driving from Grand Canyon to LA
Aug 14th, 2001 | 06:15 PM
#1
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driving from Grand Canyon to LA
We are a family of 4 (2 children ages 8 & 11) from Australia. We plan to visit Las Vegas, Grand Canyon & Los Angeles in October. Can anyone tell us how long it would take to travel from the Grand Canyon to Santa Monica, and which would be the best route to take? Can it be done in one day?
Aug 14th, 2001 | 06:21 PM
#2
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According to the "Driving Directions" at the website:
www.mapquest.com
it's a distance of 509.5 miles (820 km) and estimated driving time is 9 hours, 21 minutes...an awfully long time for just one day but it can be done.
www.mapquest.com
it's a distance of 509.5 miles (820 km) and estimated driving time is 9 hours, 21 minutes...an awfully long time for just one day but it can be done.
Aug 14th, 2001 | 06:50 PM
#4
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There is no way to go from the Grand Canyon to ANYWHERE without going through a lot of desert. In particular, getting to Santa Monica will require going through the Mojave for several hours. Las Vegas may be one place to break up the monotony, but it will make the total time in the desert even longer.
Aug 14th, 2001 | 07:42 PM
#5
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Chris, here's another option.
Drive from Grand Canyon to Laughlin, Nevada (NV) and stop for the night there. It is a small gambling (a very mini-Las Vegas) town on the Colorado River. Next day, drive from Laughlin to Santa Monica. This isn't cutting the drive EXACTLY in half but Laughlin is a better and cheaper place to stay than driving another hour to make it an even 1/2 way.
Again, according to www.mapquest.com, the distance is 208 miles (335 km) and estimated driving time is 4 hours, 40 minutes.
Hotel/Casino prices in Laughlin are very cheap compared to Las Vegas. I recommend staying at the Gold Nugget (has a tropical theme) which only has about 300-400 rooms and if you are there Sunday thru Thursday, you should be able to get a room for $25-$35 a night + $3 special energy fee + tax. We have stayed there several times and the rooms are very nice, not luxurious but VERY nice and we are a fussy retired couple.
I'll be back and post the website for Laughlin and the Gold(en) Nugget.
Drive from Grand Canyon to Laughlin, Nevada (NV) and stop for the night there. It is a small gambling (a very mini-Las Vegas) town on the Colorado River. Next day, drive from Laughlin to Santa Monica. This isn't cutting the drive EXACTLY in half but Laughlin is a better and cheaper place to stay than driving another hour to make it an even 1/2 way.
Again, according to www.mapquest.com, the distance is 208 miles (335 km) and estimated driving time is 4 hours, 40 minutes.
Hotel/Casino prices in Laughlin are very cheap compared to Las Vegas. I recommend staying at the Gold Nugget (has a tropical theme) which only has about 300-400 rooms and if you are there Sunday thru Thursday, you should be able to get a room for $25-$35 a night + $3 special energy fee + tax. We have stayed there several times and the rooms are very nice, not luxurious but VERY nice and we are a fussy retired couple.
I'll be back and post the website for Laughlin and the Gold(en) Nugget.
Aug 14th, 2001 | 07:49 PM
#6
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OK, here's a website devoted to Laughlin, Nevada (2 letter abbreviation is NV).
As I said before, we prefer the Golden Nugget because it is so small. There are others and they are well described at the following website:
http://members.tripod.com/gambill/links.htm
From the above website, you can click on anything in blue letters and get more detail.
As I said before, we prefer the Golden Nugget because it is so small. There are others and they are well described at the following website:
http://members.tripod.com/gambill/links.htm
From the above website, you can click on anything in blue letters and get more detail.
Aug 14th, 2001 | 08:49 PM
#7
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I urge you to become familiar with and use the online mapping websites to help you with your trips here.
The other option is for you to locate and buy there in Australia -- perhaps at a good large bookstore featuring a good travel section or a specialty travel store -- what is called a Road Atlas for the USA.
Now, more about the website called:
www.mapquest.com
1. It requires you to type in a 2 letter abbreviation in the box for "state." Arizona = AZ; California = CA, and Nevada = NV.
2. Once at its homepage at: www.mapquest.com, click on 'driving directions.' Ignore the blank boxes asking for specific addresses as I assume you don't know them. Same for zip codes. If you have them, by all means, use them....they will provide door to door driving directions.
3. Assuming you don't have exact street addresses, just use and type in the empty boxes for city/town and the state.
4. Grand Canyon presents a bit of a special problem in that there is no real city associated with it. So, in this case, on the left side where you type in the 'FROM' info, use the grey down arrow next to the ("select places of interest") and drag it down till you see and highlight 'parks.'
