Western Road Trip for UK Honeymooners - Does this sound like a good route?

Firstly, what an incredible site! Very pleased to stumble across this on Google... Hope you guys can help me fine-tune this honeymoon trip I'm planning.

We have 15 nights to do this in. I know it's going to be a push but I think it is just about workable - let me know your views.

We are getting married on 29th August 2005 and want to leave the UK a couple of days later to begin the trip. So less than two months away. I really need to get some flights and some of the hotels booked ASAP. Last time I went to the US with a friend, we came across a book of vouchers at the car hire place and used these to pick up cheap accommodation along our route - are these voucher books common?

Anyway, here's the idea:

- Fly from Manchester, UK to NYC. Stay 2 or 3 nights
- Fly to Vegas. Stay 2 nights.
- Pick up car and drive to Grand Canyon early in the morning. Spend the day here and stay the night and watch the sun come up in the morning.
- Drive to the Meteor Crater near Flagstaff, then drive on to Phoenix. Stay here for one night.
- Leave Phoenix and head to L.A. - possibly via Palm Springs? Maybe stay the night half way there.
- Spend the night in L.A. and cruise around Hollywood, etc.
- Drive along the coastline to San Francisco - attempt the whole trip in one day or stop the night somewhere midway?
- Spend the night in San Francisco
- Drive to Yosemite National Park and stay the night (I know this is one place where I'll need to book accommodation in advance - ASAP right?
- Drive through Death Valley to Vegas to catch flight to NYC and then home to Manchester, UK

I would be extremely grateful for any opinions, advice, recommendations, etc.

Bearing in mind the limited time we have to do this trip, is the Vegas to Vegas road trip the quickest way to do the places I have mentioned, in one big loop? Would it be better to go from Vegas and end at San Francisco (with a short detour to Yosemite and back again) and fly from San Francisco back to NYC for our connecting flight back home? Or maybe fly from NYC to L.A. and start our road trip there, with Vegas as the end point?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated! We are running out of time fast.

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Originally Posted by Steve237

Firstly, what an incredible site! Very pleased to stumble across this on Google... Hope you guys can help me fine-tune this honeymoon trip I'm planning.

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Thanks for the kudos and welcome to the RTA roadtrip community!

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We have 15 nights to do this in. I know it's going to be a push but I think it is just about workable - let me know your views.

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OK -- it is your honeymoon -- not a job -- maybe you would consider -- slowing the pace, lingering over moonlit walks, candlelit dinners, etc. Your route is possible, but you will be exhausted and perhaps you might enjoytaking some slower days as you start your new life together?

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We are getting married on 29th August 2005 and want to leave the UK a couple of days later to begin the trip.

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Congratulations!

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Last time I went to the US with a friend, we came across a book of vouchers at the car hire place and used these to pick up cheap accommodation along our route - are these voucher books common?

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Yes, the best place to find these is are at the State Welcome centers (usually found near Interstate highways and state border crossings)

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- Fly from Manchester, UK to NYC. Stay 2 or 3 nights
- Fly to Vegas. Stay 2 nights.
- Pick up car and drive to Grand Canyon early in the morning. Spend the day here and stay the night and watch the sun come up in the morning.
- Drive to the Meteor Crater near Flagstaff, then drive on to Phoenix. Stay here for one night.
- Leave Phoenix and head to L.A. - possibly via Palm Springs? Maybe stay the night half way there.
- Spend the night in L.A. and cruise around Hollywood, etc.
- Drive along the coastline to San Francisco - attempt the whole trip in one day or stop the night somewhere midway?
- Spend the night in San Francisco
- Drive to Yosemite National Park and stay the night (I know this is one place where I'll need to book accommodation in advance - ASAP right?
- Drive through Death Valley to Vegas to catch flight to NYC and then home to Manchester, UK

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OK -- while I often recommend Las Vegas as a perfect hub for such a trip -- I am not sure it is your best hub. I think I would recommend San Francisco and so fly from NYC to San Francisco and upon leaving the Bay area go direct to Yosemite and then onto Death Valley and Las Vegas. The to the Grand Canyon and then Phoenix and LA and then up the coast for a departure from San Francisco home.

You could do the LA to San Francisco leg up the coast, but it is an all day journey -- need to allow 10 hours at least.

What do think of this route?

Mark

You mentioned spending a night somewhere between Phoenix and LA -- I'd suggest that's not necessary. It's only about 5 hours between the two, so I'd go on to LA in one shot and spend that extra time on the coast road. That'll give you a bit more "gawk" time there and it's worth it! Bob

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Originally Posted by Editor

OK -- while I often recommend Las Vegas as a perfect hub for such a trip -- I am not sure it is your best hub. I think I would recommend San Francisco and so fly from NYC to San Francisco and upon leaving the Bay area go direct to Yosemite and then onto Death Valley and Las Vegas. The to the Grand Canyon and then Phoenix and LA and then up the coast for a departure from San Francisco home.

