Self drive car tour in the United States

NATIONAL PARKS

Complete trip to the national parks, deserts, mountains, forests…ready for the wild nature?

Length

3.605

Duration

12 days / 11 nights

Starting from

1082 € per person

Ask for a quote

From San Francisco, you’re heading straight to the mountains, the splendid Yosemite National Park; then off to the best national parks in America, from famous Grand Canyon to the small but enchanting Antelope Canyon. Once in Los Angeles, you can relax or face the ocean waves, it’s up to you!

Helicopter tours on canyons and American National Parks: book now!

Discovering the Mesa Verde Park with the remains of the Anasazi buildings dating back to 1400 years ago, the Kayenta Park in the Navajo Reserve are just some of the activities that you can do with the tour of the US national parks by car. By entrusting you to the professionals of the Xplore team, you can book the trip as well as customize every single detail, taking advantage of the experiences accumulated by the staff during years of travel.

The trip that we propose below does not include flights in its package. Childrens under the age of 16 do not pay hotels if they share a room with their parents.

If you love the itinerary as it is or if you want to change something - like the type of car - write us a info@xploreamerica.com

Tabs

Map

The hotel from The Shining, in Yosemite

The interior of the Overlook Hotel from the movie The Shining was created after the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. Spending the night costs quite a bit, but imaginebringing a tennis ball and throwing it in the salon! A must-see.

Horseshoe Bend

A few kilometers from Page and Lake Powell you will be able to take postcard-type photos at Horseshoe Bend, a point at which the Colorado River has eroded the rock to the point of creating an enormous horseshoe-like shape.

KA – Egypt in Las Vegas

KA is a show by the Cirque du Soleil, truly one of a kind, which can only be seen at the MGM Hotel theatre in Las Vegas, remodelled exclusively for the show, with moving runways and floors!

In a helicopter over Grand Canyon

Give yourself a trip you will never forget: up and down above Grand Canyon in a helicopter! A panoramic flight for an unforgettable experience.Contact us for detailed information as there are different tours, durations and costs.

Mesa Verde

A fascinating, mysterious park where you will find traces of a civilization that suddenly disappeared around the year 1300. Here you will find cave villages carved in the rock and testimonies of this mysterious settlement.

Prices

The prices include all the reservations and car rental. You can pick between two categories: budget (tourist category hotels) and deluxe (first class hotels). The rates for accommodation are only descriptive and your estimate may vary depending on the season. Children under 16 years of age can sleep for free in the room with the parents, and those over 16 are considered adults. You can personalize your trip changing the routes and the type of the car. For more information, contact us at: info@xploreamerica.com

Hotel+Car prices

	Single	Double	Triple	Quad
Budget	2142€	1082€	763€	587€
Deluxe	2530€	1265€	895€	750€

The prices are in Euro per person (adult)

What's included

reservations for budget or deluxe hotels for the duration of your tour
rental of a Compact-type car (Ford Focus or similar) for the duration of the tour with the Complete Coverage Formula (which includes all the insurance policies, local taxes, zero deductible, additional drivers and one full tank of gas)
assistance and advice from Xplore in preparing for your trip

What's not included

intercontinental and domestic flights; to add flights to your travel quote, contact us at info@xploreamerica.com
any additional nights before or after the tour
GPS unit (available upon request)
national parks entrance fee
additional fees for high season trips, meals, tips and general extras
booking fees: 35 Euro per person (which includes Europ Assistance medical and luggage insurance)

You can book a tour as it is, book just the hotels or completely personalize the itinerary any way you like.
Contact us for more information and to get a personalized quote.

Itinerary

1 ° day

San Francisco – Yosemite

315

To reach this destination you will go through one of the most beautiful and inspiring parts of California, the Yosemite Valley, which was once the sacred land of Miwok Indians. The valley includes strange rock formations, steep cliffs and gorgeous forests, as well as the highest waterfalls in North America. The heart of the valley is, of course, Yosemite National Park, the jewel of Sierra Nevada, in which are inhabited by fantastic animal species.

2 ° day

Yosemite – Death Valley

455

Today you leave the mountain and forest setting and you move towards west and some completely different landscapes. We are nearing the desert areas at the border between California and Nevada. Stock up on water before you leave, since during your drive you may not find many rest stops and the temperatures in the summer tend to go up to 45-50 degrees. You will pass one of the driest parts of the world: the Death Valley, an impressive desert that extends for 225km between two large mountain chains.

3 ° day

Death Valley – Las Vegas

229

Use the following day to explore the Death Valley some more, and we also recommend you see Zabriskie Point at sunset and then make the last part of the drive (a quite uninteresting one) in the late afternoon so that you can reach Las Vegas at night in all its neon splendor!

