Help me out, Otters - planning a vacation to Colorado

[D.Pham00]

Originally Posted by abrg923

I've checked Avis, Enterprise, and Hertz so far, just plugging in for 3 days next week as a test...and the cheapest I've seen is $81 a day. What company can I get one for $30-40?

well, in my area, i've been able to find them for that price range generally. But perhaps because of the area you are in, the price is higher, or perhaps you're renting in peak season?

Another option would be to use www.priceline.com to bid for rentals. Be sure to read the terms and conditions fully, there are some major restrictions (i.e. no cancellations, costs more if more than 1 driver, etc) , but i've been able to get the best price that way.

[D.Pham00]

Originally Posted by D.Pham00

2. Rental cars are generally anywhere from $30-40 per day. If you are renting for 5-6 days, a week rental might be cheaper. make sure you have enough mileage to , or if you aren't sure, get unlimited. also, make sure that the coverage you get covers the state(s) that you plan on going to. they will ask about insurance, check with your auto insurance company ahead of time, they might cover you for damages to the car. CCs like Amex and VISA Signature will cover the collision damage waiver if you pay with them.
https://www212.americanexpress.com/d...tBenefitDetail

Originally Posted by Venusian

also, some credit cards provide rental car insurance if you book with them...check with your cc

[Venusian]

You expect me to read the thread before I reply?

You have some nerve sir!

[D.Pham00]

Originally Posted by Venusian

You expect me to read the thread before I reply?

You have some nerve sir!

hey, it happens to me too, just that this time, you're the one that was caught with your pants down!

[SuperJim88]

Outside of a typical holiday traffic, DIA has never caused any trouble for me. Flying in and out has always been easy and non-hassle.

If you're driving from DIA to Estes Park, you will have to go through Boulder. I would recommend you to spend at least half a day in Boulder, especially the Pearl Street. Nothing spectacular but just to get the idea of what people refer to as the Republic of Boulder.

If you haven't seen the Shinning (Jack Nicholson version), you will for sure after staying in the Stanley. They broadcast it 24/7 on a continuous loop. It's a good way to fall asleep in. Keep in mind, there's no AC in Stanley. Something about preservation of historic landmark or whatnot. Most nights, air cools off pretty good, but it can be annoying if we're in a heat wave. Take a walk down town Estes Park is a must as well. It's a short strip of shops and restaurants. Again, nothing spectacular, but just something to experience.

[Dr Mabuse]

It's so beautiful up there.

I love driving those high mountain 2 lanes.

The hotel is way cool up there, and that's a wonderful area.

[Duh Vuh Duh]

I agree with what most people have said, ghost tour at the Stanley, horseback riding, shops on the main strip in Estes, and also I think there is a fee, but you defnitely need to take a day hike into RMNP. Also, don't know if it's just you or a family, but if the latter, there is also a pretty decent race cars/bumper boats/mini golf place, not exactly the Colorado experience, but if you are looking to burn time with bored kids. Also, definitely check out some of the candy/ice cream shops, some pretty good stuff.

[al_bundy]

close to the entrance in the big valley there you can see moose around 5pm or so eating the grass. they are very friendly and let you pet them and the kids love it. last year when i was there i saw a fox running around trying to hunt a baby moose at the same time

if you stop by Boulder check out the Dushanbe Tea House. very good food and tea

if you get bored after a day or two, head over to Fort Collins. Nice game farm there and there is a freight train that passes by every day or so and kids love freight trains. and there are some nice bike riding trails near Fort Collins

[abrg923]

Awesome ideas, everyone...keep them coming.

Someone mentioned spending time in Boulder...what all is there?

Right now I'm looking at it being a 3 day 4 night trip...which is up from the original 2 day 3 night trip. (Looking at flying in on Sunday morning and departing on Wednesday afternoon)

[abrg923]

Awesome ideas, everyone...keep them coming.

Someone mentioned spending time in Boulder...what all is there?

Right now I'm looking at it being a 3 day 4 night trip...which is up from the original 2 day 3 night trip. (Looking at flying in on Sunday morning and departing on Wednesday afternoon)

[al_bundy]

there is a company that makes LTO-4 tapes and Spectralogic is there as well. otherwise a tiny shopping disctrict full of stuff you can get anywhere

[mndtrp]

Originally Posted by abrg923

Someone mentioned spending time in Boulder...what all is there?

Hippies and streets designed to get you a ticket of some sort.

[bcd]

There are quite a few breweries in the area, if you are looking a fun tour and a fan of tea you could visit the celestial seasonings factory in boulder. There are tons of great hiking trails all over the area. Nearby there is the Haystack Mountain they make incredible goat cheese and at one point had tours of the facility and the goat farm. You could visit the ridiculosly huge and over crowded Whole Foods in boulder. That's all I can think of right now, essentially boulder is a college towN that has an Ann Arbor/Berkley sense of pretentiousness about it. If I think of more I'll let you know.

Bcc

[bcd]

Double post deleted...

Bcc

[SuperJim88]

Originally Posted by bcd

....essentially boulder is a college towN.....

Too bad you're not coming to Boulder during school season because just checking out ladies is worth spending the time.

