My husband and I are visiting the US for 1 month in May and this coincides with our 9th wedding anniversary! As it is our first trip to the states, we would love to get some thoughts on our itinerary. This is what we are thinking:

Friday 9th May Fly from Sydney, Australia - arrive San Francisco. Spend 4 nights.

Monday 12th May – Do a full day bus tour to Yosemite.

Tuesday 13th May – Fly to Las Vegas. Spend 3 nights

Fri 16th May – Drive to Zion NP for 1 night

Sat 17th May – Zion NP in morning, afternoon drive to Bryce Canyon for 1 night

Sun 18th May – Bryce to Monument valley, 1 night in this area. Any suggestions?

Mon 19th – Monument Valley to Grand Canyon. Stay near South Rim.

Tues 20th – GC to Las Vegas. Drop off car. Fly to Washington DC. Spend 3 nights in DC.

Fri 23rd – Rent a car and drive north. We have friends to surprise with a visit in Patterson and Wallkill but will need accommodation in each place for one night. Any suggestions?

Tues 27th – Drive through to Niagara. We want to see both sides but would like to stay on Canadian side. Spend 2 nights.

Thurs 29th – Leave Niagara and head towards NYC. Stay somewhere en route – any quaint places to stay?

Friday 30th May – Arrive in New York, drop off rental car. Spend 8 nights in NYC!! Staying with a friend in NYC, at East 77th St.

Sat 7th June – Fly JFK to San Fran. Connect San Fran to Sydney Australia.

Any ideas of places to see / accommodation / must eat places / shows to see, would be much appreciated. We would like to go to a good place to eat for at least our anniversary dinner….was thinking somewhere in Vegas? Basically we don’t really want to be rushing non-stop or driving non-stop, which would mean that we don’t have time to enjoy the scenery and the moment!

Also, where would be the recommended places to pick up and drop off car, ie.from the airport? In the city centers? Any preferred car rental companies? What is the traffic situation in NYC, would it be easy to drop car off right in city?

Finally, we have heard it is Memorial Day on Monday 26th May and it was suggested that we are not anywhere near an airport on this day due to the high amount of travellers. Is this correct?

I love your itinerary. I am sure you will get lots of advice about places to add - but I have lived here my entire 53 years and have not seen everything, so I would stick with your plan to spend a little more time in fewer places. Do not fall into the trap of "we are so close, we must see..."

Regarding Memorial Day - not sure what your advice meant about not being near an airport. Some people do fly places for ths 3-day weekend but far more drive. Your biggest concern would traffic in towns holding traditional parades - and that ties up traffic for about an hour. In fact, you might want to watch one.

By Paterson, I think you mean New Jersey. This is not a touristy area, very close to Newark, NJ and I might ask friends for a hotel recommendation in a decent location.

Where is Wallkill - never heard of it.

You might also do individual searches here on your specific destinations (such as SF, Niagara Falls) - these are all popular destinations and much has been posted here before.

And when you return home, we would love to hear your ipressions from your trip.

If you mean Wallkill, NY, it's kind of middle-of-nowhere. Your friends might be best to ask for accommodation tips.

Wow..one month to travel, thats GREAT!

It looks like a great itinerary! My thoughts:

It lookis like you are into the outdoor stuff, you have picked some beautiful places to visit..I am jealous!

I wonder if you will be impressed with Niagra Falls? It is a long way to go for that one spot/and 2 nights...but it is just my opinion.

A nice spot on the way back to NYC would be Lake George/Saratoga area.

Patterson NJ is a working class area near NYC...ask your friends to pick a spot. Walkill is a bit more rural...you need local info here.

Driving in NYC is a NIGHTMARE! You would be better served to drop the car off at Newark or Laguardia AP and take a cab or bus into the city.

For a "quaint place" to stop at on your way to NYC from Niagara Falls, I would suggest somewhere in the Finger Lakes (wine country) ex: Skaneateles, Seneca Falls..Someone suggeted Lake George, however, that isn't really on the way to NYC from Niagara Falls. If you like baseball, I may also suggest a stop at Cooperstown, very nice little town with the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Your itinerary sounds wonderful! How nice to have a month long vacation.

Are you sure you want to spend a week driving up to Niagra and back?

You may want to reconsider more of a New England tour, unless you were looking forward to crossing into Canada. You could go coastal New England instead, and visit Acadia NP and Bar Harbor, perhaps Cape Ann in Massaachusetts, and Newport, RI.