4 ° day

Las Vegas - Bryce Canyon

422

Time to continue towards northeast, leaving the Nevada desert for Utah. You will see many license plates saying "Scenic Utah" and it's true, the natural scenery here really is amazing: large expanses colored in warm red tones and mostly uncontaminated. The Bryce Canyon, which has been a national park since 1928, is waiting for you. The park is famous for the incredible natural amphitheater made of shiny pink stone, as well for interesting rock formations. Various viewpoints across the park offer incredible panoramas.

5 ° day

Bryce Canyon - Moab (Arches Nat.Park)

434

The drive is very exciting as you remain in the Scenic State, and, once you pass through Escalante Canyon and near the Canyonlands Park, you finally reach Moab, the ideal place for a trip to the Arches national park. You can take a break from driving and enjoy the scenery because tomorrow you will have the whole day just for exploring the park.

6 ° day

Moab

Entire day dedicated to this marvel of nature. This is one of the strangest national parks, made of natural stone arches created by the force of wind and water, with bright, shimmering tones or the red sandstone. The colors are particularly magnificent in dawn and sunset in this wonder of nature that continues to impress every single visitor.

7 ° day

Moab (Arches Nat.Park) – Cortez (Mesa Verde National Park)

187

Drive 200km southwest and reach Cortez, Colorado. This Far West town is the ideal spot for a visit to the nearby national park of Mesa Verde. Here, some 1,400 years ago, the Anasazi built dwellings on the plateaus and natural clefts. Do not miss the museum that explains everything we know about their life and activities and the Ruin Road, a drive by car, running along the rim of the canyon, with numerous viewpoints.

8 ° day

Cortez (Mesa Verde National Park) - Kayenta (Monument Valley)

192

Head towards Kayenta, Arizona, at the heart of the enormous Navajo reservation. This is definitely one of the most beautiful parts of your trip. The gigantic proportions and rock monoliths against the horizon will leave you with your mouth wide open: welcome to the famous Monument Valley, the Far West as everyone imagines it. If you are lucky, you will catch a gorgeous sunset, intense and fiery-red like the land and the rocks that surround it. Overnight stay.

9 ° day

Kayenta (Monument Valley) – Page (Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon)

161

Wake up at dawn to see this natural wonder one more time. When you get to the entrance, you can take the foot path (Wild Cat Trail) which is short but very pretty, with the possibility to observe everything in peace and quiet, away from the tourists. The road that leads to Page is pretty secluded and you should try to finish it fast so that you can arrive to the Antelope Canyon on time.

10 ° day

Page (Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon) – Grand Canyon

225

The town facing Lake Powell doesn't offer any attractions but makes a great strategic starting point for some of the prettiest locations in the USA. In addition to the Antelope Canyon, which is carved in stone and will make you feel like you're walking among silk sheets, there is also the Vermillion Cliffs area: The Wave, Paria Canton and many others, although difficult to reach (you will need visas and the right equipment), are definitely worth the effort. The easiest one, which is just a 10-minute walk away (we recommend you see it at sunset), is the wonderful Horseshoe Bend. Next, off to the Grand Canyon for your overnight stay.

11 ° day

Grand Canyon - Lake Havasu

503

It would take months to see the entire Grand Canyon, considering its dimensions and depth, but it will stun you anyway! If you're in good shape, you can hike along some parts of the Bright Angel Trail and start descending into the canyon. But be careful, it takes two days, so don't go too far. The other possibility is to make use of the shuttles along the way and enjoy some of the many viewpoints. The road to Lake Havasu turns into one of the best-preserved parts of the Route 66.

12 ° day

Lake Havasu – Los Angeles

482

Today you visit the less popular park of Joshua Tree and continue to Palm Springs. If you want, you can make a short stop at the Salton Lake, located a lot more to the south, near Coachella. After cruising around the city for hours, we recommend you go to Santa Monica and walk across the huge beach, until your reach the Pacific Ocean!

It's the one that you like?

Travel Agency?
Click here!

Contact for a free quote

Trip details

Personal details

Country *

9 days / 8 nights

2.033

Head off to explore a less known area where you can still feel like one of the explorers of the West Coast of the United States! From the ocean to the mountains and back, a very interesting trip to make in a nice car. All you have to worry about is the soundtrack and we’ll take care of the rest.

Car and double room in a hotel starting from 671 € per person

More info

NATIONAL PARKS

Tabs

Hotel+Car prices

It's the one that you like?

Contact for a free quote

Other tours you may like

Tabs img

Tabs img

Tabs img

Tabs img

Tabs img

Tabs img

Tabs img

Tabs img

Tabs img

BOOK YOUR FLIGHTS THROUGH US

PERSONALIZE YOUR TOUR

RENTAL ONLY