Private Travel Log
Twenty Days — Mexico & the United States
Next up
If something happens
+1 833 780 066124hr emergency & repatriation — from the USA or Canada +44 1403 289 16124hr emergency & repatriation — from anywhere else +44 1403 289 162Claims +34 952 010 024Staysure customer service · Mon–Fri 09:30–21:00 CESTOliver — UK passport
- Visa Waiver Program — ESTA covers tourism up to 90 days
- Passport 548394103, valid to 26 Sept 2027 — well clear of the trip
- Valid 2 years from approval, or until the passport expires
Olivia — Netherlands passport
- Also Visa Waiver Program — her own ESTA on her own passport
- Passport NX5D5H642, valid to 5 Nov 2030
- Valid 2 years from approval
Palma → Frankfurt
LH4307 (Discover Airlines) · PMI → FRA · 19:55–22:15 · arrives Terminal 1 · outbound leg one, overnight in Frankfurt
Ref 73O4CBFrankfurt → Zurich → Cancún
LH1186 (Lufthansa) · FRA → ZRH · 09:45–10:40 · departs Terminal 1
LH4512 (Edelweiss Air) · ZRH → CUN · 12:30–16:40 · arrives Terminal 4
1h 50m connection in Zurich, then the transfer down to Tulum
Cancún → Las Vegas
Viva Aerobus VB2196 / VB602 · 07:00–14:05, 1 stop (MTY) · 9h 05m · Economy, Switch–Checked fare
Booking.com ref 40-1078584012 · €442.10 🧳 2 personal items · no carry-on · 2 checked bags, max 15 kg eachLas Vegas → Salt Lake City
Frontier F9 4696 · 16:49–19:24, non-stop, 1h 35m · Economy Bundle (carry-on + checked bag included)
Confirmation YD123V · $236.96 total 🧳 1 carry-on + 1st checked bag included (Economy Bundle)Salt Lake City → Los Angeles
Frontier F9 1267 · 20:45–21:53, non-stop, 2h 08m · Economy Bundle (carry-on + seat + free changes)
Confirmation PGK25J · $382.96 🧳 2 carry-on · 1 checked bag (Olivia)Los Angeles → Charlotte
Frontier F9 4964 / F9 3110 · 00:09–11:05 via Dallas (2h layover) · 7h 56m · overnight red-eye
Confirmation KJ4UND · $527.72 ($320.72 fares + $207 bags) 🧳 2 carry-on · 1 checked bag (Olivia) · no checked bag for OliverCharlotte → Orlando
Frontier F9 1759 · 09:32–11:35, non-stop, 2h 03m · Economy Bundle (carry-on + seat + free changes)
Confirmation UFEFYC · $396.96 🧳 2 carry-on · 1 checked bag (Olivia)Miami → Zurich → Palma
LX65 (SWISS) · MIA → ZRH · 20:50–10:50 next day
LX2150 (SWISS) · ZRH → PMI · 15:40–17:30
4h 50m connection in Zurich · lands Palma Sun 25 Oct, 17:30 · 15h 40m total
Cancún
Chevrolet Beat or similar · Economy · Manual · A/C · 5 seats · Unlimited mileage · via Localiza
Booking #738171777Las Vegas
Car rental · via Budget · online check-in recommended before pickup
Confirmation #02787981US0 · Expedia itinerary 73531397752883Orlando → Miami (Jeep)
White Jeep Wrangler 4dr 4WD or similar · Hertz, counter in terminal · automatic, A/C, unlimited mileage · MCO → Kennedy Space Center → Miami
Confirmation L715E5E8651 · Expedia 73547368189480 · $67.26 The 11:30 drop-off assumes the Corvette is delivered to MIA. If the North Miami pickup stands, move this earlier and allow ~30 min and ~$35 for a rideshare.Miami → the Keys (Corvette)
Chevrolet Corvette 2023 · MarGara Car Rentals · $300 rental + $131.46 package + $29.85 tax
Total $461.31 · replaces the cancelled Camaro (refunded)Best Western Hotel Airport Frankfurt
Comfort King Apartment · De-Saint-Exupery-Strasse 6, Gateway Gardens · land 22:15, back at Terminal 1 by about 08:00 for the 09:45 departure
Directions →Grand Oasis Palm, Cancún
All-inclusive beachfront · Kukulcán Km 4.5 · Standard Partial View Room, 2 full beds, non-smoking · all meals and select drinks included · self-parking for one vehicle included · check in from 15:00, out by 12:00
Confirmation 5641084624 · PIN 9062 · +52 998 848 7500 · paid in full (US$222.22) · non-refundable Directions →Tulum
Dave replied 2 Oct: he can give us 30 minutes on Tuesday 6th for a walk around, and is tied up all day Wednesday 7th filming with Will Tennyson. No photos or video — they're holding all content until their own assets and Will's video are released. He said nothing about accommodation, so Zamaya is not a place to stay.
