Colorado/Yellowstone/Wyoming road trip - Aug 17?

notanewuser

Am very time poor at the moment but considering the above trip in mid-August. Does anyone have any tips? 2-4 adults, 1 six year old.

Don't want to spend an absolute fortune but want an enjoyable and memorable trip for all of us. Flights seem to be cheaper going from Dublin - not sure how much hassle that is in reality though. So, any ideas welcomed.

EssexExile

Lovely part of the world. I'm not sure I'd take a 6-year old though, lots of sitting in the car & looking at beautiful scenery (not necessarily at the same time). I understand Yellowstone can get very busy in the holiday season, I've only been out of in the autumn.

notanewuser

Yes, it's a bit of a pipe dream at the moment. We'd take it fairly steady - the 6 year old is well used to spending lots of time in the car, and we do break up journeys with stops and places of interest. There's a reason for the time and location - if we don't go then we probably won't go for another 10 years or so.

Murphy_The_Cat

It is a beautiful part of the world, but your 6 year old won't love being in the back of a car for hour after hour.
Have a cold, hard look at your proposed itinerary and think what you're looking for.
What is your arrival and departure airport in America, as an open jaw ticket may make sense for you.
Depending where you live, also have a look at regional airports, which can sometimes work out MUCH cheaper - also, if you are looking for an ex-eu flight, check out AMS, CPH, GOT, OSL, CDG, FRA as well.
Possibly, it may be cheaper to fly out ex -eu, but back to a UK airport.
Make yourself familliar with Google Flights (very user friendly, quite customisable) and ITA Matrix (not as user friendly, extremely customisable).
If you are going to fly ex-eu, give some consideration to your parties attitude to risk -- if you dont get to (say) Dublin for your flight because your flight from the UK was cancelled/delayed, your entire trip will be lost. For belt and braces, also check that your travel insurance covers trips that start from outside the UK, as not all do.

Murph

p.s I'm taking my lot to Colorado, Utah and Wyoming this Summer (13yo & 10yo)

notanewuser

There's only one reason we'd be going to Denver (which is a bit of a once in a lifetime event) and I'm attempting to build a holiday around it. Have done the SF ->LA ->LV ->Yosemite drive before.

DD is used to 4-5 hours in the car as our family aren't local.

Murphy_The_Cat

notanewuser wrote: »

There's only one reason we'd be going to Denver (which is a bit of a once in a lifetime event) and I'm attempting to build a holiday around it. Have done the SF ->LA ->LV ->Yosemite drive before.

DD is used to 4-5 hours in the car as our family aren't local.

are you flying in and out of Denver ?

What is your one reason for going to Denver (if you're happy to share !)

notanewuser

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

are you flying in and out of Denver ?

What is your one reason for going to Denver (if your happy to share !)

I'll PM you.

Don't think it matters where we fly to, really.

scottishminnie

Denver is a nice airport (we've used it twice in last two years ), well positioned for getting in and out of with a rental car and not too busy. It's perfectly doable for Yellowstone and Wyoming. In Sept 16 we flew to Denver, spent a night near the airport and headed up to Casper next morning, we had a couple of days there before going to Jackson for 3 days with the intention of seeing Yellowstone. We then headed back south to Steamboat Springs for a further 3 nights, Colorado Springs for 3 and back to Denver for the last 4 nights.

Don't underestimate how much there is to see and how your plans need to be flexible. There was a wildfire which closed the south Yellowstone entrance when we were in Casper (thankfully it reopened the day we arrived in Jackson) and the road to Mammoth Springs was closed for resurfacing for 2 weeks. We had also planned to enter Rocly Mountain NP at Estes Park ( as on previous trips) and exit at Grand Lake however 3 feet of early snow closed the road so we had to rethink.

Yellowstone is amazing but horribly, horribly crowded, even in late Sept. There were minivans and small coaches full of tourists of one particular nationality whose behaviour was unbelievable - yelling and throwing things at wildlife and pushing people out of the way to get to viewing spots. We actually witnessed a small child being tipped out of a stroller by someone who wanted to stand in front of him to get a photo and not so much as an apology.

