Grand Canyon/Sedona vs. Vegas/Zion/Bryce

[Anonymous]

Planning a week-long trip this summer (kids ages 10 and 12) and trying to decide between two options: Grand Canyon/Sedona or Las Vegas/Zion/Bryce. We did Grand Tetons/Yellowstone last year and had a great time. Seems like Vegas has lots of family friendly options but my husband disagrees. I think they’d get bored with just the GC and Sedona! Any opinions?

[Anonymous]

We did Vegas and drove to Grand Canyon, then Sedona. My 12 year old daughter didn’t like Vegas for some reason. We came across some wild scenes on the strip (super drunk/high people, etc.) and I think that upset her. She’s 15 now and would probably be fine with it. She liked the Grand Canyon and Sedona.

[Anonymous]

If you do Grand Canyon and Sedona, throw in a night at Page, Az, and do horseshoe Bend and antelope Canyon. Those were some of the highlights of our trip.

My kids were slightly older at 17 and 15, but they prefer the 82° at the pool in Scottsdale, vs the 27 degrees at the Grand Canyon and the long hikes in Sedona. They did like the pink jeep tour though.

[Anonymous]

Kids don't want to go to Vegas/Zion/Bryce

If anything, they will want to go to the Grand Canyon.

[Anonymous]

My family would definitely prefer the Vegas option. Lots of great hiking and Vegas is like an explosion of activity. You can go to Hoover Dam.

[Anonymous]

Last spring break we did Phoenix/Sedona/Page/Grand Canyon and had a great time, kids were 11 and 14.

We did Pink Jeep and hiking in Sedona, Antelope X Canyon and a Navajo show in Page, one night at El Tovar in the GC, one night at a resort in Phoenix.

[Anonymous]

But Op, you are way behind the curve on this. np here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Planning a week-long trip this summer (kids ages 10 and 12) and trying to decide between two options: Grand Canyon/Sedona or Las Vegas/Zion/Bryce. We did Grand Tetons/Yellowstone last year and had a great time. Seems like Vegas has lots of family friendly options but my husband disagrees. I think they’d get bored with just the GC and Sedona! Any opinions?

Depends on your hiking shape and what part of summer. Early summer might better temperatures wise for both Grand Canyon and Zion as you won't have to deal with the hotter temps the later in the summer you go. Bryce is so much higher as part of the Grand Escalante that you'll be fine either way. If you're doing Grand Canyon and Sedona, then I assume you're looking at the South Rim? So just make sure there's stuff in the stuff rim that you're interested in checking out. Temperature aside, you'll find plenty of short hikes (less than 5 miles) in around Sedona. For the really good stuff elsewhere, you will need to be in decent shape as you'll go for same or longer mileage and with much more elevation gain.

[Anonymous]

I don't think I'd do this trip in the summer. This is definitely a shoulder-season destination for all of it.

[Anonymous]

Grand Canyon is a half day at best, unless you’re doing major hiking which isn’t recommended in summer anyway. It’s more of a look at it and leave thing.

[Anonymous]

If your kids aren’t big hikers, they’re going to get bored.

Grand Canyon: see it from the overlooks is enough. After a few they all look same.

Sedona: it’s mostly hiking. Outside of hiking, you can do that jeep tour. Otherwise it’s spas, art galleries and very expensive boutiques.

Bryce: A lot like the Grand Canyon. Once you see one overlook, you’ve seen it all.

Zion is a hikers park. To really see it, you have to get in and hike.

These places aren’t like Yellowstone, where it’s one pullout after another with lots of different stuff to see…plus the wildlife! You won’t see much in terms of wildlife at these places compared to Yellowstone and the Tetons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think I'd do this trip in the summer. This is definitely a shoulder-season destination for all of it.

+1

[Anonymous]

My kids loved Zion/Bryce/Vegas, but we all love hiking, and we did it during spring break when it wasn’t hot (there was still a bit of snow in Bryce, which made it even more beautiful). In addition to hiking we rode horses and went canyoneering. If your family likes adventure then it’s a great area to explore. Vegas was our least favorite and we stayed only one night, but the kids enjoyed seeing a show and the different themes in the casinos. There’s plenty for families to do in Vegas for a day or two. Check out the Meow Wolf there. It’s a trip if you’ve never been to one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you do Grand Canyon and Sedona, throw in a night at Page, Az, and do horseshoe Bend and antelope Canyon. Those were some of the highlights of our trip.

My kids were slightly older at 17 and 15, but they prefer the 82° at the pool in Scottsdale, vs the 27 degrees at the Grand Canyon and the long hikes in Sedona. They did like the pink jeep tour though.

Did you read? OP wants to go in summer. It will be deadly hot at the GC. Not 27.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But Op, you are way behind the curve on this. np here

They can make it work with outside the park hotels. Both of those areas have a ton.