Con60

My wife and I are planning a 6-7 week road trip through south western United States during April – May 2015. The holiday will encompass the states of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. The visual splendour of the area is the catalyst that sparked the idea of the trip. We are also interested the local cuisine, the culture, and history. We’re 2 Australians in our early 60’s. While we appreciate that hiking is an essential aspect of many of these attractions, we will limit ourselves to easy walks up to 8 km/ 5 miles.

This is a loose outline of the trip at this stage. Fly into Las Vegas; Grand Canyon 2 nights; Sedona 2 nights; Tucson 4 nights; Flagstaff 1night; Monument Valley 2 nights; Canyon de Chelly 2 nights; Albuquerque 2 nights; Santa Fe 4 nights; Durango 4 nights; Bluff 2 nights; Moab 3 nights; Page 3 nights; Bryce Canyon 2 nights; Zion National Park 2 nights; back to Las Vegas.

We’re interested other people’s opinions in regard to a number of things.
1) The amount of time spent at each place. Have we got it basically right? Please enlighten us.
2) Special recommendations in what to see (or avoid) at each location
3) Information / dates in relation to any fairs, festivals, markets, sporting, music events etc.
4) The dates of our Spring breaks.
Thanks.

Gretchen

Off the bat--where is Mesa Verde. And I'd still do Canyon de Chelly. Taos? Where is "Colorado" except Durango?
Not all the days are there yet. It seems to be a tour of Arizona and N.Mexico at the moment.

Shanti

I really like Tucson and can recommend lots to do there but it is a bit out of the way from the rest of your trip so you could consider dropping it. If you do so, I'd recommend going to Page before Monument Valley and then later in your trip take Highway 12 on your way from Moab to Bryce.

There are several nice national monuments near Flagstaff (Sunset Crater, Wupatki, and Walnut Canyon) although it would probably be too hot for me to hike at Wupatki at that time of year. I also like Flagstaff so I'd spend two nights there if it were my trip.

One night was the right amount of time for me at Monument Valley. Stay at The View there.

One night is good for Bryce and I'd add the night to either Moab or Zion. Stop at Valley of Fire State Park on your way back to Las Vegas.

Haven't been to Colorado in ages and haven't made it yet to Page so can't help there.

Dayle

Hi Con60,
I've been to all of the places on your plan and am having a hard time understanding what you plan to do in Santa Fe for 4 nts/3 full days? It's a small town, pretty, but very touristy. Do you have specific goals there?

Same goes for Tucson. 4 nights? What do you have planned, want to see?

I would definitely cut down on the days in AZ and NM and add more to UT and CO!

3 nts in Page? 2 nts in Bluff? Again, what are you planning to do/see?

I would change it to 1 nt Page, 0 nts Bluff. Add a night to Moab, spend 1 or 2 nts in the Torrey (Capitol Reef Natl Park), Boulder, Escalante area. Amazing scenery and short hikes too.

You could do better allowing time for Mesa Verde and Ouray, CO.

bigtyke

Dayle - I would think they might be doing Ouray and Mesa Verde from Durango.

I would spend more time in Flagstaff and less in Santa Fe, but I guess it depends on what you plan to do in each place. How about more details on what you plan at each stop.

In general, looks like a great trip.

jamie99

Outside of ABQ we really liked Acoma pueblo, you park at the Visitor Center and they take you up in a small van.
Outside of Santa Fe, visit Bandelier, not too much hiking involved. Lots of other pueblos to visit in Santa Fe, my favorite there was San Ildefonso.

Lateagain

The historic steam train journey from Durango to Silverton is a must do , it is stunning scenery and a beautiful train with some open carriages. It needs to be booked in advance if you are there at a busy time. But you could do it online prior to your trip next year. I love the areas you are visiting and also recommend Utah if you can fit it in. I agree with previous poster that one night in Monument Valley is sufficient. You should have the guided native American tour, they are so worth it, their knowledge is way more than you would get from any guide book.

Gretchen

They are spending aabout 2 weeks in Arizona and N.Mexico as of now. Great places, but I do wonder where they are going and what doing. Not getting the drift.

WhereAreWe

1) Right now you have 35 nights listed so you have 7 - 14 more nights to account for. There's no real need to start cutting nights in one location and adding them elsewhere until you have actually used all 42 to 49 days.

2) If you are determined to go Tucson, it may be better to fly into Phoenix rather than Las Vegas and start your trip there. That would save a little bit of backtracking but not a lot so it's just a suggestion, not a requirement. Foreign travellers can usually get one-way car rentals without paying a hefty drop-off fee.

