California, Nevada, Utah & Arizona

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post to the forum and I was hoping you guys might be able to help us out.

My partner and I have booked our first road trip, flying from the UK. We have already booked car hire and accomodation along the route, and I was hoping you might be able to give us insights/ideas/places to visit etc.

I am very keen to see 'proper' America, plenty of natural parks and beautiful landscape and classics such as Route 66.

Our route is:
San Fran 3 nights
Yosemite 3 nights
Sequoia 2 nights
Death Valley 1 night
Las Vegas 2 nights
Zion Nat Park 1 night
Bryce Canyon 1 night
Lake Powell 2 nights
Grand Canyon 1 night
Scottsdale 2 nights
We then fly back to the UK from Phoenix.

Are there any really long or difficult drives we should be aware of/plan for?
I also have concerns over safety of the car and our health in Death Valley as such a harsh environment.

Any info would be grately recieved.

Many thanks

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

You have a nice plan laid out and are in for a treat !

There are no really long or tricky drives that should cause concern. Death valley has paved roads and is much visited so in the event of a breakdown [it could happen anywhere] just stay with the car and don't wander off. Make sure you have sun screen and hats and carry some water and snacks in the car, but with common sense you have nothing to worry about.

Suggestions; Take an Alcatraz tour in San Fran [night tour is supposed to be great] and book in advance through the NPS, the only official tickets where you won't be tied into other tours. Pier 39, China town, Coit tower and Union square are other favorites.

Yosemite, As well as the valley make sure you drive up to Glacier point and take a day trip over Tioga pass to Mono lake. You can also visit the giant Sequoia trees in Mariposa grove.

Sequoia, You could also take a drive out to Kings canyon. In Sequoia visit the Giant's forest where you can walk to the General Sherman tree, the largest living thing on the planet.

Death valley, 190 will take you past Panamint springs, Stovepipe wells and the sand dunes to Furnace creek. Plenty of short stops for getting out the car and taking pics. A diversion to Badwater will take you to the lowest point in the lower 48. A direct route to Vegas from there is to take the "locals route" from Death valley junction to Pahrump on Ash meadows Rd /bell vista Rd and 160. Stop at Zabriske point on the way.

Vegas will take care of it's self, loads to entertain you !

Zion, Free shuttle buses take you through the canyon to various trail heads, Riverside walk, Weeping rock and Emerald pools are all great walks. 1 night isn't really enough here but an early start from Vegas and leave after lunch next day will give you an overview. The drive to Bryce is amazing and it's worth a quick stop at Red rock to walk among the rock formations before continuing to Bryce.

Bryce, Great rock formations with a free shuttle taking you to the main part of the canyon [The Ampitheatre, sunrise/set point etc. If you drive to the far end of the Canyon to Rainbow point and visit all the viewpoints on the way back they are all on your side of the road and you don't have to keep cutting across the traffic.

Lake Powell, not been there but Antelope canyon is on "my to do list".

Grand canyon, You will enter by the East kiosk along Desert view drive ON 64 . Stop at the Watchtower for your first wide open views of the Colorado entering the GC, stopping at various viewpoints to the village area. One night is not really enough but you should be able to get to the village and enjoy a rim walk and enjoy a sunset around Mather point. The following morning get the free shuttle bus up to Hermits rest with plenty more hop on, hop off views. The buses are every few minutes and you could enjoy lunch at Hermits rest.

Hi everyone,

My partner and I have booked a 3 week road trip for June 2010 travelling through California, Utah, Nevada & Arizona. We have already paid for our flights, accomodation and car hire.

I was wondering if anyone can give me an idea of how much we should budget per person per day for fuel, food, sightseeing etc?

Our trip is around 2000 miles and we have an intermediate sized hire car from Hertz.

Many thanks,

The things you are talking about are the toughest to estimate, because they really depend upon how much you want/can afford to spend.

