fairweather camper Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Hi All Advise please, we are going to go to America 2017, we were going to rent a van for a couple of months, but it is too expensive, so was thinking of renting a car with another couple and using Motels, has anyone done this and would it be cheaper than renting a van, also what time of year would be best, we would like to go to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone Park, and anywhere in between, we like it Hot but not Roasting, any help and advise would be most appreciated. We have a Budget of about 5 grand to include flights, would this be enough ? Regards Val Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 5 years ago we went Vegas, GC south, Monument valley, GC north, Zion. This was in may, Vegas, Monument Valley and Zion where fairly warm, GC south had overnight frosts but warm during day, GC north had several feet of snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerC Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Google weather search is your friend for weather info. We did Vegas, GC, Sedona, drove across the desert to Phoenix and finally down as far as Tombstone and weather in Sept was good, comfortable most of the time although Vegas is always hot. As for £5k ...you say 'we' so I presume it's two of you? If it is £5k will fall way short of what you need. Flights alone are going to be around £1k if you're lucky to get them at that price and motels...all but the seediest will be around £50+ per night, then add car rental, insurance (CDW is almost a 'must' unless you want to risk it) and 'gas' so your £5k is looking pretty stretched and food/refreshments etc are not included yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairweather camper Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Thanks Guys Not looking too good is it ?, may have to save more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka4ajax Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 RogerC - 2015-09-22 9:47 PM Google weather search is your friend for weather info. We did Vegas, GC, Sedona, drove across the desert to Phoenix and finally down as far as Tombstone and weather in Sept was good, comfortable most of the time although Vegas is always hot. As for £5k ...you say 'we' so I presume it's two of you? If it is £5k will fall way short of what you need. Flights alone are going to be around £1k if you're lucky to get them at that price and motels...all but the seediest will be around £50+ per night, then add car rental, insurance (CDW is almost a 'must' unless you want to risk it) and 'gas' so your £5k is looking pretty stretched and food/refreshments etc are not included yet. I agree. I did Route 66 in 2012 and we stopped in 5 star hotels all the way (14 nights) from Chicago to Santa Monica. We ate well and drank even more all at good restaurants, i would estimate the cost was around £3,500 per person all in. But what an amazing adventure. We did it at the start of May the weather was perfect all 3000 miles, it started to heat up at the Grand Canyon and into Vegas, but just very pleasant once through the desert and into LA and onto the coast. Just amazing holiday, next time i will spend a month, oh i hope there will be a next time so much to see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka4ajax Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 aka4ajax - 2015-09-26 4:14 PM RogerC - 2015-09-22 9:47 PM Google weather search is your friend for weather info. We did Vegas, GC, Sedona, drove across the desert to Phoenix and finally down as far as Tombstone and weather in Sept was good, comfortable most of the time although Vegas is always hot. As for £5k ...you say 'we' so I presume it's two of you? If it is £5k will fall way short of what you need. Flights alone are going to be around £1k if you're lucky to get them at that price and motels...all but the seediest will be around £50+ per night, then add car rental, insurance (CDW is almost a 'must' unless you want to risk it) and 'gas' so your £5k is looking pretty stretched and food/refreshments etc are not included yet. I agree. I did Route 66 in 2012 and we stopped in 5 star hotels all the way (14 nights) from Chicago to Santa Monica. We ate well and drank even more all at good restaurants, i would estimate the cost was around £3,500 per person all in. But what an amazing adventure. We did it at the start of May the weather was perfect all 3000 miles, it started to heat up at the Grand Canyon and into Vegas, but just very pleasant once through the desert and into LA and onto the coast. Just amazing holiday, next time i will spend a month, oh i hope there will be a next time so much to see I meant to add, hire the vehicle at one end and drop off at another, loads of companies do this it costs a couple of hundred bucks but worth it. https://www.cruiseamerica.com is one we seen loads of RV's with there name on the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Whenever we've been to the US we have self driven. Flights and first and last night hotels plus the car rental has been handled by either Travel America or Trailfinders. £5k was just about enough for us on a 6 week trip. Try them for a cost estimate as flights are not released until 11 months before departure. A tip is to get hold of a hotel coupon book. These are available from Tourist information centres, you will see them at rest areas on the Interstates and at state lines. When on the road we use these a lot, for the chains like Ramada, Comfort, Days Inn etc. The coupons give you a better price say 60 to 80 dollars a night and will almost certainly include breakfast, plus everyone seems to take extra food away with them for while on the road. Each room also has a microwave and a fridge plus coffee machine. So you can to some extent self cater. The rooms will vary from twins to twin queen beds to a kingsize. They charge for a room not the number of occupants. At the intersections you will see signs for several hotel/motels and restaurants, it easy to check out the price before settling on a particular one. I remember saving 80 dollars on a 2 night stay by challenging one hotel to match another's price. The coupon books also include restaurant discounts, as do the hotels you'll stay in. Finally if in doubt when at reception ask to see the room first. Just do it, the US is set up for driving holidays, you will pay more hotels in the centre of cities, so get these booked before you leave the UK with your travel agent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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