<p>All these long trips really make me appreciate D1’s situation:</p>
<p>30 miles from home.</p>
<p>Driving: 40-50 minutes one way (depending on traffic), only 30 minutes from my workplace</p>
<p>Carpooling with roommate: A 4-mile drive to p/u D1 if she catches a ride home with roomie.</p>
<p>10 minute drive to airport - Taxi cost $20
5-7 hour flight (depending on direct/connecting) - 20,000 FF miles
10 minute drive from airport - Gas (at $2.00/gallon) $.50</p>
<p>No other reasonable options.</p>
<p>Driving
7 hours (each way)
$100 tolls & gas (round trip)
$50 Priceline/Hotwire hotel
Total $150 round trip (plus wear on car, driver)</p>
<p>Southwest
1.25 hour flight, 2.5 hours to/from airport, security, etc. (each way)
$120-$150 ticket (round trip)
light rail from airport to campus (students get RTA pass)</p>
<p>car … 4 hours … pretty cheap (but 8 hours for the driver who has to return home) … this option pretty much knocked out by the bus unless the driver wants to spent some time at the school (or in the car with student)</p>
<p>bus … 4 hours … actually cheaper than driving our car both directions (gas, tolls, food)</p>
<p>train … 4 hours … a lot more expensive than the bus … more comfortable / more fun / easier to relax / easier to get work done</p>
<p>plane … 4 hours … a lot more expensive than the train with the same pros … so not really an option</p>
<p>So bus or train for regular trips … we’ll probably still do the car when we’re hauling stuff back and forth</p>
<p>Driving
19 hours (each way)
6 tanks of gas: $240
$220 hotel 2 nights w/2 days out and 2 days back for parents
Total $460 + food round trip (plus wear on car, driver) and 2 days for kid, 4 for parents</p>
<p>Kid drives one way too much wear and tear on parents mental state but $230 in cost.</p>
<p>Southwest
2.5 hr. flight 2 hrs. back and forth to the airport, 1 - 1 day 1 way car rental
$49 - $79 SW web saver ticket, $8 airport parking, 1 tank of gas $40 and $30 1-way rental
Total $91 - $121 and one day</p>
<p>You gotta love Southwest!</p>
<p>Driving (which I have never done): Each way: 12 hrs driving, $80-90 in tolls, $50 in gas, one hotel night each way (I don’t think I could do back-to-back 12-hour drives). </p>
<p>Train: The option exists, expensively. It would be about a 28-hour trip, with famous delays, and cost several hundred dollars.</p>
<p>Bus: Ditto.</p>
<p>Southwest: With fees, $65-135 one-way. Drive (30 mins) or train (1 hr, $8) to the airport here, 1 hour wait time, 1.5 hour flight, $2 bus (45 mins) to campus on the other end.</p>
<p>We’ve always gone with Southwest (and UPS shipping if there is a lot of stuff), even with two kids. Most of the familiies at the same college from around here have made the drive at least once, though.</p>