First time road trip taker so need advice! Las Vegas to NYC in less than 8 days. Not so much what route to take but more what to do along the way. Where to stop? Attractions? Hotels? Anything! Please if anyone has any ideas!
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First time road trip taker so need advice! Las Vegas to NYC in less than 8 days. Not so much what route to take but more what to do along the way. Where to stop? Attractions? Hotels? Anything! Please if anyone has any ideas!
Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !
It's close to five full days of driving so you will certainly have time to see a few sites and take the odd detour but the problem is that you have told us nothing of your interests or your planned route. For us to be able to help you in a meaningful way, I would suggest you use all the tools at RTA [search the forums and tool bars above for ideas] like the Map centre where you will find Lot's of listed attractions and get some dots on the map. Once you have done that the route will follow. Pieces of info, like are you familiar with the area at one end of the trip or the other, where you might feel happier to drive through quicker? Is one place home [going to be]where you can visit closer areas at another time ? It all helps.
Once you have got this far and shared your interests, then members will be able to 'chime' in with other ideas.
Thanks for the helpful advice. We live in NYC so are mainly looking for places out west between Las Vegas and Chicago. We have some planned stops at Wrigley Field, South bend, and family in Cleveland and Philadelphia. Any kind of famous landmarks, sight seeing routes, maybe some hidden spots along the way from Las Vegas and Chicago on route 80. Yes, the time will restrict us from day long activities so just looking for some fun and memorable sites to see along the way. Thanks again.
You may determine your route by what you want to see, or what you want to see would depend on the route. (That would depend on your preference!) As someone pointed out, it's about a 5 day trip in the first place, so with 8 days you wouldn't have a LOT of time to spend in different places. (That 5 days is dependent on a 500-600 mile per day of driving.)
As for hotels to stop at -- chances are you don't need to make reservations unless you are traveling over a 3-day weekend (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day etc) or are going to stay inside a national park overnight. Most towns and cities have a few hotels/motels to choose from, in all budgets. My husband and I often grab a coupon booklet at a rest area or truck stop, and see what's out there. (Even the higher end chains offer a good discount coupon.) There is a place on this site that allows you to see what is available in a place you want to stop, and what you'd expect to pay, AND allows you to reserve if you really want to do so. Last summer, my husband and I used a coupon everywhere we stayed except Burlington, CO. We already knew a reasonably priced motel there, from previous experience, and just chose to repeat that place. A word of advice: you may want to ask to see a room before you take it -- even a brand new looking place can be dirty.
For restaurants, when you pull into a place for the night, ask the hotel or at a local gas station or grocery store for recommendation for a place to eat. The locals will usually be happy to share their favorites with you. We've eaten at some great places that way!
Donna
They won't be hidden spots much longer, once they have been aired on here. From experience, I find that these are the spots upon which you chance, by just keeping your eyes and mind open, or simply by asking locally.Quote:
Originally Posted by Msmith
Lifey
If you have 5 days minimum from Vegas to Chicago and want to explore more of the west, then I would consider heading South east from Vegas to Kingman and then along I40 to the Grand canyon south rim. You could drive through Monument Valley and up to I70 via Moab, home to Arches and Canyonlands NP's. Instead of Moab you could head through Four Corners to Durango and drive the fantastic 'Million Dollar Highway' [US550] through the mountain towns of Silverton and Ouray to Montrose and the take US50 past Black canyon, through Currecanti National Recreation area and over the continental divide at Monarch Pass. From Poncha Springs head towards Denver and up to I80. There are many great options in this region and although it will be slower going with little time for stops, the drive will be wonderful !! The route would probably add an hour per days driving per day over the 5 days compared to the quickest route.
Another alternative would be to head north on I15 and head to Zion and Bryce canyon NP and then to Moab[Arches] towards Denver. You could take Utah scenic 12 between Bryce and Moab [past Capitol Reef] and then head east on I70 towards Denver.
Time to get the map out me thinks !!