Key West road trip.

Key West road trip photo by @barbdelollis.

We talk about flying all the time here on TravelUpdate and BoardingArea, but most of us take road trips, too  – especially in the fall for kids’ sports activities, holiday weekend getaways or leaf-peeping trips.

But a new study of road trippers reveals how differently we view road trips both by age – and gender.

The Enterprise rental car company commissioned the study; 1,001 U.S. travelers who took at least one road trip over the previous year were polled.

By age:

  • 51% of millennials (ages 25–34) said they don’t have enough time to take a road trip because they can’t be away from work. It was the highest percentage of any age group.
  • 35% of millennials say they will make time for a road trip for food; going for a scenic drive wasn’t as important

By gender:

  • 42% of men were likely to take a road trip because they like to drive, vs. 25% of women
  • Women were 1.5 times more likely than men to say they take road trips because they come back rejuvenated and refreshed
  • 41% of women say they’re likely to rent a car for a road trip to reduce wear and tear on their own car, vs. 25% of men

Of the total number of people surveyed, 57% said they would drive up to 300 miles one way for a weekend trip. That stat hits home for me, since we’re always driving out of state for fencing tournaments.

Readers: Comments?