Getting to Utah

Hello,

I'm writing from Lithuania (Eastern Europe). My girlfriend and I are
planning our next vacation. We have friends in Salt Lake City (they
have visited Lithuania).

We are investigating whether we could find a way to get to Utah for as
much as a full trip to, say, Egypt, would cost (i.e. we would have to
pay for accomodation etc when going to Egypt).

We would be happy to get answers to the following questions:
1. what is the best time of the year to visit Utah? (must be summer)
2. what are the cheapest ways to get to Salt Lake City from Europe?

For instance, would it be cheaper to find a "bargain" flight to NY and
then fly to Salt Lake City? Or perhaps a flight to Denver and then a
trip by bus/train to Salt Lake City?


Thank you for your answers!


Juozas from Lithuania

"Utah-bound" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello,

I'm writing from Lithuania (Eastern Europe). My girlfriend and I are
planning our next vacation. We have friends in Salt Lake City (they
have visited Lithuania).

We are investigating whether we could find a way to get to Utah for as
much as a full trip to, say, Egypt, would cost (i.e. we would have to
pay for accomodation etc when going to Egypt).

We would be happy to get answers to the following questions:
1. what is the best time of the year to visit Utah? (must be summer)
2. what are the cheapest ways to get to Salt Lake City from Europe?

For instance, would it be cheaper to find a "bargain" flight to NY and
then fly to Salt Lake City? Or perhaps a flight to Denver and then a
trip by bus/train to Salt Lake City?


Thank you for your answers!


Juozas from Lithuania


Jouzas;

The best time of year is probably late spring, or early autumn. There are
fewer tourists and the desert areas you will likely visit will have more
comfortable temperatures. Flights will likely be a little cheaper, too.

Denver to Salt Lake City (SLC) is a long trip. Since you have to fly into
the US anyway, it probably makes more sense to target a cheap fare to New
York City (NYC) and then connect from there to SLC.

For about $1050 - $1100 US you can get to SLC via Amsterdam (on Lithuanian
airlines), and NYC (via Delta), this summer, depending on length of stay. I
don't think you will find it any cheaper to stop in Denver and take a bus.
And after a trip of over 20 hours, I don't know why you would want to.

You are going to do Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the Grand Canyon, no?

The "double" bargain flight idea will probably cost you less, but I'd
recommend looking at bargains to some other places in addition to New
York: Newark (in case you were only thinking of JFK), Boston,
Philadelphia, Washington/Dulles (IAD), and Altanta. Note that Delta
Airlines operates hubs out of Atlanta and Salt Lake City, so you may
luck out and find some cheap fares through them.

If you fly into Denver and take the train, it probably won't be cheap
and the train you need is almost never on time, but the ride through
the mountains is beautiful - likely beyond anything you'll see in
Europe.

Dan wrote:
The "double" bargain flight idea will probably cost you less, but I'd

Do you mean "round-trip bargain flight" when you say "double bargain
flight"?

I have found a Finnair round-trip flight from Lithuania to NY for $600.
Alas, it's likely a very temporary offer.
I looked up at delta.com that a round-trip flight from JFK to SLC will
cost at least $285 (is the latter price okay?). So a total of $885.


If you fly into Denver and take the train, it probably won't be cheap
and the train you need is almost never on time, but the ride through
the mountains is beautiful - likely beyond anything you'll see in
Europe.

We even had a scary idea of getting our friends to drive us from Denver
to SLC by car - as a part of sightseeing. Gas is 4 times cheaper in the
US than in Europe so the price wouldn't be an issue but I guess one day
is not enought to go from Denver to SLC by car. What is the speed limit
on the highway?

Yet I think we should better save ourselves for long car trips to the
Grand Canyon that must be around 300 kilometers away from SLC.

One more idea: should we find young mormons in Lithuania and ask them
about how they usually go back to SLC? I have seen young people with
white shirts and black books in their hands speaking American English
several times on the streets and think they were mormons. I guess they
are friendly and wouldn't mind answering.

I have found a Finnair round-trip flight from Lithuania to NY for $600.
Alas, it's likely a very temporary offer.
I looked up at delta.com that a round-trip flight from JFK to SLC will
cost at least $285 (is the latter price okay?). So a total of $885.

$285 sounds about right NY-SLC, I usually pay about $225 from Atlanta to
SLC.

We even had a scary idea of getting our friends to drive us from Denver
to SLC by car - as a part of sightseeing. Gas is 4 times cheaper in the
US than in Europe so the price wouldn't be an issue but I guess one day
is not enought to go from Denver to SLC by car. What is the speed limit
on the highway?

The speed limit is usually 55 near cities, 65-70 outside cities. But out
west, where there are large empty expanses of Interstate, people tend to
about 20 mph higher!


Yet I think we should better save ourselves for long car trips to the
Grand Canyon that must be around 300 kilometers away from SLC.

Budget some time to visit Arches, a national park near Moab, in Southern
Utah.

One more idea: should we find young mormons in Lithuania and ask them
about how they usually go back to SLC? I have seen young people with
white shirts and black books in their hands speaking American English
several times on the streets and think they were mormons. I guess they
are friendly and wouldn't mind answering.

