Is caravanning cheaper than flying?

In years gone by there was no option: Transporting the family to a destination interstate meant packing the car for a long drive.

How many of us recall the poor benighted Falcon or Holden being loaded with kids, clothes and toys – and then having a caravan hitched to the back as well for the long trip?

It was often a hard road, the heavily laden tow vehicle struggling into the wind on the highway years before dual lanes were commonplace – other than the rare overtaking lane.

With the democratisation of air travel, that arduous trek is no more – except that there has been a huge resurgence in recreational vehicles (caravans) in recent years.

For those who subscribe to the school of thought that life is a destination, not a journey, what is the cost/benefits equation of the great Australian road trip over a cheap airfare?

Questions to ask yourself

Do you need a car while you're away? Is the airport within one short taxi ride of your accommodation?

Are you content to just prop at the hotel where you're staying and spend the entire holiday in the bar or the pool?

Is the accommodation within walking distance of every place you want to visit?

Alternatively, is the public transport at the destination cheap and efficient?

If the answer to those questions is a resounding 'no', you'll probably want to rent a vehicle or take your own – towing a van or camper, or a motorhome if you want to stop off along the way.

So the question then arising is whether the nett cost to you is lower by driving to the destination in your own vehicle rather than flying to the destination and hiring a vehicle.

It may be that the answer will vary according to whether you want to factor the value of your own time spent on the open road into that equation (unless you use a service like this). Is it really a holiday to spend eight hours or more driving from Melbourne to Adelaide or 10 hours from Brisbane to Sydney?

It's possible that a cheap airfare will be relatively more affordable – and therefore better value – the further you fly. To illustrate, it should be cheaper overall to fly from Hobart to Brisbane and hire a vehicle in the Sunshine State than to pack the family wagon on the Spirit of Tassie and drive it to Queensland – a round trip of six days.

What's the reality?

Let's say, for the sake of the argument, that you're transporting yourself, your spouse and two pre-teen children interstate. Here are some indicative road-trip scenarios, based on different options...

Melbourne to Perth, two weeks away in peak season...

•  By road, in a large SUV (diesel four-cylinder) towing a van

•  Six days en route and 10 days at destination based on 50km per day for an overall average of 16L/100km and fuel price of $1.35 a litre.

•  Total: $864 (fuel only)

•   By road, in a large passenger vehicle (petrol V6)

•  Staying at hotels along the way (based on $150 per night for family room).

•  Six days en route and 10 days at destination based on 50km per day for an overall average of 10L/100km and fuel price of $1.35 a litre.

•   Total: $1384 (fuel plus accommodation en route)

•   By air (cheapest per online travel agent): $392 per person, return.

•   Vehicle rental for 10 days: $910

•  Fuel for rental vehicle: $115

•  Total: $2546

Sydney to Brisbane, two weeks away in peak season...

•  By road, in a large SUV (diesel four-cylinder) towing a van

•  Two days en route and 10 days at destination based on 50km per day for an overall average of 16L/100km and fuel price of $1.35 a litre.

•  Total: $306 (fuel only)

•   By road, in a large passenger vehicle (petrol V6)

•  No accommodation costs en route (one-day trip each way)

•  Fuel for 10 days at destination based on 50km per day for an overall average of 10L/100km and fuel price of $1.35 a litre.

•  Total: $191 (fuel only)

•   By air (cheapest per online travel agent): $155 per person, return.

•  Vehicle rental for 10 days: $910

•  Fuel for rental vehicle based on consumption of 10L/100km: $115

•  Total: $1598

Doing the sums

What these indicative figures seem to suggest is towing a van is definitely the most effective means of holidaying in terms of cost, provided the journey is longer and the sights you'll see along the way will be a welcome diversion.

Hundreds of kilometres of flat country and straight bitumen (like the Eyre Highway on the Nullarbor) is not everyone's choice of landscape.

Often forgotten, the cost of purchasing a caravan and an appropriate tow vehicle can be considered part of the expenditure for going on holiday. If you use the family car for your holiday transport, the purchase price and annual running expenses (registration, insurance) are a much smaller component of the holiday cost because you're using the vehicle right throughout the year – not just when you go on vacation.

Still, that's the accountant's objection. If you've purchased a van and a tow vehicle you're probably getting your money's worth out of it by taking the family away on shorter trips most weekends.

When your once-a-year holiday takes no more than one day to reach the destination, any modern family car should be able to do so for around 10L/100km. This is more affordable than lugging the caravan, but you'll pay for accommodation at the other end, of course.

You'll pay to stay in a caravan park as well, but that's a cheaper alternative to hotel or motel accommodation.

By the time you quadruple even the cheapest airfare for a family of four it's not looking economically sound – and then you have to pay for the vehicle hire and fuel for day trips at the other end... to say nothing of the cost of accommodation.

It all depends on other factors too, such as convenience. Are you willing to pay more for reaching your holiday destination faster? Is your time worth something to you?

Summing up

Those are points only you can answer, but a good way to help plan your holiday is run a spreadsheet to determine the relative costs of getting there. Consider these tips: Use up to date pricing for airfares, fuel and accommodation.

Calculate what you're likely to spend on fuel – should you choose to drive – based on what you know of your vehicle's real-world fuel economy.

Bon voyage, and bon chance...