Hello Everyone. I am planning to go on a road trip from Vancouver to Utah by the end of July for about 7-8 days. I plan to do the Big Five - Arches, Cannyonlands, Zion, Capitol Reef and Bryce. I have heard that the Monument Valley is worth it. Can it be included in this trip? How about the Horse Shoe Bend? Would Moab be the ideal base for all these places?

Hi Sharon how many peeps are going?

Hi Vineet. Three of us.

Moab is best for Arches and Canyonlands, since both are Moab's "backyard".
I don't think you could do all 5 in just 7-8 days. Driving there (comfortably) is going to take you two days already! Once you're there I assume you don't want to just drive around; for example seeing the Delicate Arch up close requires some hiking. Two weeks is more feasible.

Thank you Kevin. I might be able to extend my trip to maybe ten days. I picked up this 7 days itinerary from a Utah travel forum. I thought we would be able to make it to the Salt Lake City on Day 1 considering that it is about 16 hrs drive. But I guess I should stretch the time a little more.

You'll be really tired after driving for 16 hours, which may take some joy out of your first day there.

Any stopover that you could suggest between Vancouver and Salt Lake City? I could consider some changes.

Boise Idaho is a very nice town with bike paths and brew pubs.

Yup, Boise is almost exactly mid-way between Vancouver and Moab.

Robin Sounds good. We could make it to Boise Idaho in about 10 hrs. Am exploring this option. Thank you. Thank you Kevin too.

If you go to zion, do a canyoneering trip through red dessert adventure. We had an amazing guide and the canyon we did on the website was unnamed, and it was like doing antelope slot canyon but we were the only people in the canyon.

Check out the Modern Hotel (https://themodernhotel.com) on the edge of downtown Boise. It's an old tavelodge that's been given a hipster update. Good value and good quality continental breakfast included.
THEMODERNHOTEL.COM
The Modern Hotel & Bar | Boise, ID

This is valuable Steve. On my list. Thank you.

Rachel, that sounds very interesting. I should be able to include that. Thank you.

Sharan Sodhi yw Sharan. It's a cool place for a stop over. Much better than the no character chains.

All those places are worth a visit, as is Monument Valley. Spend a day or two there for a hike around the area or even the drive into the belly of it. It’s hot! Extend your trip, don’t do it half assed

I am considering extending a bit. Am used to hot climate. Thank you.

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Omg! I've been thinking of doing this trip! Take me with you!!! Sounds amazing

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Zion is amazing! I thought it was even better than the Grand Canyon because you drive right through it, beautiful rock formations you can almost touch. Lots of people camping on one exit/entrance and hiking into the canyon, having 3 day passes. Enjoy!

Initially, I thought I could leave out Zion. Now, I don't think so. I am excited! Thank you Carole.

Sharan Sodhi you are very welcome, enjoy! We were there beginning of March so yes you will have heat! AC for sure.

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I did a road trip over 2 weeks and stopped at Zion. I would have stayed there for several days. But the one day I was there was amazing. There's a guided horse day trip down a canyon that looked amazing - we weren't able to do it though that trip. We were also going to do Arches but the line up on the webcam was long - over an hour. We didn't have the time to wait for that long. Monument Valley is worth it. Hope your vehicle has A/C. It was hot in early April. It will be way hotter now. Enjoy your trip.

Thank you Mia for some great information. I am going to check it out. I have a good SUV, so am daring to do a road trip despite the hot weather.

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