adehug

Hi there
Having read the threads on here regarding the various destinations that we are going my head hurts .... can anyone help us in deciding how long to stay in each location and perhaps suggest things to do/see

Ok the family consists of two adults and three kids aged 14,12 and 10

Were all used to long trips as weve done the east and west coast on the previous two summers so no probs with driving etc

Weve got six weeks over in the US and well be visiting Arizona New Mexico and Texas

Were flying into LAX as its the cheapest so basically were doing a big loop with the rough itinery that ive penciled in ... so here goes

LA
Phoenix
Tuscon
El Paso
Carlsbad
(is Roswell worth visiting as were so close?)
San Antonio
Houston (poss Galveston)
Austin
Dallas
Amarillo
Albuquerque
Flagstaff (for the Grand Canyon ??)
Palm Springs
then back to LA

as ive said weve got six weeks and were not scared of driving miles and miles so any help would be appreciated as we enjoy anything incl hiking water rafting shopping museums etc

Thanks
Ade Wales UK

rjw_lgb_ca

Given that your itinerary includes several cities in the desert, when is this little jaunt? In the summer, the Arizona hotspots are REALLY hot (over 100F day and night), as is Palm Springs. I can't imagine a visit to Tucson (NOTE THE SPELLING) without a hike in the Sabino Canyon.

You have El Paso on your itinerary. Barely warrants a rest stop, let alone an overnight stay.

What is driving your city choices? LA's basically the whole world in one place-- and unlike any other place on earth. Phoenix is a mini-LA in some aspects, but a nice resort town in others. Tucson is more Old Southwest in feel. Houston and Dallas are kinda mini-LAs as well, though with much less to offer in unique cultural and dining choices (sorry). San Antonio is a cute Mexican colonial town, and actually quite fun....

But anyone here can start making vast lists of things to do and see in any of these places. What are your family's interests? A few of us working together could fill your six weeks just staying in the state of California. You're going to have to give us some parameters.

bob_brown

I get the impression you are way too focused on cities. To me, they are the least attractive aspects of that part of the US. The national parks like the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and so on are far more beautiful and attractive.

To be honest with you, I have not been to Houston for 40 years and have little reason to go back. Roswell? Good for a motel maybe. Amarillo? What for?
Ditto El Paso, although that will rile up somebody.

My advice is to avoid the big cities and go for what is attractive naturally.

But perhaps this will explain my perspective a little better.
I enjoyed my visit to Cardiff, particularly the Museum of Welsh Life, but Brecon Beacons was much more to my liking.

gail

Wow - what an adventure. One thing you will notice if these parts of our country that is different than the east and west coasts is the heat - many of the places you choose to visit, you will find oppressive heat with no ocean breeze relief.

If you are venturing to that quadrandt of the country, I would suggest you remove question mark from Grand Canyon - you must spend a night or 2 there. Many National Park lodging is handled thru Xanterra.com - South Rim would be the most convenient to your itinerary. And I think that it might make sense to somewhat revise the loop to include a Grand Canyon detour after Phoenix.

I will leave the Texas and New Mexico part to others.

adehug

thank you both and i see where your comming from....i suppose its that we enjoy comming across to the states and want to cramm in as much as possible in our holiday....we look at the map and see these places that weve heard about for years and never dreamt that we would ever visit...certainly on our last two trips whilst we enjoyed the cities they were just a focal point of where to head towards whilst we drove and stopped where we liked....dont know if this makes sense but yes would love to experience the real America not just the touristy things...sorry about the spelling and yup Bob glad you enjoyed your visit but i could take you many places that are better than the beacons but suppose thats all down to local knowledge ....

cesta

WOW that is huge itinerary for 6 weeks...agreeing with others, don't miss the G Canyon. You are really driving super far...I live in Colorado so I totally understand distance...perhaps you could shorten the area but see more fabulous stuff? However, you don't mention what you and your family like to do...hike...shop...swim...??? I also think just hitting cities is a mistake and IMHO some on your list just aren't that great.

adehug

Ok thanks once again

well as ive said weve seen these cities on the map and thought we would revolve the itinery around them...so what cities would you drop and what are the must sees...we enjoy almost anything and sightseeing shopping canoeing rafting hiking museums local history etc...and we love to eat

crefloors

If you are in Albuquerqe you should allow time for Santa Fe. It's terrific. I was there many years ago and it has just stuck with me and I'm so trying to figure out a time to get back there. I think you'll really like it.

bob_brown

Well, I will be back for a visit to Wales in late June. We are going to with a small group, limit 10, and I hope that the entire time is in north Wales.