5. In the city box, type in Grand Canyon and in the state box type in AZ.
6. On the right hand side in the 'TO' info, type in Laughlin in the city empty box, and NV in the State empty box.
7. Scroll down a bit and click on the 'go' or the 'get directins' icon. I can't remember exactly which it says.
8. As I recall, you might get a screen asking you to confirm that your FROM info is from the Visitor Center at the Grand Canyon. Do so and click on 'get directions' again.
9. The response will be a picture map as well as detailed driving directions from place to place.
Play around with it a bit. It may seem a bit confusing at first, but you will quickly get the hang of it and it will help you tremendously.
Basically, however, from the Grand Canyon you would go due SOUTH on some highway (whose number I don't remember) till you come to the Interstate Highway #40 which is pretty much an east/west highway. Then, you are basically making a right turn (going WEST) on Interstate Highway 40 almost all the way into Laughlin, NV.
Now, this post and others I've made earlier can be rather complicated to read and then try using another website like Mapquest.
So, do yourself a favor and 'highlight' all this text, do a 'copy.' Then, go into your e-mail program, and 'paste' it into a new e-mail and address it to YOURSELF.
There it will remain for you to print out, or amend with your own notes, etc.
Neat, huh?
Well, that's all -- goodbye and I hope your visit in America is filled with happy memories.
The other option is for you to locate and buy there in Australia -- perhaps at a good large bookstore featuring a good travel section or a specialty travel store -- what is called a Road Atlas for the USA.
Now, more about the website called:
www.mapquest.com
1. It requires you to type in a 2 letter abbreviation in the box for "state." Arizona = AZ; California = CA, and Nevada = NV.
2. Once at its homepage at: www.mapquest.com, click on 'driving directions.' Ignore the blank boxes asking for specific addresses as I assume you don't know them. Same for zip codes. If you have them, by all means, use them....they will provide door to door driving directions.
3. Assuming you don't have exact street addresses, just use and type in the empty boxes for city/town and the state.
4. Grand Canyon presents a bit of a special problem in that there is no real city associated with it. So, in this case, on the left side where you type in the 'FROM' info, use the grey down arrow next to the ("select places of interest") and drag it down till you see and highlight 'parks.'
5. In the city box, type in Grand Canyon and in the state box type in AZ.
6. On the right hand side in the 'TO' info, type in Laughlin in the city empty box, and NV in the State empty box.
7. Scroll down a bit and click on the 'go' or the 'get directins' icon. I can't remember exactly which it says.
8. As I recall, you might get a screen asking you to confirm that your FROM info is from the Visitor Center at the Grand Canyon. Do so and click on 'get directions' again.
9. The response will be a picture map as well as detailed driving directions from place to place.
Play around with it a bit. It may seem a bit confusing at first, but you will quickly get the hang of it and it will help you tremendously.
Basically, however, from the Grand Canyon you would go due SOUTH on some highway (whose number I don't remember) till you come to the Interstate Highway #40 which is pretty much an east/west highway. Then, you are basically making a right turn (going WEST) on Interstate Highway 40 almost all the way into Laughlin, NV.
Now, this post and others I've made earlier can be rather complicated to read and then try using another website like Mapquest.
So, do yourself a favor and 'highlight' all this text, do a 'copy.' Then, go into your e-mail program, and 'paste' it into a new e-mail and address it to YOURSELF.
There it will remain for you to print out, or amend with your own notes, etc.
Neat, huh?
Well, that's all -- goodbye and I hope your visit in America is filled with happy memories.
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Aug 14th, 2001 | 09:39 PM
#8
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Humorously written but very good information about Las Vegas, especially details on hotel room sizes and amenities.
2. www.lvol.com
Has become the staple, generic Las Vegas website to recommend to new visitors. There's a huge amount of info, much more than at first appears.
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1. www.nps.gov
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LOS ANGELES:
1. gocalif.ca.gov/
The one above is California's OFFICIAL website for tourists. A huge website offering all manner of info (including maps) on California and broken down into regions. Southern California is, of course, the one YOU want.
There are many other websites focusing on tourist info for Los Angeles.
Use the excellent Search Engine, "Google" to find just about anything on anything:
www.google.com
1. www.cheapovegas.com
Humorously written but very good information about Las Vegas, especially details on hotel room sizes and amenities.
2. www.lvol.com
Has become the staple, generic Las Vegas website to recommend to new visitors. There's a huge amount of info, much more than at first appears.
NATIONAL PARKS IN THE USA:
1. www.nps.gov
The above website from the NPS (National Park Service) covers them all. Just get to the mainpage and start clicking on those Parks that are of interest to you.
LOS ANGELES:
1. gocalif.ca.gov/
The one above is California's OFFICIAL website for tourists. A huge website offering all manner of info (including maps) on California and broken down into regions. Southern California is, of course, the one YOU want.
There are many other websites focusing on tourist info for Los Angeles.
Use the excellent Search Engine, "Google" to find just about anything on anything:
www.google.com
