Planning on flying into Phoenix. Visiting the south rim is our one must do.
Any tips on where to stay?
We usually do Courtyard, Holiday Inn type lodging.
Sights to see?
Suggestions on where to eat?
We stayed at the Thunderbird lodge at the Grand Canyon. It's a no frills lodge, but it was clean, comfortable, and affordable. It was amazing to open the curtains and see the canyon just right there. The wildlife comes right by the lodge as well. I would stay here again.Planning on flying into Phoenix. Visiting the south rim is our one must do.
Any tips on where to stay?
We usually do Courtyard, Holiday Inn type lodging.
Sights to see?
Suggestions on where to eat?
we just stayed there for 2 nights 2 weeks ago. Rooms was more updated than I expected , which was nice. Parking a nightmare, but just never moved our car once we found a spot. OP, check the site every day for cancellations, but to be honest, if you can find a place in Williams the drive is not bad at all. You may hit a line at the park entrance but it moves.We stayed at the Thunderbird lodge at the Grand Canyon. It's a no frills lodge, but it was clean, comfortable, and affordable. It was amazing to open the curtains and see the canyon just right there. The wildlife comes right by the lodge as well. I would stay here again.
We are 4 months out and the above mentioned lodging is not available!! Yikes!!
The Grand Canyon is one of my favorite places. We have stayed in all the lodges (including Phantom Ranch), I would stay in the park if at all possible. It is most crowded during the day with day trippers and tour buses. I love to be able to walk the rim at sunrise when it is quiet. All of the lodges are managed by Xanterra except Yavapai Lodge. I looked 4 months out and they have availability in October - http://www.visitgrandcanyon.com/yavapai-lodge.We are 4 months out and the above mentioned lodging is not available!! Yikes!!
The Grand Canyon is one of my favorite places. We have stayed in all the lodges (including Phantom Ranch), I would stay in the park if at all possible. It is most crowded during the day with day trippers and tour buses. I love to be able to walk the rim at sunrise when it is quiet. All of the lodges are managed by Xanterra except Yavapai Lodge. I looked 4 months out and they have availability in October - http://www.visitgrandcanyon.com/yavapai-lodge.
If you are looking for other ideas in the area check out these places:
Slide Rock State Park
Sedona
Sunset Crater NM
Wupatki NM
If you have balance problems I would recommend choosing a section or two of the rim trail. The shuttle has multiple stops between the village and Hermit's Rest so you can get off at one and walk to the next. www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/RimTrail.pdfAnother question for you all:
Are there easy trails to hike that you could recommend?
I have neurological challenges but will still do a slow 2 mile hike now and then with trekking sticks for balance.
Yes! Pink jeep tours!! We did this too. Highlight of our trip! We did Sedona and Grand Canyon.Another great way to see Grand Canyon is Pink Jeep tour. We did a spontaneous tour through some of the area including Grand Canyon. We stayed in Williams, AZ which is on route 66 and looks like Radiator Springs with all the fun neon lighting around town and the fun kitschy diners and sights. Anyways we did a sunrise Pink Jeep tour and I cannnot say enough about it. It was pricey but there are only 4-6 people per jeep and actual invested educated guide to take you where the tour buses can't go. The tour provided blankets (It was cold at sunrise), snacks and drinks and we had a 3 hour tour.
We also did a sunset Pink Jeep tour in Sedona which I loved and can't say enough about.
The town immediately outside of the Grand Canyon is expensive. Think McDonald's at WDW expensive! I couldn't believe how much more gas was there than say Flagstaff and even the McDonald's wasn't cheap. We had pre-made sandwiches that we carried in our packs for lunch while hiking and we "splurged" on a snack coming out of the park and then not as expensive meal down in Williams.
we also drove up from PHX to GC south rim..... we visited some smaller sites along the way up(so glad we did) our plane landed late morning, we drove up thru Oak creek Canyonworship and did some sightseeing(so worth it,it's lovely) stayed a night in Flagstaff(some basic hotel) and visited a cool site with ancient cliff dwellings in the am, then headed up to GC- the drive was very cool,and we got to GC south rim in mid afternoon- stayed Yavapai lodge (I woudn't stay anywhere except right inside the park for a visit- loved the basic motel rooms, pricey, but a short walk to the rim,to the shopping area and cafeteria, we stayed for 3 nights just checking out the walks and hikes,and enjoying the views! we headed out past the painted desert to go farther west, but it was a great stop! My goal was to keep the driving to no more than a couple of hours per day between sites to visit,and I'm glad we stopped where we did to sightsee.We went to Grand Canyon during our road trip honeymoon last year. We stayed 2 nights at Yavapai Lodge, right in the park. It was a nice place and the staff was very friendly. I booked here specifically because it had air conditioning and we were there in August. There is a nice cafeteria style restaurant right in the main lobby of the lodge that had very good food. DH and I got a 1/2 rotisserie chicken dinner and it was plenty of food to share between us.
We did the same thing - sightseeing on our way up to the GC. We flew into Phoenix and went straight to Sedona. We stayed there for 6 days. Saw Montezuma's castle, Montezuma's Well, Tuzigoot, Pink Jeep Tour of Broken Arrow trail, tubing trip on Verde River, Buddha Beach, Golf, Chuckwagon Cowboy Dinner at Blazin' M Ranch (superfun!!!!).we also drove up from PHX to GC south rim..... we visited some smaller sites along the way up(so glad we did) our plane landed late morning, we drove up thru Oak creek Canyonworship and did some sightseeing(so worth it,it's lovely) stayed a night in Flagstaff(some basic hotel) and visited a cool site with ancient cliff dwellings in the am, then headed up to GC- the drive was very cool,and we got to GC south rim in mid afternoon- stayed Yavapai lodge (I woudn't stay anywhere except right inside the park for a visit- loved the basic motel rooms, pricey, but a short walk to the rim,to the shopping area and cafeteria, we stayed for 3 nights just checking out the walks and hikes,and enjoying the views! we headed out past the painted desert to go farther west, but it was a great stop! My goal was to keep the driving to no more than a couple of hours per day between sites to visit,and I'm glad we stopped where we did to sightsee.