mark19

I want to go to the west (Colorado, Utah, los Angeles, etc. maybe even Texas Arizona etc.) with a few friends. Driving from New York, departing July 17 and be back in New York August 4. Might fly one way. Any ideas of which states to check out? We do not want to be in humid weather. No major hiking. more water kind of stuff: rafting, tubing, beaches, etc. also amusement parks. grand canyon.
Where do we start? what to do? I would appreciate any ideas.

easytraveler

You have only 18 days, including July 17 and August 4. You cannot see everything on your wish list, especially if you're going to be driving from New York and presumably driving back unless you are abandoning the car somewhere along the way.

How many is a "few friends"? One? Two? Ten? In other words, will your car hold all of your friends?

We don't have beaches the way you think of beaches on the east coast, unless you go almost to Mexico, then waters of the Pacific will be warmer.

Humid? Humid would be parts of east Texas and possibly some parts of Colorado. Otherwise we don't have humid weather, especially not in desert country.

I would strongly suggest that you and your friends get together and agree on which are at the top of your priority "must see" list. Then think about transportation. How will you get from one place to another?

You have a lot of planning work ahead of you. Good luck!

Gretchen

You need to get a map and your friends in the same room and put some pins in it for where you want to go. If it is the Grand Canyon, then maybe some "beaches" on Lake Powell.
Can you rent a car at the ages of you and your friends? How many and what kind of budget do you have.
It well may be that you just want the Los Angeles area and the Grand Canyon--beaches, Disneyland.

mark19

Thanks for replying. We are a group of 4 or 5 guys, able to rent a car. Would it be more advisable to fly round-trip from New York to Colorado and drive from there to Utah and if there is time then also to L.A.? Is it possible to keep to a budget of $1000 per person, including flights of about $300 ? Are there enough attractions in Colorado itself to fill up the 16 days?

Gretchen

You could do Colorado and New Mexico pretty nicely. Or Utah.
In Denver is Illitch Gardens Amusement Park. Boulder would be fun for you.
Go to the mountains. Car rental needs to be shopped for, but you could probably drive your own car changing drivers and get to and from CO (for example) in a full day.
You might consider flying to Las Vegas (the flights may be cheap and the car rentals cheaper--I don't know personally). You could make a nice loop from there, perhaps.
Where are you starting from?

nytraveler

You do NOT have time to drive both ways and actually stop to see anything.

And I think you will find that $1000 each is not nearly enough if it includes airfare. Your budget would be $400 each - a total of about $21 per day. This isn't even enough to pay for food even if you willing to sleep in the car.

And how will you be able to pay for gas?

Or a car rental?

I know this sounds like fun - but you need to get a map and a calculator and figure out how long the trip will take and what it will cost.

Even if you keep coolers in the trunk and buy endless sandwich makings in supermarkets - there is no money for motels (do you want to not shower for all that time) or beer or drinks.

DebitNM

Beer? These are teenagers.

You need to be SURE you can rent a car if you are all teens.

And I am guessing that you are going to have a bit of trouble finding a motel that will rent to or 5 teenagers. That means staying in hostels [so map those out along your planned route] or camping.

DebitNM

oh, forgot to add that until you reach Colorado - driving from east coast across mid America or southern route, you will have humidity - LOTs of it.

explanation

Are you sure you can rent a car? I've never seen a car rental agency that would contract with anyone under 18. And the under 21 was only for those in the military.

explanation

Are you sure you can rent a car? I've never seen a car rental agency that would contract with anyone under 18. And the under 21 was only for those in the military.

nytraveler

And many motels won't rent to a group of under 21s - even if these teens had the money don't. - which they

easytraveler

Hostels may usually be the cheaper way to go, but when you add up the individual rates for five guys, that's more than what a Motel 6 would charge.

As the others have pointed out, you have several major hurdles to overcome. One is the ability to rent a car. If you want to use public transportation, then the big cities have the best options for more public transportation. If you drive your own car, then there's not only the cost of gas to figure in, but also the shape the car is in. It's not advisable to drive an older car or a car with issues out into the desert (a lot of the West is desert).

Getting a room anywhere except a hostel may also present a problem. Some of the seedier hotels will rent to anyone, but five guys is a problem. Even if you could get a room, someone will probably have to sleep on the gunky-funky floor.

As I think of it, most of the big amusement parks are on the West Coast, so, say you could fly out to San Francisco and leave out of LA, at the budget that you have specified you only have less than $39 a day for everything - hotel, food, amusement park fees, and transportation.