We had also not really understood much about Grand Teton National Park, which, in my opinion, was way more spectacular than Yellowstone. That threw us as well since we had limited time.

Jackson is pricey, pretty but expensive we paid $200 a night for what was one of the worst motels I have ever stayed in (Virginian Lodge) and,very unusually for me,we bought nothing in town. Only window shopping

I'm not sorry we went, would certainly go back to Grand Teton but don't think I could face Yellowstone for another year or two.

I've probably given some really random thoughts but more than happy to answer any questions you think of.

By the way - I looked at flights to Denver last week. BA have a sale on and they were about 15% less than we paid in the sale last year so maybe worth a look if you don't mind flying with them.

scumsthorne

If flying you can do Heathrow to Denver direct, and Denver CBP isn't too bad in regards to wait times. The real advantage of flying from Dublin/Shannon is pre-clearance, roughly 5 minutes, compared to a few hours at some US locations.
However, all this may change from Monday.
Don't underestimate how big these states are, and how boring the roads can be.
Accommodation and eating out can be expensive, so seriously consider a motorhome.

PeacefulWaters

notanewuser wrote: »

Am very time poor at the moment but considering the above trip in mid-August. Does anyone have any tips? 2-4 adults, 1 six year old.

Don't want to spend an absolute fortune but want an enjoyable and memorable trip for all of us. Flights seem to be cheaper going from Dublin - not sure how much hassle that is in reality though. So, any ideas welcomed.

Did a whistle stop tour looping out of Denver in July last year and loved it.

Headed south through Colorado Sprungs. Spent half a day in the hot springs at Pagosa Springs which was amazing,

Looped round Durango, Ouray and Silverton on the million dollar highway. Onto Glenwood Springs and did some whitewater rafting on the Colorado river (your six year old would be perfectly safe).

Stayed in Grand Teton and drove into Yellowstone two or three days in a row. Plan your route each day in the park. We saw elk, bison and bears close up, the latter from the car. Unbelievable, as was all the geothermal stuff.

Exited the park over the stunning Beartooth Pass. Dull drive through Montana. Took in the rodeo at Casper and then back to Denver.

Loved it. Would heartily recommend it. Oh, and it snowed in July. Take a jumper!

--

Booked out of Dublin in business class during a BA sale. Flights and car as a package. The sale fares haven't returned this year yet and the inclusive car hire discount is less beneficial at the moment.

Routed Dublin > Philadelphia > Denver (long wait in Philadelphia) / Denver > Heathrow > Dublin. Ryanair got us to and from Dublin for about £28 each including hold luggage.

I'm hoping something will crop up in February when I'll book a Denver to Vegas trip taking in Yellowstone again.

wdw2003

We did Yellowstone and Jackson for two weeks a couple of years ago, flying to/from Salt Lake City. It was a boring 5.5 hour drive through not very special scenery to West Yellowstone and we vowed that if we ever returned we'd fly direct into Jackson, but that would be pretty pricey for a family.

We stayed at a motel in West Yellowstone for about $95/night, which was fine, but the drive to and from the park each day was tedious. If humanly possible, I'd definitely stay a couple of nights at the Old Faithfull Hotel and visit the southern area from there.

Other than that, we liked West Yellowstone as a base, as the beers were cheap and the pizzas the best I've ever had. There's also a little life there, unlike in the park.

We visited the lake at the big hotel there, but felt that was a waste of time as it didn't offer anything you can't get elsewhere. For guaranteed great scenery, any of the geyser areas will be fine.

As for Jackson and the Tetons, it's about a 30 minute drive from the town to Jenny Lake. The view of the Tetons is fantastic from the main road and once you get in there, the mountain walking is magnificent, just like in the Alps.

Jackson itself is a lovely little town, with loads of bars, cafes and restaurants, with an upmarket faux cowboy feel to it. It felt like a proper resort, whereas West Yellowstone was just a staging post for the park. We stayed in a cabin at the Cowboy Village motel and really liked it there.

We loved that holiday and have wonderful memories. It's a bit awkward to get there, but well worth the effort. My advice would be not to try to cover too much outside of Yellowstone and Jackson/the Tetons, just immerse yourselves in the parks and experience as much of them as possible.