Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
42
not unusual to drive 60 miles without see-
ing a gas station. Prices are cheapest in
major cities and 10% to 15% more expen-
sive in more-isolated communities. All
prices are subject to the same fluctuations
as elsewhere in the United States.
If you're visiting from abroad and plan
to rent a car in the United States, keep in
mind that foreign driver's licenses are usu-
ally recognized in the U.S., but you may
want to consider obtaining an interna-
tional driver's license.
CAR RENTALS
Car rentals are available
in every sizable town and city in the
region, always at the local airport, and
usually also downtown. All the major car-
rental companies have offices in the South-
west. See chapter 19, “Fast Facts: American
Southwest,” for phone numbers and
websites.
Drivers who need wheelchair-accessible
transportation should call
Wheelchair
Getaways
(
&
800/642-2042;
www.
wheelchair-getaways.com); the company
rents vans by the day, week, or month.
Check out
Breezenet.com,
which offers
domestic car-rental discounts with some
of the most competitive rates around.
DRIVING RULES
Unless otherwise
posted, the
speed limits
on open roads are
65 mph to 75 mph on interstate highways
and 55 mph on state highways. The mini-
mum age for drivers is 16. Safety belts are
required for drivers and all passengers ages
5 and over; children under age 5 must be
in an approved child seat secured by the
seat belt.
Indian reservations
are considered sov-
ereign nations, and they enforce their own
laws. For instance, the Navajo reservation
(the region's largest) prohibits transporting
alcoholic beverages, leaving established
roadways, and traveling without a seat
belt. Motorcyclists must wear helmets.
EMERGENCIES
State Highway and
Transportation departments provide up-
to-the-hour information on road closures
and conditions through their toll-free
road-advisory hot lines: Arizona (
&
888/
411-7623;
www.azdot.gov); Colorado
(
&
303/639-1111;
www.cotrip.org); New
Mexico (
&
800/432-4269;
www.nmshtd.
state.nm.us); and Utah (
&
866/511-8824;
http://commuterlink.utah.gov).
Members of the
American Automobile
Association
(AAA)
can get free emergency
road service by calling AAA's emergency
number (
&
800/AAA-HELP
[222-4357]).
PARKING
The relatively vast amount of
space available in the American Southwest
makes parking less problematic than in
many U.S. cities. Most of the hotels listed
in this topic offer free parking, except for
those in the middle of major cities, where
parking garages prevail. In those cases,
parking generally runs around $10 per
day. Also, in cities, look for metered on-
street parking as well as municipal parking
garages, where costs will run approxi-
mately $1 to $2 per hour.
MAPS
Excellent state highway maps are
available from departments of tourism (see
“Visitor Information,” under “Fast Facts:
American Southwest,” on p. 611). The
American Automobile Association (AAA)
supplies detailed state and city maps free
to members (see “Emergencies,” above).
3
By Plane
This is a broad region, so if your time is
short, you might want to consider flying
between cities, though your options are
limited.
US Airways
(
&
800/428-4322;
www.usairways.com) serves Phoenix, Tuc-
son, Flagstaff, Yuma, Las Vegas, Albuquer-
que, El Paso, Durango, and Telluride.
Also,
Great Lakes Airlines
(
&
800/554-
5111;
www.flygreatlakes.com) flies between
Phoenix and Prescott, Show Low, and
Page/Lake Powell. The airline also flies
from Albuquerque to Farmington and
Grant County Airport near Silver City.
Scenic Airlines
(
&
800/634-6801;
www.
scenic.com) flies between Las Vegas and
the Grand Canyon.
