4 weeks California roadtrip

[glc]

Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon to Page all in the same day? What are you going to do, just drive through the park without stopping? You won't have time to see anything and it will be a waste of your $30.

Same with Page to Bryce Canyon to Salt Lake City same day - you won't have time to even stop the car in Bryce.

1. Inside the park? Very unlikely. You should be able to find a hotel room somewhere in West Yellowstone, but it won't be cheap.

2. US-191 to I-90, this can be done in a day in a half.

I think you need to take some days off some things and add them to the Grand Canyon and Bryce.

[Boost]

Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon to Page all in the same day? What are you going to do, just drive through the park without stopping? You won't have time to see anything and it will be a waste of your $30.

Same with Page to Bryce Canyon to Salt Lake City same day - you won't have time to even stop the car in Bryce.

1. Inside the park? Very unlikely. You should be able to find a hotel room somewhere in West Yellowstone, but it won't be cheap.

2. US-191 to I-90, this can be done in a day in a half.

I think you need to take some days off some things and add them to the Grand Canyon and Bryce.

You're right. It's gonna be long days in the car.

I changed it, so we go from Las Vegas to somewhere south of Grand Canyon.
Then we can hopefully see the sunrise in Grand Canyon the next day, and go to Page later that same day.

Is there a good place to make a stop from Bryce Canyon to Salt Lake City ?
Maybe a good alternative route instead of the highway.

About the route from Yellowstone to Seattle, I was thinking of going to Glacier and Mount Rainer on the way and maybe some nice places in between.
Have to look more on that part of the route.

[glc]

Is there a good place to make a stop from Bryce Canyon to Salt Lake City ?
Maybe a good alternative route instead of the highway.

You can stay at Ruby's, which is right outside the entrance to Bryce Canyon. Considering you will be starting the day in Page and it takes about half a day just to drive down to the end of Bryce and stop at each viewpoint on the way back out - and see the short movie in the visitor's center - that may make the most sense. There are also some motels in Panguitch and Tropic. The quickest way from there to SLC is US-89 to UT-20 to I-15.

However, if you leave the Bryce area first thing in the morning, you could take UT-12 to Torrey, then UT-24 to Sigurd, I-70 to Salina, then either US-50 or US-89 to I-15. UT-12 is one of the greatest scenic drives in the country. In fact, at Torrey you could take UT-24, take a quick run through Capitol Reef, go through Hanksville and to I-70, jog over to Green River, and take US-191 and US-6 to Spanish Fork to pick up I-15.

[Boost]

Hi there

We are 4 adults, going to rent a Ford Explorer (or similar) at Budget.
We will start with 3 days in SF without a car and then either take a taxi to the airport or rent in downtown SF.
Preferably at Budget in Union Square as our hotel is within walking range.

Question is, would it be better to go to the airport and get the car there?

My thought is, that the airport would have more cars available than in downtown.
And does anyone know what kind of cars Budget uses ? Is it older models ?
Normally I rent at Alamo's but they only have a RAV4, which I cannot sit in. (Have tried)

Suggestions for other cars is welcome too.
I have looked at a Jeep Grand Cherokee at National, but price difference is not that big for a Ford Explorer, which I think is a better car.

Some info about us and the trip:

We are 2 males at 200cm which is around 6 feet 7 inches.
We would both be sitting at either the front or the back, so legroom is important.
We would also have 4 suitcases and a cooler box in the luggage room.

We start in SF and after 4 weeks end up in Seattle.
SF --> LA (via Highway 1) --> Las Vegas --> Grand Canyon --> Page --> Bryce Canyon --> Salt Lake City --> Yellowstone --> Seattle.

From august 5th to august 31, with the car pickup at monday, august 8th.


Thanks

Moderator Note: Please keep all questions about the same trip in the same thread

Boost

[Midwest Michael]

There are a few different things to think about here.

First of all, you're talking a lot about specific models, and when you rent a car, you are almost never reserving a specific model - the words "or similar" are part of the reservation for all basic car rentals from every company.

That means while Alamo might list a RAV4 as their example vehicle, it's entirely possible that you'd get a Ford Escape, a Jeep Compass, or anything else in their "intermediate SUV" category. If you want something bigger, than you should be looking at their "standard SUV" category, which could include a Jeep Grand Cherokee or a Ford Explorer.

