 S onto US-522 to Winchester Va, took I 66 E and then US-17 S before connecting with I 95 S just before Fredericksburg Va.
 |
| Taking US-17 South to By-Pass Washington |
This latest route has minimal traffic and construction, better scenery and is more interesting as it goes through some small towns along the way. We left Saturday at 7 am from Mississauga and got down to Williamsburg at 6:30 pm - the trip took 10 hours and 15 minutes of actual drive time and totaled 972 km (583 miles). This has become our preferred route for the trips we have taken since 2012.
I have now had 12 trips to Williamsburg from October 2008 through October 2016. While we have had reasonably good luck with the drives I would be remiss if not noting some of the pitfalls.
Missing or taking the wrong turn can and has been an issue on some of the trips. Generally it is an inconvenience and easily corrected. That said, the worst of these has occurred multiple times on I 270 and missing the I 95 cutoff south. Traffic is the biggest reason as I 270 is a 10+ lane roundabout that rings Washington with driver fatigue and approaching darkness (October trips) being contributing factors. Missing the cutoff is easily a 20 minute backtrack. Now that we stay away from Washington entirely I can state that the worst part of the trip from a traffic perspective is consistently the drive home from the border at Fort Erie.
The border crossing are always a crap-shoot. For trips from 2011 through 2013 when the Canadian dollar was near par with the US dollar there were significant delays to cross back into Canada. On one trip it was more than an hour due to traffic - lots of weekend shoppers.
 |
| Canadian Dollars per US Dollar |
Weather is another wild card. On our return trip October 29th 2011 an early winter storm moved into the US northeast and on leaving Williamsburg at 7 am it was raining hard with the temperature at 40 F. By the time we got close to Washington the temperature had dropped to 32 F and the rain had turned to snow. Driving conditions were terrible.
 |
| Driving to Washington |
 |
| Lunch at Breezewood Pa |
On our last two spring trips the weather on the drive down became an issue. On March 20th 2015 we hit snow on the drive down intensifying as we arrived in Ellicottville. The treacherous driving conditions led to an accident on Highway 219 that closed the road and resulted in a lengthy detour. This has been the only such road closure we have ever experienced in any of our Williamsburg trips.
Leaving on April 9th 2016 we also hit early spring snow that slowed the journey down to the Pennsylvanian turnpike before sunshine and warmer temperatures cleared up the roads.
The lesson learned is know the expected weather conditions over the entire length of the trip and make sure you have a GPS and maps in the event of an unexpected detour.
The Cost of Travel....
On our trip in 2012 we traveled a total of 2,310 km (1,386 miles). Our gasoline purchases totaled $263.39 US for 74.467 US gal; an average price of $3.53/gal. Allowing for the difference between the gasoline we started and finished with I calculated we averaged about 11.7 L/100 km or 20.1 Miles/US gal.Compare that to our October 2016 trip in which we were away for 11 days and traveled 2,620 km or 1,572 miles. Our gasoline purchases totaled $192.13 US for 97.60 US gal; an average price of $1.97 per gal.
The actual cost of gasoline in Canadian dollars has been relatively stable over the last four years. The October 2012 exchange rate was around 1.0028 and the October 2016 rate 0.7498 CDN/US dollar. Using those rates the cost of gasoline in October 2012 was $262 Canadian and $256 in October 2016.
Regardless of the exchange rate, there is a huge difference in cost between gasoline in Ontario and the US states we travel through because of taxes. I found that Gas Buddy was a real help in understanding those differences.
Ontario has the highest gas price followed by New York state, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. So rather than start with a full tank of gas as I would have done normally, I start with a half-tank or less.
A neat feature of the Gas Buddy website is the ability to look at a map and see the gasoline prices along the route on a station by station basis. Using this feature along with my Tim Horton's iPhone app we chose Springville NY for our first stop. It was about two hours into the trip, had cheaper gasoline prices (below the state average), and a Tim Horton's for breakfast. We now had enough gasoline to get down into Virginia.
Since then we have modified our first stop such that we hit the Tim Horton's in Ellicottville; it is a little further south than Springville and the access doesn't require exiting the highway to get to it. Our first gasoline stop is now further south as well at the First Nations station in Salamanca - right on I 219. We have found that gasoline prices here as much as $0.35/gal cheaper than Ellicottville and Springville and they are full serve. On our October 2016 trip we paid $2.11/gal
Our next gasoline stop is at Warrenton Va. The price here is reasonable and we typically use this for a coffee break and driver change. On our October 2016 the gasoline price was $2.09/gal.
In Williamsburg we found a Costco station that charged $1.97/gal and before leaving to come home we topped up at $$2.02/gal near our timeshare. The strategy going home is the opposite - top up the tank before leaving as gasoline typically gets more expensive the farther north you go.
What I found is when gasoline prices are high the spread between Ontario and the different states is fairly wide. For instance in October 2014 the cost in Springville $3.65/gal, Salamanca was $3.28/gal, Warrenton $2.75/gal and Williamsburg $2.79
Gasoline is a necessary expense on any driving trip and there is money to be saved by understanding prices and planning accordingly. Overall I would say we saved about $30 on our trip in 2012 by being smart in our gasoline purchases- enough to buy a case of beer, 4 bottles of wine or a round of golf; in 2016 somewhat less
Compared to the cost of flying to Florida or other warm climates there is no comparison that transportation to Williamsburg is a relatively inexpensive alternative for a golf vacation. I also believe that the trip is a lot less stressful than flying and for a big guy like me the roominess in a van is definitely an upgrade versus a cramped airline seat. My friends seem to enjoy the chance to chat and share in the driving which is one of the reasons we keep on doing it.