Hotel recommendations on driving trip from San Antonio to San Diego (El Paso: hotels, restaurant)

[chasramona]

In late November, my husband and I are driving from San Antonio to San Diego. We aren't necessarily doing this for a scenic route or vacation, so we aren't interested in detouring a long distance to see something special, but we would detour from I-10 for a decent hotel. Does anyone have any suggestions for hotels on the route. We know getting gas is important during certain stretches on the road. What would be the first stop on the way? We will probably drive only during the day since our night vision isn't great. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[wCat]

Wow...that's a tough one....and a long haul!

I personally can't help you, since it's been twenty years since I've driven that route. Do you have an itinerary where you know what towns you'll stop in? If not, you might want to contact Triple A and get driving/traveling info from them.

Also....Googlemaps can give you the most direct driving route. From there you can pick out some larger areas to plan your stops. Figure out how many miles you want to cover in a day. You can plug in any city along the way since you don't mind detours. Then you could visit the CD forums for help with some of the cities along the way...El Paso, Phoenix etc if that's on your route.

Best of luck to you!

[firstclassflyer]

We stopped in Tucson, AZ and El Paso when we moved here from San Diego.
I would've preferred only 1 stop, but our son was only 6 months old at the time and got a little cranky in the car.
The drive from El Paso to SA was the worst. I was driving the truck and my wife was following in our car (with our son). As soon as we got outside El Paso....no cell phone service until we got within an hour or so of SA.
We couldn't talk with each other...we have Nextel and the walkie-talkie feature didn't work in the area either. Talk about no radio stations!!
I have a Verizon World Phone as well, that was dead too.

That being said, there is isn't really anything that exciting along the way. You could make a detour to Tombstone (and look for Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday) The big hotel areas (as in number of) are : Fort Stockton, El Paso, Tucson and Yuma.

[1StarRanch]

We go visit my folks ever CHRISTmas in Yuma, Az.

SD to Vanhorn (make reservations) stop for the night
Vanhorn to SA 6 hours

The drive is quick from SD to Vanhorn. From Van Horn to SA bring lots of toys, and bring lots of entertainment. We fill up in Vanhorn and then fill up in Ozona.

Watch the cross winds....

[1StarRanch]

Sorry,
Wrong direction, from SA to SD, quick drive we go all the way through..only stop for gas.
Getting there is typically faster then coming home..I think it's the anticipation. I leave at about 12:00am and head out. It makes the drive to Van Horn quick. Just watch out for the deer...If you hit one don't swerve..more people die from swerving. Just slow down when you see them on the side. God Bless and safe travels.

[rd2007]

definitely get a navigation system. you can get a cheap one like a Tom Tom One ($199.99 current price) and it does a great job; I personally own that model. Best thing about them is they calculate distances on the fly and are exact. The system calculates your speed and compares it with the distance left on the roads and that's how it can be perfect. The amazing part is it gets the speed off the satellites and it's always exactly the same number as the speedometer.. but anyhow, I'd recommend one for knowing exactly how far a future road/city/whatever is. You can also program in sites like a favorite store or restaurant and it'll be able to find them too.

As far as the hotels.. I've made the trip three times and the options for hotels are slim.. It's only a two day trip right? I drove Monterey to Orlando and San Antonio was my second stop on that trip. So I think that would put you somewhere slightly east of El Paso for your stopover. There isn't much there unfortunately...

[MichelleSG]

I've made full cross country trips 3 times in my life and drove from San Diego to here with my husband (and the dogs) when we moved out here last year. There's literally nothing inbetween here in thre. I know, you go through Phoenix but we actually drove around it because we weren't planning on visiting or stopping anywhere so we just avoided the traffic. Unfortunately I don't know the stopping point going in the other direction but we stopped at Las Crusas and that may be the midpoint. Actually El Paso was more the mid point but we had friends that told us it was a hell hole and they got robbed when they stayed overnight at a hotel there so we stuck with Los Crusas.
We didn't need a nav system, you get on the 10 west and take it all the way until it turns into the 8 west. When you hit the ocean you've arrived in San Diego. If you are going to make a bunch of stops and detours then it may be a good investment. Barring that you're not going to need one, really.

[rd2007]

well, obviously you don't need a nav system to hop on 10.. it comes in handy when looking at where you are and how far you are from other places. It's like a map that never screws up..

[wCat]

[quote=1StarRanch;1954300]Sorry,
Just watch out for the deer...If you hit one don't swerve..more people die from swerving. Just slow down when you see them on the side. God Bless and safe travels.[/QUOTE]


Excellent POINT!!!! I have heard horror stories this time of year of deer and all kinds of wildlife out I-10 and the hill country. Mating season and they are crazy!!! The advice on not swerving is right on!!!

[sapphire]

[quote=wCat;1956938]

Originally Posted by 1StarRanch

Sorry,
Just watch out for the deer...If you hit one don't swerve..more people die from swerving. Just slow down when you see them on the side. God Bless and safe travels.[/QUOTE]


Excellent POINT!!!! I have heard horror stories this time of year of deer and all kinds of wildlife out I-10 and the hill country. Mating season and they are crazy!!! The advice on not swerving is right on!!!

Yes, we almost hit one the other night on 1604 at 10. Scared the bejeezus out of us!! I passed a poor guy the other morning on Babcock just before Hausman and his pickup was all crunched up, and there was a dead buck laying on the road. He was huge.