SuryaMishra

Hi,

I and my friends are planning a road trip from NJ to Las Vegas in the last week of december spanning 10 days. We are 4 in number and 2 of us would do all the driving. Now we don't want to spend more than a couple of days in Vegas. We want to explore the route in between. I know winter is not the ideal time to do so. But here we are.

We were thinking of taking the route NJ - Cleveland - Chicago - Omaha - Denver - Moab - LV while going and LV - Antelope canyon (AZ) - Albuquerque (NM) - Oklahoma - St.Louis - Indianapolis - Columbus (OH) - NJ

This is our first road trip anywhere outside the east coast and we would be glad to get some suggestions and advice.

Thanks
Suri

nytraveler

Well, my first advice is don't do it. Just the wrong time of year and unless you are used to winter driving a challenge. Also be prepared that you may not meet your schedule - which is very aggressive and doesn;t really give you time to see anything - based on weather conditions. (Assume if there is bad weather you may be limited to 25 or 30 mph and some roads may be closed.)

But if you're going - make sure your vehicle is up to the task

- Snow tires or chains where needed
- Recently tuned
- Good scraper, snow brush, snow shovel and something for ice (salt or kitty litter)
- Make sure you have water, food and blankets in the car - since in some areas cell reception may not be good
- Never let gas in the tank go below 50%
- Find out the local radio stations for weather conditions and if there is significant bad weather STAY WHERE YOU ARE
- make sure you have lots of credit on your CCs - in case of unexpected expenses

Also - you don't mention your ages. I assume you know that you have to be 21 to get into a casino - and many hotels won;t let groups of young people check in without a very significant damage deposit.

I understand the desire - we have done many road trips in europe - yes, even in winter - but with cars in perfect condition and enough extra time that we could delay a day or two if needed.

WhereAreWe

10 days total?? With 2 days in Vegas that leaves you 8 days of travel time to drive over 5000 miles. You'd have to average over 600 miles a day, so plan on 8-10 hours of driving per day. There are stretches of that trip that go through very rural areas or higher elevations where scattered icy spots are very possible - I would try to do most of the driving during daylight.

I think it's going to be a challenge to fit in much sightseeing anywhere with only 8 days for the actual journey.

Now, if you have 10 days to get there and 10 days to get back, you'd have a much better trip for exploring. So please clarify exactly how much time you have in total for the trip?

emalloy

Weather is going to be the iffy thing. But if you haven't been to Grand Canyon, I would head there on the way back, much more impressive than Antelope Canyon and you could then decide to continue east on 40 or drop down to 10 or up to 70 for the trip back.

Ackislander

Did they say it was round trip? If so, loony, especially at this time of year. One way, okay, maybe. I was young and foolish once and might have done it.

But not via direct route through Nebraska and Colorado. Too much danger of bad weather. You would want to do I-81 or I-95/85 south to North Carolina, then I-40 west all the way from NC to Kingman, AZ, making the Grand Canyon easy.

It would be about 40 hours of driving -- four ten hour days -- only marginally longer than the I 70 route and more interesting except for missing the Colorado portion. Take the two days in Vegas from the ten, that leaves four days for sightseeing en route: Nashville or Memphis, Santa Fe (slightly off route) and Grand Canyon.

If the weather is bad on I-40, you can go further south to I-10 and see New Orleans, San Antonio, and Tucson, but it adds considerably to the driving.

Any of these routes gives you some possibility of being marooned in a truck stop or motel for a day or two, but the farther south you travel the less likely you are to have this happen.

DebitNM

Seriously? A bad, bad idea. The weather out this way in winter isn't to be taken lightly. Even in good weather, this plan is terrible - all you do is spend time in a car, as the landscape whizzes by. Don't do it.

WhereAreWe

"Did they say it was round trip?"

Not sure, that's why I asked for clarification. First sentence was "we're planning a 10 day road trip from NJ to Vegas" but the 2nd paragraph lists a tentative itinerary from NJ to Vegas and back, taking a different route on the way back. So it sounds like it IS a roundtrip, just can't tell if they have 10 days for the first part or 10 days for the entire roundtrip. Hopefully we'll find out.

janisj

To follow on from DebitNM . . . >> A bad, bad idea.<<

Make that a <B>BAD, BAD</B> idea!

Marginal

And what do you expect to do in Antelope Canyon in midwinter? Have you actually researched the conditions?

As there are already 12 destinations mentioned on a 10-day drive, I call troll on this one.

Ackislander

My guess from their names is that they are South Asian.

Once, a very long time ago, on a Greyhound bus somewhere in North Carolina I was seated across the aisle from a young Japanese couple. She was crying, and I asked if I could help.

They had been in New York and decided to go to Atlanta because she loved "Gone with the Wind." It had looked so close on the map . . . .

It may not be a troll, just naivete on the part of international students.

Gretchen

Yup, bad idea for weather. Look at the map right now!! I have been on I70 in sudden ice and snow--and off the road twice before I pulled off in Goodland, KS for safety. Weather coming from the west can develop quickly over a few days and you are "caught".

boom_boom

I've driven those basic routes a couple of times and would not do that trip in late December. Maybe in May/June when you have more daylight hours and better weather.
If you must see Vegas in December and have to drive, take I-10 most of the way and stay out of winter's way.

Marginal

Fly to Las Vegas. Rent a car and drive to Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Mojave, Palm Springs.

Forget about Denver, Albuquerque, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cleveland

Get ahold of a good US guide, Fodors sells one, also Lonely Planet sells one. Then read it and actually measure out how much driving is involved.