Hello from the UK!
We are starting to plan a road trip to be taken probably September/October 2014. It will be our first time ever outside of Europe, although we have done quite a bit of driving across European countries.
We will probably have three weeks of holiday from our jobs, but want to factor in a day at the start and a day or two at the end back in the UK to recover before going back to the office. With one day at home at the end (so flying back on the Saturday morning), we would have 19 days including travelling to and from the USA. We could possibly combine the trip with a UK public holiday on the Monday so we could fly back on Sunday and still have a day to recover.
Here's what we're thinking so far:
WEEK 1
- Sunday morning - Fly UK to Toronto (aim to arrive Toronto around lunchtime)
- Sunday afternoon, Monday, Tuesday - Spend three nights in Toronto (2.5 - 3 days there)
- Wednesday morning - Train to Niagara
- Wednesday day - Visit Niagara and stay one night (24 hours there)
- Thursday morning - Train to New York
- Thursday afternoon/evening, Friday, Saturday - New York
WEEK 2
- Sunday and Monday - New York (so stay 5 nights to give 4 days and an evening there)
- Tuesday morning - Fly to Denver, Salt Lake City or Albuquerque (any thoughts on best to visit for tourists? All I can find on Google is which cities are best for jobs, property crime and living in! Or maybe somewhere else in that region that's even better?)
- Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday - Two nights in that city (a whole day and an evening there)
- Thursday - Pick up hire car, then drive to San Francisco via:
- Grand Staircase
- Grand Canyon
- Extraterrestrial Highway
- Yosemite National Park
WEEK 3
- Thursday evening, Friday and Saturday - Spend two nights (2 whole days, an evening and possibly a morning) in San Francisco
- Sunday lunchtime - Fly back to the UK from San Francisco
- Monday (public holiday) - Day at home
The journey from Denver to SanFran via the above comes out on Google Maps as nearly 1,800 miles, or about 1-and-a-quarter days' solid driving. If we only spent two nights in Denver/Salt Lake/ABQ and two in SanFran that would give us 8 days to drive it, which would average around 225 miles (or just under 4 hours) a day. This is probably a bit too much for us, especially as we will constantly be stopping to take photos and taking detours, not to mention getting lunch, rest stops and finding accommodation.
If you were us, would you do this, would you forget about the Toronto-Niagara-New York bit at the beginning, the SanFran bit at the end or something in the middle?
Or any other suggestions for us?
Thanks in advance!
Stuart