Save Money Driving Past Your Nearest Airport?

Life outside the big city can be sweet indeed.

You may count yourself blessed to live among pastoral fields or majestic mountains, with weekends breathing fresh air on uncrowded trails merandering among lush foliage and babbling creeks.



Suburbs also have their advantages, with all the major chain stores and restaurants close to your home without little to take an expressway into a metropolis, except if you work there.

I've never thought of myself as a big city person, but I appreciate living close to a major airport, LAX, especially because travel is a great passion for Julie and me, one that keeps us from unduly meddling in our children's lives.

When we resided in the suburbs of San Diego, we sometimes braved the inevitable traffic snarls to fly from Los Angeles instead of much closer SAN, passing John Wayne Airport in Orange County and Long Beach Airport on our route.

Why?

Driving all the way to Los Angeles to catch a flight may have added an hour and a half to our drive, but it would sometimes save us hundreds of dollars, with easy non-stop or one-stop flights instead of convoluted routes that might take much longer, with more chances of missed connections.

It wasn't inevitably the case, but flying to a major city in Europe, that seemed to be the norm.


Now we live just a few miles from LAX, allowing us to take Bell Cabs or Uber to the airport in about twenty minutes.  Sometimes, we take the bus, which is longer but really not bad.

What can you do if you live not simply in a suburb but way out in the countryside, where the airport mainly caters to crop dusters?

If you want to explore the world, then the best way to get there may be to drive past even the nearest international airport to a more distand city 100 to 150 miles away to catch your flight.

It can be downright shocking how much you can save.

And don't dismiss the idea of flying out of a neighboring state.  While Cincinatti might cost a lot less than Dayton, perhaps Indiannapolis would save you even more when flying to Rome.



Get a hotel near the major airport the night before your flights, so it doesn't feel so stressful driving there, and you can still come out ahead.

You might find an airport-close hotel that will give you free transfers to and from the airport as part of a package that includes covered parking while you're away that costs about the same you would pay to park at a closer airport.

If that flight city is a great destination in its own right, like Seattle, San Francisco,  New York City, L.A.'s South Bay or Miami, so much the better.

In any case, all big cities have great dining and entertainment offerings to make your stay special and that essentially extends your vacation experience.



Or, if you're more like me, there's always nearby fast food and lots of cable channels.

"Better service leads to better trips!"