Southwest trip advice?
 

Hello everyone! Finally planning last year's postponed trip out west. Hoping for the end of May. We've been looking through the forum to see what others have done and mapped out several itineraries on Streets & Trips. Too many great choices!!! Wish we had a month but we're limited to about 10 days. The itinerary below is the one we are leaning toward. Any comments, suggestions or info you might share?

*Friday - fly into Vegas late evening
*Friday & Saturday nights - Vegas
*Sunday - To GC South Rim via Hoover Dam
*Sunday night - GCNP
*Monday - drive to Durango via Monument Valley
*Monday night - Durango
*Tuesday - San Juan Skyway via Silverton and on to Moab
*Tuesday & Wednesday nights - Moab
*Thursday & Friday nights - Bryce
*Saturday & Sunday nights - Zion
*Monday - fly out of Vegas

It sounds pretty wonderful to me. Too bad you can't schedule so that your Vegas nights aren't Firday and Saturday so you could cut your hotel costs there by about half or more, but I don't see how else that can work, since you're also flying out on Monday.

Make it one night in Vegas (last night is a Sunday)for more reasonable rates.
One night on the strip would be enough for me and it gives you one more day at the NP's.

I agree with highflyer to stay an extra day at a park. You will miss out if you only spend a quick overnight at GCNP. (Unless you've been there before) Also, you probably already know this, but make your park lodging reservations asap!

Yes, I would avoid Friday and Saturday night in Vegas. And if it's the last weekend in May, that may be Memorial Day weekend! If you need to stay near Vegas on the Friday night because you are coming in late, I'd stay either downtown, Henderson or Boulder City area. The rates should be cheaper.

After reading your comments on Vegas, we may avoid it completely. My husband really wants to drive out west - he has more vacation time and can pick me up at the airport. We're now considering having me fly into and out of Albuquerque and reroute slightly. Vegas and Hoover Dam are the only things we would miss and we'd add part of a day at Capitol Reef. Sound good?

I'd give up Las Vegas for Capitol Reef in a heart beat! :)

Utahtea

Oh...and you can visit Glen Canyon dam at Lake Powell on your way between Zion and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon instead of the Hoover Dam.

Utahtea

Thanks utahtea! I always enjoy reading your comments - you are so helpful! We decided on Albuquerque and are going to head west first through Monument Valley over to GC, then Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Moab and return to Albuquerque via the San Juan Skyway. Amazing how many things are booked up but we were able to get a room at Bright Angel Lodge at GC, trying to decide between Gouldings or Hampton Inn at Monument Valley, Red Rock Inn or Desert Pearl at Zion and we're going with Bryce Trails B&B and DreamKeepers Inn at Moab. I'm SO excited about this trip!

WOW...that sounds like an amazing trip!

Utahtea

Sounds like a great trip and I'd give up Vegas for just about anywhere else, but particularly for the spectacular parks in the SW! On Gouldings, they say that every room has a view, but that wasn't true when we were there a number of years ago. They put us in the only room without a view, and when I complained, as we had booked way in advance, told us they were completely full in the main building. They did give us one of the cabins,which had somewhat of a view, but I was put off by the reaction.

Thanks RuthMC - As it turns out Gouldings ended up being booked and we are going to use Holiday Inn points and stay in Kayenta.

esert Pearl in Springdale (Zion) is the BEST! And don't miss Capitol Reef. Many people are totally unfamiliar with it, and it is wonderful.

Thanks travlsolo2. Instead of staying at Bryce Trails we are now thinking about staying at Boulder Mountain Lodge so that we can devote a whole day to Capitol Reef. We can do Bryce Canyon during the day on our way to Boulder and then spend the next day at Capitol Reef and return to Boulder for the night.

Be aware that Boulder to Capitol Reef is the best part of a 1.5 to 2 hour drive as I recall. It is though a stunning drive and we did a hike from Wild Cat Info Station in the which is en route between the two.

I can highly recommend Boulder Mountain Lodge. The rooms are relatively plain but a good size and a great location. Excellent restaurant.

My personal advice would be to cut down on the number of locations you are covering and spend more time in the ones left. I think you can easily do a full week just in Moab - we did! I also think Monument Valley is very over rated. It was the one disappointment of our last trip.

Diz01

Last June we drove from Albuquerque to Durango along Hwy 550. It was a wonderful drive that took most of the day. We camped near Ouray and then went to Monument Valley, which also took most of the day. We camped at the Reservation camp ground and took the drive through the valley. Driving through the valley really made the trip for us. I don't think you can really appreciate it from the visitor's center or visiting Gouldings. But that would not leave you time to drive on to Moab or GCNP.

sounds like a very good trip, i get my tickets at www.migtravel.com, they have a top of the line customer service

Luvtravl~
I'm too am planning a trip to Utah and I stumbled onto something you may be interested in while you're in Moab. I read about it in the "Do Not Miss" section of my "Most Scenic Drives in America" book. It's called the "Canyonlands by Night" ((s)) cruise on the Colorado River. You can find out more information about it and other boat trips on the Colorado River on this website: www.canyonlandsbynight.com It looks fantastic!

Have fun! I know we will!

Skip my last post. I just read a thread about this cruise and it sounds like we should all save our money. :-[

oops, just came back -- that was supposed to be "Desert Pearl". :)
Have a great trip, luvtravl!

We really appreciate all the great advice from everyone! We've tweaked this quite a bit from original plan thanks to the great info you've given us. Also found tons of info on past threads that helped with lodging. Only one last itinerary decision we are having difficulty with. We'll be at Zion on May 21 & 22, checking out and spending day in Bryce before spending the night at Boulder Mt Lodge on the 23rd.

Here's the tough choice: Do we come back to Boulder Mt Lodge after a day at Capitol Reef and then on to Moab for our last 2 nights, OR... do we stay one night at Boulder and one in Torrey (SkyRidge Inn) and then on to Moab, OR... check out of Boulder Mt Lodge, spend day at Capitol Reef and drive on Moab that evening and stay 3 nights? Would be nice not to pack up and leave as often but want to make sure to get all these places into our trip. We're sort of doing the "Southwest sampler" in case we don't get to come back for a while.

I'm not usually this undecided. Any final suggestions from our wonderful Utah experts?

I absolutely love Moab. A "must see" that I have recommended to others visiting Moab is a guided tour through Fiery Furnace. You need reservations for this morning tour...one should not venture alone through this area if a first-timer (or maybe a third-timer). I think that you would call ANP Visitors Center to get more information on reservations.

Have a great time. BTW, I am totally with other repliers in this thread that bypassing Las Vegas to allow time for more awe-invoking wonders is a good idea.

Regardless, have fun in the beautiful, ancient SW!

If you exit Capital Reef (at the end of the day) opposite to where you came in (ie NOT toward Torrey), you can get to Moab rather easily by heading toward Hanksville. I would devote at least 2 full days to the National Parks in Moab.

Luv,

No don't backtrack to Boulder again from Capitol Reef. Spend the night in Torrey or drive on to Moab. The drive is not terribly scenic, so if you do it at night you won't miss much.

Be sure to drive between Bryce and Boulder during the day, allowing plenty of time for photo stops! This is the most spectacular.

I do think you are REALLY rushing this and underestimating how much time you are going to want in each location. Just plan on returning!

Ciao