3) April in the desert is beautiful, it is starting to get a bit warm by mid-May so I think it makes sense to do the Tucson area as early as possible and save the higher elevations for last. Bryce will likely still have snow in mid-May but for easy day hikes you should be OK. Likewise for Zion, the higher elevation trails will have snow but you can find plenty of other hikes.

4) Going along with #3....April and early May are not ideal times to visit the mountains in Colorado. The higher elevation trails will still be snow covered and lower elevations will probably be fairly muddy. I think you have to go visit Colorado for a bit but I wouldn't start making massive additions to the time spent there.

5) Side note to #2....if you decide to stick with flying into/out of Las Vegas, you should visit Death Valley for a couple days. Since that will be the hottest place on your itinerary, go there first and then head to Tucson, then Sedona/Grand Canyon. No matter which airport you fly into, I'd visit Tucson before Sedona and the Grand Canyon in order to start with the lowest elevation/hottest place first.

ElendilPickle

It looks pretty decent to me, though I would probably cut out Tucson and add those days elsewhere.

You could stop at Acoma Pueblo on your way to Albuquerque, since it isn't far off I-40. http://www.acomaskycity.org/home.html

During your time in Santa Fe, you could do a day trip to Taos and another one to Bandelier National Monument. www.nps.gov/band

What do you plan to do with your three nights in Page? If you want to visit Antelope Canyon, one night is sufficient.

Lee Ann

utahtea

Three nights in Page, AZ is perfect if you want to do a boat tour to Rainbow Bridge National Monument and/or a float trip on the Colorado River. There is also the Antelope Slot Canyons and the short Horseshoe bend hike. You can rent jet skies and go out on the lake but April and May might be to cold to do that. I guess I just don't understand why people don't like Lake Powell...it's BEAUTIFUL!

Utahtea

sharondi

I think your itinerary looks pretty good although there are a few other sites you should consider adding like Mesa Verde, Capitol Reef National Park, and some additional days in Colorado. I would suggest less time (or no time) at Lake Powell or at least fit in a quick visit while you are near Monument Valley.

I'd also spend less time in Durango, head up the Million Dollar hwy to Ouray and spend a few nights there. I would not recommend the train ride - you will be seeing plenty of gorgeous scenery driving.

I highly recommend heading north out of Moab on Route 191, then west on I70 to Route 24 west to Torrey/Capitol Reef Nat'l Park for a few nights. From there, take the incredibly scenic Route 12 through Boulder, Utah, Grand Staircase Escalante Nat'l Monument to Bryce (route 89). There are loads of sights to see along the way, and all the good folks on this forum will provide lots of advice about things to see and do along route 12. It is one of the highlights of the Grand Circle tour through southern Utah.

cd

I highly recommend only one night in Monument Valley, there is just not enough to do for two, and add a night in Torrey for Capitol Reef which is beautiful! Also, to drive Scenic Byway 12 Utah is awesome! http://www.scenicbyway12.com/

cd

Also, I would recommend two nights at Lake Powell and I would recommend Lake Powell Resort: http://www.reservations.com/hotel/la...FUwV7AodDlAAQw
Take the Rainbow Bridge tour and you travel by boat past some magnificent stone mountains to get to the Bridge.
The dining room at the resort had good food and beautiful full window views of the lake! Ask for either building 7 or 8, lakeview. The view from your room of the lake is clearly visible in those two buildings, especially the second floor with balcony, the other buildings have cement railings that prevent you from seeing the lake when seated.

jayne1973

I agree that more time in Colorado would be good, depending on the weather when you go. It is absolutely stunning further north than Durango....just so many beautiful places.

Con60

Thank you everyone for the prompt responses.
We realised that we left out a 2 night stay at North Rim Grand Canyon (which should be open by mid-May). We also omitted the days spent in Las Vegas. On arrival we’ll take a driving lesson in Las Vegas to help us become accustomed to driving on ‘other’ side of the road and to acquaint ourselves with the road rules.
We have based ourselves in a number of places such as, Tucson, Sante Fe, Durango with the intention of doing day trips out from a base. A 1 night e.g. Flagstaff, indicates that it is basically an overnight stop; 2 nights is an overnight stop with one day of activities, sightseeing, hiking, etc; 3 nights is an overnight stop with 2 days of activities, sightseeing, hiking, etc;
Gretchen - Using Durango as a base, we intend to visit Mesa Verde NP (35 miles away), Silverton narrow garage railway and the San Juan Skyway.

