Due to the enormous popularity of the national parks, now is the time to start planning your 2011 trip.

We are planning an RV trip from Tennessee to the Grand Canyon in June. Can you tell me about any great stops along the way and any must see opportunities near the Grand Canyon?
To help you with the planning, here is a custom TripTik routing. Zooming into the map will allow you to see what there is to see and do along the way. As a straight shot, it’ll take you just under 24 hours but there is indeed plenty to see and do along the way. If you don’t mind some detours, Branson, Santa Fe and Sedona are stops we recommend. You can 'click and drag' the route to change or or add stopovers. You can access AAA Travel Guides to through the orange “i” icons on the map. By clicking on the Show tab at the top, you can choose to view lodging, campgrounds, restaurants, gas stations with fuel prices and AAA Show You Card & Save locations. If you’re a AAA member, your local AAA office can send you TourBook guides with lodging and attraction listings, as well as paper maps.

One note of caution: June in Arizona is very warm. Please plan to pack plenty of fluids and have your RV fully serviced before you head out.

I will be in Vegas in May and am considering a day trip to the Grand Canyon. I would like to see the Skywalk and as many other areas possible on a day trip. There are so many options, helicopter, buses, renting a car and going ourselves, etc. What/who do you recommend?
We agree the options for seeing the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas are a little overwhelming. It is difficult to provide a recommendation without knowing how many people are in your group, your budget, and how far you enjoy driving in one day. Also, please note that the Grand Canyon Skywalk is not in the Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) but located on the North Rim. However, here are some points to help you get started:

Using TripTik Travel Planner the route from Las Vegas to the GCNP is over a 4-hour drive (277 miles).  The Skywalk is closer to Las Vegas, it almost a 3 hour drive (126 miles). Your local AAA office can organize a tour for you, arrange car rental etc., they may also be able to provide a recommendation once they know a bit more about your plans.

I am planning an 8-day family road trip to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. Not sure where to stay or even if that will be enough time?
Since it seems to be only around 8 hours from your zip code to that area, a week seems like plenty of time, but it depends on what you would like to do and see. We had a blogger write about seeing 12 parks in Utah and Arizona over 9 days, that’s more than you want to do, but she started in Vegas (you’d go through there) and did Zion and Bryce first. Click here for the start of her posts. Note the links to her maps and Travel Guides, and recommendations for accommodations and more. You can also use TripTik Travel Planner online to map your own route and see attractions, accommodations and more along the way and around the National Parks. Just click on the Directions tab, put in your zip code and destination (note you can choose National Park as destination type from the drop-down menus to make it easier). That will give you an online routing. Then, zoom in and drag the map to see all the items listed in the Show tab by area. Don’t forget that AAA members get free maps and TourBooks and that you can visit your local office for assistance.

Getting married in Las Vegas, want to plan a road trip type honeymoon by car or train. Any ideas?
Congratulations! For travel around Las Vegas, our team had a number of great ideas. Four hours away is the Grand Canyon National Park. There is plenty to do there, you can read more in the AAA Travel Guide: Grand Canyon. If you would like to try it, many of our team also recommend the Grand Canyon Rail, from Williams, AZ. You can get discounted Grand Canyon Rail tickets, reservations, and more, at your local AAA office. For something a bit more romantic, we’ve always liked Sedona, AZ. You can drive in the other direction to Palm Springs. There’s a lot to see and do there as well. Our favorite is the Aerial Tramway in San Jacinto State Park. Read more in AAA Travel Guide: Palm Springs. You might want to try a tour of multiple national parks as Alison Lockwood, one of our bloggers recently did. Of course, there’s also plenty to see and do right around Las Vegas, especially if your time is limited.

We are planning a Maine trip and wonder where you would go other than Bar Harbor - it must accept a medium-sized, well-behaved dog.
Maine has something to offer for everyone, from some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in America to ornate Victorian architecture. No visit to Maine would be complete without an excursion to the crown jewel of its scenic coast: Acadia National Park, which just happens to permit pets on a leash.  Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge is another pet-friendly national park.

Pet-friendly hotels and related details on pet-acceptance policies are available in the Traveling With Your Pet: The AAA PetBook. This travel guide, which also includes tips on preparing and traveling with your pet, is available for sale at your local AAA office or online at Barnes&Noble (with a discount if you are a AAA member), more information at AAA.com/PetBook.

You can research and book your stay at AAA inspected and approved pet-friendly hotels on AAA.com as well, simply enter your travel dates and choose “Pets allowed” under Advanced Hotel Options. Pet policies do change. Be sure to confirm policies, restrictions and fees with the hotel when making reservations and again a few days before departure. Other resources: If you end up taking some good pictures while you’re in Maine, we invite you to enter the AAA PetBook Photo Contest. You can find information on this and tips on traveling with your pet at www.AAA.com/petbook. If you decide you’d like explore some places where your well behaved dog is not welcome, you can explore the services of one of AAA’s new partners: Fetch Pet Care, who can even pet-sit in your hotel room.

Points of interest and inexpensive places to stay en route to the Cabot Trail from Maine to Halifax Nova Scotia?
Click here to see a suggested route from Ware, Massachusetts to Cape North in the Cape Breton National Park in Nova Scotia from TripTik Travel Planner. You can save it, email or print it. (Please note that you would go out of your way (south) to go to Halifax before Cape Breton but if you want to go there, you can alter the route by ‘dragging’ it or changing the destination.) And Cape North is the farthest point north, you would want to continue around the Cabot Trail counterclockwise back to 105.

As it is a 950+ mile journey, it would be difficult to list all the things along the way, some suggestions would be Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s Old Harbor area and the many activities Portland, Maine has to offer. It looks like the border is around the halfway point if you wanted to stop in Houlton, Maine, or Woodstock, New Brunswick, but that really depends on how long you wish drive at a time.  Zoom into the map to see icons for AAA Approved lodging (blue) and attractions (green) along the way. Click on the icons for more information. I-95 between Augusta and Sherman is designated a Scenic Byway (green line on map) with country and river scenery.

If you’re a AAA member, your local AAA office can send you the free Maine/NH/Vermont and Nova Scotia TourBook guides with lodging and attraction listings, as well as paper maps. As far as the Cabot Trail, a very comprehensive site is http://www.cabottrail.travel.

More resources:
National park blog posts
National park travel guides
Check for seasonal closures at the National Parks web site
To submit your question to the AAA travel experts, click here.