so many places but only have 2 weeks!

Hello everyone

This is my first post on the forum. I've toyed with joining this early as my road trip isn't until summer 2017 but I'm getting all muddled so thought I would ask the experts for their opinion!

We (me, husband and son who will be almost 8 in summer 2017) are returning to Vegas for our 10 year wedding anniversary. I also want to take my boy to Disneyland. Those two destinations are the absolute must dos. I originally thought of flying into LAX from UK, 4 nights in Anaheim, 3 nights in Vegas then a week in San Diego. Then when I realised how many areas of outstanding natural beauty were in UT and AZ I wanted to go to one of these areas too, cutting down San Diego to 5 nights. I really want my boy to know that the US isn't just the bright lights and fantasy of Disney and Vegas. On previous visits to the US we have done NYC & Boston, then California road trip taking in San Francisco, Yosemite (our favourite place on that trip), Death Valley, Vegas, Grand Canyon and Hollywood, and lastly Vegas where we were married followed by honeymoon in Hawaii.

So far my ideal route would be Salt Lake City, Bryce, Zion, Vegas, Anaheim, San Diego. I'm not sure if I could get reasonable flight prices from UK to Salt Lake City so that would scupper that route. Second favourite would be Vegas, Zion, Bryce, Antelope Canyon, Route 66 to Anaheim, then finishing in San Diego. I would be concerned that we wouldn't have time to appreciate everywhere on that route. Third idea is to play it safe and do Anaheim, Zion or Bryce, Vegas, San Diego.

My concerns are how much travelling a nearly 8 year old boy can cope with and making sure we actually enjoy the holiday without everything being a rush. We would be hiring a car and staying in budget/moderate accomodation.

Any comments or alternative suggestions much appreciated. I do want to make the most of any journey to the US as airfare for 3 from the UK is so expensive. We can only come in late July/early August and I know it will be hot! I also appreciate that it is 2 years away and things can change but my head is just full of conflicting ideas.

Thanks for your help

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The early stages of planning a trip are always about priorities. Even after "cutting down" San Diego to 5 days, you're planning to spend 12 days of a 2 week trip in 3 cities. That really doesn't leave you much time left for detouring to Utah and/or Route 66. I think if you want to visit Zion and Bryce and not feel rushed, you probably need to trim your city time down a bit more. 9 days between SD and Anaheim really is still quite a lot of time.

I think I would be looking at a loop that goes from Vegas to Zion and Bryce, down to the Grand Canyon (even if you've been before, you'll drive right by it, and it seems a shame to not let your son see it when you're so close) then continue to San Diego before heading to Anaheim.

You'd probably save quite a bit of money by finishing by driving back to Vegas to complete the loop (you could also start by flying into/out of LAX, and just shifting the loop). A full loop usually means lower prices for both airfare and car rental. Flying into SLC really wouldn't save you any time, and would probably mean higher prices, so it doesn't hurt to look, but I'd guess that won't be your best option.