North America by Air and Road

The fly and drive pattern

Fly into the nearest large hub, pick up a car, and treat the drive as part of the trip rather than dead time. Denver for the Rockies, Salt Lake City for the southern Utah parks, Portland or Seattle for the Pacific Northwest.

Open jaw itineraries work particularly well here. Flying into one city and out of another removes a long backtrack at the end.

Realistic daily driving

Four to five hours of driving is a comfortable maximum if you also want to see anything. Map distances look shorter than they feel, especially in mountain terrain where average speeds drop.

Build in one buffer day on any trip longer than a week. Something will take longer than planned and a buffer day turns that from a problem into a change of plan.

• Denver: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado high country
• Las Vegas or Salt Lake City: Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon north rim
• Seattle: Olympic and North Cascades
• Bozeman: Yellowstone northern entrances

National parks need advance planning

Popular parks operate timed entry systems in peak months and accommodation inside the parks books out far ahead. This is the single most common planning mistake on a first trip.

Check the park's official site for entry requirements a few months out, not a few days.

City trips are a different exercise

In New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Montreal and Washington a car is a liability. Parking is expensive and public transport is reasonable.

If your trip mixes both, arrange the car hire for the outdoors portion only, picking it up as you leave the city rather than at the airport on arrival.

Practical notes

Distances between fuel stops can be long in the western states and mobile coverage is patchy in the parks. Downloading offline maps is worth the two minutes.

Domestic flights within the region are frequent and often cheap, so consider a short internal flight instead of a ten hour drive if the schedule is tight.