9-Day Southwest USA Road Trip Itinerary

Touring the Southwest USA is always a great vacation because of its gorgeous scenery and fun attractions. In this post I am sharing how to plan a Southwest USA road trip itinerary that includes where to stay, what to do, and how to plan your days.

The Southwest United States is a vast area with many different places to see, obviously we didn’t get to see and do it all, we had to prioritize what we wanted to see and plan around those destinations.

We started with listing all the things we might want to do and then we started narrowing it down to fit into our 9-day Southwest trip itinerary.

Make this list of them all and then decide what will work with the time you have and what is a priority for your family. I hope our trip can inspire some fun memories for your family like it did for mine.

Southwest USA Road Trip (Quick Look)

We decided to focus our time on the places we wanted to see most. They were White Sands National Park, Tucson, Disneyland, Legoland California, and a stay in Carlsbad, CA.

We started our trip in New Mexico and ended in Southern California. Below is a quick breakdown of our Southwest itinerary.

• Day 1: Travel Day and White Sands National Park
  • 6:00am Flight from Rochester-Baltimore-Albuquerque
  • Arrive in Albuquerque, New Mexico at 12:00pm
  • Drive Albuquerque to White Sands National Park (223 miles)
  • Visit White Sands National Monument, Stop for the night in Las Cruces, New Mexico. (52 miles)
• Day 2: Drive to Arizona and Old Tucson
  • Drive from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tucson, Arizona. (285 miles)
  • Old Tucson
  • Dinner at the HUB
• Day 3: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Drive to Yuma
  • Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
  • Drive from Tucson to Yuma (237 miles)
  • Overnight stay in Yuma.
• Day 4: Drive from Yuma to Anaheim
  • Drive from Yuma, Arizona to Anaheim, California (255 miles)
  • Stopped at Cabazon Dinosaur along the way.
  • Lunch at In-N-Out Burger
  • Arrive in Anaheim, California.
  • Walked around Downtown Disney at Disneyland in the evening.
• Day 5: Disneyland
  • Disneyland Parks (2 parks in 1 Day)
• Day 6: Drive to Carlsbad and Relax at Hotel
  • Drive from Anaheim to Carlsbad (61 miles)
  • Checked into hotel in Carlsbad and relaxed.
• Day 7: LEGOLAND California
  • LEGOLAND California and SeaLife
• Day 8: Day Trip to La Jolla Beach
  • La Jolla beach to see the sea lions.
• Day 9: Travel Home Day
  • Fly Home San Diego-Baltimore-Rochester

Tips for How to Plan Your Trip

• Be realistic with what you can fit into a day and what you want to see. Create a trip itinerary with destinations you want to see and experience, not what others may love. We love theme parks but if you don’t I suggest skipping them for something else.
• Get on the road early to maximize your time at each stop.
• Decide if you want guided tours for certain places or would you rather be self-guided. As a family we always prefer to go at our own pace, but I know a lot of families enjoy a guided tour.
• Listen to everyone’s input on the trip and set expectations.
• Do you want to do a round trip or a loop? Would you prefer one starting destination and ending at another? It is a good idea to decide this at the start of your planning. Then you can fill in the details of the rest.
• How will you get to your destination? We flew into New Mexico and flew home from California. Keep your options open to do what works best.
• Once you decide on itinerary book the flights, hotels, and car rental. Then you can work out the rest of the details.

We know what we love to see and do on family vacations and we planned our itinerary based on our personalized needs. Always plan the trip that works with how your family likes to travel.

Trip Recap

This is everything we did each day including where we stayed and little tips along the way to help you plan your trip.

Day 1: Travel Day Rochester, New York to Las Cruces, New Mexico

Our first day started at 4:00am with a 6:15am flight. With the time change flying to the western USA we gained a few bonus hours of vacation time.

This was a long day of travel. Flying was around 7 hours and then we drove over 3 hours to get to White Sands National Park.

Tip: If I planned this trip again I would have flown into El Paso, Texas. It is closer and would have shorten our travel that day. I would have also rented a mini-van instead of saving money with an SUV. If you are spending a significant amount of time in the car you may want a larger vehicle.

For the remainder of the trip we planned about 4 hours of driving, which is a decent amount to keep moving and see a lot of attractions.

The drive from Albuquerque to White Sands National Park was gorgeous but we were exhausted and were antsy to arrive. I packed snacks and treats to keep us going through the day.

As we drove into Alamogordo, where White Sands National Park is located, we made a quick stop at the largest Pistachio because unique places along the highway are what road trips are all about.

Then we arrived at White Sands National Park Visitor Center at 4:45pm…15 minutes before the gift shop closed.

Typically we wouldn’t care that the gift shop was closing but on this trip we had planned to go sledding on the sand dunes and purchase the sleds at the gift shop.

If you have time, bring your own sleds or purchase them at a store before you enter the park. We didn’t have either of these options and $48.00 later we were the proud owners of 3 plastic saucer sleds and a block of wax.

At this point we didn’t really care about the cost and made our way into the park before it was too dark to sled.

Words do not do this place justice and White Sands is unlike anything I have ever experienced. It is stunning and you will want to sit and take it all in.

