travelling solo to experience usa national parks vs group itinerary?

fitnessguy1

i have been looking into travelling to the usa to visit some of the most iconic national parks. i was thinking of going solo, but i also saw this itinerary

http://www.titantravel.co.uk/destinations/north-america/usa/the-awe-inspiring-national-parks

and i thought this would be incredible to do. it does cost quite a bit, but it does take out a lot of the headache of arranging how to get from location to location while in the states.

the one thing about travelling solo though, is that i could go off and do my own thing, rather than being stuck with a large group and a tour manager/guide.

just wondering, in your opinion which sounds better, and which would be cheaper?

richardw

I'd do my own thing.

EssexExile

I wouldn't do all those parks in one holiday, choose an area & cover that. For example Mesa Verdi, Arches & Canyonlands or Bryce, Zion & Grand Canyon. The bits between the parks are good too, state parks, national monuments, even small towns are all interesting.

I wouldn't go out of my way to see Mt Rushmore, it's underwhelming, & Devils Tower is quite nice if you happen to be passing but again I wouldn't go up there just for that.

blindman

fitnessguy1 wrote: »

i have been looking into travelling to the usa to visit some of the most iconic national parks.

EssexExile wrote: »

I wouldn't do all those parks in one holiday, choose an area & cover that.

I agree with EssexExile
The trip has it's pros in that everything is organized and you get to see a few of the parks. Maybe a taster for the next holiday?

There's no hassle of driving or one way fees.
However it seems expensive for 16 days
And if you do not like the group....

I've done all of these parks and more but in several trips to the USA.

Costs?
IMHO I'd say you could half that figure if you DIY. (Depends on flights of course).

Car hire maybe about £20 per day and fuel is relatively cheap.
Should be no one way fees between Arizona\Californa\Nevada IIRC.
(There will be between Denver and Arizona)
Accommodation for a single person maybe cheaper with AirBnb rather than motels.

Food in USA can be cheap and stocking up from Walmart can be a good way to keep costs down.

You could spend 16 days in Canyon Lands alone.

Yellowstone needs 3 nights minimum as it is huge.

Rushmore\Crazy Horse\Devils tower are nice "been there" sites along with Badlands and Custers Last Stand.

SouthWest thread can give you some itinerary ideas

When were you thinking of going and how old are you :cool:

ibizafan_2

We did a very similar trip with Travelsphere last September and loved every minute. Ok, you could probably do it cheaper yourself but then you have to do the driving, and there are some huge distances involved. There was nowhere where we felt we hadn't had enough time to see what we wanted to see. The other bonus was making some new friends who we spent every evening with. I'm a very sociable person so being with a group didn't bother me in the slightest, but I realise that it isn't for everyone.

jackieblack

fitnessguy1 wrote: »

i have been looking into travelling to the usa to visit some of the most iconic national parks. i was thinking of going solo, but i also saw this itinerary

http://www.titantravel.co.uk/destinations/north-america/usa/the-awe-inspiring-national-parks

and i thought this would be incredible to do. it does cost quite a bit, but it does take out a lot of the headache of arranging how to get from location to location while in the states.

the one thing about travelling solo though, is that i could go off and do my own thing, rather than being stuck with a large group and a tour manager/guide.

just wondering, in your opinion which sounds better, and which would be cheaper?

Don't forget that the quoted 'prices from' price is based on two people sharing and when you change it to one traveller the price will increase by around £1000

restless6

I drove from Grand Canyon to Bryce to Yellowstone and it was amazing
Be sure to boom your accommodation well in advance though as in park places are very limited

phead

I've done a shorter version of that via cosmos, and priced up doing it myself. It is cheaper to do it yourself, but not always by a great amount as the big companies bulk buy rooms and can get better discounts that you can. The big problem is the hassle of actually having to drive quite some distance, especially with some quality jetlag thrown in. The utter lazyness of having someone carry your bags around, and not having to bother checking in does have a lot of benefits.

That said I'm not too impressed with that holiday, if you go to the grand canyon you want to stay there. Sitting on the edge as the sun rises is a great thing to experience. (sunset is busy, sunrise is empty). Titan is also very expensive, there are loads of others doing similar holidays.

stevie11

I can see the advantages of the tour but IMO that would be too much on the go without a proper break. If the OP is comfortable with driving my suggestion would be DIY but not a packed itinerary like listed. Maybe pick a few of the parks and have more down time to visit local attractions or just rest.

scottishminnie

If you just want to "tick off" the National Parks then the tour is the way to do it however if you wish to feel a bit more part of the experience then I would recommend doing it yourself.

Grand Canyon and Yellowstone have many coach tours visiting daily, there is a good chance your coach will be queuing for a spot behind the others simply to drop you off and have you reboard however many minutes later. If you are doing it yourself there is a level of control over the time of day you visit and adapting your plans if you suddenly find a particular area is really busy.

Like others I feel that Canyon country (Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyons ,Monument Valley, Grand Staircase Escalante etc) are a single trip in their own right. Likewise Yellowstone and Grand Teton offer plenty for about 8/9 days to get the best from them. That's just my e perky che though, it very much depends on your objective for visiting in the first place.

Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower and Badlands were well worth the trip and I would happily revisit them all but that's a personal view.