Hi,
I'm still uncertain where to go
for a 3-4 day vacation in May. So far, we've
seen Grand Canyon+Sedona and the
Orlando Theme parks in the US. That's it!

Now, the closest airport being Orlando,
where do you recommend to spend 3-4
days in May? I've the following
preferences.

Please advice where the weather will
be dry and nice for travelling, in May
and which area will be most accessible and
easily flown from Orlando. (I've not
travelled much in USA)

Prefs (not in any order)
1. Vegas w/ Zion as daytrip.
2. Bryce/Arches/Zion
3. Yellowstone
4. Yosemite
5. Smokey Mountains
6. Niagara Falls

Thanks greatly for any advice!

Dear Laira:
How about flying to Seattle, WA, or Portland, OR, and taking a drive to the Washington coast, the Olympic Peninsula, and perhaps Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens, or the spectacular Columbia River Gorge?
There have been several posts (below) during the last couple of weeks that could get you started.

For a three to four day vacation in May, I'd select Las Vegas with possible side trips to Zion and Bryce (Arches would be too far on a short vacation). Some people fall in love with Vegas; if you do, three days will be a good start. Some people loathe it; if you do, just rent a car and drive to Zion and/or Bryce.

I'm sure you'll be able to find good travel packages (air, lodging, and car) going into Vegas.

Hi,
I'm not much help as far as weather and availability (from Orlando) are concerned, but given your list of preferences, here's what order I'd put them in from a tourist's standpoint and ALSO taking into account the brevity (3-4 days) of your trip. Please note that I've been to all those places at least twice, except for Yosemite (never been there).

1. Bryce/Arches/Zion
2. Vegas (with Zion as a day trip)
**May I suggest you fly into Vegas and spend a half a day on the Strip at the beginning or end of your trip (whatever works best) and go see Zion one day and Bryce (better than Grand Canyon!!) the other day, leaving out Arches because of time restraints. Since you've never been to Vegas, you must get a taste of it at least (a taste may be all you want!! haha)
3.Yellowstone
**I hesitate to put Yellowstone third because you really don't have enough time to "really" see it. I spent 5 whole days there and still felt rushed (during non-tourist season). It is one of my 3 favorite U.S. National Parks (the other two being Volcanoes Natl. Park in Hawaii and Denali Natl. Park in Alaska). Yellowstone is MUCH bigger than most people realize. You'll be forced to really "pick & choose" what you see. Not to mention you'll probably spend a lot of time just getting to/from it.
4)Niagara Falls
**Can easily see everything here in the amount of time you have. Do the Cave of the Winds tour, the Maid of the Mist boat ride, go to the top of Skylon Tower on the Canadian side, a helicopter ride, stroll around on Goat Island and view the falls from both the American and Canadian sides (better from CA side). There's also good museums on both sides and a lot of fun places for teenagers on the CA side. NOTE: The falls are frozen unti the end of April.
5) Smokey Mountains
Another good place for a short visit (ALL of your ideas are good ones!) and here you can hike to the top of Clingman's Dome, which affords you a panoramic view of the many peaks. You can get some culture in by learning about the Cherokee Indians at an Indian village and a museum. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are very "touristy" but are fun for the kids (Dollywood amusement park, wax museum, Guinness Museum, and an aerial tramway and skylift). This is a good choice, but I think there are BETTER choices. BUT... of all your choices, it IS the closest to Orlando (which I'm sure you realized).
?) Yosemite
**I could very well have listed this as my #1 choice for a 3-4 day trip if only I had visited it at least once. I'm sure others will have information on this park. I did just check a travel guide and the closest airport is in Fresno, California (97 miles away). Also, it appears there's A LOT of nice hiking trails and several really-awesome-sounding waterfalls. I'm going to have to check the place out sometime!

Well, after all this writing (and thinking more about it) I'd still choose Vegas, Zion, Bryce given your parameters. It's easy to get to Vegas from anywhere, and then you can rent a car and go. Hope this helped a little!

I think Yellowstone in May is a good choice as are Bryce and Arches and Zion.
The problem is that May is a month of melting snow and you might be rushing Yellowstone a little if you go in early May.
That park is so popular I don't know if any accommodations are available within the park!! Amfacs is the concessioner and it has a web site so you can check availability.
Three days in Yellowstone is cutting it short, but still, we were there for 3 days last summer and had fun in the geyser basins. It will whet your desire to return, that is for sure! (It was my 6th visit, so I did not feel deprived.)
Bryce and Zion could be done in 3 days nicely, however. Being much farther south, the weather should be considerably warmer in May, even mid May.

Same post , from last year...

Skip Niagara in May. We went to Las Vegas in May, the weather was beautiful. I agree, that if you have only a short time, this is the place to go. You can skip the casinos, if you're not a gambler, and still have a great time just walking the strip, seeing a couple of shows, and eating at great restaurants. Consider a day trip to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

Byrce/Zion/Arches - Probably bes to fly to Salt Lake City but cannot be done in three four days. It will take at least six hours to drive to Arches from Bryce
LV/Zion - very doable. Zion is about 160 miles from LV. Bryce is less than 100 miles from Zion so if possible consider doing both. This would mean not much more than one day in LV.
Niagara Falls - Fly to Buffalo or Toronto. Two days would probably be suffient. Consider visiting Niagara on the Lake as well or spend a day or two in Toronto.
Yosemite - Fly to San Francisco. If you intend engaging in climbing and/or hiking activity three or four days in YOsemite would work. If not getting physical consider spending a couple of day in San Francisco.
Smokey Mountains - might just consider driving from Orlando.

Weather shouldn't pose much of a problem in May. Actually a good time to go - crowds will be smaller.