There is a fuel cost calculator on the left side of the screen that can help you figure out your fuel cost. An intermediate car will likely get 25 miles per gallon, and I'd guess that you'll be looking at $3.50-4 per gallon for gas in California this summer. For your distances, remember to add about 20% your point to point distance to factor in driving around towns and parks, etc.

Food, $20 per day per person is a round number you can use as a starting point. That will get you one decent restaurant meal per day, with enough left over to pick up a small breakfast and lunch elsewhere. If you're planning to do all of your eating a restaurants, budget more, if you plan to cook more of your own food, you can get by for a little less.

Sightseeing is completely up to you. $80 will get you into every national park you want to visit with an annual pass, but otherwise, that's one that's completely within your control.

Hi,

I hadn't noticed the fuel cost calculator! Thank you for pointing it out, thats really useful, and the suggestion of adding 20% to the mileage is really great. Works out our fuel cost at around $300.

Well, we want to be able to do things comfortably and as this is a 'trip of a lifetime' type holiday then we don't want to be scrimping and budgeting. As we have until June we have time to save cash for the trip, so just trying to work out roughly how much we should save.

All our accomodation except for 3 nights is room only. I imagine we will be eating in resturants in the evening, sometimes breakfasting at the hotel we stay at other times breakfasting elsewhere as I imagine that breakfast at hotels would be more expensive then local resturants/diners - is that correct? I guess lunch will be more of an on-the-go affair most of the time, perhaps picking up some items from a local store and making up some sandwiches. Will $20 a day for food each cover this? Would like to eat in the evening at fairly nice restaurants, and of course in Vegas and El Tovar I imagine the food is fairly pricey?

Sightseeing, aside from the national parks entrance fees the things I'd like to do are Alcatraz, maybe hire bikes in a few places, kayaks/boat trip on Lake Powell, entrance to Antelope Canyon.

Hi,

My partner and I will be spending 2 nights in Vegas at The Mirage for our first visit to the city in June.

Does anyone have any suggestions of things to do/see? There seems to be so much on offer that it is a little baffling as to where to start!

Also, any recommendations on places to eat?

Many thanks,

$20 a day will probably be low for your food budget then. Its not hard at all to spend $20 or more on a single meal at a good restaurant. If you're staying in a mid-range hotel, breakfast will usually be included, but if you're staying at a budget place it will likely be only rolls and juice, while if you are at a high end place where there is a nice restaurant on site, it often isn't included at all. If your places are already booked, it should be easy to find out what they are offering.

Based on what you've said, I think you'll want at least $30 a day, possibly more to be on the safe side, for each persons food budget.

Hi,

So I was thinking we could probably save enough to have a daily budget of around $80 per person for food, drinks, sightseeing etc. Not including our fuel in this budget. Do you think that would be enough to have a comfortable road trip eating in some nice restaurants, seeing the sights, not feeling too restricted or feeling we have to budget count a lot along the way etc?

Also, any advice on things to see/do/place to eat in Vegas would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

I've spoken to a guy here in Denmark with alot of roadtrips behind him.
He made a budget for one of the trips (3 weeks) with everything included.
Flight, Lodging, gas, Car-rent, food, snacks, sightseeing etc. etc.

It ended up in 4800$ pr. person (2 persons on this trip). Thats 288$ budget pr day. Now you can remove insurance, car rent, flight and then you have have a ROUGH idea how much you can expect to spend every day.

Please note that the budget for this trip was in a Convertible car with lodging in motels of an average of 80$.

On a side-note, my girlfriend and I have about 150$ (each) every day each to spend on lodging, food, sightseeing, souvenirs.

Regards,
Sch

Hi,

We are coming over from the UK in June to road trip through California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona, visiting mainly National Parks. We currently have a Mazda 6 (or equivilant) booked as our hire car. I would like to upgrade our car, and the two options I am most interested in are a Mustang Convertible or a Jeep Wrangler.

Does anyone have any recommedations on which car would be best? Or should we stick with the original Mazda? I want a fun, cool car to drive, but also want it to be comfy and not too hideous on the fuel consumption as we will be doing around 2000 miles. Anyone drive either a Mustang or Wrangler and know how comfy they are? Also wondering about luggage space.