Still to book — 3 nights in Tulum needed, and the Zamaya visit has to fit around a 16:40 landing on the 6th.Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino
Double Room · 3000 Paradise Road, east of the Strip · 4★ · free self-parking (Strip hotels charge $18–25) · free airport shuttle · outdoor pool
Confirmation 5943863031 · PIN 2421 · US$67.45 paid Directions →Wingate by Wyndham, Cedar City
Suite with mountain views · breakfast included · 1 adult + 1 child, 1 room · 1204 S Main Street, Cedar City UT · ~1 hr north of Zion, on I-15 for the run back to Vegas
Confirmation 6674980280 · PIN 8743 · non-refundable Directions →Salt Lake City
Staying with Rob
Ocean Park Hotel, Santa Monica
Twin room, shared bathroom · 1 adult + 1 child, 1 room · parking included (unused — no car this leg) · high-speed internet · 2680 32nd St · check-in 15:00, out by 11:00
Confirmation 5976131589 · PIN 6481 · +1 310 429 5554 Directions →North Carolina mountains
The cabin
Hilton Garden Inn, Cocoa Beach
Oceanfront · 8.2 from 482 reviews · ~30 min to Kennedy Space Center
View on Booking.com → Directions →Havana Cabana, Key West
Traditional Room, 2 queen beds, non-smoking · 1 adult + 1 child, 1 room · free parking · free shuttle into Old Town for the Mallory Square sunset · check-in from 16:00, out by 11:00
Confirmation 6934456103 · PIN 0903 · +1 305 294 5541 · 3420 N Roosevelt Blvd View booking → Directions →Sea Dell Motel, Marathon
Standard Queen Room · 8.6 from 1,146 reviews · heated pool · free parking · by Bahia Honda & the Seven Mile Bridge
Confirmation 6196282483 · PIN 5996 View booking → Directions →Hotel Breakwater South Beach
Superior, partial ocean view · 1939 Art Deco landmark on Ocean Drive, the illuminated tower sign · 4★ · beachfront, pool · 17 min from MIA · last night before the flight home
Confirmation 5838333220 · PIN 8688 · 940 Ocean Drive View booking → Directions →What To Do, When
Every point where you have to be somewhere at a timeBe at Palma airport — PMI
Check in for LH4307 to Frankfurt (departs 19:55). Ref 73O4CB. Check in online 23h before to add passport details (API) — Mexico requires it.
📍 Directions →Land Frankfurt → Best Western, Gateway Gardens
Arrive Terminal 1. Shuttle or short hop to the hotel. €112 paid. Set an alarm — you need to be back at Terminal 1 by about 08:00.
📍 Directions →Be back at Frankfurt Terminal 1
LH1186 to Zurich departs 09:45 from Terminal 1. Then LH4512 Zurich→Cancún at 12:30. Ref 73O4CB.
📍 Directions →Land Cancún T4 → collect the Localiza car
Booking #738171777, Chevrolet Beat or similar. Pick-up is booked for 16:30 — ten minutes before you land. Expect the desk at 17:30–18:00 after immigration. WhatsApp sent to +52 800 077 0800 to hold it; chase if no reply.
📍 Directions →Check in — Grand Oasis Palm
Conf 5641084624, PIN 9062. €195.64 paid, non-refundable. All meals and drinks included — dinner is covered. Self-parking for one vehicle included. 15 min up the strip from the airport.
