using points for Las Vagas / Grand canyon area

[jns]

we are planning on going to disneyland this year and then to Las Vagas / Grand canyon area
we have DVC point banked from last year so need to use these points too (150 pts) for the Vegas / Grand Canyon part of the trip too
where at the grand Canyon can we stay? or would it be better staying in Vegas and doing day trips

also what is the NOT to miss things we most not miss out seeing
planning on spending 4 to 5 days
there will be me DH and DS 13

Thanks for any info

 

[Deb & Bill]

we are planning on going to disneyland this year and then to Las Vagas / Grand canyon area
we have DVC point banked from last year so need to use these points too (150 pts) for the Vegas / Grand Canyon part of the trip too
where at the grand Canyon can we stay? or would it be better staying in Vegas and doing day trips

also what is the NOT to miss things we most not miss out seeing
planning on spending 4 to 5 days
there will be me DH and DS 13

Thanks for any info

You know it's about 250-300 miles between Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, right? So it will take about 4 hours to get to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas and another four to get back.

 

[NewDCLGuy]

As mentioned, the Grand Canyon is a lousy day trip from Vegas. Not only is the drive long (closer to 5 than 4 hours) and boring, but it puts you at the canyon in the middle of the day. You really want to be there at dusk/dawn. To put things in perspective, Vegas is closer to Disneyland than it is to the GC.

Vegas itself makes for a great family destination, as long as everyone realizes there's going to be some "we aren't in Kansas anymore" moments. In addition to all the sites of Vegas, there is amazing hiking and natural scenery that does make for good day trips... they just aren't the Grand Canyon.

I don't know about RCI resorts near the GC. But if you do decide on Vegas, there are a number of decent options.

 

[Dean]

we are planning on going to disneyland this year and then to Las Vagas / Grand canyon area
we have DVC point banked from last year so need to use these points too (150 pts) for the Vegas / Grand Canyon part of the trip too
where at the grand Canyon can we stay? or would it be better staying in Vegas and doing day trips

also what is the NOT to miss things we most not miss out seeing
planning on spending 4 to 5 days
there will be me DH and DS 13

Thanks for any info

As noted, you really can't do both from one spot very well by land. You could stay in LV and take a helicopter down for a sightseeing trip. Or you could travel down and stay the night nearer the canyon. Vegas is a pretty cheap place to stay if you avoid the truly high end options. I've seen prices at free weekdays and like $39 weekends at places like Bally's. I had a friend that went and when he called, they made the weekend free as well. RCI's system is down right now so I can't check which resorts are actually on the DVC list or availability, but the Hilton's are your best option for a few days though they might not be available. Grandview and Peace Canyon are out a few miles. Summer Bay is pretty nice and fairly close. Bluegreen club 36 is nicer but a few blocks further. There's a lot of availability in II right now and that's typical as it's an easy place to get.

 

[jns]

Thanks everyone for the info didnt think there were so far apart

so the best thing to do is about 3 in the Grand canyon and the last 2 or 3 days in Vegas before flying home
do you think this will work ?

 

[Dean]

Thanks everyone for the info didnt think there were so far apart

so the best thing to do is about 3 in the Grand canyon and the last 2 or 3 days in Vegas before flying home
do you think this will work ?

Personally I'd only do a day at the Grand Canyon. You may want to double pay for that single night rather than have to be moving rooms. That way you can go down the middle of your trip, return to LV and ultimately travel from there. Or maybe route your trip where you fly out of a different airport closer to the Grand Canyon or from LV.

 

[jns]

Personally I'd only do a day at the Grand Canyon. You may want to double pay for that single night rather than have to be moving rooms. That way you can go down the middle of your trip, return to LV and ultimately travel from there. Or maybe route your trip where you fly out of a different airport closer to the Grand Canyon or from LV.

thanks Dean for all your help
good thinking
so if we head to Las Vegas after Disneyland and base ourself there and take a over night trip to the Grand Canyon

 

[PMDR59]

As mentioned, the Grand Canyon is a lousy day trip from Vegas. Not only is the drive long (closer to 5 than 4 hours) and boring, but it puts you at the canyon in the middle of the day. You really want to be there at dusk/dawn. To put things in perspective, Vegas is closer to Disneyland than it is to the GC.

Vegas itself makes for a great family destination, as long as everyone realizes there's going to be some "we aren't in Kansas anymore" moments. In addition to all the sites of Vegas, there is amazing hiking and natural scenery that does make for good day trips... they just aren't the Grand Canyon.

I don't know about RCI resorts near the GC. But if you do decide on Vegas, there are a number of decent options.

