Since we shared our US road trip adventures on our Instagram @tastingsunsets, we received a lot of questions from our followers. From our favorite national park to the most incredible hike, and restaurant recommendations, the topics were quite extensive. Today, we’re bringing you the answers to the burning questions you’ve asked us along the way. From the ins and outs of planning a road trip to our favorite hidden gems and unexpected encounters, discover all our answers in this Q&A on our US road trip.
What motivated you to go on a 5 week road trip in the Southwest? Why so long?
A lot of things motivated us! After we visited New York, we completely fell in love with the US. Just the feeling that anything’s possible, you really get that sense of limitless opportunities and adventure. Just an example: if you’re in New York and you crave a pizza slice at 3 AM on a Tuesday, you better believe someone will be awake to deliver it to your doorstep! 😂 On top of that, the US has so much to offer. Whether it’s nature, amazing food (who would’ve thought!) or culture like museums, you’ll find everything you like here.
After 10 days in New York during the Christmas holidays of 2021, we really wanted to explore the “nature side” of the US, too. We had obviously heard of national parks like the Grand Canyon or Yosemite, but we were also interested in the lesser known locations like Valley of Fire or Valley of the Gods.
During our preparation, we kept adding locations, attractions, and even restaurants to our itinerary. Then we started to narrow down again. To our surprise our itinerary was still huge, even after removing beautiful locations like Arches NP and Canyonlands NP in Moab. This meant only one thing: extending our duration in the US. What became a 3 or 4 week road trip, quickly became 5 weeks. And if Kelvin had some vacations days left, this probably would’ve become 6 or even 7 weeks! 😳 We just couldn’t skip a lot of the places we wanted to visit. Our road trip was the best trip ever (so far)!
Which cities or destinations did you visit during your road trip?
We were in the US for 5 weeks, so we visited a lot of destinations! In chronological order, we visited the following cities or destinations, some as day trip, most with overnight stays:
San Francisco – Santa Cruz – Big Sur – Yosemite NP – Kings Canyon NP – Alabama Hills – Death Valley NP – Las Vegas – Valley of Fire – Grand Canyon NP – Page – Valley of the Gods – Monument Valley – Bryce Canyon NP – Zion NP – Needles – Amboy – Joshua Tree NP – Calico – Pioneertown – Palm Springs – San Diego – Los Angeles – Santa Barbara
In our US road trip itinerary you can find more information about each city or destination.
What was the highlight of your hiking experiences during the road trip?
There were a lot of amazing hikes! Admittedly, in Belgium we never go on a hike. When we told people we were planning on doing some hiking, most of our friends and family laughed at us! 😳 So we can’t really give any tips as experienced hikers, but we can tell you the hikes we love as novices in the hiking game.
The Emerald Pools Trail in Zion is definitely up there as the most rewarding hike, especially for the little effort we put in. You can read all about our unforgettable Zion hiking experiences here.
Another easy but rewarding hike was the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail. This 1,6 km round trip is a short and easy hike that offers spectacular views of the Lower Yosemite Fall. It might be because it was one of our first hikes, but this one sticks with us for how majestic the waterfall was. There were a lot of hikes that we wanted to do, but couldn’t, like Angel’s Landing and the Narrows in Zion, and the Bridalveil Fall Trail in Yosemite.
Which was your favorite accommodation during your road trip?
Our Airbnb in Joshua Tree really stole our hearts. We wish we could’ve stayed here forever! The bungalow was located in the middle of the desert, with a barbecue, pool, and hot tub. The views were incredible as well, especially at sunset. The interior of our bungalow was simply magnificent. It was a modern bungalow, with everything you need and more. We made dinner multiple times here, just because the kitchen and BBQ were so nice. This also saved us some money, so definitely a win-win. 😉 We did leave the gas on for a full night by accident, though, would not recommend! We woke up with the worst headaches of our lives. At € 220 per night, it wasn’t our cheapest stay, but it was worth every penny!
