DLR by way of Grand Canyon

[brookmey]

We're (DH, DD will be 8, DS will be 5 and me)planning a trip to DLR and San Diego in June 2012. Now we've also decided to stop and see the Grand Canyon on the way. Our plan is to fly from Houston to Phoenix, spend a few days there to see the Grand Canyon, then rent a car and drive to CA for that portion of our trip.

DH says that there is an entrance to Grand Canyon from Nevada, so now he wants to fly into Las Vegas, spend time there, then go see the Grand Canyon, while still driving on to CA. The price of airfare is about the same to Phoenix or Las Vegas, so which would be a better city to fly into for the Grand Canyon?

We haven't decided anything yet, we're just throwing ideas around. The main focus of the trip is CA, but we both really want to see the Grand Canyon, but yet can't see ourselves taking a trip just for that.

FWIW, would it make more sense to add the Grand Canyon to a trip to Las Vegas at a totally different time, instead?

Thank you!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Whether you fly to Phoenix or Las Vegas depends on which entrance of the Grand Canyon you want to see. The South Rim is a shorter drive from Phoenix. The North Rim is a closer drive from Vegas. The South Rim is the most popular side of the canyon. However, the north rim is not as developed and, I think, has better views. Driving to California from either rim is going to take some time. I would recommend saving the canyon for a different trip and then you can add other national parks in the area.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Seeing the GC and Vegas as part of a California trip is doable depending on the amount of time you are planning to take for your holiday. If you have 2 or 3 weeks, then it is worth considering. If you have 2 weeks or less, then you may be better off concentrating on SoCal, assuming that it is your first visit.

And it can be a long drive from Vegas to LA. It will also depend on how good car travellers your kids are. If you do decide to drive from Phoenix, consider looking at Sedona. It is not a NP but on-route to GC. I can easily spend a week in Sedona alone.

Disneyfaninaz has suggested that you might be better off combining Vegas and the Arizona NPs in a separate trip. And I tend to agree.
By way of an example...You might want to combine a trip to see Monument Valley, Four Corners, Mesa Verde and the Southern Utah National parks of Arches, Escalante, Bryce, Zion into a different trip next time. Or doing a completely different route with Canyon de Chelly thrown in.

 

[IloveAKL]

We are leaving in 31 days for a trip out west and this is the plan: Fly into Vegas, rent a car, stay overnight and then the next day make our way to the Grand Canyon stopping at the Hoover Dam and driving on Route 66 for a while. We also want to see the Meteor Crater that is a little past Williams AZ. We are spending the night at Williams AZ. Mapquest says it is 3 hrs 40 min (non-stop) from Las Vegas to Williams. The next morning we are driving to Grand Canyon (South Rim) and staying 2 nights at Maswik Lodge right in the Grand Canyon National Park. After that we are driving south through to Sedona (doing a short jeep tour there) and then on to CA. We are staying overnight right inside the CA border, then the next morning we are driving to Anaheim for 4 nights. Next we are driving to San Diego for 5 nights (zoo, Sea World, beach), then driving back to Las Vegas and flying out the next am. We have small-ish children and I don't think Vegas has much for us at this point in our lives, but I thought it would be fun to at least see all the lights and extravagant hotels.