Study Results: RV Vacations Still Cheapest Way to Travel

With the holidays on the horizon and school breaks coming up, people are starting to make travel plans. During the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, millions of Americans will travel to share the holidays with relatives or enjoy a family vacation. The only hitch in your plans is likely to be how to get your family from point A to point B without busting your budget. High holiday airfares can quickly gobble up your holiday budget leaving little left for hotels and holiday fun. Driving is a more affordable option, but 8 to 12 hours in a cramped car with bored children isn’t a fun way to start a vacation. The solution? RV travel.

RV vacations are less expensive than any other type of vacation, according to a new RVIA study conducted by PKF Consulting, an international travel consulting firm. Even when fuel prices are high, RV vacations are still 26% to 74% cheaper than typical fly-drive-hotel vacations.

“In all cases, RV trips were more economical than other vacations analyzed, regardless of trip duration, distance or region of the country,” Kannan Sankaran, PKF’s lead researcher, reported.

In its cost comparisons, PKF included the cost of RV ownership to allow direct comparison of actual travel expenses. For every type of RV — motorhome, travel trailer and folding trailer — RV travel was considerably more affordable than any other travel option.