If you do want to see the falls, you may want to consider staying around Niagra-on-the-lake, and taking a route through Vermont, maybe hitting Stowe or Woodstock.

Enjoy your trip, and Happy Anniversary!

I think you have too many one-nighters in Utah.

Calculate your days/nights to make sure you have at least 1 1/2 half daytime days in zion and 1 full daytime day in Bryce Canyon.

In Bryce, unless you hike down into the hoodoos, you're doing yourself a disservice. At least navajo Loop down and Queen's Garden back up.

Try to get in-park lodging in bryce and GC. They will always be booked but if you call every day, things will open up eventually.

Also, make sure you hike at least partway down into GC. I didn't and should have. From above GC looks like a giant bowl and the Colorado River looks like a stream. You don't get the proper perspecitve from up there.

I agree you might want more time in Utah (which is incredibly beautiful) and skip Niagara Falls I sometimes compare Niagara Falls to Uluru -- it's something everyone knows about but it's really in the middle of nowhere, it can suck up a lot of time to visit, and you may decide it's not really worth it. (I might also cut down on the time in NYC, but that might depend on how much time you want to spend with friends).

If you are going to be in Wallkill, you might consider finding a nice town along the Hudson River, or even in the Berkshires (the part of Massachusetts a little to the North and just east of the Hudson) to visit. I may be biased but if you want to get a flavor of a special American region, the small New England towns are worth a visit.

Although I've been to Grand Canyon a couple times, I think our best "limited time" trip was taking two friends -- driving from Las Vegas to Zion for a night, the next morning driving to the NORTH Rim of Grand Canyon (which surprisingly I feel is just as good as going all the way round to the other side), having lunch there and then driving up to Bryce for two nights. I agree you need to get out into Bryce -- we preferred a half day horse trip more than the hikes we've done there, covers more ground.
I honestly think I could cut Monument Valley and driving to the south rim and just concentrate on those areas north of Grand Canyon.

I happen to think Niagara Falls is a spectacular sight -- not every one agrees -- so I see nothing wrong with making that trip, although if given the choice in "seeing America" I too would probably opt for some New England coast instead.

But I think it's a great plan overall. And there'd be nothing wrong with doing it just as you say. Tweaking is always difficult -- so many places, so little time.

I am researching doing a trip to Utah and Arizona and your itinerary from Las Vegas through Utah and Arizona seems too rushed to me. You mention that you don't want to spend all your time in the car and that is exactly what it seems like what you would have to do to see all that in 4 or 5 days. That trip can easily be as a 10 day trip and deserves that.

It is too bad you are planning to do Yosemite as a day trip. At least 2/3 of that day will be spent in the bus going back and forth. Lots of folks do it, but doing Yosemite as a "drive by" is a mistake. I would spend at least one night there if possible.

I would drop a night from Vegas and a night or two from NYC and add it either in your Utah portion and/or to Yosemite.

Have a great trip.

Hi Aussie,

I think you are going to be sorry if you don't spend more time in Utah. One nighters are not enough. The driving times between the parks is considerable and won't leave you much time to see an enjoy.


I haven't been to Niagara Falls so can't make a personal recommendation on your allotment of time for that. But for me, I would cut San Francisco by 1 day, Las Vegas by 1 day and add those to Utah.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

i would add CARMEL ( 17 miles drive) for california coastline/wildlife, unreal scenery and skip yosemite ( don´t blast me folks) since you are going to utah.

bryce canyon should not be missed.

I would also learn how to do "priceline" as it was a great way for us to save heaps of money this summer when we spent a couple weeks on the road.

start checking out www.travelzoo.com for deals in d.c. and other bigger cities you might be visiting. we stayed at a sheraton in arlington with free parking for $69 a night this summer.

enjoy your trip. it looks great.

the native american museum in d.c. has a very interesting cafeteria with native foods. there are also documentary movies being played on a schedule.

vegas has some of the best chefs, so doing research will bring up many great options there.

I think the South Rim to LV drive on the same day as a flight to DC might be too cramped, unless that flight leaves late at night.

I think Niagara is definitely worth it, since you have a lot of "natural wonders" on your list.

8 days in NYC is too long, in comparison with the rest of your trip. However, it sounds like your accomodations are "free", so maybe you can just relax a bit.

Drop off a rental car outside of New York - at one of the airports. You do not want to be driving in NYC, and many rental car companies won't let you take a car into NYC.

Forgot to mention, I did a Las Vegas to Bryce to Zion to GC to Sedona trip this past June.

