Road trip from Dallas to Glendale AZ

[SonPT]

Hi, i am planning a road trip from Dallas to Glendale/ Phoenix this Christmas and this is my 1st road trip. Could it be possible to make it in 02 days ( considering i am a new driver and we can start early in the morning). Would appreciate advice on which route we should take, where should we stay for half-way and other things we should be aware of during the trip.

Thanks so much.

[AZBuck]

Yes, you can make that trip in two days, but they will have to be solid, workmanlike driving days. Roughly 500-550 miles is what you can expect to cover per day, even on the Interstates. Simply ignore what computer-based mapping algorithms tell you; they are based on unrealistic assumptions such as that you will always be driving at the speed limit; that you will never be slowed by traffic, construction or weather, and that you will never have to stop for gas, food, or lavatory breaks. Indeed, I would strongly suggest that you stop every couple of hours to get out of the car to take a short walk or otherwise take your mind and your eyes off the road. Only you can determine your physical and mental limits, but keep in mind that by the time you think you're too tired, you've already been too tired to drive safely for quite some time. I'd also recommend that you make reservations to overnight somewhere around half-way (approximately Van Horn TX) so that you're not tempted to drive too far the first day and that you can take your time without worrying that you'll find something. There will be some fairly long stretches along that route with minimal options.

AZBuck

[glc]

Welcome to RTA!

Yes, you can do this in 2 days. Take I-20 to I-10. The halfway point is Van Horn TX, which has several hotels to choose from.

Edit: Buck was posting as I was posting, I fully agree with his advice. Have a safe trip!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Yes, this trip is possible in 2 days, presuming everything goes well. It's about 1100 miles, so you'll be looking at about 9-10 hours on the road each day. The most straightfoward route is just I-20 to I-10. Van Horn, TX is about the halfway point, and would have plenty of options for places to spend the night.

As far as being aware, I would note that despite this being a southern route, winter weather is still possible and something you should at least keep in mind. If there was snow or ice on your specific days of travel, be flexible and open to the possibility of stopping for an extra night so that conditions can improve.

[DonnaR57]

As for route - the most logical route, if you're just driving to get someplace, would be to take I-20 to I-10. AZBuck said that the overnight would be in Van Horn, TX, and I would concur. As a matter of fact, one trip that my husband and I took, involved us going from Tempe, AZ (East Valley) to Decatur, TX. Our overnight was in Van Horn. This was a few years back, and as we noted, there were a few lodging places to choose from, but the food choice was rather limited.

One stop that I always love, between Van Horn and Tucson, is the rest area known as Texas Canyon in eastern Arizona. You'll know you're approaching it when you start seeing hills with lots of boulders and a "Rest Area" sign. Another place to pull off for a short stretch of the legs, is at Picacho Peak State Park, between Tucson and the Phoenix metro area. (Bear in mind, there's a small charge to go into the park, about $7 if that website is up-to-date.)




Donna

[travelingman]

To make your drive more enjoyable, I recommend that you get the free iExit app. You enter your state, Highway and direction. You can then look up what’s available at each exit: rest area, gas, food, lodging, etc. We just used the app returning to Florida from Michigan. Looking ahead to see that one of our favorite restaurants (Culver’s) was just 30 minutes ahead made the trip more fun. This also makes it easy to search for hotels up ahead. It’s pretty frustrating to be tired, look for a hotel and find that they’re all booked because of an event in town.

We also use WASE to look for upcoming traffic jams, or at least see just how far ahead the jam extends. It’s saved us a lot of time routing us around some long backups.

Drive safely!

[SonPT]

Hi All,

Thank you so much for your sharing and advice, I really appreciate. After reading all comment and considering this is my 1st road trip, i will make it in 03 days instead of 02 so that we can have sometime for sightseeing as well as not to be rush on the road. Driving 8-10 hours per day seems too much for me.

I am planing our 1st night at Midland and 2nd night at El Paso.

Would really appreciate your comment on my planing and if you have better option please share with me.

Thank you,
Son

[glc]

I would recommend you spend the second night in Las Cruces instead of El Paso. That makes for a more even spread. Another good option for the first night is Odessa.

[Southwest Dave]

Its great that you have decided to add an extra day to give yourself time to enjoy the journey and do a little sightseeing. That could be get off the Interstate for a little while or you could possibly (weather and road conditions being good) look at an alternative route on Highways taking a steadier pace. US380 to US60 for example and take in some small towns such as Lincoln and Capitan and stop and look at the VLA (Very large array). Averaging out to roughly 350 mile per day it should still be comfortable enough to enjoy.

[SonPT]

Thanks so much. We already booked the hotel in Odessa and La Cruces. Longing for the trip next week!