What is the furthest distance you would go for a day trip? (hotel, Paris)

[Jowel]

I'm just curious to hear how far people would travel to a destination (shopping, beach, mountains, museum, etc.) and come back home in the same day?

I know it's good to have the time and money to be able to at least spend the night when going somewhere that's far away, but if these or other responsibilities is a consideration, sometimes the enjoyment of changing the scenery for a long day can be worth it.

An example: Someone four hours from the beach decides to get on the road one Saturday at 7:00 am, be at the beach at 11:00 am, enjoys it for several hours, takes a dip in the ocean, and is back on the road by 5:00 pm, and home by 9:00 p.m. (it seems doable in theory anyway). Saves having to pack and book a hotel room, etc. as long as you can figure out how to dry out a wet swimsuit.

Is this worth it? Or too exhausting? I'm just curious to see what the breaking point is for most people (3, 4, 5, 8 hours each way??). When does the chore of driving a long distance exceed the pleasure of enjoying whatever destination you're wanting to experience? Does the type of attraction you're going to matter (i.e. maximum driving distance differs depending on whether you're going to the beach vs. shopping or cultural, etc.)? And what impact does whether you go alone or with someone have?

Of course, longer vacations are ideal, but if you want to break up the monotony between vacations on a pretty weekend day trips are an idea and it just had me thinking of this question.

[Phil306]

Back in the day, when I worked for United Airlines, my wife and I used to fly to Honolulu for the day. We would take the first flight out, spend 7-8 hrs on the beach, then fly home. Of course, the reality to this is we didn't get home until early the next morning.

I've also flown to Disneyland, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Seattle for the day.

[TheKiwi]

A day trip for me should be somewhere no more than 2 hours away, because 4 hours round-trip is too long to drive for just a day in my opinion.

[elnina]

I am willing to drive ~200 miles one way, but it better be worth it. Careful planning and Internet research helps a lot, and saves time when looking for things to see or places to eat. I have done it many times AND I like to drive.
I didn't fly for a day, yet.

[Fuzz]

Depends on if it's frequent or infrequent. I did a solo 3.5-hour one-way drive as a day-trip to visit friends, but that was a one-time thing -- wouldn't want to do it regularly. When I lived in Denver, I used to drive 60-90 minutes for skiing/hiking/biking every weekend -- but still got tiring, so we moved to the mountains to cut out the driving. I'd say 90-minute drives are probably not extraordinary for many big-city commuters (I work from home so don't commute). I personally prefer spending the extra money to stay overnight and relax, rather than worrying about road/traffic conditions (as well as personally being alert and not too tired) and having the day turn into an exhausting ordeal -- especially after having a child.

Have done London - Paris as a day-trip on Eurostar (for work).

Day-trips via flying have been for work. I've done Chicago - Miami, Chicago - Dallas, Denver - Dallas for day trips. And while not a day-trip, once I flew Denver - Zurich for a 2-hour meeting and flew back -- technically my trip was a day-trip (landed in Zurich at 8am, flew out at 4pm the same day), but the actual flying time obviously made it longer.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by Phil306

Back in the day, when I worked for United Airlines, my wife and I used to fly to Honolulu for the day. We would take the first flight out, spend 7-8 hrs on the beach, then fly home. Of course, the reality to this is we didn't get home until early the next morning.

I've also flown to Disneyland, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Seattle for the day.

and when our daughter worked for Saber Corp she flew to London and back in one day. She needed one more flight to keep her executive level or whatever the top level was.

As for us, I really think, the OP was thinking by car: I guess the furthest we have or would drive is about 4 hours. I did drive, from Marin County to Lake Pillsbury one year and back in one day. It was about a 3 1/2 hour drive. We also did L.A. to San Diego many times. Neither hubby nor myself are huge lovers of traveling by car so I guess we haven't done many 1 day, long trips.

[StealthRabbit]

4 hrs one way is doable for most trips (air or driving).

I'm used to driving 24 hrs / day, so 1200 miles RT would still give me a few hrs to enjoy the destination.

My son flew from RT West coast to east coast several times last yr for one night, to enjoy a baseball game.

Different strokes... some people insist to be checked into hotel or campground by 4pm. Not me. I like to drive overnight so I can enjoy nice destinations during the daylight. Being a kid raised on a dairy farm, then working 30 yrs of shift work... I'm no longer bound by a schedule, nor do I suffer jet-lag / tiredness. Trips energize me, as does driving. There is always Plenty of time to sleep in the winter...

[annerk]

It really depends, but typically two, maybe three hours each way if part of the day trip is to enjoy good weather in the roadster with the top down.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Generally, only a couple of hours. I will occasionally do 4 hours each way, if I have a good reason to go.

However, I lived in Tewksbury England right at the time that the Chunnel opened and the ferry company offered a special: 1 car and all the people you could fit in it round trip for 10 pounds. It did not apply to overnight trips

So 2 friends and I made several day trips to France to do a little sight seeing and a lot of shopping. It made for a very long day. Hours of driving in the dark to catch the first ferry of the day and lots of long hours of driving in the dark to get home after taking the last ferry of the night to get back home. All very worth it.

[eureka1]

90 minutes, tops.