Wake up early to catch the free shuttle from Springdale into Zion National Park, the first of the Mighty 5 national parks you'll visit on this road trip.

You'll save lots of money on this trip (potentially more than $100!) if you have one! Day 2: Zion National Park They cost $80 and are good for one year (you can buy them online, or at the first National Park site you visit). Pro tip: You absolutely will want to get yourself a National Parks Passfor this trip. Where to eat: We hit up Oscar's Cafe (within walking distance from our hotel) for delicious burritos. If a vacation rental is more your speed, you could try this townhouse in Springdale (great for families), or this historic cottage. ( Read reviews in TripAdvisor | Book here)Īnother good hotel option is Springhill Suites by Marriott, or you could book a cute cottage at Red Rock Inn Cottages. The hotel has fantastic mountain views, comes with free breakfast (complete with fresh waffles!), and is just minutes away from a shuttle stop that will take you into Zion for free – which is great during busy times since you won't have to worry about the parking lot being full. Where to stay: I love the La Quinta Inn & Suites at Zion Park/Springdale. Total driving time: 2.5-3.5 hours (3.5 if you opt to stop at Valley of Fire)įees: $15 Valley of Fire entry (for non-NV vehicles) $35 Zion entry by car, $20 Zion entry if you take a shuttle from Springdale (if you decide to visit today)

Search for rental cars here.Īnd then it's time to get out of Vegas! If you've never been to Las Vegas before, you could definitely add on an extra day or two in order to fully experience it, but for now it's time to make for Utah. I use Discover Cars to compare car rental prices in the US. Keep in mind that you might be able to save money by picking up from a location that's NOT at the airport. Need to rent a car for this road trip? There's no shortage of rental car options in Las Vegas. You *can* pick up your rental car at the airport rental car center, but you can also pick up a car elsewhere in Vegas to save some money. (I recommend planning your trip this way to maximize your time! If you're going to get in late at night, you may want to plan at least one night in Vegas, and pick up your rental car on the morning you plan to start your road trip.) You'll likely land a Harry Reid International Airport in Vegas in the morning. You could also start in Salt Lake City, Utah, but I find that you can almost always find affordable flights to Vegas, no matter where you're coming from. I suggest you begin and end your Southwest road trip in Las Vegas. These people are both the historic and current stewards of these lands, and it's important to acknowledge and respect that when you travel here. These include the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Reservation, and the Hualapai Indian Reservation. Get a printable version of this itinerary here!īefore we dive in here, it's important to note that this itinerary does include traversing through or near some indigenous lands in the Southwest. This itinerary covers roughly 1350 miles of driving. Highlights of this itinerary (which you can basically call a national park road trip) include: So here's my version of a “perfect” 10-day road trip itinerary for the American Southwest, based on several road trips I've personally taken through this region over the years, including basically this exact one with my husband Elliot one year in April. This itinerary is written with an April-October trip in mind outside of those months, some things may be closed or unavailable! The perfect 10-day Southwest road trip itinerary You may run into some wet weather during these seasons, but the crowds will be thinner and you'll be able to fully enjoy everything in this itinerary. April-May is good, as is September-October. In winter, certain places in the Southwest at higher elevation DO get snow and experience colder temperatures (spots like Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon especially can get cold/snowy), but you definitely can visit the Southwest in winter!īut as far as the best time to go? I'd say the shoulder seasons are the best time for a Southwest road trip.

Week long road trip out west