Booking hotels/motels in advance
 

We are travelling to the Southwest USA in September or October. We intend to drive around Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico for 2-3 weeks and would like to do it at our leisure, that is, without a definite timeframe for each overnight, so if we find somewhere we like we can stay an extra night or two.

If we make reservations for our first and last couple of nights, are we likely to get reasonable places to stay as we go along? We don't need fancy, but we would like to feel safe and comfortable. It would also be nice to hit the occasional swimming pool.

Any advice?

It's generally not a problem. Motels really don't have to be booked in advance except in places like the Grand Canyon and other isolated areas (or a big city), where you might not find a vacancy (at least a reasonably priced one) at the last minute.

My advice: If there is a particular brand of motel or hotel that you like, stick with it and just make a reservation for your next stop as you are traveling. If you have a smartphone, it's easy enough to do, and some hotel chains have apps. Otherwise, you can access their web sites.

If you don't have a smartphone or don't want to bother, it's just not a big deal. You might occasionally run into a situation where your first or second choice is full, but I doubt that will be the case after kids are back in school.

Thank you Doug, that sounds very reasonable. My smartphone is usually too expensive or unreliable when I am abroad; booking it a day at a time is ideal, maybe using wifi spots or the motel computer, where they have one.

Am I right that kids go back to school the first weekday after Labour Day?

If you're visiting some of the better known National Parks, such as the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell or Zion, I would recommend at least making reservations at those locations. They are extremely popular and even though the US schoolkids do get back in school on Labor Day, those parks remain busy.

For example, Grand Canyon park hotels (inside the park) are sold out from what I've heard, but you might still be able to find lodging in Tusayan aka Grand Canyon Village South just outside the park. Info re: lodging in this area ->: http://bit.ly/FQ2Leb

The other day I booked a room for Sunday, October 14 at Yavapai Lodge in Grand Canyon. It was the <i>only</i> lodge in the Park that had any vacancies for that particular day. (I have a backpacking permit for the next day, so my date is fixed).

So the advice to make in-Park reservations way ahead of time is sound!

Lodging between Mexican Hat, Utah, and Kayenta, AZ is worth thinking about in advance. This is the Monument Valley area, and there are relatively few places to stay given the volume of people even in early October, when we were there.

While schools resume here in the Southwest in August, there are LOTS of visitors here in Sept and October as it is the BEST time of year to be here. It is probably the busiest visitor time here because the weather is so perfect.

Albuquerque has it's International Balloon Fiesta and it is something you should really plan on attending. You need to allow for a few days here, as the launching of balloon is very weather dependent [no wind and no rain] and you would hate to be here for only 1 or 2 mornings and find that the balloons aren't going up. You need to book hotels NOW, it is even late at this point, but still you might find places around town.

http://www.balloonfiesta.com/

Pools in NM and CO will most likely not be open past the first weekend [Labor Day] in Sept.

Colorado will also have good weather, but it has been known to snow in mid September.

Are you flying here and then renting a car? If so, think about flying into one airport [PHX] and then out of another [ABQ] to prevent having to circle back.

Or, if you're planning to visit the Grand Canyon and some of the Utah national parks, you could fly into Las Vegas and out of Albuquerque.

Lee Ann

Hotels in Grand Junction, CO are often full as a pre or post mountain drive to Denvver. Nearby Moab, UT for Arches National Park are limited and should be reserved.

Hello,
If you are traveling to Albuquerque/Santa Fe area of NM, Sept/Oct are high tourism for our area due to the State Fair and Balloon Fiesta. The Balloon fiesta is a site to see and if you can swing it, I would recommend your trip during that time (10/6-10/14). However, people prebook hotels a year in advance, something to plan now.

The state fair is 9/11-9/23.

Enjoy your trip, sounds fantastic!

We tried to get a room in September in Santa Fe one year (we left a vrbo unit abruptly when the owner came home early) and it was completely booked. We found a room elsewhere, no problem but you may want to consider booking some places, especially on the weekends in New Mexico.