Challenge - only 13 days and a lot of miles. Is it possible?

[jujulia]

Hi everyone!
Im really hoping for your help, cause I just can't pull together a map for a road trip. Everytime I decide what the route is gonna be, I find another amazing place to go and it just all falls apart.
We are limited to only 20 days and thats our biggest problem. We also want to spend the last 7 days in NYC.
Which means we have 13 days for SF, LA, LV and Grand Canyon. I was thinking of taking off from SF, going to LA by the cost, then LV and Grand Canyon. Would be amazing if we had time to also briefly visit Monument Valley/or Sequoia National Park/or Antelope Canyon.
What do you think? And also any suggestions as to where should we fly from to NYC?
Please give me some advice, would really appreciate any thought cause I'm kinda lost right now:)
Thank you in advance!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

It's a common [but nice] problem to have among us road trippers. So much to see, so little time ! The beauty of the road trip is having the freedom to go where you want and to where you find most interesting. It's a bit like being a kid in a sweet shop, although you can't have it all, you really can't go wrong with what you choose ! [providing you like sweets! ;-)

With 13 days you could actually drive all the way to NY, but that would depend on the pace you like to travel at. If I were to fly from anywhere, it would most likely be Denver given the info above. That way from GC, continuing to Monument Valley and Antelope canyon would be an option. You have the NP's of southern Utah, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands to contemplate. There are other options from MV, like Four corners, Mesa Verde NP, Black canyon and so on. Rocky mountain NP near Denver is another wonderful place. Ooops ! That's not really helping much is it !

I would try concentrating on what you really want to see and not dwell too much on places you won't be able to visit this time. [There is always another day]. It comes down to personal choice, for example I would choose Yosemite over LA any time, but that's me ! Once you have figured out the basics the rest will fall into place. We can certainly make suggestions and offer advice once you have got a little further but for now, these are your decisions to make.

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

I'm afraid that we don't have the benefit of knowing the overall plan that you're working from, but it seems as though you intend to rent a car on the west coast, drive around a bit, fly to New York for a week, and then fly home, wherever that is. All of that is certainly doable in what amounts to three weeks, even with spending a week in New York. What you should be looking at is doing a closed loop in the west, say San Francisco to Los Angeles, to the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas to San Francisco. You could actually start and finish in any of the cities on that loop, including Phoenix, if that suits you. There have been numerous discussions of the sights along that basic route and perhaps a read through some of those would be in order. By returning to your initial city, you save the extra one way drop-off fee associated with leaving a rental car somewhere other than where you pick it up. Same with the flights to (and presumably back from) New York, a simple round trip ticket is usually cheaper than an open jaw or two one way tickets.

AZBuck

[jujulia]

Thank you lots! I think it cleared up a bit. Its our first trip to States, so you know how it happens we want to see everything:) But probably it would be best to visit fewer places for a longer time even if it breaks my heart. I'll come back later when we decide the route finally for another advice from professionals:)
Thanks again!