I have returned from my first trip to the US and it was an interesting adventure up and down the Eastern states.
I still have a valid ESTA and I have 5 weeks at the end of every year to spend as I wish. I'm tentatively thinking about driving from Las Vegas, Nevada to Tampa, Florida with 1 day stops in these locations along the way:
- Roswell, New Mexico
- Austin, Texas
- New Orleans, Louisiana
What I want to know are these:
1. What is the likelihood of snow or bad weather en route or in any of these locations at the beginning of January?
2. How many days would it take to get from Las Vegas, Nevada to Tampa, Florida with a 1 day stop in each of the above locations? (Providing I only drove during the day and stopped every night to rest)
3. What are your experiences driving along the southern-most states? Especially through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
I could Google all this but I want to hear what experienced travellers say.
Thanks in advance for your responses.
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That is a great path to take. I'd go east from Las Vegas to Flagstaff, Arizona. You are likely to encounter cold weather in the mountains around Flagstaff. There is the possibility of a bit of ice or snow. Flagstaff is a cute college town.
You can dart north to the Grand Canyon.
Your path will give you some cold weather and rain but overall you will have very nice weather.
From there head south to Tucson so you can explore Sedona. This is a great town. You can ride jeeps in the desert and along the red rocks. Lots of fun and hiking. You may want two nights in Sedona. Tucson is another cute college town. Again, you may want to spend the night.
From Tucson to Roswell, New Mexico and head south to Austin and then go further south to San Antonio and from there east to Tampa. You may want three nights in Austin and two nights in San Antonio. Both of these Texas towns have a lot to offer. Once you map out your plan we can provide you things to do in each town if you decide to spend time there.
Driving east I would spend a night in Galveston.
Our suggestion is three nights in New Orleans. One night in Pensacola or Destin Florida. Winter time is the best time to swim with the manatees in Florida so you may want to stop in Crystal River, Florida on your trip.
You will have a nice time in Tampa. The downtown area is fun and lots of nice bars and restaurants.
I hope you'll take the time to explore along your way because you can see many great things along your way.
While in New Mexico you may want to consider White Sands National Park.
What dates will you be traveling?
Reply to this listen to the Binkleys - they have given you great advice and a solid bit of route-planning. you may encounter a storm or two bringing anything from driving rain to sideways snow but for the most part our days are sunny and clear out west. doing the route mentioned you could experience everything from 80+ degrees F to below zero (the nights are very cold) up high on the Colorado Pleateau. The winter is a lovely time to visit the Grand Canyon, Sedona and the low desert - you will have a blast!
Reply to this Like MJ said, you should be fine weather wise. We've driven from AZ through Texas during the winter several times now and have never run into serious difficulties. Arizona can/does experience snow from time to time, particularly in the highlands but we didn't have to chain-up.
If the weather in Flagstaff appears like it will be too treacherous (there were some fairly rough storms forecast last time we were there), you can always opt for I-95 into Blythe and cut across to Phoenix, taking I-10 into Las Cruces and cutting up to Roswell that way (it's the path we took last time - you do get some interesting sites outside Alamogordo with White Sands and amazing moon-rises on the clear nights driving east). It's more interesting than I-40 into Albuquerque in our opinion.
Regarding driving through AZ, NM and TX - be prepared to drive through a whole lot of repetitive scenery. It can be quite interesting at first, but there are long stretches in between anything that breaks up the monotony. There's simply no way around this, so it shouldn't deter you. Just be prepared to gas up when you can, keep water with you and also be ready for periodic check-points (especially along the southern parts of those states) with identification/passport at the ready.
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