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Hi gang,

I've had some good travel advice for the US from this forum before, thought I'd see what y'all think of this trip I am planning.

I am going with a friend of mine, which helps with the costs. The plan is to go at the end of August, just after schools go back. That way the weather is still decent but there won't be too many tourists. The itinerary, as we have worked out so far:

Day 1 - Fly to Las Vegas
Day 2 - Stay in Las Vegas, including a visit to the Hoover Dam
Day 3 - Las Vegas to Grand Canyon Village - including the Grand Canyon - 277 miles
Day 4 - Grand Canyon to Kanab - via Glen Canyon, Marble Canyon and Monument Valley - 211 miles
Day 5 - Kanab to Panguitch - via Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park - 67 miles
Day 6 - Panguitch to Salt Lake City - via Cedar Breaks National Monument - 245 miles
Day 7 - Salt Lake City and surrounding area
Day 8 - Salt Lake City to Jackson Hole - 278 miles
Day 9 - Jackson Hole to Gardiner - Through East Yellowstone and Grand Teton - 157 miles
Day 10 - Stay in Gardiner - Visit North and West Yellowstone - 150 miles
Day 11 - Gardiner to Butte - 162 miles
Day 12 - Butte to Spokane - 315 miles
Day 13 - Spokane to Seattle - 279 miles
Day 14 - Stay in Seattle
Day 15 - Seattle to Portland - 223 miles - possibly add a detour to Astoria
Day 16 - Portland to Coos Bay - 215 miles
Day 17 - Coos Bay to Eureka - 215 miles
Day 18 - Eureka to San Francisco - 271 miles
Day 19 - Stay in San Francisco
Day 20 - Fly back to London

So, what do you think? Anything obvious that we're missing? A couple of my own questions:

The first leg takes in a lot of canyons. Will this just get too samey?

Day 11 is a short drive. Is it worth staying in Butte? Should we just push on to make the next couple of days a bit shorter?

Is Astoria worth the detour on the way from Seattle to Portland? Is it worth seeing, other than the Goonies connection?

The leg from Portland to San Francisco seems a bit rushed. Is it worth adding an extra day to do this at a more leisurely pace? Maybe take the opportunity to go further inland, rather than hugging the coast all the way.

I can potentially add up to 2 extra days to this trip, that's what I can spare from my time off.


Finally, what do you recommend for car hire? www.alamo.com is the best I could find. Dropping the car off in a different state really affects the cost of car hire.

Thanks in advance

Thats a lot of driving.

El Torro wrote:


The leg from Portland to San Francisco seems a bit rushed. Is it worth adding an extra day to do this at a more leisurely pace? Maybe take the opportunity to go further inland, rather than hugging the coast all the way.

As someone who has driven that inland stretch many times here, you won't be missing anything of tremendous value in between Portland and SF, it's fairly sparely populated and about the only major things of geographic note are Crater Lake (which is pretty far out of the way for a coast road tour and not by any means a "must see") and Mt Shasta which isn't all that interesting either.

It doesn't sound like you'd have the time to really see or experience any of those locations. One day is not much time to absorb the flavor of a city, see any of the real attractions, eat at the best local restaurants, and rest between driving stretches. You're going to be spending most of your time driving and sleeping.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Vegas and SF have so much to do 24 hours a day, and such hidden treasures for just about any scene you might be in, that you're likely not to sleep and still miss out. Hoover Dam is going to take up a huge chunk of time from your Vegas day, too. Jackson Hole and Yellowstone are each worth at least a few days of quiet exploration. Seattle has a ton of culture you won't even notice at that pace. Eureka is beautiful (and so is the neighboring town of Arcata), and you'll be driving past Napa and some of the most beautiful woodlands in CA from there to San Francisco, although you will most likely spend all that time in traffic. At least you'll see the Golden Gate Bridge.

Valley of Fire, between Las Vegas and Overton is worth a look. It would take more than a day, though, to take it all in.
Temple Square in Salt Lake is a good landmark to take in, also.
If you're into museums, there is a huge Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiviving point, south of Salt Lake.

Thanks for the comments. I was a bit concerned about the number of miles, and on reflection I agree that there'll be too much getting to places and not enough seeing places.

I'm not particularly fussed about seeing a lot in the cities, this trip is more about the scenery. Having said that we've made a new plan, with fewer miles and 1 extra day.

The big change is to finish in Vancouver instead of San Francisco, which cuts down the amount of driving by about 700 miles.

The new itinerary:

Day 1 - Fly to Las Vegas
Day 2 - Las Vegas and surrounding area (Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, etc...)
Day 3 - Same as Day 2
Day 4 - Las Vegas to Grand Canyon Village - 277 miles (perhaps drive some of the way on Day 3)
Day 5 - Grand Canyon Village to Monument Valley - 177 miles
Day 6 - Monument Valley to Kanab - 197 miles
Day 7 - Kanab to Panguitch - 125 miles
Day 8 - Panguitch to Salt Lake City - 245 miles
Day 9 - In and around Salt Lake City
Day 10 - In and around Salt Lake City
Day 11 - Salt Lake City to Jackson Hole - 278 miles
Day 12 - Jackson Hole to Gardiner - 157 miles (East Yellowstone and Grand Teton)
Day 13 - Stay in Gardiner - 150 miles (North and West Yellowstone)
Day 14 - Gardiner to Butte - 162 miles
Day 15 - Butte to Spokane - 315 miles
Day 16 - Spokane to Seattle - 279 miles
Day 17 - Seattle
Day 18 - Seattle to Victoria by ferry
Day 19 - Victoria to Vancouver by ferry and bus
Day 20 - Vancouver
Day 21 - Fly back to London

I can afford to add one day to the itinerary, i.e. fly home one day later. Perhaps spend an extra day in Yellowstone?

Any further comments welcome

If you've got a chance while you're out by the Grand Canyon, swing by the Petrified Forest National Park. Very funky, beautiful and alien environment and a great place to ramble around.
When in Seattle, DO NOT MISS a trip to Pike Place Market and get some phenomenal seafood just out of the water. Lots of incredible food vendor stalls and other great artisan shops to check out there as well.
If you groove on Dim Sum, Vancouver has some of the best in the world.
Extra day in Yellowstone-YES!!!

I've done many multi-week road trips around the US in my time and love seeing all the off the beaten path stuff along the way. Have a great trip.

El Torro wrote:
Hi gang,

I've had some good travel advice for the US from this forum before, thought I'd see what y'all think of this trip I am planning.

The first leg takes in a lot of canyons. Will this just get too samey?

Thanks in advance

Yes, Yes it will. Chevy Chase had the normal reaction to the grand canyon in the movie 'national lampoons vacation' When I was there I was even less impressed. Unless you plan on taking a mule to the bottom, the helicopter tour, or do some white water rafting I wouldn't expect to be there long.

If you like trains though, you might enjoy this tour of the canyon.

http://www.arizona-leisure.com/grand-canyon-railway.html

That is a lot of driving buddy.... like... a fethton.

I'm wiped for a few days driving from St. Louis to Denver (880 miles)...

Any reason why you're doing 3 weeks in one shot? (I'm guessing $$$ since the airfares ain't cheap). I'd try to break it up in three 1 week trip and simply stay in a destination for the whole week.

You can easily spend a week in Vegas, Salt Lake and Seattle/Spokane respectively and still not have enough time.

However... that is an adventure to say the least, so if you don't mind the journey in addition to the destination... have fun!