Going somewhere this summer (in the US)? Might want to bookmark the AAA Fuel Cost Calculator. Too bad they don’t have Canada because we go up there occasionally.

We have driven to Reno from Seattle a few times and I was curious what it would be like if we drove our new Saturn Relay there. We get 20 miles to the gallon. The round trip cost: $179.74, not to mention about 23 hours of drive time. So is it cheaper to fly? My wife and I have purchased ticket packages for $250, round trip to Reno from Seattle, for both of us. The flight is a little over an hour long. Parking at the airport costs $40 for three days. So if one watches for package deals, it can be cheaper to fly; definitely less time consuming.

Want something more comprehensive? Try Microsoft Streets & Trips 2005 with GPS, which will not only help plan the route, provide fuel cost, but show you some of the detailed stops along the way. I find that using this application one of the indispensible Tablet PC applications for travel, even though it’s not ink-friendly.