You might want to consider
San Francisco --> Nor Cal sites, including Yosemite --> fly from Sacramento to Jackson, WY. (You'll have layovers). Or Bozeman, MT. It's an hour and half drive from Bozeman to Yellowstone and gorgeous area.
Personally, I don't think Denver is a necessary stop for your Yellowstone leg. It is quite far. If you were interested in Rocky Mountain National Park, then sure. I also don't think Glenwood Springs is a must-do.
Then after Yellowstone, you could drive or fly to Salt Lake or St. George and hit your southern Utah spots.
Then drive or fly to LA.

We are only going from Denver purely to see monument valley and the Rocky Mountains were more of interest than Vegas but if there is a better place to fly to to include this we would certainly be willing to adjust the plan.

This itinerary is definitely packed, especially with the kids in tow. You might want to set aside a few days in between for some downtime or chill stops. Maybe alternate between action-packed days, like Disneyland, and more relaxed ones with national parks, which your husband is keen on.

My suggestion cuts out Denver, but if you were to leave Yellowstone and head to Salt Lake you could still drive to Moab and any of the other southern Utah and northern Arizona sites and then head to LA after that. It seems like a more straight-forward way to fit in all of your must-dos. The Wasatch mountain range where Salt Lake is located is part of the larger Rocky Mountain range. Overall though, you are planning on seeing some really beautiful and varied landscapes, and I'm excited for your family to experience it all.

Have fun and don't forget to post a quick note on the trip once it happens!

I also wouldn't use Denver. Jackson, Bozeman or even Salt Lake are better for Yellowstone/Grand Teton. I've been in multiple snow storms in October. It's also a possibility in September so you need to remain flexible. You'll see beautiful mountain scenery in the Tetons.

Monument Valley is at least 2.5 hours each way from Moab.

This itinerary reads a lot like the itineraries posted by American travelers on the Australia forum, where the Australians tell the Americans that they are crazy and remind them of how big the country is.

Denver to Moab is about 5:20, so doable in a long day without having to stop in Glenwood Springs for a night.

I just looked for flights from Jackson, WY to Oahu, Hawaii and they are in the 9-13 hour range with stops in LAX, SLC, DEN or SEA.

Good point, Melnq8. When we did Australia we tempered our plans waaaay down and decided to do Sydney ---> fly to Uluru ----> fly to Cairns ---> fly back to Sydney. That was instead of driving and we are GLAD we booked the planes as the flights were a tiny fraction of the insane drive times!

Crazy, but all worth it.
Just a reminder: it's important to be prepared with a data plan. Make sure you have internet access and don't rely on roaming if you want to keep your wallet intact. I recommend this USA eSIM service. I've used it twice this year during my trips to the USA, and it's been reliable. Their cheapest plan starts at just $5.

I’m not recommending Yellowstone for October, but the Utah parks will be fine. Just noting that from Salt Lake City there are 2 daily nonstops to Honolulu, one Delta (Skyteam) and one Hawaiian Airlines (which is OneWorld so bookable on Qantas ticket). So SLC airport could save a lot of hassle getting directly to Hawaii and not having to connect on the west coast.

It’s a personal choice but not sure even as a kid I would have wanted 4 theme park days.

I don't know which way to lean on/about such an itinerary.

The reality is that when you take a giant trip SO far from home, you really DO need to cram-in a lot... because you may never get the chance again, especially as a family.

Yet as I read through, and consider... I am certain that the highlight of the trip will be (perhaps a first run-through of Disneyland, roaming around everywhere, with the girls, and plotting what you're going to do/PRIORITIZE when it is time to really make a day of it.

(I also don't want to have to contemplate the reality of their having/wanting SO MANY SOUVENIRS... (that a good move shall be to pause at a post office to have all of those items SHIPPED HOME)


With those obvious highlights in mind... I just want the girls to be well rested beFORE the big 3-day experience... AND have at least some amount of time to recover afterward (without having to watch dad driving on the wrong side of the road while recovering).

You really should slow your roll on the whole thing.

a 6:55am arrival in San Fran, coinciding with the start of an American day... affords zero wiggle room despite the good chance that everyone won't be on the SAME mental schedule just then.

I already want to hope your flight is an hour late, and that it takes a long while to navigate toward your rental car... JUST so it won't be rush hour when dad is trying to remind himself of the ideal side of the road.


HOPEfully the "Napa Valley" interests are low-key, and afford more time for rest and adjustment to (American customs) (and water going down the drain the wrong way).

Just so everyone in the group can be truly gung-ho about the upcoming trek to Disneyland.


I can see Grand Teton, and I can certainly see going to Yellowstone, but in the interest of everyone being in top mental and physical shape for the most important parts of the journey, it makes sense to cut-out some of the lesser highlights in favor of more time in single spots.. (and time to pause at the post office to ship souvenirs home).