My husband and I have been married for 7 years and we have never been away for a full week together. You heard me, NEVER. I think the longest we were away was a Wednesday through Sunday one year when we went to the gulf with the kids. It hit me this year that if we don't travel now it may never happen. I have definitely been dealing with some of the feelings that come with being in your 50's this year. Hormonal changes, life changes and the realization that we need to live now that pushed me in the direction of planning an out of the ordinary trip for us.
In January I started looking up rentals on airbnb. Initially I was looking at Key West. I thought I'd sit on my dock and see Cuba (maybe?) or hop into my sea kayak and frolic with my dolphin friends. While that sounded really nice we ended up choosing Utah for something more active in a state I'd never been too. I grew up in the high desert of southern California and the thought of going out west to the dry heat made me so happy. I'm going to share with you some of my planning process for this trip and the activities we've booked so far.
1. Buy your plane tickets first
We bought our tickets in January just over 9 months out. I am a firm believer in booking flights before you do anything else. There are plenty of folks out there that talk about a formula for when you should book you ticket, about using incognito mode to look up fares so the "cookies" on your computer don't cut you out of good deal because the airline now KNOWS you really want that ticket. I did none of that, I watched it for about a week and then purchased the tickets on a Thursday evening. If you have a scientific formula to get the best price on tickets I'd love for you to share it with me. If you haven't already make sure you enroll in the loyalty program for the airline you are flying with so you can start earning miles that you can use towards future travel.
Deciding to vacation in southern Utah gave us a couple options of where to fly into. Our choices were St. George, Utah or Las Vegas, Nevada. While St. George is only 30 minutes from where we will be staying we decided to fly into Las Vegas. At the time of the booking the cost difference was a few hundred dollars each and the rental car prices were going to be higher, I'd assume due to the smaller location. Another perk of flying into Las Vegas is the drive to Utah and the option to stop at Valley of Fire state park on our way. Our flight gets in before noon so we will have almost a full day to explore. We are still undecided about making a few quick stops in Vegas before driving on.
2. Pick your home base
Are you planning to go to Zion and do some day trips to Bryce Canyon and other local landmarks? Or are you interested in seeing the "Mighty 5" and staying at hotels along the way?
A lot of people going to Utah plan to come visit the "Mighty 5". These are the five national parks in Utah. They are Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park and Zion National Park. This would involve flying into Salt Lake City and making a loop and either driving back to Salt Lake or flying out of Vegas. It's pretty impressive and would make sense if this is your one and done to Utah. I'd like to think we'll get out there again at some point. That's just not an enjoyable way to travel for me. I prefer a more relaxed schedule with plenty of things planned but nothing rigid. I also really like getting the flavor of the place I'm visiting by eating at local restaurants and seeing the local sights.
For our trip we decided to stay in Hurricane, Utah in a nice studio we booked on Airbnb. Hurricane is centrally located about 30 minutes from Zion and St George and 2 hrs 5 minutes to Bryce Canyon which is a doable day trip. If you have the time you could also be to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in 2 hrs 35 minutes depending on the time of year you go and if the roads are closed due to weather. For us we like to stay at one place and fan out from there and we have had nothing but great experiences with our stays through Airbnb and actually prefer them over hotels for a longer trip. Make sure you are checking when the busy seasons are so you can have the pick of rentals. We had our eye on one place and within a few weeks the price increased and then it was rented for the week we were planning to be there. If you see something you like go ahead and book it.
3. Research your options
Do any of the hikes you want to do need permits? Can you rent gear if needed? Do you want to ride horses or UTVs? Once you sit down and figure out what kind of vacation you want to have prioritizing the "must dos" it will help you streamline your planning.
Some of the best best information I've got while planning this trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon has been on Facebook groups. These groups are very active and informative. Look them up and join the ones that seem relevant. I've also had good results from boards on Reddit as well. With both you can search the for specific information which is always good etiquette before posting a question that may have already been asked dozens of times. I've found all the people to be kind and detailed in their responses. It's always helpful to get advice from those who have gone before you.
Some of our must dos are horse back riding into Bryce Canyon on our day trip there. We booked through Canyon Trail Rides which is the only company authorized to take you down into the Canyon. They offer a 1.5 hour and 3 hour trail ride tour. These book up in advance so you want to book as soon as know what day you'll be there. You can book online until 7 days before and then you'll need to call. They also offer trail rides in Zion as well as the Grand Canyon.
Another activity we are really excited about is our Sand Hollow Dune Tour with Mad Moose Rentals and Tours. This company gets great reviews which is something I always look at when making decisions. The tour takes you through the dunes and lookouts. The reviews say that the tour guides get an idea of where everyone is on the comfort level for driving off road and customizes it as you go. So if you are more adventurous you will have those opportunities. You will drive your own vehicle and follow the tour guide, this I know will be my husbands highlight and I'm looking forward to riding with him. They do also rent them outside of a tour but the idea of driving in circles and not being familiar with the park didn't seem like it would be as much fun as the tour. This is not a private tour-you will be other vehicles that are part of your group.
4. Make an Itinerary
You can still have spontaneity in your schedule even with an itinerary. Having all your potential options for activities and restaurants before going on your trip will save you time while on vacation. I don't want to wake up and then try and figure out what the possible plan for the day is. This pre-planning frees you up to enjoy your time and feel confident in picking from a list of things you already know you're interested in doing. An invaluable tool that I discovered while planning this trip is an app called Wanderlog. The free version has a lot but I decided to upgrade to the premium version to have unlimited attachments and be able to use it offline when signal isn't great. You can forward emails to the app and it will save your airline reservation or rental car reservation. It's really the best thing for keeping all your information in one spot. No saving emails or having to look them up. If you are planning a group trip you can invite your trip mates and also show the cost split right in the app for any shared expenses. It's free and very user friendly. Highly recommend.
What are you favorite travel hacks or planning tips for Zion or any other destination? I would love for you to share them!
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