[Sdallnct]

Originally Posted by abrg923

Awesome ideas, everyone...keep them coming.

Someone mentioned spending time in Boulder...what all is there?

Right now I'm looking at it being a 3 day 4 night trip...which is up from the original 2 day 3 night trip. (Looking at flying in on Sunday morning and departing on Wednesday afternoon)

Boulder is ok, but I'd rather spend an afternoon in Fort Collins. Also a college town. I love the square!

[mndtrp]

Originally Posted by Sdallnct

Boulder is ok, but I'd rather spend an afternoon in Fort Collins. Also a college town. I love the square!

Agreed.

[TomOpus]

Originally Posted by abrg923

Absolutely...I'm a massive King fan. We may even stay a night there...although it looks to be insanely expensive, so...not sure. But yeah, definitely taking the ghost tour and all of that, and probably eating there.

From what the tour guide said, if you want to stay in the same room that Stephen stayed in, you have to make reservations months ahead of time and it's around $500 a night.



It's not quite so spooky when the damn cleaning cart is left by the room, though.

[Dr Mabuse]

That cleaning cart is scaring the hell out of me.

[al_bundy]

Originally Posted by Sdallnct

Boulder is ok, but I'd rather spend an afternoon in Fort Collins. Also a college town. I love the square!

the mexican place by the railroad tracks was good. the asian place, not so good

[SpiderM]

I lived in Estes Park for a year, but had no money or freedom at the time, so I didn't get to play around like a tourist. Though I did live with a nice view of the mountains and the Stanley.

There's a traffic bottleneck through town.

There's rafting nearby.
I understand the fishing is nice.
The mountains are beautiful.
There's a YMCA cabin complex there.
They do have a hospital, but hopefully, you won't be going there.
There's an abundance of artsey shops.
They have a pewter figurine factory there.
There's a campground, KOA style at the edge of town,
but park camping is seriously preferable for atmosphere.

I hope you have a great time. It's a lovely place.

[naitram]

Get the breakfast burrito w/ chili at Mountain Home restaurant by the Safeway. That will sustain you through a whole day of hiking.

[mndtrp]

I'm not sure what you are considering summer, but September has the Scottish festival.

http://www.scotfest.com/Scottish_Festival/Home.html

[cgray]

I've lived in CO most of my life.

I would say if Trail Ridge Rd. is open, you should drive the length of that (through RMNP). Maybe have lunch in Granby on the other side, or just make it to the Visitor Center at the top and turn around. I believe it is the highest continuous paved highway in North America.

Hiking in RMNP is some of the best hiking in the state, and the money that goes into the park (a national park, as opposed to just BLM or state land) makes it a very accessible experience. Lots of short day hikes to notable/beautiful places.

I think Estes actually loses it's glamor pretty quickly (the shops especially). I would encourage driving around the area: it's a quick drive to Lyons (a cool mountain town; home to a notable bluegrass festival) for lunch before heading down to Boulder for an afternoon on Pearl St. for tapas, drinks and strolling.

I grew up in Fort Collins, and if you are interested in beer, that's the place. You could do brewery tours of New Belgium (Fat Tire), O'dell (90 Shilling) and Budweiser all in the same afternoon. The Bud clydesdales are housed at the Fort Collins brewery -- kids love horses. If you're really into beer, you can get to Golden pretty readily to tour Coors. Golden is an historic little mountain town -- like Estes, the shops/town attractions are located on pretty much one street.

Food-wise -- not too much CO specific. Ever had Rocky Mountain Oysters?

I think Denver is a great town, and would have more suggestions if you think you might expand your visit to include Denver.

DIA is pretty straightforward. There's a train that connects the concourses to the terminal, so that's the only catch... but that's easily figured out, too. I haven't noticed a perceptible difference between DIA security and security at other airports. As stated above, unless it's holiday season or something, you usually don't have a big wait at security (though sometimes ticket areas can get jammed up; do electronic check-in if you can).

I love Colorado for its mountains. I'm mainly a hiker/backpacking (and can recommend trails if you want), but would still agree with others above: sounds fun to ALSO do a horseback ride, whitewater rafting, etc.

Along with the Boulder/hippie vide, I think frisbee is pretty big in Colorado. Estes has a nice frisbee golf course (free; just pick up a disc or two for everybody) if that's something you'd be interested in (here).

I would check a Colorado calendar/events magazine (e.g. Westword.com) to see if there are any festivals or big events while you are here... A couple examples: Nederland has a "Frozen Dead Guy" festival that is pretty darn unique and would be fun to go to; Red Rocks (in Morrison, right outside of Denver) is one of the nation's coolest concert venues if a band/movie you like is playing while you are here; etc.

Final thoughts: my wife is a big fan of factory tours, and we've both enjoyed these.

* Hammond Candy factory (one of the, or THE, last candy factories to handmake their candy; located right outside of Denver; here. Pretty cool to watch them hand twist (with canoe paddles, basically) those huge lollipops.

* Celestial Seasonings is based in Boulder and has a very good factory tour (the Peppermint room is a sensory overload!); here

Let us know what else you might be looking for.

[LurkerDan]

Originally Posted by mndtrp

Hippies and streets designed to get you a ticket of some sort.