GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The start of the summer travel season was plagued with thousands of flight cancellations and record gas prices across the country.
Gas prices continue to soar across West Michigan, too. Just overnight on Wednesday, the prices for regular unleaded jumped 20 cents, making the average price of regular unleaded $4.79 in metro Grand Rapids.
Prices were on the rise throughout the Midwest on Tuesday. Gas jumped 35 cents in Ohio and 30 cents in Indiana. Some stations reportedly jumped 60 cents in Chicago.
Experts say summer travel is going to be very expensive, which begs the question: Is it cheaper to fly or drive?
There isn't a simple answer to that question. Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids is on a new top 10 list for the highest increases in average airfare prices, according to Clint Henderson, who's the managing editor at The Points Guy.
However, he says despite everything being so expensive these days, if you plan and shop around, you will get the biggest bang for your buck.
"So, if you can book out, you know, three months, four months ahead of time, it also depends on when you're traveling," said Henderson. "So, if you've got a family of four, you probably have to travel within certain parameters of you know, being off in the summertime. But if you can wait for your family vacation to September, October, what we call shoulder season, you can save a ton of money on everything from plane tickets to hotel rooms."
Planning and being flexible seems to pay off. Right now, a family of four can fly to New York City for the 4th of July holiday weekend via Allegiant for $382 total.
Round trip flight to Nashville will cost $538, and to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Orlando, $724 dollars total via Frontier Airlines.
A quick trip to Atlanta via Delta during that holiday weekend will cost a little more than $1,000 dollars, but you can cut that price in half by flying out of Detroit with Spirit Airlines.
Now, comparing that to driving a car that gets 25 miles per gallon: A road trip to New York City from Grand Rapids will cost you $280, Nashville $218, Atlanta $311 and Orlando $476.
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