I don't mean to sound like I am running American cities down, but on a whole, I avoid them. I live near Atlanta, and frankly I haven't lost anything down there that causes me to go and visit.

Houston to me is just a place I DO NOT want to go. Hot, humid, and heavily industrial in my experience.

San Antonio has the Riverwalk and the Alamo. No way would I trade that for a park like Bryce or Zion. I am not sure if any of military bases are open these days.

Phoenix has the fabulous Heard Museum. Really fantastic. But after that? Well, it is hot. You might warm up to that. (groan)

I don't know. The route you describe is not one I would ever have planned for myself. And I have driven out there from Georgia more than once.

My suggestion is that if you want cities, go to Rome, Berlin, Paris and Vienna!! (I assume you know London like the back of your hand.)

cesta

Agree with the last post except forget ABQ altogether and go straight to Sante Fe, a fabulous place with great hotels, great restaurants and even real Indian jewelry. The Palace of the Govenors has some of the best turquiose stuff with the Indians expecting you to haggle!! Big fun and great prices...can you possible do Texas in another trip? It is a huge place and I feel if you do AZ,NM, then either CO or UT you would spend your time more wisely. I like TX but it is a trip in itself since it is so big.

SandyBrit

adehug:

I am following this thread with interest.

As poster rjw lgb ca said tell us when this little jaunt is planned.

I am from the UK and the places that you list do indeed get very, very hot. It does not cool off at night.

Sandy

adehug

well we will be going in July Aug and really appreciate the heat factor(having spent a week in Vegas last Aug)but we plan on doing things in the morning or early/late evening and just swimming or shopping in the afternoon.
The reason i suppose we want to see these cities is that weve grown up with them on tv and have always wanted to visit them.......we appreciate that they wont be Rome or Paris etc but weve been there and done that and we enjoy the American cities just as much so we really dont know now .... my head hurts ... thanks everyone for your time...and Bob North Wales is really beautiful....very rugged...dont forget to visit Snowdonia...have a great time

Barbara

I amm also from Britain and have driven through or visited all the cities you list. Although Austin and San Antonio would be interesting to visit, Dallas and Houston are not interesting enough to warrant a very,very long and boring drive across Texas (and back!).


There is a vast amount of really fascinating places and history in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. If you limit the overall number of miles you travel, you'll have time to do all the hiking, rafting and shopping you want.

You will probably sometimes have to do some things during the hottest hours of the day. When you arrive, buy a cheap cooler and make sure you always have plenty to drink with you, preferably water or Gatorade rather than sodas.

While petrol is cheaper here than in GB, it's getting more expensive as I write, so you will need to factor that into your costs. I'm in San Diego and I paid $2.51 a gallon yesterday for regular.

Happy planning.

beanweb24

Hi Ade --

I highly recommend catching a baseball game in Phoenix if you're there for a home game. I think your kids would love the experience. You can check on the Diamondbacks schedule here:

http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/...ari&m=7&y=2005

I haven't spent a great deal of time in the area that you'll be visiting, but I can recommend that you also give Scottsdale some time while you are in Phoenix. Scottsdale has a cute old town area (with a fabulous ice cream parlor) that would be fun for a stroll, and also has some good hiking choices:

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/trails/default.asp?catID=4

I might also suggest the following 2 resources as you plan your trip to the U.S.:

www.fineliving.com
http://travel.discovery.com/
www.opentable.com

The last link, for Open Table, will allow you to check out dining restaurants in many major cities and will allow you to make reservations online.

