Hi all,

I posted recently with a tentative itinerary for my honeymoon in May 2006. I received some great advise on driving distances and times, weather and alterations to the itinerary. As I plan to cover a lot of ground in the trip I am going to post questions in seperate posts that relate to each segement of the journey, rather then all together, so that I don't iritate, annoy or bore any of those of you who offer your advise and help so freely. The advise given on the forum is invaluable and much, much appreciated.

1st leg of Journey May 1st - May 8/9

Las Vegas - Grand Canyon - Monument Valley - Zion National Park (?) - Hover Dam - Las Vegas

May 1st
Arrive Las Vegas. Stay 3 nights.
Enough time to soak up Las Vegas, relax and aclimatise after plane journey from Ireland.

Thursday May 4th
Pick up hire car and drive to south rim of Grand Canyon. Staying in the Yavapai East Lodge (cheap and cheerful??)
Any suggestions on 2/3 nights here? I have initially decided on 2 nights.

Saturday May 6th
Drive to Monument Valley. Spend 2 nights at Gouldings Trading Post and Lodge.

Monday May 8th
This is where I have a question.
Two options
1. Drive to Zion NP for two nights.
2. Head back to Las Vegas via, Lake Powell and Hover Dam to stay one night before heading to Yosemite.

We both love hill walking(they tend to be hills in Ireland as oppossed to mountains in the US ) and beautiful scenery, but my question is, is skipping Zion NP a sin (and saving days to add on some where else) if we are going to be in Yosemite with in a day or two anyway? Suggestions here would be very helpful.

My idea for two night stays in GC and Monument Valley is to allow at least one full day in each.

Thank you all in advance.

Paul

I have no specific suggestions on this portion of your trip. Just one general caveat. I have found that because Ireland has such a mild climate year-round people from there are sometimes surprised by the tremendous variations in climate in the US - within short periods of time and fairly short distances.

May in Las Vegas can be pleasant - or hot as hell (easily high 90s). May in the mountains can be pleasant - or can be a snowstorm. Just be sure you are always prepared - with clothing for layering and with snacks and especially water - a lot of water - in the car.

Thanks nytraveler. Good advise. It is true that the Irish are the first to get badly burnt on vacation!! See a red body in the distance and its bound to be an Irish person, probably on the first few days of their vacation!!! Climate in Ireland has very small temp extremes from Winter to Summer. I lived for 2 years in NY and judging by your forum name you'll agree that very few places on earth experience extremes like NY!!!

Thanks for your advise, looking forward to planning this trip with the help of the kind people on this forum.

For water and soft drinks, do what I do: after renting a car (assuming you are), hit the nearest store and buy the cheapest styrofoam cooler you can get. Most are under $5. Then stock up with bottled water, it's like $4.00 a case, which beats $2.50 a bottle.

Most drug stores and wal-marts have very cheap coolers - you don't need a $20 plastic one, and buy your drinks from a grocery store.

At the end of your trip, give the cooler to someone else, or trash it.

patsyp -

Actually NYC is not that bad for the US - althouhg I do find the summer way too hot. Yes - it can be 100 in the summer (but rarely) and 0 in the winter (but also rarely). The center of the country tends to be hotter in the summer and colder in the winter - and when you are traveling over a wide area - and different elevations you can run into very serprising weather.

(Went to Denver on a business trip in the first week of September - it had been 85 in NYC, since September is still summer - and found 6" of snow on the ground. The next day it "warmed up" to 50.)