▶️ Read all about our Airbnb in Joshua Tree.
We also want to mention another really special accommodation. In Hurricane (near Zion), we stayed in an amazing Airbnb guestroom with a majestic view of the mountains. We went more into detail in our unforgettable Zion hiking experiences, if you’re interested in knowing more. This lovely Airbnb set us back € 160 per day and we couldn’t recommend it more!
Can you recommend the best restaurant you visited during your road trip? And the best dish/meal?
It is really difficult to pick one winner, but Leo’s Oyster Bar in San Francisco, and Tac/Quila and 4 Saints in Palm Springs definitely make our top 3.
We visited Leo’s Oyster Bar for Kelvin’s birthday and had a wonderful dinner. We both had amazing cocktails there, and the food was great as well. On top of that, it has a lovely interior! We definitely recommend reading our food and drink recommendations in San Francisco to read all about it!
In Palm Springs we had maybe the best day food-wise, with first a wonderful and delicious lunch at Tac/Quila, and an amazing romantic dinner at 4 Saints. You can read all about Palm Springs, including the restaurants, in our Palm Springs travel guide.
Among the national parks you visited, which one was your favorite and why?
We had this discussion after almost every national park we visited. Finally we agreed that Death Valley is our number one! The reason for this is that it has something for everyone. If you’re really into hiking, there are a plethora of hikes available. Just looking to climb some sand dunes? You got it! Interested in a salt basin? There it is!
Also, during our time there the maximum temperature never exceeded 35 °C. So in the morning we woke up for sunrise (around 5 AM), visited/hiked everything we wanted to that day, and we were finished around 10 AM. When it got too hot, we just went back to our resort to lay by the pool until it got a little colder. Then we left the resort again to catch some sunsets. If we had visited Death Valley during peak summer, our answer would possibly be quite different, but for now: Death Valley.
Side note
Since much of Yosemite was closed, we were unable to fully explore this national park. Were this to be the case, there was a good chance that Yosemite would be number 1!
How many miles did you cover in total during your road trip?
We covered a total of 7 802 kilometers (4 848 miles) during our 5 week road trip. Interested in how much fuel cost us? Check our 5 week US road trip budget breakdown.
Did you encounter any particularly challenging or negative experiences during the road trip?
Ha! We had a looot of bad luck, and there were a lot of things that went wrong. We have compiled these in our “things that went wrong” blog post.
If we had to pick one that was the absolute worst, it probably is the missed sunrise on our final full day in the US. The buildup to that moment, the expectations, and the lack of alternative when it didn’t happen was what made that moment so awful. Adding to that, we woke up at 4 AM. 4 AM on our last day, just for nothing! 🙁 Admittedly, the weather would’ve been a dealbreaker no matter the day we visited the Observatory. Every morning we had either rain, mist, or just clouds, not ideal for a sunrise. The reason we waited until the last day is because the weather forecast told us that’d be the best day. If that was the best day weather-wise, we don’t want to know what the other days looked like!
Which meal turned out to be the most expensive during your travels?
We had our most expensive dinner at The Ivy in LA, where we paid € 224,90. This is closely followed by our dinner at 4 Saints in Palm Springs, where we paid € 212,99 for our dinner. Check out our LA restaurant recommendations and Palm Springs travel guide to read all about it!
What was the highlight of your Southwest road trip?
Universal Studios Hollywood
We actually have 2 highlights that we tell everyone about when this question pops up. The first answer we give is definitely our 2-day visit to Universal Studios Hollywood. Make sure to read our ultimate Universal Studios Hollywood guide to make the most out of your time in Universal Studios Hollywood!
The reason we give this answer is probably because it happened so late during our trip that it is still freshest in our memory. That doesn’t take away how amazing and awesome our visit to the park was! We were so happy we had a 2-day ticket so that we could come back on our last day. On Friday, we did every ride that was on our bucket list and that we absolutely HAD to do. This unfortunately meant that we had to skip some rides on Friday that were less of a priority in order to do everything we wanted.
