Free trip to North Korea? No thanks

Welcome to the 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll for May. Americans love traveling and vacationing and this month's poll centers on that popular subject. Everyone has stories about family vacations growing up. They could be about the perfect trip where your family bonded or saw the beauty of nature and created lasting memories. Or they could be about the trip from hell that seems funnier only in retrospect, (think of National Lampoon's "Vacation" with Chevy Chase).

CBS's legendary journalist Charles Kuralt reported from "On the Road" for years and it was said that he was able to capture the rich heritage of our great nation with his nostalgic vignettes. Two of his more memorable observations about traveling in America were, "thanks to the interstate highway system, it is now possible to travel coast to coast without seeing anything" and "you can find your way across this country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars." Whichever way you choose to navigate "On the Road" this summer, we wish you happy trails and happy memories. And now the results of our poll:

When the rubber hits the road, half of Americans still prefer driving their cars even when traveling long distances. Thirty-nine percent are sky high about flying despite the increasing costs and hassles that go along with it. Five percent like to ride the rails, two percent said cruising on the water floats their boat and one percent will leave the driving to someone else and take a bus. America's love affair with their cars appears stronger than ever.

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The two biggest concerns that Americans have when they travel is the cost of the trip (39 percent) and the safety of the trip, getting there and back in one piece (38 percent). Younger Americans think more about cost and older Americans think more about safety. Other concerns like leaving home (six percent), taking off work (six percent), the weather (six percent), and getting sick (three percent) were less of an issue. It makes sense that during times of economic challenges and heightened awareness about personal safety that these concerns would rise to the top of the list.

Kim Kardashian wins the prize as the celebrity Americans would least like to sit next to on a long plane ride with 28 percent. How's that for a show of reality? Next up with 13 percent each is the unlikely trio of Charlie Sheen, Richard Simmons, and Chris Brown. The "Three Amigos" they ain't. Bringing up the rear is chatty Joan Rivers with 12 percent and controversial Mel Gibson with 10 percent. Unless you fly first class, you probably don't have too much to worry about.

It sounds like a sort of "Hobson's Choice", but 54 percent would choose taking a cross country road trip with three teenagers rather than three kids under 10 (37 percent). They probably think that breaking up the occasional back seat fight in between the kids quietly listening to their iPods or texting is preferable to being constantly asked those four words all parents dread, "Are we there yet?"

Nearly two out of three of Americans think that a week at Disney World is a real vacation. Twenty-four percent said no and 10 percent said only if the kids stay home. Most people would love a week off from work in an area that has nice weather and a lot of fun things to do. Most people also love doing things with their kids and going to Disney World has become a sort of touchstone for taking the classic American vacation with the family.

More than two thirds of Americans would turn down a free vacation to North Korea and stay home. Twenty-four percent would go for the unique experience and six percent said, "if it's free, it's for me". Younger Americans (42 percent said yes) would be more willing to go than older Americans (89 percent said no thanks). The hermit nation and its young leader have been in the news a lot lately for the wrong reasons. And if you saw this season's 60 Minutes story about the man who escaped from a North Korean concentration camp and what he endured, (did you see that Dennis Rodman?) you would probably steer clear of the place too.

Food and beverages seem to be the vices of choice for Americans when they travel on vacation. Sixty percent admit to overeating and 13 percent said they imbibe too much. Eight percent admit to wearing socks with sandals, three percent own up to being promiscuous and only one percent confess to being rude to waiters. Part of vacationing is allowing a little over indulgence and if eating and drinking too much are their only faults, the stereotype of the "ugly American" may be changing for the better.

Half of Americans claim to have never stolen any of those items from hotels. Twenty-eight percent said they cleaned out the soaps, nine percent stroked off a few pens, seven percent squeezed some towels, one percent stole Bibles (isn't that ironic?) and four percent said they had taken more than one of those items. Except for the towels and bathrobes, hotels build things like soaps and pens into the room rate so the next time you stay at a hotel, take the shampoo and conditioner, it's on the house.

For those Americans with the means to stay at a hotel with a concierge for a week, 34 percent said they would use their services once or twice a week, 24 percent said once a day and 14 percent said a few times a day. Sixteen percent said never and nine percent asked "What's a concierge?" A concierge is a very valuable and accommodating person that can assist you in many ways with things like tickets and reservations. There's just one thing to remember when using their services, it's probably going to cost plenty.

For 29 percent of Americans, the sweet spot for a daily tip for a hotel maid is between $3 and $5. Twenty-three percent said pocket change or a buck or two. Twenty-two percent tip at last $6 and maybe quite a bit more and 21 percent said they tip nothing (bah humbug!) Most Americans understand that hotel maids work hard and are often underpaid. In other words, they don't clean up when they clean up. When in doubt, give them a little more. You'll feel better.

Ninety percent of Americans said they would stop and help a tourist that needed help with directions. Only six percent said they would keep walking. This pretty much sums us up. When Americans see people in need of help, we help them. Whether it's a natural disaster, war, famine, tragedy or directions on the street, Americans like to help people.

This poll was conducted at the CBS News interviewing facility among a random sample of 977 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone March 27-30, 2013. Phone numbers were dialed from random digit dial samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups could be higher.

This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. Read more about this poll.