How far are you willing to travel for a day out?

[MsWalterMitty]

I love in the countryside with lots of windy roads and very poor public transport links.

I wonder whether my thinking is skewed due to the windy roads. But for a typical day out with the kids, say on a normal weekend I am happy to drive up to 45 mins in the car to a destination... this is approx 15 miles due to the roads. So I’d say less than 20 miles is my norm.

Anything more than that would be a special occasion/very rare. Bit anything more than 30 miles I would want to be stopping over!

Roads ffs.
Toads probably wouldn't help either

Drove

Up to 2 hours each way. But kids are teens and don't mind being in the car.

For a day trip probably up to an hour's drive, maybe 1.5 hours at the most but that isn't very often. On the train, maybe up to two hours if for example going to London. As a child we used to drive two hours to see grandparents for a day. DH's sister and family have been known to drive a 400-mile round trip to see us for just one day, but that would be too much driving for us.

@MsWalterMitty

I love in the countryside with lots of windy roads and very poor public transport links.

I wonder whether my thinking is skewed due to the windy roads. But for a typical day out with the kids, say on a normal weekend I am happy to drive up to 45 mins in the car to a destination... this is approx 15 miles due to the roads. So I’d say less than 20 miles is my norm.

Anything more than that would be a special occasion/very rare. Bit anything more than 30 miles I would want to be stopping over!

45 minutes was way less than my daily commute pre covid. It's less than I travel to see my elderly parents every weekend. It's less than DH drives to see his elderly parents regularly. And we live in a village several miles from the nearest A road too. 4t minutes is nothing.

I have to say I find it incredibly inconvenient if the nearest proper supermarket was 17 miles away (or a 70 mile round trip as one pp has mentioned ) I'd have to be a lot more organised as I wouldnt want to spend half a day just going to the supermarket, on a weekly basis. Do they deliver that far...?

Before lockdown I’d regularly drive 45-60miles for client meetings that lasted a couple of hours so wouldn’t think twice about doing that for a day trip!

We will happily drive 3 hours each way to somewhere like Legoland. If I can, may stop over for the night as we stay until the park closes.

We live rurally , tba a decent food shop is a 60 mile round trip for us !
On a day trip it's not unusual to do 300 mile round trip , we are out of the house 10- 12 hours .

@Fizbosshoes

I have to say I find it incredibly inconvenient if the nearest proper supermarket was 17 miles away (or a 70 mile round trip as one pp has mentioned ) I'd have to be a lot more organised as I wouldnt want to spend half a day just going to the supermarket, on a weekly basis. Do they deliver that far...?

Normal supermarket deliver to my house but I’d rather just nip to coop every few days

IT depends on so many things.
Particularly the age of your dc. Both from the pov of how long / well they can travel in the car, and also to do with how easily they are entertained. Traveling to take a 14 yr old to something specific is very different from taking a 2 yr old out.

Then, what is available where you live. I love the sea, but the nearest sea to me is about 2 hours away, and my favourite seasides are another hour or two again.
My dh is happy to drive up to about 3.5 hours each way on a day visit somewhere.

If it were a 'one off' then a couple of hours each way would be fine for me, but it would have to be something I'd really want to see.
I have a few people that I would go and visit for the day, that live 2 hours away. Again, depends how long you are there for, in between the drives.

I like a thoroughly exhausting day out and I don’t want to be driving when I’m tired. Generally limit a day trip to a Fat Hour - if Google Maps says 1h10m, it’ll probably end up being 90 minutes. That should get us well into a remote bit of a national park or to the seaside or to another interesting city. Up and out first thing. Leaves time for lots of stuff, but not too appalling to get home. Although we were discussing putting the camping stove in the boot as the time you REALLY want a brew is the schlep back.

Max 90 mins 3ach way. But I've got young kids.

Maybe when they are older- max 2 hours

I think your distance limit is unusually short op.

For me, it's more, how far is it? Have driven close on two hours each way for a sporting fixture for ds2; would drive two hours fir a day at the beach; theme parks are nearer.

I've been to two Proms with dd this summer which involved 90 min drive plus 45 min tube each way, just for an evening. I like driving tho.

Dd and I went to somewhere long intended this summer which is about 3.5 hours drive away (v dull m way too) and we did stay over, tho now I've been I might go back for a day trip.

@MsWalterMitty

I love in the countryside with lots of windy roads and very poor public transport links.

I wonder whether my thinking is skewed due to the windy roads. But for a typical day out with the kids, say on a normal weekend I am happy to drive up to 45 mins in the car to a destination... this is approx 15 miles due to the roads. So I’d say less than 20 miles is my norm.

Anything more than that would be a special occasion/very rare. Bit anything more than 30 miles I would want to be stopping over!

My daughter travels just under 30 miles to school each way, everyday!

I’d drive up to 2.5 if it’s a whole day out. If it’s only a few hours, I’d drive slightly longer.

A couple of hours for a normal day out e.g NT place, beach etc. Live close to lots of those sorts of things but we still like to explore new places. I would want an overnight stay for more than about 3.5 hours

@MsWalterMitty

My family love 132 miles away... it takes 2.5hrs s as once I’m put off my country I’m on the M6. But I’d be expecting to stay for atleast 3-4 nights!

Seriously? DHs parents live 2 hours away and we almost also only do day trips.

We live rurally and our nearest city is 45 mins - 1 hour drive away and we often do that for a day out. I took dd to her university city a couple of weeks ago and that’s 2.5 hours away and we stayed overnight - i felt thats a bit too much driving for me in one day.

I used to live in London and everything was 5-10 mins away when I moved to Norfolk I remember thinking 1 hour to get to the nearest city was some sort of epic journey but it doesn’t seem it now.

I used to live rurally (Whitby) and I used to go to the movies a lot - the nearest decent cinema was in Teesside, about 35 miles away - I went about once a week too.

I don’t drive and can’t physically get my wheelchair in a car. Precovid I regularly did days out that were up to 3 hours each way on the train. I have done 4.

Same as op. 45 mins in car. Cba otherwise

Longest we've done is 3 hours each way. (Alton Towers)

5am departure - 11pm return.

Very tiring but DC love it. Done it a couple of times since the youngest was capable. We get huge "cool parent" points and have our own little stopping traditions.

Journey there spent planning what they'll ride in which order. Journey home asleep.

Maximum of 2 hours. More comfortably, hour to 90 mins.

Anything under 2 hours is fine and none of us blink at as long as the place is a days entertainment.

So if we're in the car for less than 50% of the day total then it's been worth the journey.

Would rather see the world and have experiences than worry about the journey times.

1.5 hours is fine. 2 hours pushing it but it depends on the day out.