Need help! Road trip - Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Grand Canyon.. and then where?
My husband and I (in our early 50’s) are in the beginning stages of planning a road trip starting in Albuquerque and maybe ending in Las Vegas...although I was told to end it Phoenix instead. We're budgeting - $4,000 for all - flight, car, accomodations and everything else. Possible? Can anyone help us with our plans?
Being from Ontario, Canada, but close to the US border, I was thinking of flying from Syracuse to Albuquerque, renting a car there and then dropping it off in Las Vegas (or Phoenix) at the end of our trip and we’d fly back from there. (Estimated cost for flight, car and gas - 1700.00? Priceline)
I’m not sure how many days we’ll need for our road trip...a week or 10 days.
So I have a lot of questions…should we stay a few days in Albuquerque? …or will 1 day be enough…is there much to see around there? From Albuquerque we’d drive to Santa Fe – any suggestions on which roads or back roads would be interesting to get us there? Should we use Santa Fe as our base to get to other interesting must see places - 3 days enuf? If so, where should we go and what should we see while there and where should we stay?
– from Santa Fe we want to see the Grand Canyon… I'm thinking the North rim - not as crowded I've read. How many days should we devote to the Grand Canyon? And then our final stretch - which direction? visit Hoover Dam and then hit Las Vegas? but not really interested in spending any time in Las Vegas so should we go to Phoenix visit Mesa Verde? There just seems to be so much to see and plan – we like going off the beaten track too, so not sure if it can be done in a week or 10 days and on the budget we have.
Hope all this isn’t too overwhelming to reply to…looking for help because it’s too overwhelming for me! Thanks everyone!
Syracuse to Albuquerque - a few more questions. Thanks!
Thanks everyone for your help! Our tentative plans are to leave Sept. 22 and return Oct 3'd. I like Yeehaw's itineray but not sure if we can do it all in 11 days...depending on how long it would take us to get to each place - will we be rushed or exhausted? LOL It would be Great if it could all be done!! Priceline is offering airfare and a midsize car rental included for about $1200 for 2 - round trip to Albuquerque from Syracuse. A compact car would be less. Sound good? We would definitely book ahead some rooms... for our 1st night in Albaquerque and then in Santa Fe for 2 days? Hotwire has a condo available for 119 a night and I'm pretty sure it's Sunterra's Villas de Santa Fe - Santa Fe Suites also got good reviews. Any thoughts on either? I'm not sure where to stay in Albuquerque. Then, when we leave Santa Fe, should we just book as we go? (that is except for our stay in the Grand Canyon and our final night in Albuquerque) yikes! Will a 4,000 budget do all this? Hmmm...I'm thinking if I go ahead and book the flight and car, then I'll be committed to going and the planning may come easier. So, Thanks all for getting me going!!
We're goin! Albuquerque - Grand Canyon & everything between. Can it be done??
Well, I just booked our flight and car this morning round trip from Syracuse to Albuquerque. Leaving Sept 22 to October 3 - (cost approx. $1300 dollars) We’d like to follow Yeehaw’s itineray that was posted - if possible - but now I’m not sure where to stay along the way and how many rooms we should book ahead and MAINLY will we have the time to follow this itineray and feel not too rushed? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated since we're committed to going now and I think I should be booking some rooms but I'm abit overwhelmed as to what days we'll be where, etc
Day 1: Arrive ABQ. If there's time visit Old Town and a museum.
Day 2: Take Sandia Peak tramway. A great way to see the area and ABQ. drive Turquoise Trail (nm14), stop in Madrid and to Santa Fe
Day 3: Santa Fe all day, maybe visit Bandelier NM.
Day 4: Take nm84 to Chama. Drive to Pagosa Springs with its hot pools, then drive to Durango. Enjoy Durango.
Day 5: Drive from Durango to Mesa Verde NP. Stop in Mancos at the bakery for your picnic supplies (the cooler!). Visit Mesa Verde NP and drive to Cortez for the night.
Day 6: Drive from Cortez to 4 State Corners for a short visit, then drive to Kayenta.Visit to Monument Valley, see the Mittens and drive to Page for the night.
Day 7: Stay Page. Visit Glen Canyon Dam (as huge as Hoover Dam), visit to Antelope Slotcanyon, Horseshoebend overlook and Lake Powell.
Day 8: Drive from Page to Cameron for food and shopping.Enter GCNP by its east entrance, first stop Desert View. Take your time for east rim and stay GC Village or if booked stay Tusayan.
Day 9: Visit GC village, drive to Williams, I40 to Flagstaff and to Gallup for the night.
Day 10: Drive from Gallup via nm53 visiting El Morro and El Malpais NM's. Then drive to Acoma Pueplo (Sky City) for a visit (at least 3 hours) and drive to ABQ.
Day 11: Flight home.
WOULD BE SO GREAT if it could be done and keep to our 4 grand budget!!
You may want to reserve the last night
If you are planning to return to Albuquerque on Oct 2nd and depart on a flight the next day (Oct 3rd), I recommend booking a hotel for that night in advance. You will be in town on the cusp of the Balloon Fiesta opening events, and your choice of hotels may be limited. I'd also assume the airport will be busier than usual on the day of your departure, so you may want to allow a few extra minutes there just in case. The actual events don't start until dawn on Saturday the 4th, but that doesn't mean hotels will be wide open. I've heard it can be a mad house during the Fiesta events.
We'll actually just miss each other. I'll be on my own road trip and I've already booked 3 nights in ABQ for the Fiesta opening weekend (October 3-6).