What do think of this route?

Mark

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Thanks for the detailed response, Mark.

I think this route sounds great! I like the idea of some serenity at Yosemite National Park and a wild drive through Death Valley into Vegas rather than just landing there on a plane. Is this the reason you suggested this different route or are there other benefits of doing it this way?

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Originally Posted by Moderator Bob

You mentioned spending a night somewhere between Phoenix and LA -- I'd suggest that's not necessary. It's only about 5 hours between the two, so I'd go on to LA in one shot and spend that extra time on the coast road. That'll give you a bit more "gawk" time there and it's worth it! Bob

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Thanks for the tip, Bob. Makes perfect sense to me.

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Originally Posted by Editor

Your route is possible, but you will be exhausted and perhaps you might enjoytaking some slower days as you start your new life together?

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If we were to decide to remove one of the destinations from our planned trip, which one would you advise we miss out?

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Originally Posted by Steve237

If we were to decide to remove one of the destinations from our planned trip, which one would you advise we miss out?

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I was afraid you would pose that query... If pushed, I would counsel eliminating Arizona from the trip and spending more time at leisure elsewhere...

mark

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Originally Posted by Steve237

I think this route sounds great! I like the idea of some serenity at Yosemite National Park

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Um. Unless you do some hiking, you won't find much serenity at Yosemite in late Auigust -- early September. This is a very popular park.

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and a wild drive through Death Valley into Vegas rather than just landing there on a plane.

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I am not sure what you mean by "wild drive" -- how many hours per day would you like to be on the road?

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Is this the reason you suggested this different route or are there other benefits of doing it this way?

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Your other route did a little too much zig-zagging around and this second route might be easier to accomplish.

Mark

By "wild drive" I just mean exciting, cruising through the hot desert...

Looking into our flight into NYC from the UK right now - does it really matter whether we land at JFK or Newark?

Checking flights for our return leg of the journey (San Fran to NYC), it seems luck is against me as there are no flights into Newark on the same day as the best priced flight home to the UK (apart from flights that arrive later in the evening when our flight home has been and gone). The difference in cost between initially flying from the UK into JFK rather than Newark is very high - I'm wondering whether you think the alternative route you've suggested is worth the extra cost we'll incur?

Having said that, perhaps a taxi ride from Newark to JFK will be pretty straight forward? Just checked google maps and it's less than an hours drive... what do you think?

I'll be glad when I've got this airport business and flight booking out of the way, then I can get to the fun part - the road trip!!!

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Originally Posted by Steve237

Looking into our flight into NYC from the UK right now - does it really matter whether we land at JFK or Newark?

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JFK is a little more convenient because of proximity. It is just south of Queens, and therefore, technically in New York state. Newark is west of the Hudson River and therefore in New Jersey -- but depending where you will stay in Manhattan the cab fares will be similar from either airport. (With the caveat that I am not a NYC local).

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Checking flights for our return leg of the journey (San Fran to NYC), it seems luck is against me as there are no flights into Newark on the same day as the best priced flight home to the UK (apart from flights that arrive later in the evening when our flight home has been and gone). The difference in cost between initially flying from the UK into JFK rather than Newark is very high - I'm wondering whether you think the alternative route you've suggested is worth the extra cost we'll incur?

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Have you looked at the cost of connecting flights between LA & Las Vegas with NYC? Actually, for that matter, have you looked at the direct flights from UK to Las Vegas (bypassing NYC)?

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Having said that, perhaps a taxi ride from Newark to JFK will be pretty straight forward? Just checked google maps and it's less than an hours drive... what do you think?

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An hour's drive? I don't think so -- we would need a local's view -- but I don't think you can cover that distance any time in less than two hours. Maybe you should consider a helicopter transfer?

I checked the NYC Port Authority website -- a taxi ride between the two airports is $74-$78 (no chg for extra pass), but you can take the Airporter (shuttle) for $22 (per person). If I remember correctly, they say in good traffic it is about a 90 minute ride, but allow more during rush hour or for traffic "snaggles." Bob

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Originally Posted by Steve237

Looking into our flight into NYC from the UK right now - does it really matter whether we land at JFK or Newark?

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I'm a British citizen with a green card and flew into JFK one time - I will NEVER do that again. Immigration there was the worst I have ever experienced, slow, rude and disorganized. Go to Newark.