I posted a very, very detained trip report and photos at:

www.travelwalks.com

This should give you an idea of what Zion and Bryce Canyon look like.

You are so lucky to have one month of traveling!..
I think it’s great to sample the different parts of the US. I would try to extend your trip to the west a bit, maybe stay less in SF and take in the scenery of a drive from SF to LA, enjoy Disneyland (it is just too much fun to miss and true Americana) and then fly from LA to LV.

I agree with the other posters that your Utah itinerary sounds rushed. You can definitely see ZP in the morning – but you won’t enjoy it because the charm in these parks is to feel the earth underneath your hiking shoes and absorb the scenery through walking and that takes time… I would opt to spend the full day in Zion and then early in AM drive to Bryce. At that time of the year, your days will be long and you will be able to do a lot of driving in the AM, before the parks open. I would also recommend that to prepare for your midwest leg of your trip, you get a sunrise and sundown time table, and try to catch those magical times as much as possible. Bryce Canyon is also a definite full day at least...

On route from Bryce to GC or monument valley you might also want to consider antelope canyon – a couple of hours stop and definitely worth it! And if you are already in the area… mesa verde is a great place.
(And I will not tempt you with the parks near Moab… that’s probably for your second trip.)

I agree with others that flying to DC and going north to Niagara Falls is not something I would do – and not the best use of your limited time. I would substitute DC for Boston (2-3 days) and would do a New England trip coming to NYC from the north. Overall, I would probably give more time to the parks and cut days from the cities… but that's just my preference.

Enjoy your trip!

I would definitely recommend staying at least a night in Yosemite. It takes about 4 hours to drive from SF to Yosemite in a car. A day bus trip would mean more than 8 hours of driving, which would leave little time to take in the beauty of Yosemite. Also I would hate to this park with a large group.

Unless you are into gambling, 3 nights in Las Vegas is a lot. If you are interested in seeing shows, go to the iconic Beach Blanket Babylon in San Francisco. It is much less expensive than LV shows and very original. You need to make reservations ahead as this show, which has run for over 25 years, is always sold out. You can make reservations online.

I agree with others, cut out Niagara and add to parks.

San Francisco is a great tourist city and you will be jet lagged so 4 days seem a little short to me. Can you spend a day or two less in NYC and add to SF?

Wallkill NY is near Newburgh. There are several hotels near Stewart-Newburgh airport, and a few new ones popping up from time to time.

Anything close to Newburgh airport (SWF) will be pretty convenient to Wallkill.

on maps.google.com enter "hotel near SWF" and you'll come up with a list of about 10. The Hilton Garden Inn is relatively new.

Niagara Falls is a trek from NYC (& back). To many it's one of those 'must see' sights - not unlike visiting Pisa. Many won't return for a 2nd visit, but it's good to visit once. If you don't mind the trek then go for it.

As much as I like SF, why do I get the impression that Hearsh lives there? Four nights in SF, eight nights NYC. There is at least 10 times more to do in New York City so spending twice as much time there as SF makes a whole lot of sense -- especially since they have presumably "free" lodging there!

But I wholeheartedly agree not to miss Beach Blanket Babylon!

A couple of notes about the eastern section of the trip:

You will paya significant charge to pickup near DC and dro poff in NYC

You MUST tell the company you will taking the car into Canada (may be different insurance, some may allow this and some not)

If you can drop the car off in NYC depends on which company your rent from. Most of the majors (Hertz, AVis etc) have offices on the upper east or west side (usually in the 70s). These are easy to get to coming from the north - you just take the Tappan Zee bridge across the Hudson and follow the Saw Mill River Parkway south to the Henry Hudson - and get off at 79th St.) Several of the offices are only 5 or 6 blocks from the Parkway exit.Then it makes sense - and you could just grab a cab to your friend's place for only about $10.

But- if you have to trek into Midtown the traffic and dealing with city rules (most streets are one way and many have no turn intersections at major streets) can get you going in circles.

First, Memorial Day weekend is a big (Bank) holiday - the start of summer - but driving is much more of an issue than flying. And on that date you won;t be near any major airports. But do expect LOTS of road traffic.

For NYC buy tickets for what you can in advance. Broadwaybox.com offers discounts to older shows from 60 to 90 days out - and you should find some good deals. Also - if you want to see the Statue of LIberty/Ellis Island Immigration Museums buy ferry tickets in advance - or the lines are horrendous.

I agree that 3 nights in Las Vegas might get really boring, unless you love to gamble.

Sounds like a fun trip.