We're not trying to discourage you, because it's important to dream of going places and doing things, but reality dictates otherwise.

The only remote possibility that I can see for your budget is to fly into LA, do a side trip to San Diego, which would satisfy the beach/water aspect; then do couchsurfing to save on hotel fees (might have to separate, as it will probably be hard to find someplace that will take 5 guys together); eat Mexican burritos, etc. at about $3 for one large burrito and spend the rest on amusement park fees and transportation.

mark19

Thanks for the feedback.
Car rental is not a problem, because some of us have military ID. We are between the ages of 18-21. If we fly to Colorado, that's about $300. If we stay in Colorado, without traveling to other states, at the cheapest motels, and go to places like the grand canyon, beaches etc, which are free. plus food, gas, car, and few attractions. Would it be possible to stay under$1000 per person? Any ideas on cheap motels?

DebitNM

The Grand Canyon is not in Colorado, it is in Arizona. There are no beaches per se; except for perhaps lakes. There are some beaches at Lake Powell but that again is either AZ or Utah, not Colorado.

There maybe rivers that you can swim in or kayak or raft or tube in Colorado but keep in mind that by mid July, water levels may be very low as there wasn't a lot of snowfall this past winter.

mark19

att. debitNM you mentioned a couple of states near Colorado. Do you think we can stay under $1000 per person, if we stay at a friend. meaning flights of $300, car, gas, some attractions, food, excluding accommodations? Any ideas of which state would be the cheapest to fly to from New York? or has cheaper car rentals?

tomfuller

The cheapest place for a car rental in my experience is from Las Vegas. Fly to Las Vegas. Rent the car. Drive to Hurricane UT (I-15). Spend the night there. Next day see Zion NP and maybe the north rim of the Grand Canyon. There is cheap camping in the Kaibab NF a few miles north of the park. From there, double back on US 89 to visit Bryce Canyon. Continue over Rt. 12 to Torrey and then east on 24 through Hanksville. Turn off 24 to go into Goblin Valley State Park to see some fantastic hoodoos. There is a campground in Goblin Valley. Your other option for a campground with available showers is along the river in downtown Green River.
You have a couple of good choices for National Parks on the way back to Las Vegas. Stay in or near Moab to see Arches NP and then take US 491 to go see Mesa Verde NP. You will have the chance to see the 4 corners if you want to. Come back through Monument Valley. Take US 89 south to Flagstaff.
I do know where there is a Forest Service cabin north of Parks AZ that can be rented for $100/night. (includes shower).
From there head for Hoover Dam. You can swim in Lake Meade.
Return the car in Las Vegas and fly home.

nytraveler

I hope 're not expecting roundtrip flights for $300 - even $300 each way is cheap.

You really need to work out a detailed budget - and determine flight costs as early as possible - the longer you wait the higher the price.

WhereAreWe

It depends on where you're flying out of. Right now Southwest has roundtrips from LaGuardia to Denver for under $300 for your dates. If you can adjust your dates a little, you could fly to Los Angeles for a little over $400 roundtrip.

If you want beaches, you really need to go to California. Otherwise in Arizona you could go to Lake Powell, Lake Mead or Lake Havasu but I don't think there are any beaches to speak of there. You will find tubing/white water rafting in Colorado and parts of Utah.

I think you're better off going to California and making a road trip to the Grand Canyon rather than flying to Denver and driving all the way to the west coast.

2 other things to consider: flights on Southwest give you a couple free bags to check, other airlines charge for checked baggage generally. So you'd have to factor in extra money for that on top of the cost of the flights. And for car rentals, generally they charge an extra daily fee for renters under 25, plus an extra daily fee for an additional driver. So be prepared for those costs - either have one person do all the driving or plan on probably an extra $10-25/day for having someone else on the contract that is able to drive. You'll have to research those costs and decide what you can afford to pay.

If you pack smart, do laundry a few times along the way and combine suitcases you can probably get away with just checking a couple large suitcases for the 5 of you instead of everyone paying for a checked bag.

5alive

I agree. Especially saving money, I think you will be under a lot of stress to do the entire trip.

Tom Fuller's trip is a good one if National Parks/Vegas is the top priority.

Alternative 1: If you want beaches most San Francisco (Point Reyes, John Muir, inland maybe to Yosemite and camping, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego

Or my final thought: Do a portion of the California Option above, and add the Grand Canyon only. It is about 6 hours to Flagstaff from Los Angeles. And from there another hour to the Grand Canyon. I know this because we did it when we were just a few years older than you. And I mention Flagstaff specifically because it's cheaper to stay there than at the Rim.