to fly or to drive?

[chiqanita]

I have another travel topic for you. We're headed up to the Chicago area sometime this summer but aren't sure whether to drive or to fly. Last year we drove, it took us just under 3 days and 2 nights. Our twins were about 9 months then. We stopped every 3 hours for feedings and diaper changes...we usually stopped at La Quinta Inns.

This time around the twins will be around 2 years old and VERY active, they don't like to sit still for very long. So, this time we're considering flying the 2 hours up to IL.

I want to get there quick and enjoy our time with the ILs. However, I don't look forward to the flight. We aren't allowed to sit together, I'll have to sit with DSa and DH will have to sit with DSb in a separate row...something about the oxygen masks.

Driving pros: bring all our toddler 'junk' with us= car seats, stroller, mini beds, DSx2 can scream if they like, we can stop and let DSx2 run around if nec.
Driving cons: long drive, lots of stops, hotel stays, less time with family

Flying pros: get there in 2 hours, more time with family
Flying cons: can't take toddler 'junk' with us, buy 4 tickets instead of 2 (we have Britax Marathon car seats HEAVY!), no mini beds, annoy other passengers when DSx2 aren't allowed to run up and down aisle, might have to use the Benadryl

WWYD? WHYD (what have you done)?

[dhano923]

I personally would fly. I don't think I could handle DSx2 in a car for 3 days. LOL

I would take the carseats and gate check your stroller. Don't bother with the beds -- the kids can sleep on the floor or on the bed with you. If you don't need your stroller at the airport, then just check it in with your luggage. Since your carseats are heavy, I would probably even just buy 2 cheapie carseats just for the trip (I've heard the Cosco Senera is good for this and only like $40). I use a Graco Comfortsport for DS when I/we travel (domestic and international both) and it's fairly easy to carry.

Take the benedryl with you -- I personally have used it with DS on an 18 hour flight (and I was alone!) and it realy helped because I was able to get the rest I needed. But for a 2 hour flight, you may not need it at all, but it'll be nice to have just in case. It does take about 15-30 minutes to kick in though. Also take a few new toys with you that they can open on the plane. I usually buy DS a couple new small toys from the dollar store (small cars, coloring books, puzzles) and those are good for entertaining him for a couple hours. Just give them one toy at a time.

[Piglet]

I would fly - it is much safer than driving during the peak summer season for 3 days. Also, with the cost of fuel being so high, it won't save you all that much money to drive. You can buy 2 Cosco Sceneras for travel, if you want a lighter seat. It is true that you won't be able to sit 4 people across on a domestic flight, but you can put one adult across the aisle and then you would have at least one person that can fetch things, get DSs to the bathroom, etc. Oh, and who cares about the other passengers when it is only 2 hours. Anyone can live with a crying kid for that long... we flew to Israel and back with a 1 month old and a 4 year old and there were many other kids on the flight behaving far worse than my 2 DS's.

Have a great trip,

[Wife_and_mommy]

I would definitely fly!! You might not be able to take as much stuff but it'll be worth it. I'd rather have the travelling over than extend the possible misery you'll endure if the ds's aren't happy.

We travelled 1000 miles last year with 20-MO dd and it wasn't pretty. Not looking forward to it this year with two.



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[chiqanita]

Thanks for the advice mommas! I know you're right and that's what we'll probably do, I'm just dreading traveling at all...but when you live so far from all of the family you have to do what you have to do.

I will look into the Cosco car seats and new toys.

Thanks again!

[mudder17]

A 2 hour flight vs. a 3 day drive? I would fly! We just did a 2 day, 1200 mile trip and it was wonderful, but it was also with just one DC and she did beautifully. But we were happy to have it done in 2 days. We took a break every 1.5-2 hours and it worked just fine. HOWEVER, we did not do it during peak travel season and we did it during weekends when we didn't have rush hour trafic to contend with. If you're planning on traveling any time during a holiday (and summer is also pretty busy), 2 hours vs. 3 days is a huge difference. For us, I think it would have been a 1.5 hour flight or something like that and then a 1 hour drive. But we chose to drive because we wanted to see parts of the country we haven't seen before. And even with high gas prices, it did turn out to be cheaper. We also wanted to test how Kaya does with driving long trips because we have a few shorter driving trips we want to take this summer.

For beds, we actually took a Ready Bed and a pop-up tent ($9.99 at target with a bunch of other things included) that took up very little room (far less room and much, much, much lighter than the PnP!). I bet you could do something like that with your twins and check it in as luggage. Is flying Southwest an option? If so, you could probably do searches for good fares--they seem to have "sales" quite often so that you can get reasonable fares for all 4 of you.

For strollers, could you have your IL get a couple of cheap umbrella strollers for over there that you could store with them? And a 2 hour flight isn't that bad. It's when your DC needs to stay in her seat for 8+ hours that it gets extremely painful and annoying (on our last trip to CA, which is coast to coast).

HTH!

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
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http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_-6_Kaya+is.png
Kaya will be a sister, ~11/14/06!

[o_mom]

If you can do it, fly. Since you are buying 4 tickets, you will get 4 luggage allowances = 8 checked bags. Also, the one child per row rule is for lap children, since there is only one extra oxygen mask per row (4 masks in a row of 3 seats). Since they have their own seats, that is not an issue.

Pick up a couple of Cosco Sceneras or Graco Cargos (if they are front facing already) they are light and make good travel seats. Come on over the the carseat board for more suggestions. :-)

Plan to fly during their "best" time of the day - not nap time. At that age, they may fight the nap and just make everyone miserable. If they are at a good time, you can entertain them with stickers, books, food, etc.

Sounds like cost wise it is a wash, so I would see if your relatives can borrow some of the things you will need while you are there - pack n play, etc.

[mudder17]

Elizabeth, it really really helped to stop every 1.5 to 2 hours and probably only added an hour or two each day to our travel time, but we were all much happier. I think Kath has some wonderful suggestions in this thread that might make it much easier for your two kiddoes this year:

[link:www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=37&topic_id=320121&mode=full&page=|travel thread]

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
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http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_-6_Kaya+is.png
Kaya will be a sister, ~11/14/06!

[cmdunn1972]

In August, we're traveling to Germany with DS, who will be 16 months by then. We have the Marathon also, and are thinking about buying one of these to get us through the airports:

http://www.gogobabyz.com/products/gogo_kids.html

It's basically a frame (like a dolly) that the Britax attaches to, and they cost less than $100.

Has anyone used one of these? If it works, it might save you the need of buying two carseats when you have two that work fine already.

HTH!

[Wife_and_mommy]

Thanks, Eileen. I'll check it out for future reference.

My problem is I don't want to stop because I want to get where we're going *now*. DH is much more accomodating of how long driving takes.

ETA: I just read the thread. Will definitely bookmark it. Thanks alot! :)


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