Drive M3 or fly to Florida for Christmas vacation

[STi from DSM]

If I was retired, I would drive and have a great experience along the way. But being a working dude still, I have to say that flying is the way to go. I do road trips occasionally to the sister in laws place in Ohio (Roughly 13 hours) and always wish I would fly. Enjoy the time off in Florida (hopefully all the hurricane damage has been cleaned up) kick your feet up and have a Mai-Tai.

[M-technik-3]

I hate to fly commercial but in this case, I'd fly. Not going to need winter tires South of DC for that matter probably not south of NY we seem to seldom see snow now. But don't blame you on wanting to be prepared.

The drive is boring unless you toss in the blue ridge parkway with it's absurdly low speed limit and maybe the Tail of the Dragon to break up the mundane.

[xlover]

I’ll hit the tire angle, as you know florida temps are pretty variable in dec as well as a bunch of the SE US. If you hit a patch of warm/hot days those winter tires are going to turn to absolute mush and defeat the purpose of having the M. Not to mention 10x the wear.

I would say if you are gonna drive, throw your summers back on and bet the odds there won’t be a snow storm before you get out of the snow belt area.

[BMWbiker]

If it were summer and if it weren’t for hurricane damage, I’d say drive, and play on twisty two-lane roads.

But winter, an M3, and going through hurricane areas?

I’d fly, take Amtrak, or take the Amtrak auto train and bring the car.

[moriluvatar]

Originally Posted by BMWbiker

If it were summer and if it weren’t for hurricane damage, I’d say drive, and play on twisty two-lane roads.

But winter, an M3, and going through hurricane areas?

I’d fly, take Amtrak, or take the Amtrak auto train and bring the car.

Holy hell how did I not know about this!

https://www.amtrak.com/auto-train-ex...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Amazing. I’m totally doing this for my next trip from Seattle to SoCal… oh poop it only does the east coast run. Damn it.

[pbonsalb]

Originally Posted by BMWbiker

If it were summer and if it weren’t for hurricane damage, I’d say drive, and play on twisty two-lane roads.

But winter, an M3, and going through hurricane areas?

I’d fly, take Amtrak, or take the Amtrak auto train and bring the car.

The OP is in Toronto and the Amtrak auto train starts in VA and is expensive and no faster than driving. It won’t reduce his travel costs or increase his vacation time. I think the hurricane season is over by the end of the year when he will be traveling. Winter storms have been few in recent years but it is possible he would have to depart a day early or a day late by a day to avoid one.

[David70]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

The OP is in Toronto and the Amtrak auto train starts in VA and is expensive and no faster than driving. It won’t reduce his travel costs or increase his vacation time. I think the hurricane season is over by the end of the year when he will be traveling. Winter storms have been few in recent years but it is possible he would have to depart a day early or a day late by a day to avoid one.

It's not a one way trip, he also has to come back in January and will possibly have to wait a day or two somewhere which may not work with his schedule and will increase the cost.

I have limited time/schedule for a vacation and wouldn't risk leaving a day or two late, getting back a day or two late. If I was retired things might be different.

[pbonsalb]

Yes, the OP might have to depart a day early or day late. I think that language covers departures from Canada and Florida. He is the one considering the drive in order to save money because he has determined it would be cheaper for him to drive than to fly, and knows doing so would eat into his vacation time. Read his original post. Saving money might not matter to you or me or might be outweighed by other factors like your limited time/schedule for vacation or my decision on how to get where I want to visit (in 2024, I will have driven close to 10,000 miles on road trips and flown about 35,000 miles).

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by xlover

I’ll hit the tire angle, as you know florida temps are pretty variable in dec as well as a bunch of the SE US. If you hit a patch of warm/hot days those winter tires are going to turn to absolute mush and defeat the purpose of having the M. Not to mention 10x the wear.

I would say if you are gonna drive, throw your summers back on and bet the odds there won’t be a snow storm before you get out of the snow belt area.

I don't know a lot about winter tires, but I can only assume that in 70-80F weather, they're garbage if it's also raining. This is a very real, very likely possibility down here.

[BMWbiker]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

The OP is in Toronto and the Amtrak auto train starts in VA and is expensive and no faster than driving. It won’t reduce his travel costs or increase his vacation time. I think the hurricane season is over by the end of the year when he will be traveling. Winter storms have been few in recent years but it is possible he would have to depart a day early or a day late by a day to avoid one.

I supplied options. I didn’t advocate for an option.