Killer,

Poor service at Immigration could be one grumpy guy, or a normally courteous person having one bad day. These same people that gave you attitude or poor service at JFK could very well be at Newark this week! I think you'd find that just as many folks have great exeperiences with JFK Customs and Immigration as have bad ones there (or anywhere else). It's just my guess -- but I doubt that poor service is endemic to any particular point of entry. Personally, I've had negative experiences with these folks on one day -- and a week later had a very positive encounter at the exact same station. Bob

i flew from man to jfk a couple of months ago, the staff were excellent, new york is a must and a taxi from right outside took one hour and it is a set charge meaning they cant over price you. im doing a similar road trip in 4 weeks time, i got my flights from ebookers. i would recommend you do same as us and that is go on a day trip to grand canyon by small plane or helicopter, it wont cost you much more than the price of fuel plus you will free up an extra day were you can again do as us and that is spend a day at zion national park (3 hour drive)
good luck i hope it goes very well for you!!

Fantastic advice wiggy! Thanks for the plane/helicopter tip - how much can we expect to pay for this? On the ebookers subject; this is where we plan to buy our tickets later today - at £399 inc. tax from Manchester to Newark return, it's the best price I can find. I don't think ebookers can do flights for internal US flights though can they? I've been using Opodo.com to get these prices.

In terms of the start and end point of our planned route, I have changed it slightly so it works better with flight times and fits with Newark airport - what does everybody thing of this alternative plan? ::

After 3 nights in New York, fly from JFK to Los Angeles. Pick up a convertible, stay in L.A. for a couple of days then hit the road and head for San Francisco stopping midway for the night. After one or two nights in San Francisco head to Yosemite National Park - stay here for one night, from here through Death Valley into Vegas - three nights in Vegas taking in the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, then drive to Meteor Crater and on to Phoenix for a night or two before dropping off the car here and flying from Phoenix to Newark for our connection home to the UK.

Does this sound like a good route? This works best with flight connections to cause minimum waiting around at the airport in Newark, however it also cuts out the road trip between Phoenix and L.A. but I don't think I'll be missing an awful lot here will I? And it'll give us more time to enjoy the rest of the trip at a slightly more leisurely pace.

Thanks in advance for any feedback on this idea.... I'd like to get these flights booked up this weekend so let me know if I've missed anything crucial!

if your driving to phoenix then you may as well take in grand canyon on the way as it is in kind of the same direction. ebookers do internal flights as my flights are from man to vegas then from lax to hawaii and back to man.
just click multistop on the flights page.

Yes, we had originally planned to drive from Vegas to the Grand Canyon, stay the night there and then carry on to the Meteor Crater and onto Phoenix. Is Monument Valley in this region also?

Thanks for the tip on multistop on ebookers, I have just submitted a request with my itinerary.

steve if you like tell me everyplace you would like to drive to and i can put it into the program i have called streets and trips, it is same as autoroute and it calculates the exact milage and time scale, i can even send you the map with highlited route by email if you like!

I just found this site and love it too. I used to live in San Francisco and go back often. It has some of the highest hotel rates in the country and highly advise making advanced reservations for there as well. Hilton.com often has rooms right by Union Square for $99 a night if you pay in advance on the website. This is a great deal considering brand and location. Without reservations expect to pay that at a bad hotel far from the sites. Good luck.

To steve 237. Best of luck with your nuptuals. I perhaps would not go for a convertable car. Friends of ours did just that in Phoenix area. They soon put the roof on rather than fry. These cars are very expensive to hire. I would go for and intermediate size, powerful enough on the Interstates and big enough for two plus luggage. Cash savings might Even pay for your helecopter flight to Grand Canyon.

Generally try not to see it all in one go. You can always go back and see the bits you missed this time. Enjoy!

Terry UK

Two years ago friends flew out from UK visit us in Phoenix. They few from Phoenix to San francisco, picked up a " oneway" rental car there then drove down the coast highway to LA. From LA they travelled to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Sedona ( amust for honeymooners!0 then back to Phoenix. There flight from Phoenix gave them a two stayover in Newark, so they spent that time in NYC.. They did all this in less then 15 days because they spent a couple of 4 day weekends with us.

As to coupon books for lodging, you can pick them up at ant Denny's restaurant.

Hope this useful. Enjoy!

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Originally Posted by Sue101

As to coupon books for lodging, you can pick them up at ant Denny's restaurant.

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Welcome to the Great American RoadTrip Forum -- this thread hasn't been active for a couple of years, but we appreciate the tips, but what are these coupon books?

Mark

Outside "Denny's" you will see free magazines, one has coupons or vouchers for lodging they are divided into geographical areas along major interstates. In Phoenix this includes the 10, 8 and 40. The book usually covers an area such as AZ and southern California. We stayed in San diego for $60 acouple of years ago on a June weekend by calling ahead and giving the code # on the coupon.

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Originally Posted by Sue101

Outside "Denny's" you will see free magazines, one has coupons or vouchers for lodging they are divided into geographical areas along major interstates.

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Well, that is wild. Thanks for the tip.


Mark