📍 Directions →Dental — Cancun Dental Care, Plaza Kukulcán
Night guards + cleanings for both, €520. Daphne on WhatsApp +52 1 998 200 9970. Time not yet confirmed — she advised a morning slot so the lab can finish same day. Check out of the hotel by 12:00 first.
📍 Directions →Return the Localiza car — Cancún airport
Drop-off is booked for 12:00, but your flight leaves at 07:00. Needs moving to ~05:00–05:30, and the office may not be open that early. Unresolved — same WhatsApp thread.
📍 Directions →Be at Cancún airport — CUN
Viva Aerobus VB2196/VB602 at 07:00, via Monterrey, lands Las Vegas 14:05. Ref 40-1078584012. Baggage: 2 personal items, no carry-on, 2 checked bags max 15kg each — weigh them.
📍 Directions →Collect the Mustang — Budget, Las Vegas
Conf 02787981US0, Expedia itinerary 73531397752883. Online check-in beforehand saves queueing.
📍 Directions →Check in — Westgate Las Vegas
Conf 5943863031, PIN 2421. €60 paid. Free self-parking. Then: drive the Strip, park, walk, dinner, early night.
📍 Directions →Westgate → Zion → Cedar City
Zion is ~2h30 from Vegas. Tonight is the Wingate by Wyndham, Cedar City — conf 6674980280, about an hour north of Zion.
📍 Directions →Return the Mustang — Las Vegas airport
Budget, same Rent-A-Car Center. Then fly to Salt Lake City. Allow for the shuttle from the return centre to the terminal.
📍 Directions →Be at Salt Lake City airport — SLC
Frontier F9 1267 departs 20:45, lands LAX 21:53. Ref PGK25J. Economy Bundle — seat selection is free, not yet done.
📍 Directions →Red-eye out of LAX — just after midnight
F9 4964 departs 00:09 — that is Friday night, not Saturday morning. Via Dallas (in 05:20, out 07:20), lands Charlotte 11:05. Ref KJ4UND. Be at LAX by about 22:00 on the Friday.
📍 Directions →Be at Charlotte airport — CLT
F9 1759 departs 09:32, lands Orlando 11:35. Ref UFEFYC. Economy Bundle — free seat selection, not yet done.
📍 Directions →Collect the Jeep — Hertz, Orlando airport
White Jeep Wrangler 4dr 4WD or similar, counter in the terminal. Pick-up is 12:30 and you land 11:35 — tight but workable.
📍 Directions →Return the Jeep — Miami airport
Hertz, MIA. Then collect the Corvette at 12:00 from North Miami — they are not the same place, allow for the transfer.
📍 Directions →Collect the Corvette — MarGara, North Miami
Conf 16049347, $461.31 total. Pick-up is 12295 Biscayne Blvd, North Miami — not the airport. Worth asking MarGara whether they will deliver to MIA instead.
📍 Directions →Return the Corvette
Back to MarGara, then on to the airport for the 20:50 flight. Two hours between drop-off and departure — leave nothing to chance.
📍 Directions →Be at Miami airport — MIA
LX65 departs 20:50 to Zurich, then LX2150 at 15:40 — lands Palma Sunday 25 Oct at 17:30. Ref 73O4CB.
📍 Directions →Amber rows are unresolved — a time that clashes, or a confirmation still outstanding. All times are local.
The Route — 20 Days, 8 Chapters
Chevrolet Beat
Oct 5–10
Palma → Frankfurt
Evening departure from Palma, landing Frankfurt 22:15 at Terminal 1. Overnight by the airport before the long haul west — back at the terminal by about 08:00.
✈ LH4307 · PMI → FRA · 19:55–22:15
Frankfurt → Zurich → Cancún
Out of Frankfurt 09:45, into Zurich 10:40, then the long leg west — landing Cancún 16:40 at Terminal 4. Pick up the Localiza car, then 15 minutes up the strip to Grand Oasis Palm (Km 4.5) — all-inclusive, so dinner is covered after 22 hours of travel. Beach in the morning.