That’s where the 2-day ticket came in super handy! On our second day in the park, we were able to do every single ride that we had to skip before! Because of this, we can proudly say that we’ve done every ride in Universal Studios Hollywood. Yes, even the Minions and The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash. 😂 If we did not have a 2-day ticket, we could not have done Jurassic World – The Ride either, as this attraction was closed on our first day!
Upper Antelope Canyon
The second highlight is without doubt our visit to Upper Antelope Canyon. This was number one on our bucket list so we had high expectations. To give you an idea, we booked our guided tour to visit Upper Antelope Canyon 6 months in advance! That’s how much we wanted to visit it, and it was better than we could ever imagine. We devoted a whole blog post to the perfect day trip to Page, if you’re interested in reading all about it. When we visited, we were just starstruck. The Canyon was something we had never seen before! The shapes, colors, and of course the famous light beams made it the perfect experience! We cannot stop showing the pictures we took there to our friends and family, we’re so in love with it!
Did you have any memorable encounters with wildlife during your journey?
During our Emerald Pools Trail hike we encountered at least 50 squirrels, some shy, and some not so shy! If you want to know how we did that, read our unforgettable Zion hiking experiences. Also near the Bixby Bridge, or in any other national park for that matter, did we find squirrels.
Near Alabama Hills, we had to stop for over 20 minutes because some cows were trying to make their cattle cross the street. Some of those cows were really stubborn, so you can imagine why it took so long! Thysia got out of the car to take some photos and videos, really amazing and something we had never seen before!
We also saw 2 moose at the Grand Canyon sign. It felt so surreal, they were less than 5m away, just minding their own business. We never thought we’d run into them at this place, but it seems like those animals are not afraid of people at all. 😳 Other than that, we saw countless deer in Yosemite NP. They were really cute but it was so difficult to snap a good picture of them as they kept running away! We also saw a lot of lizards in Joshua Tree NP. Last but not least: every morning in Joshua Tree we were greeted by some rabbits! So cute.
How did you plan your accommodations throughout the 5 weeks?
Well, we already mentioned in our preparation guide that we wanted to make sure we had a roof above our heads every night. This meant we booked all our accommodations in advance. In our budget breakdown we go more into detail about what our strategy was, but long story short: prioritize. Make bucket lists about hotels you definitely want to do, some that are “nice to have”, and some that you’d only book if you won the lottery!
Also, ask yourself if you want to be adventurous and “risk it”, or if you prefer peace of mind like we did. We absolutely did not want to go looking for a place to sleep in the middle of the night, and prebooking everything really did it for us. No time lost looking for a place to sleep, and Thysia made a nice spreadsheet of all our stays. This came in handy when we lost track of time and didn’t immediately know where we were sleeping, and we also gave our family a copy of that so that they knew where we were staying. Nice!
Were there any lesser-known attractions or hidden gems you discovered during your journey?
This obviously depends on how good your knowledge is about the Southwest. But objectively speaking, the Valley of the Gods was definitely something that we think is really underrated. Yes, it is less impressive than Monument Valley which is about an hour away, but the freedom you get in return is truly amazing. It’s a free, low-key alternative to Monument Valley, and on top of that you can also camp there! We really think more people should visit this amazing place. In our list of bucket list destinations in the American Southwest you can find both popular destinations and lesser-known travel gems!
How did you manage your budget during the road trip? Any tips for saving money?
In our budget breakdown we tell how much this road trip cost us. Here you’ll find the total amount of our accommodations, transportation, food,… as well as the total amount of the entire road trip. We also share some money-saving hacks for your US road trip. We really recommend reading both blog posts to get a full overview of what the trip cost us, and where you can cut costs.
Something we didn’t mention in these blog posts is how we kept track of our spending habits. Months before our departure, Thysia started keeping track on what our expenses were. She made multiple Excel spreadsheets to keep track of costs for accommodations, rental car, sightseeing, etc. Not only that, she also had a spreadsheet that kept track of all our expenses prior to our trip so we could save money in advance!
