A travel Web site, AboutAnywhere.com, is urging travelers to drive instead of fly during the upcoming holiday season because gas prices have dropped enough in recent weeks to make it economical again.
It also cites Amarillo and its share of Route 66 as a holiday destination.
From its news release:
… [M]ention holiday travels and ears may start spewing smoke with thoughts of high airfare prices and figuring out how to fit 2 weeks worth of liquid toiletries into a 1-quart zip top bag and packing enough clothing and gifts while staying within the maximum weight allowed per bag. Wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper to just drive? Well, according to the recent national gas prices, it just may be the more cost effective option. […]
Get Your Kicks on Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas. Most of us have either seen a bumper sticker or t-shirt with the infamous Route 66 shield or have heard the popular song’s lyrics praising travel via automobile and detailing all there is to do and see on the 2400-mile stretch of the historic route. The Amarillo portion of the highway is made up of over 100 mom and pop antique shops, restaurants and bars housed by architecturally unique buildings. If you decide to stay the night go to About-AmarilloHotels.com to see which hotels fall in the $38 to $210 range. Or if you decide to take a drive along the route, fill up on gas at the reported $1.90 per gallon price. For additional visitor information check out Amarillo66.com.
In addition to the states mentioned above, there are 18 other states that have reported gas price averages of under $2.50 per gallon as of the end of October – just in time for holiday driving. But be advised that these low gas prices should be taken advantage of since prices are expected to adjust during 2009.
The surprisingly acerbic comment about the dog-and-pony-show that’s become airport security and the airlines’ increasingly restrictive baggage rules is spot-on, I think.
It should be noted that according to GasBuddy,com, prices for regular unleaded are well under $2 a gallon in all of Oklahoma and Missouri and a sizable chunk of the Route 66 corridor in Illinois.
My company just launched a site that makes it easy to determine if its cheaper to drive or cheaper to fly to destinations. The site is Cost2Drive.com and it will show you the cost of driving anywhere in the US based on current gas prices at your starting point and refueling points along the way. And for trips over 200 miles it will show you the cheapest flight found by users on Kayak.com for that route. Here’s a link to the press release that went out yesterday announcing the launch of the site: https://www.prweb.com/releases/driving/calculator/prweb1559984.htm