need two stop-overs from LA to Santa Fe, NM
 

We just returned from another wonderful trip to Santa Fe. The drive from LA was over 16 hours. Over 8 hours a day driving is too much for us.We would like some suggestions on how to break down the drive into three segments, but have no idea where to stay. We want at least Best Western or better accommodations and absolutely hate Denny's. Can this be done? All suggestions greatly appreciated!

Are you driving on I 40 or I 10 ??

If you don't want to stop in Vegas or Laughlin, consider stopping near Hoover Dam.

posted too soon.

A second stop could be at Accoma, visit the pueblo and stay at their casino/hotel I think it is called Sky City.

DebitNM: we would take the 1-40.

Emalloy, sorry, I don't understand your post.

They want to stop two times, I would suggest, that there are tons of places to stop, but if I were just looking for a third of the way with lodging, (and I'm cheap) I would probably stop in either Laughlin or Hoover Dam area, about 4 or so hrs from LA and in the middle of New Mexico 4 or so hrs from either of those places, and visit something nearby. Not that the OP is cheap and I'assuming the OP could use googlemaps or map quest and pick a route. I think if you go straight to Santa Fe it's about 12 hrs from LA, so, if it is not a trip to see anything, I would just go for it, but that's me

LOL, we don't say "the" I 40. See - http://www.fodors.com/community/fodo...erminology.cfm

It is hard to divide the trip evenly into even driving days. A stop in Flagstaff and then maybe off the road a bit in Lake Havasu.

Or - Holbrook and Kingman?

Time of year might matter too...

I agree Kingman (EconoLodge), and Holbrook.
East of Holbrook on day 3 stop for an hour at The Painted Desert in Petrified Forest NP.

I've always wanted to stay in Winslow at La Posada.

If you think Winslow is doable you might even do Winslow to Barstow for the second leg. Kingman is kind of close to make that the overnight from Winslow.

How about Phoenix area and then Show Low or Pinetop/Lakeside, Arizona?

Why does the drive take over 16 hours? It should be a 12 hour trip.

I see you posted this last year and were looking for an overnight stop about halfway:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...es-to-stop.cfm

You also noted that you are notoriously slow movers.

So the question is: what do you do that stretches the drive from LA to Santa Fe into a 16 hour vs. 12-13 hour drive? Are you taking long lunch breaks? Stopping to do any sightseeing on the way? Do you start from a far suburb of LA and run into traffic?

Where did you end up staying overnight on your last couple of trips? And how long did it take to make the drive from LA to that first night's stop? Or Santa Fe to the first night's stop?

That would all be helpful to know so we can divvy up the mileage and hours into 3 segments that make sense for you and your travel style.

I'm guessing that we drove 16 hours for our trip to Santa Fe, it may have been less. Map quest estimates 13 1/2. We stopped mid way in Flagstaff coming and going this time; last time we stopped in Winslow at the Posada. Nice midway points. We had some nice meals in Flagstaff, but in both cases we arrived coming and going at our destinations after dark. We do take frequent breaks, have meals on the road, stretch a bit, change drivers frequently, so perhaps, it adds up to us taking longer than someone who drives straight through. We were lucky, really did not hit traffic gridlocks, though there was some slowing in NM for road work. It just seemed like a lot of concentrated time on the road, I think I would prefer to take it easier, thus my opening question for suggestions to break it up in three segments.

We are thinking we would like to repeat the trip again next yr in late Oct. Autumn in Santa Fe this year was glorious.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Debit I thought about whether or not to use "the" describing 1-40 re the discussion in the lounge. It just sounds right to my ears! ;)

:o)

come stay in Farmington - we are near Mesa Verde and chaco canyon, and have many hotels to chose from

I suppose it depends where you really start in LA, as just getting to the east side of the city could take you an hour if your were on the westside. I don't know why Mapquest would estimate it as 13.5 hours as Yahoo maps says only 12 hrs by I40, but it may be the start point put in. I just put in my old address in Santa Monica, almost at the ocean, and it still says it's only 12 hours to Santa Fe. If you stopped for several hours to eat throughout the day, that would do it, I guess. When I'm trying to get somewhere, I never stop more than about 15 minutes and just get some sandwich at a fast food place, then move on, even eating some in the car.

But if you do it leisurely, I'm not clear on why you'd need 2 stops rather than one. One will mean only 6 hours of driving (or 8 for the trip, I guess). but if you want to stop and smell the roses and have tons of time, I would suggest maybe Kingman AZ (not Needles, I spent a night there on some similar trip, ugh, and it's too small to really have much in the way of accommodations), I just can't think of any great place farther west. Then I'd suggest Gallup NM, that's about 4-5 hours from Santa Fe.

Of course I was in Needles when it was pretty hot, if you just want a place to stop, it would be okay, it is historic, actually. And it would divide the trip up better into thirds. And it does have a couple of the usual motels, so would be fine.

On one of our earliest Out West trips from Orange County, we spent a night in Needles where we ate at a Chinese restaurant, likely now long gone. This experience led to the family saying, "Never eat noodles in Needles." We've had just fine one-night stays in Kingman, Flagstaff, La Posada in Winslow, and Gallup, typically traveling in the summer.