Prologue / Travel Preparation

After two and a half years without a 'real' vacation, I had a strong desire to travel longer again. And also farther, farther than I have ever traveled before.

My long-standing dream of exploring New Zealand was unrealistic due to the still strict entry requirements related to COVID-19 at the time of trip planning. Fortunately, this planet is reasonably large and still has many other reasonably interesting places that I have not yet seen. Looking at the imaginary globe in my mind, it didn't take long for my focus to shift to an alternative destination: the southwestern United States of America.

There is hardly a region in the world that can boast a higher density of 'I really want to see this' than the southwestern United States. Therefore, my decision for such a trip was quickly made, especially since, for the first time in my life, I had enough time and money available for a trip of this magnitude.

After my one-week trip to New York in 2018, it will be my second trip to the USA. Nevertheless, I wanted to have 'professional' support for the planning/booking of this trip. Therefore, I searched the route suggestions of various travel providers. In the end, the proposed route from www.usa-reisen-experte.de appealed to me the most in terms of sights, length, and price. After a non-binding travel inquiry, a very friendly employee provided me with competent advice and put together a travel offer according to my wishes and budget, which I then booked. The price of the booking includes flights, car rental, and all accommodations.

The burning question that naturally arises now is: Where exactly are we going and what will I see on the trip? The map already provides an overview of the planned travel route. Nevertheless, I would like to describe the route in a little more detail without giving away too much of the upcoming travel reports.

On July 2nd, thanks to the 9 Euro ticket, I will take the train cheaply to Hamburg. After overnighting near the airport, my flight will depart from Hamburg via Zurich to San Francisco the next morning. I will spend two and a half days there before picking up my rental car and driving down the famous Highway 1 along the Pacific coast to Los Angeles. After two days in the City of Angels, I will head east to the Arizona desert and drive along the famous Route 66 to the Grand Canyon. The following days will take me through Monument Valley with its characteristic table mountain formations and the picturesque Zion National Park in Utah before I arrive in Las Vegas, where I will spend the next two days. Then it's on through the notorious Death Valley and the impressive Yosemite National Park before returning to San Francisco. From there, on July 19th, I will take the plane back to Frankfurt and then the train home.

Of course, this was just a brief summary of the travel route. In my travel reports after each stage, I hope to be able to provide much more detailed information from my own experience. In total, I will cover nearly 3,800 km by rental car in 17 days and travel through four states (California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada).

In addition to the booking itself, there are, of course, several other preparations to be made for a vacation in the USA. These include obvious things like passport and credit cards, as well as applying for the 'tourist visa' ESTA or purchasing a plug adapter. In addition, for the trip to Yosemite National Park, I need a permit that is best applied for several weeks in advance. I have also already purchased the annual pass for the American national parks for $80. Since the visit to a national park costs around $30 each, the annual pass is worth it from the third national park visit in a year, so also for me. I can pick up my international driver's license one day before departure. However, I missed the lottery for a permit to hike 'Angels Landing' in Zion National Park. Since it was very crowded in the past, there are now only limited spots available this year. However, it is possible to obtain such a permit on the day before the planned hiking day. Whether this will work out, I will only see on site.

Furthermore, my preparation also included informing myself about driving a car in the USA, which, apart from minor to moderate differences, is said to be quite relaxed (except in LA). However, I would rather convince myself of this personally.

I am extremely excited that it's finally starting. I have never been so eager for a trip. At the same time, I also have great respect for being alone at the other end of the world. Therefore, I hope that everything will go more or less as planned, especially when it comes to driving. But the closer the start of the trip gets, the more this concern gives way to excitement.

My goal is to publish a report including pictures here for each day of the trip. I hope to be able to do this every evening during the trip so that the reports are online early in the morning German time. However, the extent to which this will actually work out depends, of course, on my motivation, my level of exhaustion after a long day, and also the internet, but I will do my best ;)

Finally, on July 2nd, it's finally starting!

Leart