Have fun planning your trip!

Marsha

I'm with Bob Brown on this one. I would visit the U.S. National Parks in Arizona, Colorado, California (maybe even Wyoming) (going north) and forget Texas. (I like San Antonio and Austin, but it will be very hot!) The following website may help:

www.us-parks.com

Marsha

I forgot to add to my previous post that the US Parks website has pre-planned routes - the Grand Circle, Northern California etc. These might help you plan a more efficient driving trip.

ElendilPickle

You won't be able to avoid driving, at least part of the time, during the day. Always make sure your radiator is full in the morning and that you have a cell phone and whatever your equivalent of AAA is. Bring lots of water in the car for you to drink.

Carlsbad Caverns is great; I would skip Roswell.

Amarillo - see the "Texas!" pageant just outside town. I haven't been myself, but my friends who have rave about it.

Albuquerque - definitely include a trip to Santa Fe if you're spending more than a day here, but there is plenty to do in Albuquerque as well. We have a nice zoo, aquarium, museums, the Beach water park...you might be able to catch an Albuquerque Isotopes minor league baseball game. It's a nice stadium with a lovely view of the mountains.

Lee Ann

justme22

I would not discount texas (even tho i love montana and wyoming) but less city more scenic. Big Bend National Park is south east of el paso on the mexico border. white sands national monument... Austin is a great town but it is a music town, clubs at night not sure what else is there, i was only there on business a couple of years ago. also if you are going thru southern arizona towards el paso you should hit tombstone arizona and the ok corral, bisbee which has a HUGH copper mine Desert museum outside of Tucson. i think the kids would really enjoy that. tombstone too. good luck!

J62

This is a great opportunity & it sounds like a lot of fun to plan.

There's a lot to do in the Texas hill country (the part of Texas basically West of Austin, NW of San Antonio. It's a 1-2hr drive from S.A. Enchanted Rock, Johnson Estate, Fredricksburg NW of San Antonio.

I highly recommend toobing on one of the rivers in New Braunfels or San Marcos.

The Texas Hill Country is full of ranches, so I'm sure there are places for horseback riding, although I've never done it myself.

Golf aplenty in and around S.A. My favorite resort is Hill Country Hyatt, just West of S.A. near Sea World. It's a great family resort. Your kids will love the lazy river pool, a 1/4 mile endless loop floating on an inner tube.

You might want to top this thread once in a while (by posting a reply) to keep it active since it's such a big trip.

Dayle

Hi Adehug,

Wow, where do I start? Adehug, I honestly, firmly, absolutely believe you are WASTING your 6 weeks! You have a wonderful opportunity that most American never have - an extended vacation!! And you are going to the most inappropriate places for summertime in the US and missing completely the VERY BEST!!!! Yes, you have seen these city names on maps, but what motivation do you have for going there? Do you know specifically what you want to see? I trust you have also heard about Yellowstone, Zion, and other US National Parks?

Most of ths US cities you mention have nothing special to recommend them. Please do a re-think and look at some of these destinations:

Assuming you have already been to San Francisco, Carmel, Big Sur, Napa Valley, Yosemite and Sequoia in California (which would be a wonderful 2 week, or more, trip).

What about taking a connecting flight to Salt Lake City or Denver.

Then head north to Jackson Hole, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone. From there go further north to Glacier National Park.

Then head back down through the Colorado Rockies, visiting Ouray (do a jeep tour), Durango, Mesa Verde.

Head west to Moab, Escalante, Boulder, Bryce and Zion. This part will give you your summertime heat. No worries, you can do some river rafting somewhere in Utah.

South to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona, then Tucson. You could fly back to LA cheaply from Phoenix.

Please do yourself and your family a big favor and check these places out on the web and here on Fodors. Many, many posts about all of them.

I've been to most of the cities you mention and nothing, ever, could possess me to go there for vacations - in the summer. (Although Palm Springs is nice for a long weekend in the fall or spring).

Good luck and happy travels!