ZCon

[kiwisue]

Travel plans are almost done - which is a darned good thing because we leave on Wednesday! K has heard from her Scottsdale friend and that means we'll be travelling to Phoenix after the con. We were planning to fly straight there from Chicago...

#but the Scottsdale friend won't be back in town until late on the 19th, K still hasn't heard from the friend in LA, and now she's got a yen to go to Las Vegas, and I need to get to Flagstaff, and it's all this and fly back to Sydney from LA on the evening of the 24th. Sheesh!!!

Until the Las Vegas thing came up, I was going to get a shuttle bus from Phoenix to Flag, then the Southwest Chief overnight to LA. Now, I'm not sure. Travel advice, anyone?

Comments

Zcon Travel

[taverymate.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, really depends on where you decide you need to visit and in what order. Trying to cram in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Flagstaff, and LA after Zcon and leave on the 24th sounds a bit much, even if you're both intrepid travellers. *g*

Vegas holds less than zero appeal for me (it actually functions as a repellent), so I'm not one to point out the positives there, especially if a side trip would up the travel hassle. Flagstaff is lovely and the Grand Canyon is something truly spectacular. If you need time in Flag, it might work to fly into Phoenix after the con, then head immediately to Flagstaff, visit, return to Phoenix, visit, and then fly to LA direct from Phoenix. Or perhaps an extra day or two in Chicago until your Phoenix friend is home? Maybe see if you could crash with some local fen in Chicagoland - there are sure to be a bunch. That would cut costs and help prevent the post-con blues.

Anyway, depending on what your plans are in both Phoenix and Flagstaff, I'd lean towards renting a car for the drive up, plus it will make getting around town much easier. The main route up is interstate (though quite scenic in some spots) and isn't difficult. If you go thorugh Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon the drive is a bit nerve wracking for some as it's a narrow road with a steep climb and curves. Stunning vistas, however.

Of course, your hosts will have a car, but trying to get around on your own could be difficult. Phoenix is nearly impossible without a car as mass transit is essentially useless within the metro area (and it's not much better in Flagstaff). With our current temps, even short walks in the Valley mean you are flirting with heat stroke - seriously. Our record breaking streak of 110+ days (32 days this year so far, I think) has ended, but our highs are still solidly in the 100-105 F range.

By car the trip from Scottsdale to Flagstaff is about 2 1/2 - 3 hours, depending on where you'll be in Scottsdale. No idea what the shuttle or Greyhound bus cost would be, and you can easily add on another hour or more for most bus services. The control and convience of a car would factor heavily for me if the costs were even remotely comparable. Though at that point in globe trotting, you might be so tired that you'd prefer someone else driving. *g*

I guess I'd start with what is essential and work out from that. When there are a bunch of variables in a situation, picking one absolute always helps me narrow down options.

Re: Zcon Travel

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The question of whether to hire a car or not hinges on how comfortable I feel about driving on the other side of the road to the one I'm used to - so scenic splendour might have to take a back seat to confidence! It won't be the first time for me and I imagine after a few days I'll have a feel for the traffic flow again, but I'd still prefer not to do too much driving in town. Last time I was in Newfoundland and the only things I really had to watch out for were the moose!

The heat sounds dreadful :-(