HELP!!! Trip planning

So what if it takes you 5-6 days each way. It will be a trip your kids will never forget and you will all be talking about into your old age.

I agree with the idea that you should plan a different trip so you can enjoy getting to the destination and have a much more enjoyable trip.

Have you considered going to the west coast of Michigan and the Sleeping Bear Dunes? That coast has such beautiful beaches and lots of campgrounds.

Or head to the Blue Ridge Mountains....Luray Caverns in Va. Or, have you gone to the National Park at Assateague, MD? Or up to NY state to the Niagara Falls area? Or up to the Thousand Islands?

Just trying to suggest trips where you would only kill 4 days traveling and have the rest of the time to enjoy.

John S. wrote:
I think you can leave in the evening the night before you planned on leaving and get 200 miles done. Then the next day you can do 800 and you are halfway there. if you drive 12 hours and push a bit you can average 60 mph avg. That will get you 700 or so the next day and be there the third. it is harder to come home that way so I would build in an extra day or three and stop and visit stuff on the way back.

It's great that you are encouraging a person to drive a 12 hour day and "push" it to average 60 mph. Do you really have any idea the speed he would have to drive an RV to average 60 mph in a 12 hour day? Are you allowing for fuel, rest or food stops?

If you drive that way on vacation, I hope I'm never on the same roadway as you.

I think you can leave in the evening the night before you planned on leaving and get 200 miles done. Then the next day you can do 800 and you are halfway there. if you drive 12 hours and push a bit you can average 60 mph avg. That will get you 700 or so the next day and be there the third. it is harder to come home that way so I would build in an extra day or three and stop and visit stuff on the way back.

Thank You for all the great advice. That is exactly why I went to this forum. I think we will plan something closer & do the western tour when we have more time.

Pittsburgh to the Grand Canyon is a bit more than 2,000 miles, one-way. Like others, I'd be a bit hesitant to cram that much driving in a 10-14 day trip. 500 miles per day is a lot for one driver in a RV, more so several days in a row. With two drivers, maybe you can go further, but you're still arriving late, setting up late, and moving on early the next day. Could be worth it for some, and careful planning may make the stops more enjoyable, but if I only had 10-14 days, I'd think about closer destinations, even multiple destinations, where driving wouldn't be such a large chunk of the trip. YMMV.

Having done a lot of trips like that during the work years I would spend the first couple of days heading out of town just burning up the miles to get away from the home territory. Then slow down and starts smelling the roses as they say.

Personally I wouldn't plan on too much time right at the Grand Canyon South Rim but you might check into including the North Rim which is basically a half day's drive around from the South Rim to get there.

Plan out one route going and another heading back home and do some homework of sites along the way that would be of interest to your family.

A personal favorite of mine that might be of interest to your kids is Meteor Crater a few miles east of Flagstaff. And there is a nice little campground there too but not with much to do for the kids though.

Good luck with the planning and happy travels.

Just a thought. We have stayed in Williams, Az.--actually about a mile out of town. They have an old style train that takes you to the Grand Canyon--it is great for kids--sometimes cowboys have a shoot-out on the train. And they have a number of campgrounds in the area. Look under lodging on the website I am enclosing. Lars
http://experiencewilliams.com/

I must agree with all posters on this one. There is far more to do then seeing the south rim. there is the north, less people and better IMHO. There is lake powell to stay at and bryce canyon for prettier and Zion far more interesting and the cedars far easier to access. I could go on but you get the idea. This takes weeks not days to experience and you may just do this trip once,or not, but you need to see what the real deal is.

sdianel wrote:
I agree that is a very aggressive plan but you could do it.
Days 1-5 travel; days 6-8 Canyon; days 9-14 travel.
Long 8 hour driving days, no time to see anything in between home and Canyon.
Not a fun trip in my opinion but definitely doable.

This sounds like a really awful trip! And doubly so if there are kids involved.

OP, if you only have 10-14 days, I would suggest you consider going someplace within 700 miles of your home. Drive for 2 long days and stay & play for 6-10 days. Or you could make a circuit, driving 2 days, resting 2 days, etc until you circle back to your home.