USA 2009 - The Southwest
Tour facts
Hotel review
Date of the tour: End October - Mid November 2009
Start and end point: Salt Lake City
Flight: Nuremberg - Frankfurt - Chicago - Salt Lake City (United/Lufthansa)
Car: Booked IFAR (Midsize SUV) with Alamo through the travel agency - we got a GMC Acadia
Duration of the tour: 20 days
*****
****
***
**
*
Very good, everything fit here
Good, we felt comfortable
Complies with the standard
Very simple but clean
Never again
Tour details
| Day | Activity of the day | Day remarks | Overnight stay | Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | Travel to Salt lake City | Due to a flight delay, we missed our connecting flight to Salt lake City in Chicago. But luckily there was still a flight later in the evening. | Marriott Downtown, Salt lake City/Utah**** | - |
2.-4-Tag | The three days Salt lake City were due to a business stay, otherwise one day in the city would have been enough for us. | Marriott Downtown, Salt lake City/Utah**** | - | |
Day 4 | Pick up car and drive from Salt Lake City to Springdale. | Quite a long drive, but we want to get to red stone country as soon as possible. | Best Western Zion Park Inn, Springdale/Utah**** | - |
Day 5 | Had I known what to expect, I probably would not have done the hike. So it was super exhausting, but one of the greatest hikes we've ever done in the Southwest. | Best Western Zion Park Inn, Springdale/Utah**** | - | |
Day 6 | Zion NP - Northgate Peak Trail, Scenic Drive (at that time you were still allowed to drive your own car) | Best Western Ruby´s Inn, Bryce City/Utah*** | - | |
Day 7 | Today is our first real dirt road experience with an SUV in the US and it was fun. | Best Western Ruby´s Inn, Bryce City/Utah*** | - | |
Day 8 | Super nice day, the Hole in the Rock Road shakes us very hard because of extreme washboard. | Best Western Ruby´s Inn, Bryce City/Utah*** | - | |
Day 9 | Without having visited Bryce Canyon, we just couldn't go on. That's why we were in the park all day today. | Best Western Ruby´s Inn, Bryce City/Utah*** | - | |
Day 10 | Burr Trail, Modi Dugway, Monument Valley (drove by) very very long drive through some insanely beautiful scenery. | Holiday Inn, Page/Arizona*** | - | |
Day 11 | First attempt no success. On the drive to the Wahweap Hoodoos we get stuck at a wash and walk from there. Unfortunately we have no GPS and therefore no idea how long the way actually is. It will be about 20km... | Best Western Plus Lake Powell, Page/Arizona*** | - | |
Day 12 | Second attempt no success. Super nice, long day. We are lucky that the North Rim is still open. | Best Western Plus Lake Powell, Page/Arizona*** | - | |
Day 13 | Two great canyons make up for the frustration at the Wave Permit draw. | Best Western Plus Lake Powell, Page/Arizona*** | - | |
Day 14 | Super beautiful canyons and we can enjoy them without crowds, unfortunately that is not possible anymore now. | Best Western Plus Lake Powell, Page/Arizona*** | - | |
15. Tag | Paria Ranger Station Wave Permit Lottery No.5 - Wash Day in Page. | We didn't believe in it anymore, but on the 5th try we actually win wave permits for tomorrow. | Best Western Plus Lake Powell, Page/Arizona*** | - |
Day 16 | An absolute highlight of the vacation. Not only the Wave is great, but the whole hike. | Best Western Plus Lake Powell, Page/Arizona*** | - | |
Day 17 | Grand Canyon NP, Hoover Dam, Stroll the Strip in Las Vegas. | Paris, Las Vegas/Nevada**** | - | |
Day 18 | Stroll through Las Vegas, evening we watch a show. "O" is really an experience. | Paris, Las Vegas/Nevada**** | - | |
Day 19 | Drive from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City | Driving day with a small detour to Kolob Canyon/Zion NP. Unfortunately, the weather is rather modest... | Best Western, Salt lake City/Utah*** | - |
Day 20 | Return flight | - | - | - |