Probably an excellent idea -- although they may only make the trip once (to
get there and to go home) But there's no reason not to ask :-)

Have a great trip. I hope to see your country someday soon :-)\

Sarah

We even had a scary idea of getting our friends to drive us from Denver
to SLC by car - as a part of sightseeing. Gas is 4 times cheaper in the
US than in Europe so the price wouldn't be an issue but I guess one day
is not enought to go from Denver to SLC by car. What is the speed limit
on the highway?

Although you will be flying west you won't be in condition to make that
drive which is one that can be done fairly easy on one of several routes
which is the subject of yet another post.
You are just inviting sleep which is likely not what you want to do at that
point from any number of perspectives. s

J. Rimas:
We even had a scary idea of getting our friends to drive us from Denver
to SLC by car - as a part of sightseeing. Gas is 4 times cheaper in the
US than in Europe so the price wouldn't be an issue but I guess one day
is not enought to go from Denver to SLC by car.

You would certainly prefer to have more time, because it's very scenic
country (even along on the main highways), but you can certainly drive
it in one day.

There is also a train, which mostly goes the same way as the road, but it
only runs once a day, it may be seriously late on the particular day that
you travel, and I think you may need a reservation even for a coach seat.

What is the speed limit on the highway?

Sarah Banick:
The speed limit is usually 55 near cities

Or on most highways other than freeways (expressways, motorways, autobahns).
That speed is in mph, of course; it'd be about 90 km/h.

65-70 outside cities.

That's 105-112 km/h. But some states allow 75 mph (120 km/h) and Utah
is probably one of them.

But out west, where there are large empty expanses of Interstate,
people tend to about 20 mph higher!

Not all that many go over 80 mph (130 km/h) in my experience.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "My ambition is to see a saying of mine attributed
| to Dorothy Parker or Mark Twain." -- Joe Fineman

My text in this article is in the public domain.

J. Rimas:
We even had a scary idea of getting our friends to drive us from Denver
to SLC by car - as a part of sightseeing. Gas is 4 times cheaper in the
US than in Europe so the price wouldn't be an issue but I guess one day
is not enought to go from Denver to SLC by car.

You would certainly prefer to have more time, because it's very scenic
country (even along on the main highways), but you can certainly drive
it in one day.

There is also a train, which mostly goes the same way as the road, but it
only runs once a day, it may be seriously late on the particular day that
you travel, and I think you may need a reservation even for a coach seat.

What is the speed limit on the highway?

Sarah Banick:
The speed limit is usually 55 near cities

Or on most highways other than freeways (expressways, motorways, autobahns).
That speed is in mph, of course; it'd be about 90 km/h.

65-70 outside cities.

That's 105-112 km/h. But some states allow 75 mph (120 km/h) and Utah
is probably one of them.

But out west, where there are large empty expanses of Interstate,
people tend to about 20 mph higher!

Not all that many go over 80 mph (130 km/h) in my experience.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "My ambition is to see a saying of mine attributed
| to Dorothy Parker or Mark Twain." -- Joe Fineman

My text in this article is in the public domain.

As others have noted, about $285 from New York to Salt Lake is about
right. You might be able to get a little cheaper flight from BWI
[Baltimore-Washington International Airport], but even then, it would
probably still be a bit above $200.

I have no idea what gas costs in Lithuania today, but in the U.S. it is
now about $2 all over. It's around $2.50 in California, but that's
about 10% higher than the national average. In any event, it's a
pretty long drive, and not a small favor to ask of someone.

Your guess at the distance from Salt Lake to the Grand Canyon is way
too low. It's over 300 miles just to get to St. George from Salt Lake.
Add another 120 miles or so to get to the north rim, or more than
twice that to get to the south rim. That's 420 to about 550 miles from
Salt Lake to the Grand Canyon. Multiply by 1.8 to get the distance in
kilometers.

Speaking to the LDS missionaries is a possibility, although there's no
guarantee that the missionaries you speak to will actually be from
Utah. Nor would they likely have flown between SLC and Lithuania more
than once. But, in theory, they would speak your language. And it's
possible they will have spoken with previous "generations" of
missionaries about the cheapest way back home when their two years are
up.

TK

As others have noted, about $285 from New York to Salt Lake is about
right. You might be able to get a little cheaper flight from BWI
[Baltimore-Washington International Airport], but even then, it would
probably still be a bit above $200.

I have no idea what gas costs in Lithuania today, but in the U.S. it is
now about $2 all over. It's around $2.50 in California, but that's
about 10% higher than the national average. In any event, it's a
pretty long drive, and not a small favor to ask of someone.

Your guess at the distance from Salt Lake to the Grand Canyon is way
too low. It's over 300 miles just to get to St. George from Salt Lake.
Add another 120 miles or so to get to the north rim, or more than
twice that to get to the south rim. That's 420 to about 550 miles from
Salt Lake to the Grand Canyon. Multiply by 1.8 to get the distance in
kilometers.

Speaking to the LDS missionaries is a possibility, although there's no
guarantee that the missionaries you speak to will actually be from
Utah. Nor would they likely have flown between SLC and Lithuania more
than once. But, in theory, they would speak your language. And it's
possible they will have spoken with previous "generations" of
missionaries about the cheapest way back home when their two years are
up.

TK