Grand Canyon itinerary

[Anonymous]

We have 3 kids - 7. 9. 11 - and planning a family trip out next spring to Grand Canyon and surrounding area. All the travel books seem very adult oriented. What's a good itinerary for 7 days? Should be fly in Vegas or Phoenix or even Flagstaff? Is it possible to stay in the same place for a week (maybe renting a house with a pool) and take day trips?

[Anonymous]

We went last year with my then 10, 7 and 1.5 year olds and the trip was awesome. My kids ranked it way better than Disney.

What we did was fly into Phoenix and drive to Williams, AZ, which is close to the Grand Canyon. We spent the night and then the next day, we spent hiking around the top of the south rim of the Grand Canyon. That evening we had dinner in Williams. The next day we did a little souvenier shopping in Williams before driving to the Zion/Bryce area in Utah, which was a long drive because there was a fire that closed the road on the route we choose and we had to back track 3 hours. We stayed three nights in that area. The first full day in the area, we did two hikes in Zion National Park. The next day, we hiked in Bryce Canyon (which, as an aside, is one of my favorite places on earth). The following day, we drove to Sedona Arizona where we spent two nights. During the full day, we did a red rock jeep trip. It was the only thing my 1.5 year old didn't tolerate so well. It's very bumpy and she was absolutely miserable but even at miserable she is good natured enough that the rest of us had fun. After that, we did some shopping (where I got a beautiful pair of earrings). The next day, we hung around Sedona for the day and then drove back to a hotel near the Phoenix airport to spend the night because we left early in the day.

One thing I will caution you about is that it was difficult for me to find hotels that allow three kids in a room. Given the ages of my kids, I can't see doubling the cost of lodging by getting two rooms.

If you are interested, post again and I will look up the hotels where I stayed. All hotels had pools.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much! I would love the names of the hotels. My kids want pools for sure. And we are always challenged by hotel rooms. That's why we typically have rented a house or condo and then take day trips (in florida and mexican trips). But that probably won't work in Arizona area. I've been to sedona and i was wondering if its worth the trip for the kids. It seemed very upscale adult place when i went there 15 years ago. I also heard that Utah wa well worth the drive so I'm glad to hear you did that and enjoyed it.

[Anonymous]

We spent our first two nights in Holiday Inn Express in Williams AZ, which is less than an hour from the Grand Canyon. The hotel had two bedrooms and a bathroom. Our next three nights were in the Mount Carmel, Utah area. I can't find the name of the hotel, but I think it was a Best Western. That hotel had three bedrooms and a bath. We spent two nights in Sedona, AZ at the Kokopelli Suites - a hotel that my kids still talk about as the best we ever stayed in. The last night was in a hotel near the Phoenix airport and was so uneventful, I don't even remember it. It was just a place of convenience.

I agree that Sedona is kind of adult, but my kids really loved it. The red rock jeep trip would have been awesome if it were just the adults and the two older kids - the downer was that it was just too bumpy and scary for a 1.5 year old (and my youngest is really a trooper so we were surprised at her reaction to it). Also, there are great places to hike. We have these great photos of us covered in red dirt after hiking. Just remember to take lots of water.

I hope your family enjoys this trip as much as mine did.

[Anonymous]

OP Here - thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

The Grand Canyon is great, but unless you are hiking into it, there isn't a ton to do on the rim to fill 7 days. We love Southern Utah though and you can still visit the Grand Canyon, but there's more to do. If it were me, I'd fly into Vegas, it's always cheaper for flights, car rentals and even if you need to stay in town the first night you're there. We've gotten nice hotels there for $50 on priceline. Zion National Park is about 2.5 hrs, but the drive out is pretty cool. There are a bunch of great hotels right outside of the park, and the town is really quaint. You can grab a shuttle anywhere in town that will take you into the park. There's tons to do in Zion and most of the trails are accessible for kids. The kids would love the Narrows, where you take a flat path to a river that goes in between two canyon walls and you walk in the river. There's a lot to do in Zion and Bryce isn't too far away and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon isn't far off either. I would base out of Zion and visit all three amazing national parks, but spend more time in Zion.