✈ LH1186 · FRA → ZRH · 09:45–10:40 ✈ LH4512 · ZRH → CUN · 12:30–16:40 📍 Grand Oasis Palm →.jpg?width=240)
Dental appointment, then south to Tulum
Beach at Grand Oasis first thing, check out by 12:00. Cancun Dental Care, Plaza Kukulcán Km 13 — night guards and cleanings for both of us, €520 all in. Guards are made same-day: impressions in the morning, collect once the lab has finished. Then the drive down to Tulum, about 2 hours.
🦷 Cancun Dental Care · Plaza Kukulcán Km 13 · 10:00 (to confirm) 🚗 Cancún → Tulum ≈ 2h 📍 Dental clinic → 📍 Tulum →
Cenote Dos Ojos
Check out of Zamaya, shift to a boutique stay. Swim and snorkel the crystal water at Cenote Dos Ojos.
🚗 Local shuttle / taxi 📍 Cenote Dos Ojos →
Laguna Kaan Luum & the Ruins
Paddleboard the turquoise Laguna Kaan Luum, then the cliffside Tulum Ruins over the sea.
🚗 Local shuttle / taxi 📍 Laguna Kaan Luum → 📍 Tulum Ruins →
Tulum → Cancún → Las Vegas
Early transfer to CUN for a 07:00 departure, connecting via Monterrey and landing Las Vegas 14:05. Pick up the Mustang from Budget (14:30) and check into the Westgate.
The evening: no show, no late night — we'll have been up since about 04:00 Mexico time and Zion is tomorrow. Drive the Mustang up the Strip, park it, walk the middle stretch — Bellagio fountains, the Venetian, the LINQ promenade and the High Roller lit up — find some dinner, then back to the Westgate to chill and get an early night.
✈ CUN → LAS · Viva Aerobus · 07:00–14:05 🚗 Mustang from 14:30 · Strip by night, then back to the Westgate Free self-parking at the Westgate. Most Strip casinos charge $18–25 — Casino Royale, Treasure Island and SAHARA are free, and Casino Royale sits mid-Strip, so it's a handy place to leave the car. Car drop-off at Localiza still needs to shift from 12:00 to ~05:30–06:00 to make this flight — not yet confirmed with the rental desk. 📍 Cancún airport → 📍 Westgate Las Vegas → 📍 The Strip →Mustang (Budget)
Oct 11–12
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Las Vegas → Springdale (Zion)
2.5-hour drive north to Zion National Park. Hike the Riverside Walk and Canyon Overlook Trail, then on up I-15 to Cedar City for the night (~1 hr).
🚗 ~3.5 hrs total · Vegas → Zion → Cedar City 📍 Zion National Park → 📍 Wingate Cedar City →
Cedar City → Las Vegas → Salt Lake City
South on I-15 with one stop to choose: Kolob Canyons, Zion's quiet northwest corner right off exit 40, or Valley of Fire nearer Vegas. Return the Budget rental at LAS by 14:00, then fly on to Salt Lake — at Rob's by evening.
🚗 ~2h 40m to Vegas · ✈ LAS → SLC · Frontier · 16:49–19:24 Leave Cedar City by ~09:00 to make the 14:00 car return with one stop. Kolob is 20 min south and costs ~45 min; Valley of Fire is ~1 hr off the road nearer Vegas. There is time for one, not both. 📍 Las Vegas airport →The Utah loop — Vegas ↔ Zion ↔ Cedar City
North on I-15, then east on UT-9 through Springdale. The last stretch climbs the switchbacks to the 1930 Mt Carmel tunnel.
🚗 2h 30m · 160 miShuttle up the canyon floor — private cars aren't allowed in October. Riverside Walk at the top, Canyon Overlook near the tunnel.
Back out west and up I-15 to the hotel. Breakfast is included, so an easy start next day.
🚗 ~1 hr · 60 miSouth on I-15 the whole way. One stop fits before the 14:00 car return — see below.
🚗 2h 40m direct · 175 mi.jpg?width=400)
What you'll see in Zion
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Park City, Wasatch Mountains
Full day one with Rob: historic Park City, the alpine coaster, a wander down Main Street.