Many thanks,

Mod Note: This is the 3rd time you've created a new thread about this same trip. We've asked you on the previous two merges to stop this behavior. If it happens again, you will lose your ability to post.

I guess the better question would be what about these two other options appeal to you? The intermediate car will be perfectly acceptable for 2 people and will be the best value.

A Mustang and a Jeep are about as far apart as you can get from each other for options, so what about them appeals to you? Do you just want something that looks cool, or is there a more practical reason for your desire.

I will say this, there is nothing wrong with either choice, but both of them will be more of a vanity choice than anything else. A convertible will give you the ability to drive with the top down, which is nice, but this will still be a base model, so while it may be a little more fun to drive, you aren't looking at a great sports car by any means.

A jeep is even more of a vanity choice, as the point of a jeep is typically its off road capabilities, but off road driving will be forbidden by the rental contract. I will also note that if this is a convertible jeep, you really will have very little space for luggage - and no real trunk in which to protect your items.

Yep, it's a personal choice but the Mazda 6 will get you everywhere you want to go and all round is the most practical of the three, although I understand the desire to have something a little different.

Note] In case you are coming directly to the "first unread post" [ie Michael's above] and not to the previous page, please note that you have been asked to keep all questions about this trip in one thread [see your older posts] on more than one occasion. Whatever the question regarding this trip, please keep it here so everyone can follow.

Luggage space in a convertible is almost nonexistent. You probably could not get a guarantee of a Mustang if you booked a convertible - you are just as likely to get a Chrysler Sebring. A Wrangler does not get very good gas mileage, and it rides quite rough. I think you would be best off sticking with your original plan or upgrading to a larger sedan.

Don't forget to purchase an "America the Beautiful" passport. It's $80 US and covers the entrance cost at National Park. Since the entrance fee is about $25 per park and you have listed maybe six national parks, the savings is considerable. I would also suggest you look at driving US and State highways. The Interstates are great for getting from here to there quickly but as scenic. Look at taking US Rt 89A across the north rim of the Grand Canyon from Kanab, UT to Lake Powell. The drive off the North Rim is outstanding and there are places where you'll be able to see more then 50 miles across Marble Canyon, Lee Ferry, and the Painted Desert. Take a break at trading post in Cameron, AZ, just south of the Colorado River bridge. Have you considered taking the trail from Williams, AZ to the Grand Canyon? It is rather fun and entertaining. And you really should do a little detour through Oak Canyon and the Sedona Red Rock area. You didn't mention the time of year but remember the area you plan on visiting is dry so drink alot of water. If you start to feel poorly or have any cramping, find shade and use wet clothes to help cool down. I'm old enough to remember when you never traveled in this area during the heat of the day (Mother would remind us, "Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun.") and I think it is still a good idea.

The only route that might be a challenge is get across the Sierra Mountains. I would suggest switching Sequoia and Yosemite parks and exit Yosemite at Tioga pass into Lee Vining, CA. Take a few and visit Mono Lake and than head south on US RT 395. Death Valley is best early morning, late afternoon, and under a full moon. Be sure to give your tires a check ever now and again (hot asphalt can be hard on rubber) but unless you are hauling something really heavy your automobile shouldn't give you a problem.

You have planned a great trip through some glorious country. Bring plenty of film or extra memory cards and enjoy,
Suzi

Hi,

Thanks for your input guys. I guess the idea is just to make the trip a bit more fun and have a more fun and cool car! Not bothered whether the car is a good 'sports car' or not, just something fun to drive, that looks cool and is comfy to sit in. Also, it seemed like a fun idea to do our road trip in an American car like a Mustang! Anyone driven a Mustang and can give any idea of comfort?

GLC - thanks for the note about the Wrangler riding rough, thats really useful and has defo put me off that one! I think we'll go with the Mustang, after all on the trip of a lifetime why not do it in a bit more style!

