Traveling This Summer? Ask This One Question Before Booking Plans

It could end up saving you a lot of money.

Summer tends to be a popular time to travel, and for good reason. For parents, it means getting to take a family vacation without being constrained by the school year. And it's easier and more pleasant to see the country when the weather is milder.

The downside of summer travel, however, is that it can be expensive. Whenever there's high demand on the travel front, the cost of things like lodging and airfare can soar. And while there are steps you can take to keep your costs down, like booking plans in advance and using the right credit cards for extra rewards, you might still find that summer travel comes close to busting your budget. But asking yourself this key question could make your costs more manageable.

Is it less expensive to drive?

These days, gas prices are soaring, and they could get even higher as summer kicks into full swing. As such, hitting the road is no longer the inexpensive option it once was.

In spite of higher fuel costs, though, you might still find that reaching your destination by car costs less than boarding a plane. And so it pays to run those numbers and see what savings you stand to reap.

Let's say you're a family of four looking to travel 2,000 miles all together (or 1,000 miles each way). Let's also assume your vehicle is fuel-efficient enough that you'd get 25 miles to the gallon on highways, and that the average cost per gallon of gas is $5.50. That means you're looking at spending $440 on driving.

But that's not all. Let's assume you can't do a 1,000-mile drive in one day, so you need to break up each leg of your trip with a hotel stay. Assuming $150 a night for a hotel, that's another $300. Let's also assume you'll need food on the road at $80 a day for four days of driving (two days for each leg of your trip). That's $320. Plus, let's throw in another $40 for tolls.

All told, your driving costs amount to $1,100. And that's a lot of money.

But now, let's look at flying. You might spend $300 per person just to board a plane, bringing your total to $1,200. But then, you might spend another $120 on baggage fees, and another $50 each way to get a cab to the airport for a total of $100. Suddenly, your flight costs are looking like $1,420.

Now you may be thinking that it's not worth it to spend that many days on the road to save $320. But wait -- what if flying means having to rent a car at your destination for $80 a day? If you're staying a week, that's another $560. And with that cost added into the mix, driving to your destination could result in $880 of savings. That's not a small amount.

What's the right call?

If you don't have a lot of time off or flexibility at your job, then driving to your destination may not be feasible. But if you have the time and can bear a longer drive, it pays to crunch the numbers and see how much money you might save yourself this summer by driving rather than flying.