🚗 Local driving with Rob 📍 Park City →
Canyons & the Great Salt Lake
Full day two: autumn colour through Big Cottonwood Canyon, then bison herds on Antelope Island.
🚗 Local driving with Rob 📍 Great Salt Lake →%20(3124894239).jpg?width=240)
Salt Lake City → Los Angeles
A full last day with Rob, then the evening flight to LAX. Land 21:53, Uber to Santa Monica (~$25–40, 25 min via the LAX-it shuttle), hotel by about 23:15.
✈ SLC → LAX · Frontier · 20:45–21:53 📍 Salt Lake City airport → 📍 Ocean Park Hotel →
Venice Beach & Hollywood
Morning on beach cruisers along the boardwalk from Santa Monica to Venice. Then the Metro E Line inland to Hollywood — the Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard. Up to Griffith Observatory for sunset, with the Hollywood Sign across the hillside.
🚇 Metro & rideshare · coast → Hollywood → Griffith Check out in the morning and leave bags with the hotel — the day ends at LAX for the 00:09 flight. Griffith is the one stop with no rail: take a rideshare up for sunset (~18:15) and book the return before you lose signal on the hill. 📍 Venice Beach → 📍 Hollywood Walk of Fame →
Arrive Charlotte → NC mountains
Land Charlotte 11:05 after the overnight flight, then drive out to the mountain cabin with the afternoon still ahead.
✈ LAX → DFW → CLT · Frontier · 00:09–11:05 The flight leaves just after midnight, so the car goes back and you're at LAX late on Friday the 16th — the Ocean Park booking only covers up to that morning.The LA Loop — on foot, Metro & rideshare, Oct 15–17
Cabin, day one
Porch coffee, canoeing and kayaking on the mountain lake, an evening BBQ.
🚗 Minimal local driving
Cabin, day two
A slow morning, then out to nearby mountain towns — Asheville or Lake Lure — back for a lake sunset.
🚗 ~1 hr scenic drivingJeep Wrangler
Oct 20
Charlotte → Orlando → Space Coast
Land Orlando 11:35, pick up the Jeep. Full day at Kennedy Space Center, timed for a SpaceX launch. Night on the Space Coast.
✈ CLT → MCO · ~1.5 hrs + car pickupChevrolet Corvette
Oct 21–22
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Space Coast → Miami → Key West
Early start south (~3h 10m), drop the Jeep at MIA and pick up the Corvette at 12:00. Top down along US-1 over the Seven Mile Bridge (~3h 30m). Sunset at Mallory Square.
🚗 ~6h 40m driving + car swap at MIA Leave Cocoa Beach by 07:30 to make the 12:00 Corvette pickup comfortably — earlier if the pickup stays in North Miami. Sunset is ~19:15, so there's room for stops on the bridge. 📍 Kennedy Space Center → 📍 Havana Cabana →.jpg?width=240)
Key West → Bahia Honda → Marathon
Morning in Key West — the Southernmost Point buoy and Duval Street. Then back up US-1, stopping at Bahia Honda State Park, the best beach in the Keys. Across the Seven Mile Bridge again into Marathon for the night.
🚗 ~1h 15m up the Keys + beach stop Bahia Honda is ~40 min from Key West and roughly halfway to Marathon — the old bridge there gives the classic view back across the water. 📍 Mallory Square → 📍 Bahia Honda → 📍 Sea Dell Motel →Chevrolet Corvette
Oct 23–24
Marathon → Key Largo → Miami Beach
Up the middle Keys, lunch in Islamorada feeding tarpon at Robbie's, on through Key Largo. Check in to the Breakwater on Ocean Drive, evening in South Beach among the Art Deco neon.
🚗 ~2h 30m, Marathon to Miami 📍 Key Largo → 📍 Hotel Breakwater →
Miami → Palma
Street art at Wynwood Walls, a walk through Little Havana. Return the Corvette at 18:00, then the 20:50 flight home.
✈ MIA → ZRH → PMI · 20:50 📍 Miami airport →