gftChris

Fucked up weather. Did not expect 60F and 20+ mph winds in Moab. Still,the arches are pretty cool.

Lots of things are very different. When I get back homeboy sure I will go in to lots of detail. But for now...every ATM charges like $3-4 for withdrawal? What's up with that? And gas stations are weird with the prepaying. That doesn't exist back home - you pull in, fill up and pay.

Not that things are bad, just different.

Everything is so big here. Which seems odd until you see the people, then you realise it's all in proportion.

Nope, no differences in law. It's more like differences between EU countries to be honest, which I get, but you have one country. And think about this - I start on the AZ/NV border, and it's midday. I go east, in to Navajo land, it's 1pm. I keep going east, and it's back to 12pm.

You have a Retarded country in some ways.

That's what I thought, but this tour company doesn't seem to understand that. We've decided to just call ahead the night before and ask "in how many hours?" or something.

OK so what the fuck is the deal with the different time zones between Utah, Arizona, Navajo etc. Seriously, wtf. We have a tour booked that says like "11am (Arizona Time, Pacific Daylight Time)" and then "all our times are quoted in Mountain Standard Time"

So I google to check and they are different times. So which is it? MST is clearly different to PDT and yet they're completely ignoring that. Does anyone have a clue what the answer is?

Not 100% set the itinerary, but it largely looks like:

Land in Vegas

4-5 days in Zion

1-2 days in Grand Canyon North

3 days in Bryce Canyon

2-3 days in Moab

2-3 days around Page

A couple of days in grand canyon south rim and flying home.

Trying to finalise the actually day to day itinerary - I hate faffing on the morning trying to decide what we're going to do today.

Have you gone yet? Or what is date of departure?

We fly out two weeks today. Flying in to vegas, and then driving straight out again. Side note - we've booked with Delta, any good?

Also a couple of questions:

How do ATMs work over there? I have a prepaid travel card but it doesn't have chip and pin, so how can I get cash out, from a bank?

Where's a good supermarket to go get fresh food (fruit/veg etc)? 7-11? Walmart? Target? I honestly have no idea.

And in that area, what's good and local? Avocados maybe? Again, no idea here.

About Hawaii, when are you going, and have you booked anything yet. I might have some good options available to me that you could take advantage of...in terms of accommodations.

It'll be around next autumn. Not sure where yet though.

It's definitely on the bucket list for sure. The lady is more of the theme park nut than I, but I still enjoy it. Still, it means she basically picks which we go to (once I remind her the NYC to Cleveland to Washington is not doable).

Another friend of ours is moving to Montreal, so might try to combine that.

DC, yep. 8 hour drive, really? I had a quick look at google maps and it said around 3-4 hours?

A friend is getting married in DC, so we figured since both of us want to go see new york at some point we'd do both, but if it's going to take forever to get from one to the other maybe not.

That being said, there's a strong chance we'll be stopping in NJ to visit a six flags or something.

Well it's all booked. Found some relatively cheap places around, used Hotwire to save some bucks.

Also mostly planned for next year to visit NYC/Washington (for a wedding). Also planning another holiday out to Hawaii. Haven't been to the US in over 20 years, now looking to go three times in the space of 12 months.

That seems crazy. I have been in that area around that time of year and got some really cheap deals.

....FYI....there are a lot of "mom and pop" motels in the area that may not be on the websites of the big travel agency websites. If you can just "pay as you go"....I think you will find bargains.

Any idea how I might find them if they're not on the bigger websites?

Man you're going to love that area. If you could get into California you'be golden. Plenty to see in the weSt you won't be dissapointed.

Just don't have the time to do everything we want to do, but don't worry, sequoia and the rest are on the list for next time.

So flights are booked and we're doing Zion, Bryce, Arches, Grand Canyon (north and south) and a few other little stops, end of september, early october. Flights are booked. Hooray. But, it seems we're missing a trick with the hotels/motels - looking around the area, every place within about an hour of each park is like $150-200, even places like Motel 6, places that basically have just a bed and a bathroom. What's the deal? Do prices go drastically down as you approach the date? Do we need to look further away? What gives?

I do tend to go for the unlimited miles option. In this case for sure. Only time I don't is if I know I'm only doing a certain amount of miles - from airport to hotel and around the town.

By the way gft......you referred to "the antelope one". I am not sure where that is. What are you talking about here, as I know of no such place.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=antelope+canyon&newwindow=1&espv=2&biw=816&bih=600&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwinoN2nz4nNAhWHvBoKHUQUAx4Q_AUIBigB

Yeah I think in some cases the bigger companies are probably just a better bet all around. When it comes to things like hotels, perhaps a smaller place with a more personal touch is better, but essentially a car is car, whether it's provided by Hertz or Mom-and-Pop-rent-a-car, it's made by ford or chevy, and knowing that they have access to plenty of spares is pretty useful.

I'll probably stick to the bigger brands. Hertz, Alamo, Enterprise - any others to look at? I've seen names like 'dollar rent a car' and 'thrifty' and thought they might be worth avoiding.

BTW, I'd love to hit a football game but it seems a bit of a dry spot. Anything I might have missed? UNLV maybe the best bet if flying in to there, or Phoenix or Utah.

We have about two weeks, and will be going mid to late september, possibly in to october. Weather should have calmed down a bit by then hopefully, but I'll probably still burn to a crisp.

Thanks for the list, plenty to research!

Also, we'll obviously be picking up a car - any recommendations on what company to use? I'd love to get a real beastly convertible muscle car, but might have to settle for something more budget-friendly. Top down might be nice though...

The upshot of all the questions is, the good lady and I will be doing a trip around the grand canyon, zion, arches, bryce canyon, monument valley, and the antelope one. Probably flying in to Phoenix since direct flights aren't so crazy - £700 compared to closer to £900 for Vegas and Salt Lake City.

If people have any recommendations - whether it's visiting other places in the area, or a way to get more out of those, it would be greatly appreciated. I think we're likely going to be winging it in terms of accommodation, so we will be booking maybe a couple of days ahead so we can be more flexible. Are they plenty of places to stay, and will we be ok not booking far in advance?

I've not been to the US since I was 7, so in terms of planning things, and things that I might not anticipate, I'm at a bit of a loss!

Hmmmm, interesting point gip, I hadn't considered that, thanks.

October-ish.