Every time I tell someone that we opt to drive to Orlando from Maryland instead of flying, I tend to get similar reactions.

“Are you crazy?”

“How long is that drive?”

“How do your kids handle the car ride?”

Believe it or not, driving is significantly less stressful for my family and it is our preferred method of travel as long as the drive is 15 hours or less. We have driven all over with our kids and they are becoming great road-trip passengers. There are a few reasons we make this choice over purchasing airline tickets and taking a quick flight instead.

Why do we choose to drive?

First, I prefer having the freedom and flexibility to pack up my entire car at home. I don’t need to stress about the size of my bags, the weight of my bags, how I will transport them from my trunk to the luggage desk and what it will cost to check them with the airline. I can bring whichever stroller or wagon I prefer without wondering if it will meet airline regulation guidelines.

Second, I find that the uncertainty of flights have the potential to create serious traveling hiccups for us. When I have two little ones in tow, the thought of encountering a significantly delayed flight or canceled flight is daunting. My kids are content in the car because they are secured, they have access to a bin of toys and their tablets and can snack and drink water as they please. This becomes a little more challenging in an airport terminal when a flight is delayed.

Third, we actually enjoy the exploration and flexibility that comes with driving. Since we usually choose to drive, we are able to check out local areas much more easily when we are in a new place. When we need to break up our drive with some rest, we can stop in a new town and check out local spots. Most recently, we were able to stay at Disney’s Vero Beach DVC resort prior to a 4 night cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. This is a resort that we may not have otherwise stayed at for a while and it turned out we loved it and can’t wait to return!

So, how do we survive the drive?

There are a few things we do to make these drives manageable for our family. First, I have to start by saying that we own a Tesla Model Y with the full self-driving feature. So long as an awake, alert driver is in the driver’s seat, the car will do 99% of the driving for us if we ask it to. This reduces a lot of the fatigue that we used to feel when driving long distances.

We like to pack a cooler with waters, snacks, protein bars, energy drinks and other things that we can access as needed throughout our trip. Our Tesla requires a quick recharge every 2-3 hours, so we can stop and stretch our legs and grab a snack or drink.

When possible, we drive overnight. We tend to have the most success when we leave at our kids’ bedtime. They sleep in the car overnight and we take turns driving and napping. There is minimal traffic and our kids are often easy to manage because they sleep for more than half of the drive.

We also purchase a few new small toys for our kids to enjoy throughout the trip. They have a caddy between their car seats where we keep stickers, books, imagine ink pads, fidgets, games, toys and more. They can grab from this container throughout the drive.

We have grown to really enjoy these drives, plus we are saving thousands on airline tickets since we are a family of four now. Drop a comment below and let us know what your preferred method of travel is!