Hi
I thought you the people that live there may be able to give me your opinions on this 1st draft travel itinery

1.San Diego 3 days
2.Tucson 2 days
3.Phoenix 2 days
4.Palm Springs 2 days

I have a few days left to use , is there somewhere else I shouldn't miss? Should I give any of these a miss? Travel books here don't rate Phoenix much, what do you think?

Last year I went to Vegas and San Francisco, I really loved SF!

Your help will be gratefully appreciated.

Susan, will you be traveling to these areas this summer and will you be driving between them?

Why don't you check out Santa Fe? New mexico is very beautiful.

What about Sedona, AZ?

It's with good reason that you don't hear much about Phoenix. The main resort area near there is Scottsdale, but the city itself has little to recommend it.

As one poster suggested, you might consider driving about 2 hours north of Phx to Sedona, and then maybe up to the Grand Canyon.

Wow, that sounds like a lot of driving. If you were American I would just assume you were driving. I might cut the trip to only 2 or at the most 3 cities. I agree with the earlier postings, Sedona is fantastic. You might skip Tucson. Sedona has the most amazing hikes. It has a reputation of being a place of new age kooks but that is part of the charm. I spent a week there in January and loved it.

If you are visiting in the summer, you may want to just hit the sights that you really want to see because it is surprising how the heat saps your energy. Don't let it stop you though. Just get a car with good air conditioning and count it as an experience. The American desert in summer is something you will never forget. It has a strange beauty that you cannot describe.

Have fun!

Make sure you have a super duper strength sunscreen (SPF45 at least) as the desert sun is brutal and will fry you. I would also skip Tucson.

What do you actually plan on seeing? Of all the marvelous natural sites in the USA you choose 4 concrete jungles. I say ditch the whole plan and start over.

Assuming that you will need to fly into Phoenix----skip Tucson unless you want a dude ranch type experience, minimize Phoenix, add Sedona and possible the Grand Canyon and give the Tucson time to San Diego. In summer, really minimize Phoenix as in land at the airport and immediately drive north.(rental car agents in Phoenix are notorious for add ons and bait and switch---stick with your original plan) Palm Springs is golf, golf, golf, great if that's your interest but can be rather boring if you want to do other things. However, Joshua Tree National Park nearby is totally non English and might be of interest. I think the places you will enjoy the most are San Diego and Sedona. Enjoy!

Susan - before anyone can give you useful advice/suggestions we must know WHAT MONTH are you traveling? This is very important since three of the cities you mention will be over 110F June thru mid-Sept. And they could be substantially hotter than that - up to 120F or more. Not a good idea to be driving through the desert in summer unless you have a lot of experience. There would be MUCH better places yo go.

But if your holiday is in winter or early spring there would be a lot to see in those areas.

So - when are you planning to travel???

Susan,
What time of year .. all adults or kids along too ? Driven here before ? What do you like to see in general? The US is so big and varied you ask a nearly impossible question without giving more details. It took me a while to get used to driving 8 or 10 hours a day at a near constant speed (and you won't get away with doing 90mph for long either) .. it's totally different !
p. (expat)

kam, who insists that Palm Springs is at least 15 degrees hotter than Palm Desert in the Summer (even though it's 10 miles away) is consistently WRONG about the Palm Springs area in our opinion. There is a lot more to do than golf in season. We really don't play and would be considered "duffers" at best. When we go, we love to hike in the indian canyons and hear imagine the ancient native americans that lived there for over a thousand years. We have taken jeep tours along the San Andreas fault to natural hot springs, hot air ballooned at dawn, seen impossibly starlit skies at nearby Joshua Tree National Park, been to a jazz concert in a public park, floated lazily on a heated pool in February, dined at fabulous restaurants, listened to sometimes terrible, sometimes startlingly good amateur poetry at a coffee bar, experienced incredibly romantic evenings by firelight at intimate clubs formerly frequented by Frank Sinatra, slept in Clark Gable and Carole Lombard's honeymoon suite--and just generally recharged batteries and warmed cold bones in the thick of winter. So---I heartily disagree and urge you to go.

