Are you planning a family road trip soon? In need of some tips for your family road trip? Look no further! My family of 5 and I just embarked on our very first family road trip to Myrtle Beach. We had a blast and I learned lots along the way that I am excited to share with you.
Let’s dive in.
Are family road trips still worth it?
I know that a lot of people are still wondering if taking a family road trip is still worth it as opposed to flying. My short answer is, yes. But it definitely depends on your priorities and your budget. If you prioritize saving money over the travel time, then to me the road trip is the way to go. Despite the cost difference, which I will get into, here are some of the main differences from my perspective:
| Flying | Driving | |
| Less time to travel | X | |
| Can pack your own food | X | |
| Can pack as much as you want | X | |
| Don’t have to stop for meals | X | |
| Don’t have to stop for fuel | X | |
| Creating memories with family | X | X |
| Don’t have to rent a car upon arrival | X |
The Expenses
Now the part that everyone is curious about, is it actually more cost effective to take a family road trip versus flying? When I researched flights for our family of 5, the average cost was $300 per person, roundtrip, non-stop. This does not include purchasing bags, any discounts or selecting our own seats. So we would have spent at least $1,500 just to make it to and from our destination.
Since we drove, our travel expenses included gas and meals along the way. Our gas total for the trip was $200. Our meals while traveling was $153. We also made sure that we got our oil changed and the necessary maintenance before hitting the road. That cost $280. So our overall travel cost was $633. We clearly saved a lot of money by taking a family road trip to Myrtle Beach as opposed to flying.
Additional ways we saved money
- Buying snacks and food BEFORE leaving home.
- Cooking and eating breakfast and lunch at our condo.
- Bringing our own beach gear with us instead of renting an umbrella and chairs.
Packing for a family of 5
Packing for this family road trip took about 5 days. Being able to drive allowed us to pack things that we may not have normally been able to take when traveling by plane. Yet, I also wanted to be mindful of the car space and making sure everyone had a comfortable ride. Myrtle Beach is a 10 hour drive from Cincinnati, by the way.
Thankfully my son just needed verbal guidance on what to and how to pack. The goal was for everyone to have 10 outfits, 10 pairs of undergarments,2 swimsuits and 2 pairs of pajamas. Since we were headed to the beach I knew that there was a good chance that we would be showering and changing twice a day due to the heat and all the sand. And yes, we needed all of it!
In addition to clothing items I wanted to make sure that we packed all of their hygiene items (even though I still forgot their toothbrushes), medicine we may need, and versatile pairs of shoes. It was definitely a big task trying to predict our needs while being away from home for 5 days. But planning things out well in advance definitely helped decrease the stress.
I was able to pack the girl’s items in one carry-on suitcase, my son used his duffle bag, and my husband and I shared a large suitcase. And it all fit in our SUV along with a beach bag and 2 food bags. Stay tuned for my vacation packing list, so that you won’t miss anything when packing for your family road trip!
The Car Ride
The car ride for our family road trip to Myrtle Beach went smoother than I expected. Again, my biggest concern was making sure everyone was comfortable for the duration of the 10 hours. A few items that made our trip easier are:
- Kids snack tower
- A tablet holder: where we downloaded their favorite shows and movies.
- Individual car bags for the kids: included their drawing materials, snacks, and a drink.
- Personal hand sanitizers
Our road trip itinerary headed to and from Myrtle Beach looked like this:
| Cincinnati to Myrtle Beach | Myrtle Beach to Cincinnati | |
| Left out | 5:30am | 9am |
| 1st stop | 8:30am | 12pm |
| 2nd stop | 1:30pm | 5:30pm |
| Arrived | 4:30 pm | 8:30pm |
Where We Stayed
Thanks to a close friend, we discovered The Kingston Plantation Resort. Now I’m not going to lie, when I first saw that it was an old plantation I was not too keen on it. It definitely triggered an uneasy feeling, but I worked through it. Reality is there aren’t a lot of places that I can go to avoid the terrible history that directly impacted my family. We truly cannot run from it. So we used it as a teachable moment for our family and looked forward to researching more about this place to educate ourselves even further.
Despite my reservations, The Kingston Plantation Resort gave us a great experience at Myrtle Beach. We chose a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo with a full kitchen, and a direct view of the beach. It did not disappoint. The rooms were spacious, clean, and comfortable. The resort has direct access to the beach, a waterpark, golf course, playground, fitness area, day spa, and even its own brewery. Our total cost for 4 nights was $2500. That averages out to be $500 per person (total) or $125 per person, per night. This does not include any discounts or deals.
While we didn’t get to tackle everything the resort had to offer, we are definitely looking forward to visiting in the future!
Things we did in Myrtle Beach
Honestly, this trip was all about the beach! My kids have been asking to go to the beach yearly and so this year was our year to do just that! When not at the beach, we spent our time at the waterpark that was right next to our condo. But there is so much to do while in Myrtle Beach. It is very family friendly and fun for all ages. A few other things we visited included:
Overall, our family road trip to Myrtle Beach was great! Not only did we save money by driving, but Myrtle Beach was very family friendly and our kids enjoyed every moment of our stay. We will definitely be back.
What was your favorite family road trip? Let me know in the comments:
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