That was in preparation of our trip, but during she also went to the next level. 😳 She downloaded an app (Travelspend) where she could input expenses and categorize them. To give you an example: when Kelvin was done filling up gas, he had to hand the receipt to Thysia so she could input it immediately in the app! A little crazy, we know, but it worked. That’s how we were able to give you such a detailed overview in our budget breakdown – it didn’t really help in keeping the costs low, though.
What was your favorite road or scenic drive in the Southwest?
Definitely the Pacific Coast Highway! It really is so magical to be able to drive down the road with the ocean so close to you. 🥹 We look back every couple of days at the drone shots we made when driving on that road. It will be hard to beat a road as beautiful as this one!
A close second, for different reasons, is Highway 163 near Monument Valley. Knowing that this road was used in the iconic Forrest Gump movie made it so much fun to drive on it! Especially if you’re going in the direction of Monument Valley with those buttes and sculptures approaching you. A one of a kind experience.
Last but definitely not least: Alabama Hills Movie Road. We let the drone follow our car with the mountains in the background and it was absolutely stunning.
Were there any specific challenges or advantages to traveling the Southwest region by car?
Not specific to the Southwest, but the US in general: we loooove being able to (safely) turn right on red. In Belgium there are countless times where we have to wait to turn red, or for the lights to turn green even when you’re the only one on the road. Being able to decide on your own if and when the time is right to turn is such a lifesaver! Also, the traffic lights in the US are at the end of the intersection, and not at the beginning, so awesome! In Belgium, when you’re standing in front of a red light you always have to break your neck to look up to the light. Not in the US! There you can relax in your chair, look right in front of you until the light switches, really amazing.
Regarding the car itself, we rented an SUV so that had lots of advantages as well. Like when we had to drive through flooded streets or when visiting most of the parks. An SUV was definitely a necessity during our time there! It took some getting used to driving such a giant car, but it was worth it. Disadvantages weren’t really there, we always planned our trip for the day so that we could stop every 2 hours (at least) to stretch our legs. We never drove longer than 2 hours straight, so we can’t really complain about the giant distances since we “broke them into little pieces”. Ah, maybe the price for gas is one of the disadvantages of traveling by car. Curious to know how much we spent? Make sure to read our US budget breakdown!
How did the Southwest road trip change your perspective or broaden your horizons?
We definitely got used to being less frustrated when there’s a traffic jam. In Belgium, this annoyed us every time but ever since we returned from the US, we’ve gotten used to it. Especially LA traffic can get crazy, so if we compare the Belgian traffic jams to LA we get reminded of how “lucky” we are. 😂 Also, it might be early to say for sure, but we might have discovered a profound love for hiking now! Sure, nothing in Belgium even comes close to the nature and landscapes we saw in the Southwest, but we’re planning on going on hikes a lot more now. Another car-related topic is that before, we absolutely hated driving for longer than an hour. Now we really don’t mind anymore. That’s what you get for being in the car 8+ hours a day for 5 weeks, right? 😉
Any recommendations or advice for someone planning a similar road trip in the Southwest?
We got you covered! We wrote a lot of blog posts already around this topic, so we’ll give you a nudge in the right direction. If it’s your first time in the US, check out the necessary documents you need for traveling to the US. Ready with all the formalities? Check out our preparation guide to get tons of first-hand information about this topic. Looking for an estimate of how much this would cost you? Check out our budget breakdown to get an idea of the total cost for 5 weeks. Feel free to use our money-saving hacks, too! Last but not least, we’ve already written a lot of blog posts about our road trip to give you some inspiration. Feel free to read any (or all) of them!
Looking for more road trip adventures?
Things that went wrong during our US road trip
Our US road trip itinerary
5 week US road trip: Budget Breakdown
Money-saving hacks for your US road trip
