Grand Circle trip advice

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Originally Posted by Elaine53

Also know that timings on mileage through mapquest etc never work out - it always seems to take twice as long!

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Well, maybe not twice as much. But computers aren't human, and you're not a robot. You need to stop for fuel, food and bathroom as well as for red lights, slow down for construction and congestion, and occasionally strike an accident up ahead. Computers travel at or above the speed limit for 100% of the time, never need to slow down or stop. At the times they quote, they don't even have time to take a photo, but expect you to stop to take a photo and load it onto their site. It's no way to 'enjoy' a roadtrip.

We always recommend to add about 20% to the quoted times.

Lifey

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I had wondered whether or not to spend 2 nights to see Zion and Bryce. Had a look at Ruby's as suggested above but no availability on 18 June. I have booked a night at Panguitch - Quality Inn Bryce Canyon but I have free cancellation up until a couple of days before so can cancel or make it 2 nights?

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I am not sure I fully understand ? You will need to spend at least 2 nights for both parks but your first night should be spent in Springdale or in the park. Zion really needs at least a full day to visit the canyon area. Even with your walking restrictions you can stroll slowly along the Virgin river and get the shuttle buses to other places in the park. I would not recommend you try and visit Zion from Vegas and try to continue to Bryce same day.

One night at Bryce canyon should be enough as the highlights of the park, the views from the rim, can be seen in half a day. The limited hikes in the park may be a bit much with respective knee and spine ops as they are quite steep, but the best bits are from the easy walks on the rim anyway. When visiting Bryce you should drive to the far end of the canyon first and then visit all the viewpoints on the way back up. They will all be on your side of the road and you won't have to constantly pull across the traffic.

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Originally Posted by Southwest Dave

I am not sure I fully understand ? You will need to spend at least 2 nights for both parks but your first night should be spent in Springdale or in the park.

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Ah, sorry I misunderstood first time round about spending 2 nights to see Zion and Bryce. OK so have booked 2 nights at Moab so just need to sort the last 4 nights now. Thanks again for all your help. So difficult from a distance and looking at various places to stay - a tip for any others planning this trip in June - the hotels/motels are getting booked up very quickly.

Hi Donna - I have booked 2 nights at 57 Robbers Roost (Booking.com) It is a brand new development of 5 condos (self catering) with wonderful facilities and walking distance of things in Moab. Kitchen an advantage for preparing picnics etc., and/or breakfast. Very reasonable from English point of view at $279 a night although this will be split with another couple.

Elaine

(you could have booked that on RTA Travel too....)

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Originally Posted by Lifemagician

We always recommend to add about 20% to the quoted times.

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Actually....

A bit more about "computed" traffic times.

In theory the algorithm seeks to predict the most likely travel time on any given segment, the times listed on programs like Google Maps are updated, on average, every five minutes. Obviously the data tends to be better in urban areas, where the program has access to more data. Even weather & construction delay data is incorporated into most mapping programs. And yes, most programs use pavement sensors so that they can account for accidents as they are ocurring...

So, when you are actually on the road, you are more likely to find the times suggested by the mapping programs to be more accurate. But using the times suggested when are looking at a trip in the future is much more problematic. Which is why we generally suggest adding 15-20% more time than stated in those programs.

In the broadest strokes, a 500 mile day on the road requires 8-10 hours, in the saddle driving at or above the stated speed limits.

Mark