Does Expensive Gas Make Vacations Too Pricey?

April 25, 2006 — -- With gas prices soaring as the summer vacation season approaches, some Americans are changing travel plans to avoid the high prices at the pump.

Is it just too expensive to take a vacation?

Across the country, gas prices have shot higher during the last month. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded jumped to $2.91 last week, up 30 percent from a year ago -- $2.24 -- thanks to a recent drop in the nation's stockpiles of gasoline and some difficulties in switching from the artificial fuel additive MTBE to ethanol.

Travel industry sources say that they have thus far seen little variation in reservations for summer hotel stays across the country. As prices creep toward $3 a gallon, however, the rising cost may become a factor for those who have not yet made their summer plans.

"Last year we didn't see any change at all when gas prices spiked," said Joe McInerney, president for the American Hotel and Lodging Association. "If anything does happen, what will happen is their trips won't be as long, and we'll see shorter durations and shorter stays at hotels."

Early this year, Renee Kauffman and her husband tentatively planned a five-day summer road trip to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. Because of the rising expense of car travel, their plans changed.

"We were going to drive up to the Hamptons [in New York] for five days, because we've always heard it's so beautiful, and maybe up to Boston," said Kauffman, a customer service representative who lives in Paramus, N.J.

Now the couple are planning a shorter stay at a nearby beach in New Jersey, or they might take mass transit to avoid driving altogether.

"It's just not worth it. By the time we drive four to five hours, what used to cost us about $125 will cost us $250 easy. It's crazy," she said. "Now, it's probably the good old Jersey Shore, which is only an hour away, or maybe a train into New York City for a night. We're fortunate that we have a train system close by."

The Washington-based Travel Industry Association estimates that 82 percent to 86 percent of American summer vacations are driving vacations, with the average length being about four nights. Last year, when gas prices climbed, the organization estimated that the higher prices tacked an extra $40 to $45 onto the total average vacation expense.