Campersuzid - thanks for the tips on roads to take, thats great. We plan on buying the America The Beautiful pass on arrival at our first park which is Yosemite, do you think that is ok or should we buy it online before we leave (8 wks time)?

Quote:

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We plan on buying the America The Beautiful pass on arrival at our first park which is Yosemite, do you think that is ok or should we buy it online before we leave

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Non US residents can not buy the pass on line but you can easily get it on arrival at Yosemite. If you go to Pier 39 in SF [recommended] the NPS has a small store up one of the stairways where you can also purchase it, and they have lots of interesting literature.

A Mustang convertible is not particularly comfortable, and luggage space is very limited. The base models that are rentals do not have a particularly sporty suspension and they will have a V-6 engine with an automatic gearbox. As I said, you probably cannot get a guarantee of a Mustang, when you get there to pick it up you may be given a Sebring instead. Gas mileage will probably average around 20 mpg, maybe a bit higher if you stay out of the cities.

You have a lot of sightseeing on this itinerary. I'll comment on a few of your stops.

Must see in SF: Fishermans Wharf, Alcatraz, Golden Gate headlands, Muir Woods and Point Reyes. Of course, you must ride the cable cars and drive down Lombard Street and, two blocks south, Filbert Street. The former is the curviest and the latter is the steepest street in SF.

When you drive up from LV to Zion, There is a neat canyon you go through in the northwest corner of Arizona. Also, Zion has two distinct sections and many people never see the upper part call Kolob Canyon. I suggest that when you drive from Zion to Bryce Canyon, you go up I-15 to Kolob Canyon. Allow about two hours there. Then continue up I-15 to Cedar City, take route 14 to Cedar Breaks (similar to Bryce and worth the detour) and then continue on 14 over to route 89. Go north on 89 to route 12 through Red Canyon and into Bryce Canyon. It will add a few hours and miles, but it is magnificent scenery.

Hi Everyone,

So we leave in 2 weeks for our first USA road trip!

I was wondering what the best way to bring travel money is? We don't want to bring all cash as that is a lot of cash to potential loose/get stolen etc. If we bring travellers cheques will we have trouble paying for meals/gas/etc especially as we will mostly be in national parks and not cities? Does anyone have any inside info on this?

Also, any last minute advice on things to bring, places to go...

Many thanks.

I really wouldn't bother with ravellers cheques in this day and age. They really just have been passed up by technology at this point.

I'd stick with plastic. Using Credit and/or Debit cards. Mastercard/Visa are accepted pretty much everywhere these days, and you'll never be far from an ATM. Just check with your bank to see what sort of fees they charge (are they a percentage or a flat rate per transaction).

My bank charges are as follows
Cash withdrawals and purchases. The amount is converted to sterling on the day it is processed by Visa using the exchange rate set by Visa plus a 2.99% foreign exchange fee.
Cash withdrawals are also subject to: Debit cards: 1.5% of the amount with a minimum transaction charge of £2.00 and a maximum charge for each transaction of £4.50.
Cashpoint® cards: 1.5% of the amount with a minimum transaction charge of £1.50. Please note: there is no maximum transaction fee.
When making purchases (not cash withdrawals) abroad, online, or on the phone, in a currency other than sterling, the transaction is also subject to: A £1 charge for each transaction except where a Platinum Debit card or a Premier Debit card has been used.

These seem fairly steep - would you guys advise just bringing US dollars with us?

When visiting the US we have normally booked a lot of things prior to travelling and then we carry cash and use the card for "splashing out" a little when we think necessary. We don't use the card to withdraw cash, as that's where the charges are higher. We divide the money so we are all carrying some, so that if we lose any, or it gets stolen, we will only lose part. If you carry cash, always get out a small amount of spending money for the day, so that you are not revealing a lot of cash when making purchases and make sure the other is securely fastened in a safe place on your person.

We have always felt comfortable doing this, but don't take this info as a recommendation, it is for you too decide how you want to go about things, and whether the bank charges are worth the extra security that come with them.