[MI-Roger]

Originally Posted by craig11152

how long does the run across the lake generally take?

The SS Badger, which runs between Ludington and Manitowoc, has a 4 hour published travel time.

There is a faster & smaller catamaran style ferry running between Muskegon(?) and Milwaukee that has a published 2-1/2 hour travel time.

[redcrow48]

I stay off the Badger. It used to dump coal ash into Lake Michigan until 2015 and the owner fought hard against the retention system they use now (they now keep it aboard and off-load it on shore). It's out-dated, dirty and the owner wanted to continue to use our lake as an ashtray. I have done the Lake Express and it's much more comfortable and the destination is a place that actually has stuff to do (Milwaulkee).

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by craig11152

I think expense is a bit relative and nebulous.
To take the ferry.....
One person with car $124
Two people with car $186

If you were to drive from Ludington to Manitowoc around the southern end of Lake Michigan Google puts it at about 420 miles. If you factor in the big picture cost of driving/owning a car including gas, long term maintenance and depreciation, insurance etc AAA suggests it can cost 50 to 75 cents a mile depending several factors including cost of insurance type of car etc.

50 cents a mile....$210
75 cents a mile.... $315

I know people often only like to factor in gas and maybe tolls for the cost of driving but depreciation, maintenance etc are very real and are reasons many Lyft and Uber drivers are not making what they think they are.

The problem is you are incurring much of that cost whether you drive or take the ferry. If someone were planning to buy a car to drive around the lake vs taking the ferry, then the dollars would definitely favor the ferry. If you already own the car and will incur depreciation, insurance, interest, maintenance and all the other costs that go with owning a car whether you drive it or not, then it becomes less appealing. Of course those numbers also everyone buys new cars and drives them for three years before replacing them.

Tolls are a lot though.

Also the value of your time. However that can cut either way. when you add in all of the time, not just the time across the lake, the ferry takes considerably longer. It isnot for someone in a hurry or trying to save money. It is for someone looking to have a an extra fun and exciting trip and to have something to talk about when they get back.

I am not sure why someone would go on a road trip with only one or two people.

And you forgot to add tax.

[craig11152]

The somewhat fixed costs of owning a car like insurance are there whether you drive or ride the boat. But beyond just the gas many of the maintenance costs and a chunk of depreciation are on hold when the car isn't moving and the engine isn't running. Every mile you drive is a mile closer to an oil change, radiator flush, failure of..... transmission, water pump, alternator, serpentine belt, tie rods, shock absorbers, ball joints, engines, etc.
Part of value depreciation is also mileage. If you have identical cars, one with 120,000 miles and one with 65,000 miles we all know which one commands a higher price .

As to time, unless someone is paying you for your time its value is pretty nebulous. And I'm not sure its not completely accurate to say the ferry is considerably longer . The OP aside it depends on where you are starting from and what your ultimate destination is if Google maps is believable. Of course Google Maps isn't assuming one is driving 100 mph.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by craig11152

The somewhat fixed costs of owning a car like insurance are there whether you drive or ride the boat. But beyond just the gas many of the maintenance costs and a chunk of depreciation are on hold when the car isn't moving and the engine isn't running. Every mile you drive is a mile closer to an oil change, radiator flush, failure of..... transmission, water pump, alternator, serpentine belt, tie rods, shock absorbers, ball joints, engines, etc.
Part of value depreciation is also mileage. If you have identical cars, one with 120,000 miles and one with 65,000 miles we all know which one commands a higher price .

As to time, unless someone is paying you for your time its value is pretty nebulous. And I'm not sure its not completely accurate to say the ferry is considerably longer . The OP aside it depends on where you are starting from and what your ultimate destination is if Google maps is believable. Of course Google Maps isn't assuming one is driving 100 mph.

For most people today time is extremely valuable. Many people chose employment based as much or more on free time as on pay.

It does take considerably longer from almost anywhere. In addition, you have to arrive at least 1/2 hour before the departure time. If you are coming from any distance, you need to plan for arrival 1/2 to 1 hour early just in case you get into traffic, weather or there is an accident in your path. If you are driving around, you are nto going to miss the boat if you are late, so you do not have to arrive early and wait. then you have to allow time for loading and unloading. Getting out of the City unless your destination is the Milwaukee riverfront or Manitowoc and since there is not much there to be a destination, that is unlikely. For the Badger I think 4 hours is the normal time. Meaning no serious wind or weather, but that is really not that common. The faster boat, for us was impractical for some reason other than the additional $30 per person and more for the car too. For some people the faster boat may be a good option if they plan enough ahead and have few enough people and do not mind the added cost. Mukegon is closer for most people than Ludington, so there is a saving there.


The difference in mileage on resale are negligible. It is very rare for one used car to have double the miles of another, although it does happen. A small difference in miles driven, make no difference. The condition of the car is far more important than the number of miles. The big costs of car ownership, other than fuel remain the same driven or not. Unless of course you do not drive it at all and it is collectible.

For us, the ferry cost us pretty much a day of time mover driving. But it was fun and I wanted to visit Milwaukee anyway (not the riverfront, the cooler parts of the city). We also used the following day to visit some fun things that we would have bypassed if we had driven around (Trolltown, a cave tour and the Dells).

For us the ferry trip cost about $1000 all in, not counting the time, but including the gas from Kalamazoo to Ludington, as well as all the taxe fees, and other charges related to tkaing the freey. . even in our 16 - 18 mpg van, it would not have cost that much to drive. Not even close. OUr ferry left at 10 a.m. I think. that meant we needed to be at the ferry by 9:30 at least (they may have said to arrive earlier). To make sure we got there on time, we arrived an extra hour early and since we made good time by luck, we went to a beach to hang out for 45 minutes or so. Since we came from Metro Detroit, we had to swing way up out of our way. Driving, we would have cleared the other side of Chicago by the time the ferry left the dock. But we got to go hang out at a cool beach for 45 minutes. Arriving at the other side, unloading takes a surprisingly long time. then you sit in a line of traffic for a while longer (not really that long but really annoying after the long ferry ride and waiting to get your car out of the boat) Your arrival time is very different than your "I am on the road" time. If you are lucky, you are on your way again by 2:30 or 3:00 p.m. Illinois time.

On the other hand, driving, if you time things wrong and get into Chicago traffic or a major summer storm, then you ruin your entire day.

We also would have run into a delay because we have family and friend in Chicago who, if they learned we passed through Chicago without visiting would be quite upset. So, for us, driving may have cost many more hours or maybe even days (but we would get to visit). \


BTW for the OP the ferry gets interminably boring for kids after a while. at first it is awesome and amazing, but when you are out of sight of anything but water for half an hour, young kids get bored to death. they can watch a movie in the cabin if that does not make them nauseous, or if you are lucky they will sleep. Otherwise you may get a lot of extra whine on your trip. Our youngest at the time was 11 and did fairly well, but the other kids (younger) in the cabin were driving me nuts. I could not stay in the cabin for more than a few minutes before the cacophony of whining drove me out (plus some kids were getting sick and I cannot tolerate the smell of vomit). AAs i mentioned it was pretty windy and rough when we crossed, so it is likely better in the cabin when the water is calm