Touring holiday to Nevada, California & Arizona

tingtong

This may help some people on USA car hire.

I've used Dollar 3 times now and the price has always been quite reasonable. You can cancel without penalty (as long as you give a few days notice I think) and they don't charge 'one-way' fees between Nevada and California (not sure about other states but worth checking).

I checked with them twice on the 'one-way' fees as we are driving from San Francisco to Vegas and don't really want any extra charges as the car hire is only about £60.

Murphy_The_Cat

lynzpower wrote: »

what is airline netowrk charging you this time MTC and what are you getting.

Ive had a very quick look and |I was quite staggered at the cost, if I picked up in orlando, obv way cheaper than Atlantas- it seems?

Hi lynzpower

this time i'm hiring with usrentacar and they're charging me £498 for a 22 day hire on a luxury class car, with no one way rental charge and an extra driver included on the insurance - exactly the same price as for a convertible.

Murphy_The_Cat

torbrex wrote: »

I did the aerial tour over Sedona in the morning and got some wonderful views with the shadows still around, it was just unfortunate that one of the other passengers got air-sick and the flight was cut short (I did get a partial refund). There are some amazing roadside art galleries around Sedona but watch out because some of the prices are amazing as well.

Hi Torbrex

in a few days I'll be able to book the BiPlane flights over the Red Rocks for Mrs Cat & MTK -- if you can remember, was there a 'best' time of day to do the trip ?
If you say earlier, rather than later, that would be good !

torbrex

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Hi Torbrex

in a few days I'll be able to book the BiPlane flights over the Red Rocks for Mrs Cat & MTK -- if you can remember, was there a 'best' time of day to do the trip ?
If you say earlier, rather than later, that would be good !

Hi MTC
Looking at the shadows in my photo's it must have been late morning when I went up, I remember arriving at the airstrip and getting straight on the plane, it was just about to take-off and there was one seat remaining so I jumped in and paid when we got back. I could not say if there is a best time of day but things tend to be better defined if there are shadows so avoid noon if possible and the colours really stand out early and late in the day.
The airstrip is on top of a hill and I would recommend booking if there will be more than just yourself going up as some of the charters only hold four.

Murphy_The_Cat

torbrex wrote: »

Hi MTC
The airstrip is on top of a hill and I would recommend booking if there will be more than just yourself going up as some of the charters only hold four.

We're hopefully going to use the open cockpit BiPlane which will only fly two people, so it'll probably be Mrs Cat & MTK (4 year old) who go up, whilst I look after MTK2 (1 year old) on the ground. As the children are likely to be up early anyway, I thought about having an early flight and then moseying on down to Phoenix to meet the [strike]Outlaws[/strike] Inlaws.

torbrex

On my trip there I was going the other way but I too am an early riser and was up at 5am and had been round most of the sights before any other traffic was on the roads. I nipped back to the motel, checked out and headed for the airstrip then after my flight and a tour round a couple of art shops I was away on the road North to Page.
It is about a 3-4 hour drive down to Phoenix depending on stops, I stopped at Montezuma Castle on my way North and wished I had'nt, it was a bit atificial as some of the buildings were newly re-built and lacked authenticity, it did look good from the air though.

Murphy_The_Cat

We're setting a fairly relaxed pace on our trip, so 3-4 hours may end up as being 4-5 hours depending on scenic views, nappy changes, food stops and general 'hey, we're on holiday' attitude !

jackieblack

Hi
I'm on the point of booking a trip for next year and think I have worked out an itinerary that accomodates evrything we want to see in the time we have, I've looked at a few fly-drive itineraries and sort of cobbled together one for us taking bits from several of these.
I'm hoping for some advice, please, on whether this is realistic.

Fly into Las Vegas for 4 nights, pick up car and drive to Grand Canyon for 2 nights, then to Lake Havasu (1 night) and on to Los Angeles (Hollywood) for 3 nights, finishing with 4 nights in San Diego, flying home from Los Angeles.

I know this means 3 days with fairly lengthy drives, but hoping to see some interesting stuff on the journey. This would be for Hubby & I plus daughter who will be 13, travelling in April (in case this makes any difference).

I would appreciate any thoughts on this, obviously some of you guys know the area well (this would be our first time). Thanks

Murphy_The_Cat

jackieblack wrote: »

Hi
I'm on the point of booking a trip for next year and think I have worked out an itinerary that accomodates evrything we want to see in the time we have, I've looked at a few fly-drive itineraries and sort of cobbled together one for us taking bits from several of these.
I'm hoping for some advice, please, on whether this is realistic.

Fly into Las Vegas for 4 nights, pick up car and drive to Grand Canyon for 2 nights, then to Lake Havasu (1 night) and on to Los Angeles (Hollywood) for 3 nights, finishing with 4 nights in San Diego, flying home from Los Angeles.

I know this means 3 days with fairly lengthy drives, but hoping to see some interesting stuff on the journey. This would be for Hubby & I plus daughter who will be 13, travelling in April (in case this makes any difference).

I would appreciate any thoughts on this, obviously some of you guys know the area well (this would be our first time). Thanks

Hi Jackie

that looks like a great trip (I had to look up Lake Havasu !), how about flying home from San Diego rather than LAX and saving yourself a 3 hour drive, plus the hassle of having to deal with LAX ? Plus, it may even be a bit cheaper that way !

torbrex

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

We're setting a fairly relaxed pace on our trip, so 3-4 hours may end up as being 4-5 hours depending on scenic views, nappy changes, food stops and general 'hey, we're on holiday' attitude !

I never plan any of my trips passed the arrival and departure airports but then I travel alone so there is nothing and no-one to get in my way. I kind of guess how far I might feel like driving and roughly which way I want to go then look at the map and see what attractions catch my eye and adjust my route plan accordingly. this method has worked well for me and I have seen most of the major tourist sights in the areas that I have been to and quite a few that are not so well known.