Phoenix/Grand Canyon/Vegas

[ironz]

At the Grand Canyon, if you don't have physical limitations that prevent you from doing so, hike INTO the canyon! Even if you just go 1/2 mile or so down the Bright Angel Trail, just do it! SOOO many people go, drive to a lookout, and look out over the canyon and never set one foot down a trail, when it just makes it so much more meaningful to get into the actual canyon., even if just a short ways in.
Yes, it is strenuous to climb out (but not crazy technical)-- and as they say, "Hiking in is optional, hiking out is mandatory." But so very much worth it!
I'll second staying at one of the lodges on the rim (Maswik is where we have stayed a couple of times), but it can be hard to find a room sometimes if you don't plan very far ahead.

 

[azdisneylover]

I would like to add, if you are flying into Phoenix, AZ, then driving up to the Grand Canyon, please make sure you have a couple of cases (at the very least) of water and/or Gatorade or Powerade with you, sunscreen and chapstick. Dehydration happens quickly to people who are not acclimated to the weather.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

For Las Vegas, definitely check out the Neon Boneyard. The Mob Museum is near the Neon Boneyard too. I stayed at the Park MGM and wasn’t too impressed with the room, but it’s a great location for seeing a concert at the Park Theatre (which I did) or going to T-Mobile Arena.

For Phoenix, if you like history/Victorian era, the Rosson House offers great tours. I love the restaurants Tutti Santi and Greektown.

Are you going to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix? If so, I recommend taking the train there from Williams.

Sorry, I disagree.
We took the train when our kids were young, 2008, and I would not recommend it unless you have young kids. They had a small staged wild west shoot out show at the train station and bad guys on horseback who rode alongside the train and did a pretend "stick up" on train while moving. My son was chosen from the passengers to try to learn to play a fiddle. I don't know if they still do that stuff with the PC Police taking over the world. That didn't bother me as much as the train moved super slooooooowwwww. There is not much to see in the desert so this isn't exactly a sightseeing train ride.
From Sedona it was a hour drive to Williams and we had to arrive an hour before departure and from there a 2 hour train ride. So we left our hotel at 6am, train departed at 8 and we arrived at GC at 10. The GC Railroad offered a little south rim tour with lunch which we signed up for in advance. I was new to visiting National Parks back then so it felt like a safe bet to see as much as possible with guidance. The train left at 4 pm to return to Williams. We didn't choose the overnight options because we had traded a week of our Orlando timeshare for a week in Sedona and felt it was foolish to be paying for 2 different accommodations for the same night in AZ. So much wasted time!
It amounted to a couple hours of free time at the GC and at 4 pm in July there is still plenty of daylight! Silly me. Leaving Sedona by car at 6am would have gotten us to GC by 8 am and would have had the freedom to stay until sunset and then drive back to our hotel. Even if it would have been a late night arrival, we would have seen much more of the GC on our own. We later discovered after visiting many more National Parks, that they all have bus transportation set up so that people aren't driving cars everywhere. At the entrance, they give you a map of the bus stops and what to see at each stop so it's relatively easy.

We did a re-do of this trip 10 years later, did not do a timeshare stay, but we did stay right outside the GC entrance in the town of Tusayan, AZ. I was torn between the Grand Hotel at GC and less expensive options. We were able to get a Holiday Inn Express using our Chase cc points so that made the decision a lot easier. If you really want to see the GC, skip the train.

 

[Dakota731]

We loved Sedona and it wasn’t very far to the Grand Canyon about two hours. It was so beautiful and the hikes and Jeep tours were a lot of fun. We enjoyed seeing Hoover Dam and visiting the Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas since we’d rather be outdoors than do casinos or nightclubs. Visiting the cave dwellings was really cool too.

 

[moericus]

Sedona, Sedona, Sedona and Sedona (skip Phoenix ). There's a Best Western there with a great view and a huge pool.

Then drive through Oak Creek Valley on your way to Grand Canyon. It's just as beautiful in it's own way.

If you stay near Luxor in Vegas you get access to their monorail. Then you get 3 more casinos to sight-see very easily.

 

[_19disnA]

However, the Luxor monorail is only non-stop when going in one direction. In the other direction you have exit at Excalibur and then reboard a different monorail to get to Luxor. If you stay at either Mirage or Treasure Island, there is a cable car the easily connects them both (or you can take the indoor walkway.)

 

[landscapelens]

If you have time might want to check out zion national park. Its about 2 hours from Vegas, one of the most amazing places on earth

 

[Not Your Mom]

Hello,

I live in Tucson and my husband and I spent our anniversary in Sedona in October 2019. The scenery is beautiful but downtown Sedona was very touristy and not our thing. The drive from Phoenix to Sedona is serene and breathtaking.

If you can afford it I recommend the Hilton just outside of Sedona: https://www.hiltonsedonaresort.com/
If animals are your thing visit this awesome place: https://outofafricapark.com/. Best zoo/wildlife rescue I have been to. Got to pet a sloth and a rhino

Have fun!

 

[TheGecko]

We did a Phoenix/Grand Canyon/Monument Valley/Mesa Verde/Petrified Forest trip last summer. Couple thoughts:

1.) Stay overnight at the Grand Canyon. Most people only stay 2-3 hours on average. We stayed for two nights, did a lot of hiking, reading, and exploring. One night is probably enough with your schedule. There are lodging options onsite but fill up quickly.

2.) Phoenix shouldn't be too hot when you are there but look for a location with a pool. We had kids so we ended up staying at one of the hotels with a nice pool/water park area. We ended up going to Taliesin West (Frank Lloyd Wright compund), a Baseball game.

3.) Vegas we have done in the past. Only recommendation is to stay on the strip if you are only doing it once. Walking through the different hotels is worth the time. We did a Hoover dam bus tour on one trip which was alright, though it included a stop on the way back at a pretty average pizza restaurant.