Utah's Mighty National Parks Road Trip

Twelve nights in a loop from Las Vegas, self-drive with guided elements, through Utah’s Mighty Five national parks, with the flights included.

Twelve nights for five national parks is a sensible allocation: two or three nights at each of the main bases rather than a park a day, which is how most people get this route wrong.

A night at the Luxor in Las Vegas opens it, then two at Bryce Canyon, with two full days among the hoodoos, on foot or by guided mule. Highway 12 follows by Escalante and Capitol Reef to Moab for three nights, with the red rock canyons, the Morning Glory Bridge trail to a 243-foot natural span, and a stargazing programme after dark. Lake Powell comes next for a night by way of Bluff, then Monument Valley in northern Arizona, with a Navajo-guided tour between the Mittens, Elephant Butte, the Three Sisters and Rain God Mesa. Zion closes it with two nights at Springdale, with a brunch stop at Kanab on the way.

Return flights to Las Vegas, a checked bag each way, twelve days of car hire with unlimited mileage and twelve nights across six stops, some with breakfast, are included; fuel, most meals, resort fees of 137 euros payable locally, the mule ride and the Navajo-guided tour are not. The price shown is per person sharing. Spring and autumn are the seasons, since southern Utah in July regularly passes forty degrees. Thirteen days with the flights and the car in the price is strong value for an itinerary that reaches all five parks, and the three nights at Moab are the ones to use properly: Arches and Canyonlands are separate parks and each deserves a day.