I'll also note that Alamo and National are part of the same company - and even share cars in some locations.

Budget is another major brand and nearly all of their cars are going to be less than 2 years old, just like Alamo. While I don't know what their fleet looks like, I can tell you, you'll have the same kinds of issues with Budget as you do with Alamo (or anyone else) - it's all about picking the right class of car, and not making your choice based on a specific model that you may or may not get.

Now as far as the location, if having a choice of cars is your biggest concern, then renting from the airport is going to be your best choice, as they are going to have far more cars to pick from. Many of the major companies on the airport will have some feature where you can even pick your specific car (Alamo usually does pick any car in the row, I'm not sure about Budget), at a downtown location, they are likely to only have one or two models from any class - and if talking about an SUV in downtown San Francisco, the one they've got for you may be the only one they have available at all.

The downside, however, is that renting at the airport is usually quite a bit more expensive. There are usually a long list of "facility fees" and "airport access taxes" that go along with renting from an airport location that can add quite a lot of money to the cost of a rental, plus, renting from the airport is just easier for most people, and companies can and do charge a premium for it. My last time in San Francisco I rented from the Hertz in South San Francisco, about 2 miles from the SFO terminal, and my cost was a couple hundred dollars less than if I'd rented from the airport location.

[Southwest Dave]

As Michael said, 'or similar ' is the normal and the only thing that is guaranteed is that if they cant supply a car in that class, you will be upgraded. So you basically have to pick a class of car where the most compact of them is going to be adequate for your needs. I would also suggest [if you are not planning to] is that you book your car in advance with a European consolidator to secure the best deals. I have found rentalcars.com to be very good and competitive, but it always pays to shop around. You can also compare prices at different locations for the same vehicle.

[Boost]

Thanks :)

Yes, as of now the best deal is with rentalcars, and it is actually a few bucks cheaper to rent from the airport than from downtown.

I think we will rent from the airport, as we will have a better chance to pick/get a good SUV.

[Boost]

Hi there.

9 days till we go on vacation. Looking real forward to get started :)
However I still have an issue with the route from Yellowstone to Seattle.

I have a couple of different routes, and I have two-minds on which way to go.

We have a hotel in West Yellowstone, so routes will start from there.
We will only be doing short walks on stops.

Question is if the routes are doable.
We have 3,5 days to do it in.

1.
West Yellowstone --> Saint Mary --> Going to the sun road --> then follow US2 to Newport and then on Hwy20 to Rockport and then to Seattle.

2.
West Yellowstone --> Saint Mary --> Going to the sun road --> then follow US2 to Spokane and further on to Seattle with a side trip to Coulee Dam.

3.
West Yellowstone to Seattle on I-90

4.
West Yellowstone to Coeur d'Alene on I-90 then from Spokane follow US2 to Seattle

5.
Some sort of combination of 1-4 or a completely different route?


Does one use a whole day going the "Going to the sun road" ?
I would prefer "Going to the sun road", but don't know if it is possible in the timeframe we have.

Which of US2 or Hwy 20 is most scenic ?

I read somewhere that a lot of car accidents happens on US2 in the Wenatchee NF?


Thanks again.

[DonnaR57]

I was just on Goint to the Sun Rd, about two weeks ago. If you can, be on that road at St Mary by 7 am. I say that, because many of the scenic pull outs will be jammed between 10 am and 3 pm. If you can't get on it that early, you may face traffic jams and full lots, making driving a pain and you won't get to do any of the easier walks and trails. The other alternative is to leave St. Mary at 3. You do face the sun being in your face at times, especially later in the season, when you are headed west in the afternoon. But you should be able to get into those pullouts and Logan Pass Visitor Center.

Hubby and I left St Mary at 9:30 am or so, so I speak from experience here!


Donna

[Lifemagician]

You could include a short side trip to the 1959 Earthquake area in MT.

US-191 north out of West Yellowstone to US-287. Pick up the brochure for the self guided car tour from the visitor centre in West Yellowstone - total 26 miles. Lots of short walks to the actual affected area.

Lifey