Our timing ended up being perfect-we caught the most beautiful sunset and had time to run around with the place to ourselves.

As we were leaving we saw a family driving through the park with 3 kids and passed on our sleds to them. The joy in their faces was priceless and it worked out perfectly.

There are not a lot of parking lots along the dunes. We just pulled off to the side and got out. Thankfully this was during March and the crowds were very low. We were the only people around for most of our visit.

After our sledding we finished our drive to Las Cruces where we picked up dinner and crashed for the night.

We stayed at the Springhill Suite Las Cruces. It was clean, affordable, and offered breakfast in the morning. I checked in on the hotel (February 2026) and it receives 8.4 and very good reviews on Expedia.

Day 2: Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tucson, Arizona

We woke up early feeling well rested and ready to start the next part of our trip. The nice part about being on east coast time is that we got on the road early and didn’t have to deal with much traffic.

The drive from New Mexico into Arizona was one of my favorites because it was so diverse.

We would see mountains, then snow covered mountains, then nothing but desert, and then cactus…lots of cactus! It was an incredible experience I will never forget.

This may sound funny but I was shocked by the cactus. I was under the assumption that they would only be in the parks but they were everywhere! It was very cool to see and much different than what we are used to.

I was very excited for the weather in Tucson. This was our only stop that would be hot and I was ready to soak it all in! (Winters are long in Rochester, NY.)

Our first stop was Old Tucson. Old Tucson is a working film studio that offers tours and an opportunity to immerse yourself in the old western films. It was fun for the kids and we really enjoyed checking out the old film sets.

After Old Tucson we checked in to our hotel. We stayed at the Comfort Suites at Tucson Mall. Again this was a budget friendly hotel without a lot of fancy amenities. It worked for our short one night stay in Tucson.

Honestly I do not think we would stay at that location again. Below is a map of different hotel options that will work for a one night stay in Tucson.

We relaxed at the hotel for a bit before heading to the HUB for dinner and dessert. If you are visiting Tucson make a point to visit the HUB Restaurant & Ice Creamery. Delicious food and homemade dessert make this a great option for families.

We were so full after dinner but we still made a point to get ice cream. It was all so good. After dinner we went back to the hotel for the night.

Day 3: Tucson, Arizona to Yuma, Arizona

The next morning we had breakfast, packed our bags, and drove to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum for our last Tucson stop.

Our GPS took us a back way and I am so grateful. We went through twists and turns and around a mountain to a huge clearing of cactus! We stopped to take a few pictures because it was amazing!

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a zoo and botanical gardens packed into one. You could explore all day and not see everything.

We all really enjoyed our visit and learned a lot about the wildlife in Arizona. I wish we had more time to explore but we had to get on the road for the next part of our adventure. You can read our detailed trip in this post: 2-Day Tucson itinerary for a Quick Getaway

After the museum we got back in the car for the drive to Yuma, Arizona. Basically we decided to stay in Yuma for two reasons.

It was about half way to the California coast and it had the best burritos in Arizona. It doesn’t take much to sway us and we are always up for trying new food. (Sadly Nico’s Mexican Food is no longer operational, but I shared another option below.)

So we headed to Yuma. Yuma has a big playground that we thought would be great for the kids to stretch and play a bit.

The kids also had homework to do. My kids were missing school and we didn’t want to fall behind so we ordered take-out and relaxed at the hotel.

By the end of the day we were exhausted. The playground was great. The burritos were delicious, although I would go with the rolled tacos, they were my favorite.

Our stay at the Springhill Suites Yuma was clean and comfortable. We had dinner in the hotel room and went to bed early.

The next day was our last long drive and our first visit to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. We couldn’t wait and knew it would be an awesome part of our amazing road trip.

Day 4: Yuma, Arizona to Anaheim, California

We had a relaxing evening in Yuma eating burritos and catching up on homework. Today we packed up the car and headed west to Anaheim, California.

When we first planned this trip we didn’t plan on visiting Disneyland, but after a little consideration we knew that we couldn’t be that close to Disneyland and not visit. So we changed our plans and added one day at Disneyland to our itinerary.

The drive from Yuma to Anaheim was over 4 hours and we wanted to plan a stop to break it up. We did a little research and discovered Cabazon Dinosaurs.

Cabazon Dinosaurs is a road side attraction that has also been the location for a few popular movies.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and The Wizard had filmed scenes here and we thought it would be a fun place to stretch our legs. It was a fun road side attraction.

You do have to pay to enter part of it, but there are a few dinosaurs to take your picture next to that are free of charge. If you want to climb up the T-Rex you have to have a ticket.

We purchased tickets and it took us about 30 minutes to explore. Climbing into the head of a T-Rex is an interesting experience and something everyone should try!

Honestly, the visit is a bit pricey but we budgeted for it before we arrived. I don’t think I would pay again but I would stop and stretch, take a few pictures, and explore the gift shop. We all enjoyed our stop. You can read more about our visit in my Cabazon Dinosaurs Trip Recap.

From there we continued our drive to Anaheim. It was lunch time and we had planned our first visit to In and Out Burger. This is a west coast staple and everyone said we had to try it. I even went all out and got the milkshake!

