First Time Roadtripper- NY to Arizona

Hi all, I am being guided to head to Sedona, Arizona, and I want to bring my two greyhounds with me, so I am planning to drive to Arizona. The thought of flying two pretty large dogs is just not something I feel comfortable with. With that said, I have never planned a road-trip so I have no clue where to start. I don't know how to figure out where I can stop to sleep. I am planning to take three weeks and if possible I would love to do all the traveling-both to Arizona and back to NY-in a total of 6 or less days. Does anyone have any advice? As far as lodging is concerned I only ask that it is obviously pet friendly, clean, and safe, it doesn't have to be fancy. Just having a bed is nice. Thank you for any help. Oh and I am planning on going in April.

Welcome to RTA!

Planning a road trip is a lot of fun, and you've come to the right place for help and good advice. Now, you didn't say where in "NY" you're starting from, but you're looking at about a 2300 mile trip if we use New York City as a guideline. (If you're in Upstate or Western NY, there will be less miles.) That's about a 4-day trip, with long days of about 600 miles per day, one way. Six days round trip would be just too, too much for anyone, and when you have dogs along, you have to stop more.

Lodging that will accept pets exists -- most La Quintas will take pets, and there are other chains. Some *will* make a charge per pet; others don't charge unless you leave a mess for them to clean up!

A route that will probably work for you: I-80 to I-76 to I-71 to I-70 to St Louis. There, you catch I-44 down to Oklahoma City, where you catch I-40 to Flagstaff. There you look for AZ-89A down to Sedona. Get a good atlas or some maps of the US -- if you're a member of AAA, you can go pick up maps and Tour Books "for free". (The Tour Books will also give you listings for motels and hotels, and there is an icon for Pet Okay.

As far as safety is concerned -- always be aware of your surroundings. If you are uncomfortable in a place, move on. (Your dogs may be a good deterrent, though!) You have the right to ask to see a motel room before you rent it, and you'll want to check it for the locks and chains. (AAA rated motels have to have them, but we all know of places that are under disrepair after AAA has come through.)

Plan on at least 8 days to do the round trip, though....


Donna

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The first piece of advice for you is that you need to plan for more time for your drives. 3 days each way just isn't nearly enough time to reasonably and safely make it from anywhere in New York to Sedona. It's 2400 miles from NYC, which means you need a bare minimum of 4 days to do this safely - which is roughly the same as the minimum that professional drivers need to make this trip. Mind you, professional drivers (truckers) aren't also traveling with large dogs, which will require you to stop more frequently. Honestly, while traveling with animals, I'd recommend that you take even one more day.

If you are going to try to do this in 4 days, then you'll be looking at 600 miles a day, so that's what you should be looking at in terms of mapping out places to stop for the night. With the dogs, I'd give strong consideration to limiting yourself to 500 miles a day. There are a few different route options you could consider, but that's what you should be looking at in terms of plotting your stops.

For lodging, there are lots of places that are pet friendly, Motel 6 is about as bare bones as you can get for a motel chain, but they do accept pets, usually free of charge. Actually, many - if not most - motels actually do take pets, but most of the time, you will be looking at an additional fee, and you will have to be a little careful, as some "pet friendly" motels will have a size/weight limit which may be a problem with your greyhounds. Basically, you should check with each motel to find out their specific policy to make sure you don't have a problem.

Thank you for the advice, and yes I am in the NYC metro area, specifically Westchester County. I hear you about leaving more time for travel. I was mistakenly thinking I would drive 900 miles to college in Ohio from CT. But it was 500 miles and took 9 hours. And I was certainly ready to be done with driving by the time I completed it. Thank you so much! Hopefully I can get enough time off of work to really make my time spent in Sedona plentiful. Thank you!

Anne

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But it was 500 miles and took 9 hours. And I was certainly ready to be done with driving by the time I completed it

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And then imagine repeating it for the next four days running.

It's certainly a manageable pace, but a multi day trip is a marathon not a sprint. 550 miles a day is about the average for a full day on the road. With 3 weeks available I would turn the journey into part of the adventure and explore along the way, not make it just a drive to get there, that defines a road trip for me. If you took a different route home from the one you took out you will see more of the country. Why not spend 6 or 7 days travelling each way and 8 or 9 days in Sedona.