An advantage of doing the Amtrak auto train (assuming that service isn’t suspended because of hurricane damage—I didn’t look that up) is reducing mileage and wear and tear on an M3. Also, there is the intangible benefit of doing something other than droning on the highway: chatting with others, walking around, seeing the sights, napping, sleeping, etc. Plus, any winter storm that would likely delay an Amtrak train is also likely to delay an M3 driver. There are times when I’ve taken Amtrak, and arrived at my destination before others who drove or flew there but who encountered inclement weather.

There are also disadvantages: cost, availability, inflexibility of the northern and southern termini, etc.

My first choice would be to take Amtrak, because I like trains and time is already budgeted for the trip. My second choice would be to fly. Driving an M3 in winter with winter tires, droning on interstate highways? Writing as someone who has driven down the east coast to Florida and back for practical reasons (albeit in summer), I say: no thanks.

[pbonsalb]

I usually try to consider what the OP wrote in considering options. Another option he would not be interested in is chartering a private jet.

[Lucky1]

Hey guys, thank you for all of the responses. Found a flight for $950 USD per person including checked bags, seat selection and medical insurance for the trip. Hope I don’t regret it once I get the rental car bill. There’s a part of me that feels defeated for not driving as I’ll never know what its like in winter now (I’ve done a drive and Amtrak before! Didn’t like sleeping overnight on the train we took).

Now which one of you Bimmeraddicts wants to rent me their M4 convertible while I’m there?

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Hey guys, thank you for all of the responses. Found a flight for $950 USD per person including checked bags, seat selection and medical insurance for the trip. Hope I don’t regret it once I get the rental car bill. There’s a part of me that feels defeated for not driving as I’ll never know what its like in winter now (I’ve done a drive and Amtrak before! Didn’t like sleeping overnight on the train we took).

Now which one of you Bimmeraddicts wants to rent me their M4 convertible while I’m there?

What destination did you finally book flying out of YYZ?

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

What destination did you finally book flying out of YYZ?

Orlando MCO. I’m heading south on I-95 from there so its as convenient for me as FLL but was less expensive.

[Tyga11]

We drove to FL from AZ last December. I actually thought about taking my M4 but so glad I didn't...I would not do it unless I was forced.

[BMWbiker]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

I usually try to consider what the OP wrote in considering options. Another option he would not be interested in is chartering a private jet.

So?

[Lucky1]

Why not? You’re going from warm climate to warm climate; no tire related concerns re: sporting winters?

[tdott]

I used to live in Toronto, moved to Florida. Did the drive a few times.

I'd lean towards flying since you don't have a second driver, or aren't planning to explore spots along the way (blue ridge, tn, tail of the dragon, etc).

Anytime around xmas is going to cost more but I see Dec.21 to Jan 4th on JetBlue at $331US, not sure your exact dates but that is flying in the weekend if you date a weekday flight it might be less. So I'd recommend you fly out of BUF. I do this alot when flights into YYZ are higher.

Hopefully a BMW from sixt isn't too crazy priced. A 3 series or a 4 series convertible would be my choice if you really wanted to drive top down. Skip the M, you aren't going to enjoy driving it down a whole not more than a non-m on these straight florida roads, it's better to cruise and enjoy the scenery. It's more of a look at me upgrade, so unless that is what you are going for...

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by tdott

Hopefully a BMW from sixt isn't too crazy priced. A 3 series or a 4 series convertible would be my choice if you really wanted to drive top down. Skip the M, you aren't going to enjoy driving it down a whole not more than a non-m on these straight florida roads, it's better to cruise and enjoy the scenery. It's more of a look at me upgrade, so unless that is what you are going for...

In addition to a 4 series convertible in some of their Florida locations SIXT also offers Z4's which are booked quickly during the holidays. The trunk on the Z4 can hold 2 carry-on size bags plus some smaller items and if you are traveling light it is a great convertible to drive while in Florida.

I know that their FLL location has them available as I see them all of the time when I am driving past their lot when going to my dealer's service center. I am not sure if the Z4 is offered at their MCO location.

[Alfisti]

This thread is amazing, almost no one listening to the OP that the $1300 return ticket included car rental. AMazing stuff.

[tdott]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

This thread is amazing, almost no one listening to the OP that the $1300 return ticket included car rental. AMazing stuff.

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Found a flight for $950 USD per person including checked bags, seat selection and medical insurance for the trip.

Not sure if you saw.