I liked the burger and fries but the milkshake was my favorite! I went with the Neapolitan and highly recommend it!

We finished the drive to Anaheim and made it to the Fairfield Inn Anaheim for our two night stay. At this point we were happy to get out of the car. We did a lot of driving, and I do love a good road trip, things were getting tight.

We checked into the hotel and relaxed for an hour before walking to Disneyland. Our hotel was across the street from Disneyland and perfect walking distance! There are so many hotels within walking distance that you do not need to stay at a Disneyland resort.

It was really nice to take a break from the car and walk over to Downtown Disney. We checked out the shops and just enjoyed the atmosphere.

For dinner we ate at Panera, located next to our hotel, and enjoyed a swim in the pool before our full day at Disneyland tomorrow.

Day 5: Disneyland and California Adventure

The feeling that takes over you when you are a huge Disney fan visiting Disneyland is incredible. It is the park that Walt built, and walked through and it is amazing.

It is different than Walt Disney World in so many ways, yes it is smaller, but it is charming and nostalgic.

We had a big day planned. Disneyland and California Adventure- 2 Parks in 1 Day. I don’t suggest this for your first visit because there is so much to see and do that you will miss a lot, but this is the time we had so we took full advantage of it.

We started early and were at the Disneyland gates at 7:45am for a 9:00am opening. From there we purchased Lightning Lane to maximize our time and explored the park. We prioritized attractions that are not at Walt Disney World and managed to ride everything we had on our list.

Visiting both Disneyland resort parks is easy logistically because they are so close together. It makes park hopping much easier and allowed us to do a lot in one day. You will never get everything done in one day but our Disneyland and California Adventure 1-Day Itinerary worked well for our first visit.

We opened and closed Disneyland and walked back to our hotel after a busy day. I loved that the hotel was within walking distance and would stay again on our next visit.

Day 6: Anaheim, California to Carlsbad, California

We slept-in after our Disneyland day and then packed up for our last destination of the trip: Carlsbad, California.

We stayed at the West Inn & Suites and it was the perfect place to finish the last few days of our vacation. Read our review of West Inn and Suites Carlsbad: Family Hotel Near LEGOLAND California

We checked in early, got lunch at Cessy’s in Carlsbad Village. I ordered the Carnitas platter and it was delicious!! Cessy’s has closed since our visit. 🙁

Then we headed back to the hotel to relax. We played games, watched TV, did homework, and went in the hotel hot tub. Our family needed this time to recharge and relax. We like to see a lot when we travel but we also like to plan a bit of down time.

At the end the night we enjoyed the warm cookies at the hotel and went to bed excited for the next day at LEGOLAND California.

Day 7: LEGOLAND California

Depending on the age and interest of your travel group you may want to skip LEGOLAND and go on to Day 8. We really liked our visit but this park is best for kids ages 3-12.

My kids love LEGO. We are totally a LEGO family and we are a theme park family. Put those together and it is an awesome day! We made the 5 minute drive from our hotel to LEGOLAND California early so we could explore the on-site hotels before the park opened.

During our visit the weather had been kind of crazy for Southern California and it rained on and off during our visit. Thankfully it wasn’t a complete wash out but it did close a few rides throughout the day.

As much as this changed our plans for the day, it also kept the crowds low and we never waited longer than 5 minutes for anything.

We loved the NINJAGO ride and were pleasantly surprised by the Deep Sea Adventure Ride. We assumed it would feel a bit claustrophobic inside the submarine but it wasn’t at all. It was our favorite of the day.

LEGOLAND closed around 5:00pm so we headed back to the West Inn and Suites for dinner in the room. We ordered pizza, borrowed some games and a movie from the front desk, and had some family time in the room. I love balancing busy days with rest and relax time.

Day 8: Day Trip to La Jolla Beach

La Jolla Beach has been on my list forever because I wanted to take the kids to see the seals on the beach.

It was about a 1 hour drive from Carlsbad. The kids were not really excited to get back in the car, next time we rent a van, but we were all so happy we planned the day. Feeling our toes in the sand, running through the waves, and seeing the seals was one of our favorite memories of the trip.

La Jolla Beach is stunning. There is so much to explore and it is easy to walk around. The parking can get busy but we found street parking and walking along the ocean was good for all of us.

We spent our morning at La Jolla and then returned to our hotel to pack and get ready to fly home tomorrow. In the evening we went to Joe’s Crab Shack for dinner and watched the sunset on the bay.

Day 9: Travel Home Day

We scheduled an afternoon flight so we wouldn’t have to rush out in the early morning. I was so happy we did this because we went back to the hot tub, enjoyed a slow breakfast, and then drove to San Diego airport for our drive home.

Final Thoughts

As I write this I know that our Southwest road trip will be one of our favorites. Years later we are still talking about this trip.

We saw parts of the country that I may never see again. I am so happy we stepped out of our comfort zone to plan and take this trip. If you are looking for more in-depth trip itineraries check out this post: Family Trip Ideas: 10 Vacation Itineraries to Start Planning Today. I update often with our latest adventures to help inspire your next trip.

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