Travel with a Cocktail

Planning a trip in the U.S. takes a little extra work before you leave so you can have a relaxed and enjoyable time. We went to Denver over Memorial Day Weekend this year and it was so fun!
Follow this step-by-step guide to plan YOUR perfect weekend in Denver

Step 1 – set the agenda

Option 1: If you want to currate and fully-customize your trip, I HIGHLY recommend using My Google Maps to help organize and visualize how you want to want to organize your days. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I wrote a full tutorial How to and why you should make a myGoogleMaps for your next trip!

Option 2: Use our exact optimized agenda. You can get the full break-down with reviews here.

Step 2 – think about how to get around

Something we loved about Denver was that we were able to book a centrally-located hotel downtown and walk just about everywhere. Anywhere we couldn’t/didn’t want to walk to, we took an uber.

This saved us a TON of money, 1) because we only rented a car for one day during the entire weekend and 2) the cost of overnight parking at our hotel was $76 A NIGHT!

Step 3 – find the optimal day to go to attractions like Red Rocks and Rocky Mountain National Park

Red Rocks is a STUNNING geologically formed, open-air amphitheatre. This was a must-stop destination for us while in Denver, but we weren’t interested in attending a concert there. We hiked up and down the ampitheatre, as well as took the 1.4 mi hiking trail around the Trading Post.

You can visit Red Rocks on any day, but if there is an event that day it will affect when you can visit for free so be sure to check their website.

Seeing the mountains (our first time!) was another must-do for this trip so we knew we would rent a car to go to Rocky Mountain National Park. If you’re visiting between May-October, you’re required to have a “Timed Entry Pass”. We watched them turn away cars because they sold out.
Once you know what day and timing you’ll arrive at the park, set a timer for the 1st day a month before your trip to buy the pass. You’ll have to pick a 2 hour time slot that you’ll arrive within and only need 1 pass per vehicle.

Here is the website to buy the pass and answer all of the questions you may have.

Step 4 – plan for inclement weather

Day 1 of our trip was hot, sunny, and perfect. Unfortunately, Day 2 was overcast and eventually stormed all night. This was our “outdoor day” when we rented a car to go to Red Rocks and the mountains. We got super lucky that the rain didn’t end up beginning until 6pm, but the clouds ruined our lunch view and the rain Saturday and Sunday night led me to cancel the rooftop dinner reservations that I had made.

This is where your My Google Map comes to the rescue. If you’ll be in town more days and can move things around, that’s great. If you are on a tight schedule, just be sure that you have some inside activities that you can swap in if the weather doesn’t work out in your favor.

Last Step – go have a great time!

As you can see, planning your trip to Denver can actually be pretty simple – there are just a few extra considerations and steps that you’ll want to take to ensure everything goes smoothly.
I hope you have the best time ever! Leave me a comment below to share how this post helped you or how your trip went.