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Original poster

How long would you travel for a day trip?

26 replies

chomalungma · 16/08/2020 09:32

What would you say is reasonable travel time wise for a day out in the car? 2 hours to a destination (maybe about 100 miles) would be mine with DS. 3 hours drive is too much as that's 6 hours driving. We've done 2 1/2 hours before.

OP posts:
WingBingo · 16/08/2020 09:34

2, 2 1/2 maybe? How long will you stay there for?

Once you get to 3 hours you may want to think about stopping for a break, which makes the journey even longer.

30under · 16/08/2020 09:34

2 hours, max? Only done to see family, at that. More than that I would be booking a hotel to stay over somewhere. However in pandemic, I can see that this may not be ideal. Perhaps I would consider going further.

Immigrantsong · 16/08/2020 09:35

No more than an hour.

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 16/08/2020 09:37

2 for fun, 3 to see family.

FinnyStory · 16/08/2020 09:38

About an hour or hour an a half for an attraction or to walk in particular countryside/by the coast but I'd go up to 3 hours if it was to visit particular people, particularly now when staying overnight is all complicated.

If it's for a sports or music event, I've done longer but that would be with friends rather than DC and the journey would be part of the fun.

CherryPavlova · 16/08/2020 09:39

It would depend on the day trip. For a ‘day out’ not over an hour.
To see aged relative or for work, a couple of hours maybe three.
For an unmissable invitation, three hours. It takes me nearly three hours to het to the office, so pre lockdown I’d do that a couple of times a month but it was by train, so I could work on the journey or sleep.

Original poster
chomalungma · 16/08/2020 09:40

We have a rule that the time spent at the destination must be at least equal to the total travel time Grin

OP posts:
BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 16/08/2020 09:41

2 hours if I was spending the whole day there and with another family / extended family.

For regular "our house" days out we would drive 1h max.

topcat2014 · 16/08/2020 09:42

1 hour if I was spending the day out and about.

2 hours if sitting on a sofa

Summer41 · 16/08/2020 09:42

We have two children under five so no more than one hour each way especially on the return journey when they're hungry and tired. Before DC it was two hours each way.

BogRollBOGOF · 16/08/2020 09:43

We recently did 6+ hours in the car to have 6 hours at the seaside. Well worth it!
We could have gone in the opposite direction and cut it down to about 4.5 hours, but the sea is colder, the drive more tedious and coady more dull.

We can't "pop" to the beach from around here Grin

BogRollBOGOF · 16/08/2020 09:44

Coady = coast

sitckmansladylove · 16/08/2020 09:45

About 2 hours max. Where we live a lot of things are 45 mins to an hour

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 16/08/2020 09:45

Done 2.5hrs each way to go skiing. Similar to the beach.

WaffleCash · 16/08/2020 09:48

We have a rule that the time spent at the destination must be at least equal to the total travel time

That's my rule of thumb too

Goldenbear · 16/08/2020 10:04

We were on holiday recently, drove 40 minutes to a beach from our hotel, paid quite a bit to park, walked down to the beach, took one look at the beach and decided it wasn't for us, so went straight back to to the car and drove another 1.45 minutes in the end as we were stuck behind a tractor and on one car roads at some points to get to another beach that was glorious. This made the total trip around 5 hours but it was well worth it. Luckily, my DH and eldest teenage DC think along the same lines as me and did not want to waste a day of our holiday on the first beach. My youngest was so hot she was happy to return to the air con in the car.

TheHighestSardine · 16/08/2020 10:46

Much the same as you OP - two hours each way, and at least as long spent there as travelling.

BefuddledAsAFish · 16/08/2020 10:58

My general rule is 2 hours each way, but we usually go by public transport. I've never done a day trip alone with the DC driving. We're trying to avoid public transport so it's as far as the DC are willing to walk/bike at the moment. When DH is around we'd drive max 1.5-2hours.

Aragog · 16/08/2020 14:14

It depends on what it's for and where too.

For just a normal day trip then maybe a couple of hours each way would be maximum. For a one off or special event/destination I'd up this by an hour or so. I think when we visited the Harry Potter tour that took us around 3 hours each way, but it was worth it.

FraughtwithGin · 16/08/2020 15:03

About 90 minutes each way, but then I would be driving and would be alone.
Any further (I would have to be exceptionally motivated) and I would be looking at hotels for an overnight stay.

StarSpangled372 · 16/08/2020 16:13

2 hours each way tops and only really for a beach day. Up early, 2 hours there, lovely relaxing day at the seaside and then 2 hours back. Well worth it. For anything else I book a hotel and make a weekend of it.

JoJoSM2 · 16/08/2020 16:31

Our days out in the hills or at the beach tend to require 30-60mins each way and I wouldn’t do more than, say 90. To see family, probably 2-2.5h each way.

Gwenhwyfar · 16/08/2020 16:34

2 hours max and I don't even drive. Anywhere over that requires an overnight stay.

anon5000 · 16/08/2020 17:53

It takes at least 2 hours for us to get to the nearest beach, so we have often driven there and back in a day,

Original poster
chomalungma · 16/08/2020 19:00

@anon5000

It takes at least 2 hours for us to get to the nearest beach, so we have often driven there and back in a day,
I feel for people who drive to the beach on summer weekends near here - as they probably spend an hour in a traffic jam. There and back.
OP posts: