Big USA Trip - Single parent with 4 teens / pre teens - Please help!

[ClaraJess]

Hello

I'm trying to book a trip to the states this summer coming for me and my kids (boys age 16,15 and 13 and a girl age 11). It will be our 'trip of a lifetime' and I have been saving up for ages to be able to do it. Disney was obviously top of my littlest's list but we've settled on that waiting for another holiday (maybe one day!).

The wishlist is The Grand Canyon (kids), a big city - hopefully New York (eldest), glamping at another national park - ideally Yellowstone (me), loads of fast food that you can only eat in America and a trip to an iconic gas station ; ) (13 yr old!).

I don't mind hiring a rental car and doing some driving but wouldn't want to drive much more than about 4hours in a day and would want a break between the days with a big drive (I know that's probably like popping to the shops for most Americans but as the only adult I don't want to be to knackered to enjoy it!). Also okay to do internal flights or train journeys but don't much fancy a coach.

I have family in Kansas so a stop there would be a bonus but not essential.

If you got this far, thank you so much for reading! Any ideas or tips would be very very welcome as I have not a clue what I am doing and the organised tours I've seen include too much of things we're not really interested in. I don't want to include Las Vegas for this trip. Here is what copilot suggests but I'm assuming those prices are on the conservative side.

Trip Plan to the USA During the English School Summer Break
Day 1: Departure from England

• Flight: Book a direct flight from London to New York City (JFK).
• Accommodation: Stay in a family-friendly hotel in New York City.

Day 2-4: New York City

• Activities:
• Visit iconic landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, and Times Square.
• Attend a sports game (e.g., New York Yankees baseball game).
• Enjoy various fast food restaurants (e.g., Shake Shack, Five Guys).
• Accommodation: Continue stay in New York City.

Day 5: Travel to Washington, D.C.

• Transport: Take an Amtrak train from New York City to Washington, D.C. (approx. 3.5 hours).
• Accommodation: Stay in a hotel in Washington, D.C.

Day 6-8: Washington, D.C.

• Activities:
• Visit the National Mall, Smithsonian Museums, and the White House.
• Explore fast food options (e.g., Chick-fil-A, Five Guys).
• Accommodation: Continue stay in Washington, D.C.

Day 9: Travel to Grand Canyon

• Transport: Fly from Washington, D.C. to Flagstaff, Arizona, then rent a car and drive to the Grand Canyon (approx. 1.5 hours).
• Accommodation: Stay in a lodge near the Grand Canyon.

Day 10-11: Grand Canyon

• Activities:
• Explore the South Rim, take a guided tour, and enjoy the breathtaking views.
• Participate in ranger-led programs and educational activities.
• Accommodation: Continue stay near the Grand Canyon.

Day 12: Travel to Los Angeles

• Transport: Drive back to Flagstaff (approx. 1.5 hours), then fly to Los Angeles.
• Accommodation: Stay in a family-friendly hotel in Los Angeles.

Day 13-15: Los Angeles

• Activities:
• Visit iconic landmarks like the Hollywood Sign, Santa Monica Pier, and Griffith Observatory.
• Attend a sports game (e.g., LA Dodgers baseball game).
• Enjoy various fast food restaurants (e.g., In-N-Out Burger, Chick-fil-A).
• Accommodation: Continue stay in Los Angeles.

Day 16: Travel to Yellowstone National Park

• Transport: Fly from Los Angeles to Bozeman, Montana, then rent a car and drive to Yellowstone National Park (approx. 1.5 hours).
• Accommodation: Stay in a glamping site within or near Yellowstone National Park.

Day 17-19: Yellowstone National Park

• Activities:
• Explore geothermal features like Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, and Mammoth Hot Springs.
• Enjoy wildlife viewing in Lamar Valley and Hayden Valley.
• Relax at the glamping site.
• Accommodation: Continue stay in Yellowstone National Park.

Day 20: Return to Bozeman

• Transport: Drive back to Bozeman (approx. 1.5 hours).
• Accommodation: Stay in a hotel in Bozeman.

Day 21: Departure to England

• Flight: Book a direct flight from Bozeman to London.

Budget Breakdown (Approximate)

• International Flights: £4,000
• Internal Flights: £2,500
• Accommodation: £6,000
• Car Rentals and Fuel: £1,500
• Activities and Sports Game Tickets: £2,000
• Food and Miscellaneous: £2,000

Total: £18,000
This plan ensures a mix of city experiences, national park adventures, and plenty of opportunities to enjoy American fast food, all while staying within your budget and travel preferences. If you need any adjustments or more details, feel free to ask!

It might be worth using the travel counsellor service, you choose an advisor and they'll work with you to sort out a plan, book all hotels/cars/planes/day trips etc. You can definitely do it yourself but it takes a bit of the stress out if you've got an expert helping, they'll know the best route to take and when is cheapest to fly etc. How it works

I think it's mad to try and fit so many places in with so many flights- you could see a lot more if you tried to fit less in geographically! Appreciate you are trying to appease 4 teens though!

Personally I would drop Yellowstone as it makes the trip more complicated and adds more flights. I would switch it with Yosemite which is equally gorgeous and you could drive there from LA, maybe with an overnight stop.

If you then added an extra night in LA you could fit in a single day at Disney in Anaheim.

To be honest, I would not try and do both East and West coasts but I know you have teens to keep happy. You also are really short on time in NY.

I think I would do something like

Fly to NY
5 days NY
Fly to Las Vegas, stay 1/2 nights
Pick up car, drive to Grand Canyon for 2 nights
Road trip to Yosemite (Death Valley is a cool stop for an overnight if you can handle the heat)
3/4 nights Yosemite
Road trip down to LA (overnight stop halfway if you're the only driver)
Remainder of trip in LA with enough time for Disney/Universal.
Fly home direct from LA.

