I’m looking at a trip that will take between 10 and 12 hours to drive. Normally I’d just do it in a day. However, just for discussion, what is your normal method? There is a need to be there by time as well with this. Of course it’s November so that changes things a bit but forecast looks great.

Nothing really to sight see, just trying to get to point A to B.

Question:
A 10-12 hour drive, one day or two?

Choices:
One day.
Split it.

 

I'd go for a straight shot, if you get tired or delayed, you can always opt to make a stop. Think of it as a long day at the office. I will say though that much depends on how comfortable your car seats are for a long sit, no sense in crippling yourself.

The difference between 10 and 12 is significant. A 10 hour drive is very doable. A 12 hour is much more of a drain for me. But still doable. Start early with a good nights rest before hand.

I go either way depending on cost of hotels, timing of event, and work schedule. If time allows I prefer to break it into two usually.

That would be a one day trip for me, and I would prefer to drive it alone. I love driving alone--I can stop when I want, keep the car super cold, and listen to whatever audio book or music I want. Being considerate of other people just messes things up.

12-13 hours is about the limit for me and I have done it numerous times. 8-10 hours is nothing.

So I say one day.

Sure you can do it in 'one day'.
Mr. Bladder controls more of my schedule than half a century past, and I've come to enjoy heading out by sun up & putting in by mid-afternoon. Gives a whole new perspective on my travels.

Weather/roads play a role of course. Relaxation & discovering new ways to improve my old hurryhurryhurry habits are more important now than absolutely having to make the 10-12 hour run.

When I was younger, 12 hours windshield time was not a big deal. Older now, retired and have time so it is much more tolerable for me to split such length trips. Of course, we now have the Covid to be concerned about so maybe just staying in the car is more prudent.

I can’t see worth a crap in the dark. So in the winter, we usually split a 12 hour drive into 2 days. Summer, one day is easy enough.

Alone? I'd plan to do it all at once, assuming I was able.
If it's a new drive especially, new destinations seem to go much faster for me.



Oddly enough a 4.5 - 5 hour drive I've been doing several times a year, all my life, seems to fly by now. That kind of scares me. But my ability to drive REAL long stretches at night seems to have vanished.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
The difference between 10 and 12 is significant. A 10 hour drive is very doable. A 12 hour is much more of a drain for me. But still doable. Start early with a good nights rest before hand.

I voted one day, but this is something I've noticed as well. We made lots of trips of 5-8 hour duration, even close to 10.

However once we moved to TX we were making regular 12+ hour drives to a family cabin in AL. The first time we made that trip I just shook it off as just one of those drives. Subsequent times realized that this is a long time to be in a car with 1 or 2 very brief bathroom/fuel stops. Made even worse if the determination to just finish it up led to skipping a midday meal and just powering through only to end up with a headache and fatigue.

We adjusted to it, but did start out no later than 0600.

You know yourself better than us. I'd aim for straight through but with the cushion to stop along the way if you start feeling tired. Having someone to split the driving with makes a HUGE difference. If one of you would normally drive the whole way, don't; instead split it up.

How old are you? I've driven between Northern NJ and Colorado 1 way 7 times. Total drive time is 28 hours or so. I would typically drive 16 hours day 1 (Denver to far side of Chicago), with 12 hours day 2 (Chicago to NJ). This was in my twenties. No way I could do that now at 47.

Id do that distance in one day and get the drive over and done with. The only way I would split it into a 2 day trip would be if I wanted to stop and visit family/friends or some point of interest. 12 hours, maybe 13 is about the limit of how many hours/miles I want to be on the road. When driving long distances I make a point to stop for gas every 200-250 miles or so to get out of the car and walk around, take a piss break, and grab something to eat. The most miles I've driven in one day was 1030 from PA to Memphis, TN, long day especially driving solo and i promised myself I wouldn't try that again.

I only break a long drive up if I have my kids with me. If I am solo, I power through.

I drive to visit my daughter in Nebraska a couple of times a year. It's about a 10 hour drive. I get on the road early (by 6am) and get there in the afternoon.

Split it.

I recently drove to AZ, could have done it straight in 12 but it was more fun to split it.

If I was just trying to get there I would push it all in one day.

If there was something along the way I wanted to see or visit multi-days. Also if it took me through interesting areas I had never been I would be more likely to stop and explore. Again time would also determine what I did.

I've done long trips and gotten tired and just cat napped in the car.

I used to drive 12 - 13 hours at a stretch to go back and visit my family in NH - 650 miles one way

four stops - mostly coffee and then fill up with cheap gas at the border before going into Canada

One day and leave super early in the morning.

Do it in one day if you want to get there to do something or to just have a day to relax and recover. That's my usual method, leaving at 5 to 6 AM depending on how traffic is expected to be at any cities along the way when I'll be passing through. A second driver makes this option a lot more attractive, too.

Do it over two days if there's something you might enjoy doing at or near the break point.