Shanti, Dayle. We agree that Tucson is a bit out of the way, but this is our first trip to the US (apart from New York and Washington) and much of what we know has come from movies and TV shows (eg Gunsmoke, Tombstone Territory, Cheyenne, etc). From Tucson we will be able to visit Tombstone – and even if it is ‘touristy’ it is ‘bucket list’ thing. Tucson will also add diversity to the trip. There’s Frank Lloyd Wright’s Teliesin West in Scottsdale, the Prima Air and Space museum, and the Arizona Sonora Desert museum. We’ve also taken your advice and changed the drive from Moab to Page to include Highway 12. To do this we’ve added an extra night at Torrey.
Most of our accommodation will be pre-booked (eg View Hotel) which will very much limit our flexibility. We really have no idea how much time should be spent in any one place. We don’t want to feel rushed and are prepared to miss attractions if need be. We’re not going to be able to see everything, unfortunately.
Jamie: Thank you for your suggestions. We are very interested in the culture and history of the indigenous people. We’ve read about the San Ildefonso people and their black-on black pottery. Definitely on the list and one reason for the stopover in Santa Fe. Also a good base for visiting Taos and a few drives.
Lateagain. (Love that moniker.) The Durango – Silverton railway is also a definite. We have read that it is one of the Top 10 rail journeys in the world. We looked at the train trip from Williams to Grand Canyon but unfortunately have it crossed out (for the moment anyway). My wife and I are debating the type of carriage – Lynn’s arguing the case for the carriage with the glass roof, I like the sound of the flat deck. – great for photos, but possibly sooty. Also, any advice as to which is the best option - train trip both ways or train up and coach back.
Wherearewe (Another good moniker – Con80 needs to be updated). At this stage we haven’t booked our flights and there’s no urgency for at least a month. However there’s several accommodation places which will need to book very soon. So at this stage time and dates are not set in concrete. However if the trip becomes too long, fatigue will become a factor. Hopefully we can slot in some rest days. Thanks for the advice on the one way car hire. Las Vegas as a starting point allows us to visit the Grand Canyon South Rim and to travel some of Route 66. (one for the Bucket list). We’re not too concerned about the temperatures; the heat should be ok; we were in New York last Christmas so we should be able to handle the cold. (Am I being naïve?). The variations in temperature will make packing a greater challenge. After reading a number of posts on Fodor, we are beginning to appreciate that altitude may present some challenges for us. Also we hadn’t considered ‘muddiness’. Thanks for the warning.
Elendilpickle. Thanks for the links. We’ve included your suggestions. Page is a base to see Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell. We will do some more research- maybe 2 nights will be sufficient. Thanks for bringing that to our attention.
Utahtea: We have read many wonderful things about Lake Powell and it has always been a definite. What does a float trip on the Colorado River entail?
No one mentioned Albuquerque (I think I have mastered the spelling). Albuquerque of ‘Breaking Bad’ fame was one of the drivers for the trip. It was the desert scenes in ‘Breaking Bad’ that first drew our attention to this part of your country. We also discovered that there are Breaking Bad Tours. Should be a hoot.
Thanks for your advice and input and would be grateful of any further suggestions. This will be a once in a lifetime trip, probably never to return. We very much appreciate the time people took to help us out.

jayne1973

I really don't think you are going to have a problem with altitude in any place with the exception of maybe Silverton, when you ride the train. Drink plenty of water and you should be fine.

cd

If you have not read my posts above, I will ask you to do so if you want recommendations for Lake Powell.

Con60

Sharondi, – Yes we’ve made changes you have suggested but have only included one night in Torrey. We had overlooked Highway 12 and we can tell from posters responses it must be something special. Thanks.
A number of posters have commented on the one night at Monument Valley. We have got the impression that for many visitors, it is a drive in, drive out affair. For us, people foreign to your country, it is one of the great icons of America. Monument Valley stands beside the Statue of Liberty, the Capitol Building etc as being so very American. We’ve allowed 2 nights at Monument Valley: The first night allows to drive there and settle in. The second day is for the 4 wheel drive Navajho Spirit (morning) tour. After reading an article about it in a travel magazine, the View Hotel has been on my wife’s bucket list for quite awhile. We never thought we’d ever get there.
Cd: We had the boat trip planned. Thanks for the reassurance. Thanks also for the accommodation tip. Advice like that is priceless.
Jayne: Using Durango as a 3 night base, we intend to visit Mesa Verde, Silverton Railway and drive the Million Dollar Highway up through Ouray, Ridgway to Telluride. A good number of posters have suggested we give more time to Colorado. Have we covered the essentials, or are there other attractions we need to consider? Have we allowed enough time?
Looking forward to all feedback,
Thanks

Gretchen

Three days to do all that in the Durango area. NO you haven't given enough time.Geez.
Please give up the train, or at least only one way. BORING RT.

You have a "drive by" of the great American Southwest.