I'd consider skipping Phoenix. Instead, go about 2 hours further north and spend that time in Sedona (which is also within day-trip distance of the Grand Canyon)

I would bring plenty of sunscreen. You Brits get fried here. I would plan San Diego last because it has the coolest temp. If you do SD first you will wonder why you ever left. Why Tucson? Unless you have family or friends or you're a big golfer skip it. Same for Phoenix. Stay at the Grand Canyon instead. I agree with going to Sedona also.
This is a lot of hot boring driving. At least it won't be complicated. Hard to get lost if you stay on the highways. Get a bigger car to ensure your engine with the aircontioning blasting away won't overheat. Bring lots of water in the car in case you break down in the middle of nowhere. If you pass on the Arizona thing consider going from Palm Springs to Santa Barbara, California. Check out the tour books it's always rated high.

I did a 7 day trip covering Tucson, Phoenix, Sedona, and Grand Canyon by car. It is ALOT of driving. I liked Tucson, but the added driving time to Sedona wasn't worth it.

If I were doing it again, I would fly into Phoenix and drive up to Sedona splitting the Arizona days between the Grand Canyon and Sedona.

Another vote for Sedona as well.
Have lunch at l'auberge de Sedona - next to a babbling brook and beautiful scenery and Fabulous food!
Climb the famous Red Rocks or take a jeep tour. You will love the cacti it is so different! Skip Tucson.

Hi Susan,
I hope you have a fabulous trip here. San Diego is nice, great weather. Go to the zoo, it is great. La Jolla a few miles north also is fun, the seals are on the beach there.
I also think Sedona is must-do. It is about an hour from Phoenix. Do you golf? There are famous courses in Scottsdale at the resorts.

Hi Susan,

I'd have to second some of the advice here.... San Diego is a lovely city, nice beaches, lots of family entertainment choices, very accessible, a great zoo and good entertainment choices albeit as a relatively young city it lacks the unique character of, say, a Santa Barbara, etc. Given the fact that you enjoyed San Francisco, I would agree with the suggestion that you avoid driving across the desert (it is beautiful in its own way, but given the distances you are contemplating it might become a rather trying journey) and would suggest the drive up the California coast through Los Angeles and up to Santa Barbara. Three hours past that is an even quainter town, San Luis Obispo, that is far enough outside of the LA monstrosity that you can experience a real taste of small-town Western-American lifestyle. Make sure you're there on a Thursday night to enjoy the local "farmers market" where all of the main street shopkeepers and restaurants set up shop on the sidewalks offering interesting people-watching and great barbecue. Another three hours past that is Monterey, another beautiful city, and the drive on Pacific Coast Highway between SLO and Monterey is breathtaking.

Arizona is especially beautiful at certain times of year, from my recollection the spring monsoon season brings the desert foilage to life. Sedona is awesome, I hear that Santa Fe is as well.... but I would recommend flying and not driving. It might actually be an economical alternative for you, as you can usually get a good round trip airfare on one of the economy airlines if you plan the dates of travel well... but I suppose this depends on the size of your party travelling with you.

Enjoy your holiday. Cheers!

Thanks very much to all of you for your advice so far its great to hear your opinions.

In answer to your questionsBR>
We will be travelling in the first two weeks of March

There are 2 adults in the party

Yes last year we have drove from LA to San Francisco to LA (long story)to Las Vegas via 1 night stopover in Palmsprings. My partner drives approx 1000 miles a week in the uk and he enjoys the driving in America, he particuly enjoys the silence in the desert.Last year we drove back from Las Vegas via the Mojave Desert.

We are renting a Chevy Astrovan with air con.

We want a mixture of good shopping( we like the discount outlets i.e Vans. addidas and Puma)/good food( esp Mexican. Whilst travelling between towns we want to visit an Indian Reservation and view some top scenary.

Thanks again
Kind Regards Sue

If you are travelling in March, the desert will be cool and pleasant. I too recommend Sedona. Travel north through Oak Creek Canyon for a beautiful drive up to Flagstaff and then on to the Grand Canyon. We saw a rare double rainbow in Oak Creek Canyon a few years ago.