[Anonymous]

I've been all over the Sowthwest and I agree with previous poster, better parks for kids are Zion and Bryce Canyon. I think 2 days at Grand Canyon are tops.
There is so much at Zion, short hikes, mountains, canyons, water hikes. If I had 7 days in the Southwest. I would do 4 days at Zion, 2 days at Bryce and 1 day at Calf Creek Recreation Area.

There is nothing to do at GC accept hike a little way into the canyon or around the canyon.

[Anonymous]

http://www.utah.com/hike/calf_creek.htm

Calf Creek Recreation Area.

[Anonymous]

My family went to Sedona when my brothers were tweens, and we all loved it. Enchantment is a great place for families, although it is pricey.

[Anonymous]

We went last summer with our children who were 6, 7 and 10 at the time and had a blast.

We used a AAA 7 day intinerary and modified it. We flew to Vegas and left immediately. We stayed first at Jacob Creek (about an hour from the North Rim) at some cabins. http://www.jacoblake.com/. The north rim was a great place to see the canyon. WHile my husband and oldest hiked down, my younger two and I signed up for a fossil hike. The ranger was fabulous and she told us where to look for fossils outside of the park (we did and my kids thought it was one of the highlights of the trip). They also became "Junior Rangers"

We then drove to Page and did the float trip down the river from the base of Lake Powell. I had really wanted to see Antelope Canyon, but it was closed due to flooding. In the morning we did a short hike to the overlook of horseshoe bend. We stayed at the Days Inn which had a nice pool.

Then we drove to Bryce Canyon. We stopped at place to look for petrified wood about an hour outside of Page. Near Bryce, we stayed at Ruby's, which had a pool. In retrospect, I liked the hotel and restaurants better near Zion, so doing it again, I would stay three nights near Zion and do Bryce as a day trip. Near Zion, we stayed at the Desert Pearl Inn, which was gorgous. I loved being in the pool and seeing the gorgeous mountains in the background. http://desertpearl.com/. My oldest and husband hiked Angels Landing while the younger two and I did a bit of the Narrows Hike (if you do it bring good water shoes)

On the way back toVegas we stopped at a ghost town. We made the mistake of staying a few days in Vegas. It was really not our thing. I would have much prefered adding a few more days to tour the parks.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the great insights and suggestions. We are very excited about our upcoming trip.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the great insight. Did all posters go in the summer? Does anyone know what the weather is like in March or April?

[Anonymous]

We did a trip last year for Spring Break (3/27 to 4/3) with the kids (8 and 6). We flew into Phoenix and stayed the JW Marriott, which has a great pool area for the kids and lots of activities. Plus, spring training baseball games are everywhere if you are interested - great family fun on the cheap. We stayed here for 4 nights.

The day of check-out we left early (7 am) for the drive to the Grand Canyon - about 4 hours. We entered through the East Gate and stopped at all the lookout points, etc. We stayed at one of the hotels on the South Rim for the night, which was awesome. Got to see both the sunset and sunrise.

We left the park around noon the next day and made the drive - about 2 hours to Sedona. We spent 2 nights in Sedona at the Hilton Sedona Resort which also had a great pool for the kids - little cold outside but pool was heated. Great hiking, etc around here. Plus don't miss the Pink Jeep Tour - highlight of the trip for the kids.

[Anonymous]

Any other advice - we are flying into Phoenix and heading to Grand Canyon, staying in the park for 3 nights... advice on where to stop on the drive? what to see? Kids are 9 and 12.
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We are flying into Phoenix, spending one night and driving to South Rim for 3 nights in the park before driving back to Phoenix... any advice - 10 and 12 year old kids with us... 3/30-4/5 trip...