It's a lot simpler than hiking through 5+ airports in as many days, collecting 3 different hire cars (you will need them everywhere except NY) and gives you more time to see stuff.

The drive from Vegas to Yosemite is very iconic USA, taking in everything from desert to mountains and lots of quirky US stuff to see a long the way!

Buc-ees is my recommendation for a mega gas station if you come across one on your route. They are a destination in themselves - if only for the quality and cleanliness of the toilets.

I'd skip DC. I mean, I loved it, the museums are fantastic but I think you're packing in a bit too much. Yellowstone is also quite out of the way and as someone has suggested already, you could do Yosemite and Death Valley instead, looping back to Vegas.

Perhaps you could do something like this:

NY - a Yankees game is like an all day fare really, I'd add an extra day to NY because of that.
LA
rent a car to drive to Yosemite (stay for 3 to 4 days), via Death Valley
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon and fly home from Vegas.

There's also a high chance of forest fires in July and August, especially in California and when it burns, it burns! A few years back we had to drive through areas engulfed in flames, there were towns burning down within a couple of days of us passing through.

National Parks are packed in summer and some might even have restrictions as to the numbers that can enter every day. Book your accommodation now as it's very limited inside the parks and is expensive.

Your costs are conservative. USA has become very expensive in the last 5 years. The tips alone will kill you. 350 a night for accommodation may not get you much, 5 people might require 2 rooms/suites. 100 a day for food will barely cover breakfast for a group your size.

In short, cut the internal flights, rethink your route. But best of luck, USA is a great destination and you will enjoy it!

I went to Washington DC at 18 and found it very dull. I would honestly skip it.
if you're going all the way to the USA, surely you can fit in one day at Disney?!

I actually think you'll need more for food. Especially because of NYC.

You're feeding 5 adult appetites plus 20-30% tips. One dinner can easily come to $200. Even fast food for lunch you can be looking at $60-80 for you guys.

Seems a shame to go to LA and not fit in a day at Disneyland to keep your youngest happy!

I came to say this! I'd double your budget for 1x fast food & 2x snack/drink type meals, or triple it if you'll want an actual meal twice a day. I find it hard to find fast food in NYC etc for less than £20 a head.

I would agree with PPs. Food is insanely priced there and teenage boys are hungry. You will need a very big food budget, especially in NY. I would also scrap Yellowstone for Yosemite. Yosemite is incredible. You can do a day tour there which is amazing. I’d also recommend Lake Tahoe which is stunning. Fires could be an issue, we went to Yosemite one August. We got lucky in that the fires were under control and we had great visibility and views. However, we couldn’t see the giant sequoias because that area wasn’t safe still.

Lake Tahoe is amazing. The sequoias are stunning too. I wouldn't do LA if you end up not renting a car.

I would rent a muscle car at some point :-) even if just to drive through the desert.

agree food is under budget. I went with two teens and we probably spent 1.5k for 3 for 11 days. We only had a couple of 'proper restaurant' meals.

You can get some bargains like the $pizza slices but honestly I was so sick of fast food by the end.

I am not sure how expensive sporting tickets are in the US but music and theatre are massively more than here so I would make sure you haven't under estimated there.

If you do go to NY register on big apple greeters and you can get personal walking tours that are free - they even state no tips.

Wow - that's a big trip with a lot of mileage! We travel to the US regularly and have travelled around a fair bit and that's a lot for one adult to manage. Have you found flights, etc, already? Flights to and around the US in peak season can be a lot - we've certainly spent more than that for four of us in summer - and the US is very expensive atm. Eating out, groceries, etc all quite punishing with the shitty exchange rate.

I honestly wouldn't bother with two baseball games. Baseball is unbelievably dull! I'd go to basketball, if I was going to see a game of anything in the US. Baseball is like cricket - it goes on and on 😴

Given your brief is 'a big city' (rather than lots of big cities), I'd skip LA altogether. And I'd do a national park which is closer to GC rather than Yellowstone.

Sounds like an amazing trip (which will cost you a lot more in food than your budget...)

I wouldn't bother with Los Angeles it's an absolute shit hole.
San Francisco is far nicer.

We did this stopping in Death Valley and Mammoth lakes en route. Brilliant trip.

Sadly LA may not be in great shape to see particularly the costal road.
I like others wouldn't try and do both coasts along with Yellowstone, the distances are huge.
Vegas is a surprisingly good city choice alongside national parks or SF?

I'm exhausted just reading that itinerary. You could fly to San Francisco, do Golden Gate Bridge/Alcatraz etc. You could watch a baseball game there, Oracle park, home of the SF Giants is in a beautiful setting over looking San Francisco bay. From there you could head in land to Lake Tahoe/Yosemite or South to Santa Cruz (nice beach and boardwalk) and Monterey (aquarium) if that's your thing. Or could head to death valley, sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park to see giant sequoias. Just north of Vegas you have Zion and Bryce national parks which i think are worth seeing, and then from there you could head to the Grand Canyon.

Las Vegas for a night or two would be fun for the older teens. It's a safe, clean fun place I was pleasantly surprised and you can do a helicopter or coach trip from there to the grand canyon.

San Francisco is also a shit hole, tbh I found it worse than LA. The best bits of California are outside the cities.

I'm sure you'll have an amazing time if you do this. But to be honest if it was me (and we are actually doing this) I would just stick to California/Nevada. There is so much to see over there, with the added benefit of Disneyland and Universal for your 11 year old if she wanted Florida (which I'm sure your older ones will love too, Universal at least). Hire a car and you should easily be able to hop around without a drive longer than 4 hours, if you do Vegas to LA that might be slightly over but should be the longest drive.

I think it would be a bit faffy all the plane hopping, personally.