We did a Day Trip from LV to GC..I dont recall it taking 4-5 hours to get there . We did not go to the Main Tourist area of the GC.. We were on an Indian Reservation. It was an offroad tour through the desert, was supposed to stop at the hoover dam, but our group opted to just drive over it and not stop. I know we had lunch on the reservation and I think we were back by dinner time. It was an all day trip, but still dont remember 4-5 hours to get there. It was almost 20 years ago......so the memory might not be as good as it used to be.

 

[PMDR59]

Just googled it..... it was 2 1/2 hours from LV..... we were at the western rim of the Grand Canyon.....where they built the SkyWalk

 

[Deb & Bill]

I don't know how you can not stop for Hoover Dam. It's one of the greatest engineering feats in the world. You have to see the story and learn about it. I was totally fascinated by it. Plus we saw the Transformers movie about a month later and could really invision everything going on inside the dam.

If you go to the Grand Canyon, you really want to spend the night in one of the hotel/lodging right at the park. But you need to make those reservations several months ahead of time.

So drive to the Grand Canyon, spend the night, see the sun rise and set over the canyon and then head back to Las Vegas or wherever. Santa Fe isn't too far away, nor is Sedona.

 

[JimMIA]

How much time you choose to spend in Grand Canyon (assuming you're talking about the famous national park) really depends on your family composition and what you like to do.

If you enjoy scenic grandeur, there aren't many places that rival Grand Canyon NP. If you're seriously experienced hikers and backpackers, Grand Canyon is a great place to spend several days or longer. If you're just doing the tourist "been there, done that" thing, one day is enough -- but don't even think about missing sunset! If you enjoy great national park experiences (ranger programs, Jr. Ranger for the kids, maybe a mule trip overnight to the bottom, etc) you could easily do a week there. It really depends on your interests and the degree of immersion you want.

For information about the park, go to www.nps.gov/grca

National Park Service websites are slow and a little clunky and you have to drill down several levels sometimes to find the info you want (but NOT as bad as Disney sites!). There is a ton of info on GRCA's site, including information on lodging inside the park...which is what we always do.

Also, understand that there are two main parts of GRCA. The busiest is the South Rim, but there is also a North Rim area that is beautiful and much less crowded. Both are equally inconvenient to get to from just about anywhere...GRCA is REALLY in the middle of nowhere, even for a national park.

Within reasonable driving distance of the South Rim, however, are the city of Flagstaff and the town of Sedona. Both have timeshares (especially Sedona, which is a destination unto itself) that are affiliated with RCI. However, as Dean mentioned RCI's website is down for "THE CHANGE" until Nov 15th, so you can't check anything until then. I don't know whether there are any good choices available through DVC, but there should be.

There is so much to see in that part of the US, it's hard to tell you what to do. On one trip there, we spent a week, flying in and out of Phoenix. We drove 1,300 miles in seven days and visited Sedona, Flagstaff, the Meteor Crater, Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Parks, Canyon de Chelley, Mesa Verde NP (CO), Monument Valley, and finally Grand Canyon. We did another trip: Vegas, Death Valley NP, Zion NP, Cedar Breaks NM, Bryce Canyon NP, North Rim of GRCA, and back to Vegas. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time in any one spot on either trip!

If I were doing your trip, I'd do an open-jaw trip, flying into Phoenix, going to GRCA or Sedona, then flying home from Vegas. You might pay a premium for dropping off the rental car in a different city (you might not, shop carefully), but the distances out west pretty much dictate that you do that sometimes.

 

[Norm1]

I have to agree also that LV is a good distance to the GC. Sadonna is a nice area to stay and the reviews are quite good for the RCI timeshares there. There is a lot to see and do. There are great red rock formations, jeep rides into the desert, great shopping and more. It's about a half hour drive to Williams AZ were you can get a train on the Grand Canyon Railway to the south rim.

If you go to AAA they have some great rates to take the train with options for a stay at the canyon or return the same day. Some options include meals, tours of the canyon and hotel stays at the rim. The train ride is a 2 hour trip with free snacks, cowboy singers and even a train robbery on the return trip.

 

[DenLo]

The National Park portion of the Grand Canyon is 4.5 hours from Las Vegas. There are wonderful hiking areas throughout the park. And the views are fabulous. The thing to keep in mind the western United States is big and everything is far apart. It is a worthwhile vacation spotm but it is best if you take some time to enjoy it.

We stayed at a hotel in Tusayan, Arizona (a Holiday Inn Express) on our last visit. The town is just south of the Grand Canyon on Arizonia Hwy. 64. If we couldn't stay in the park (the cabins and hotel in the park book up a year in advance), we wanted to be as near the park as possible. We were at the rim within 20 minutes after leaving our hotel.

 

[JimMIA]

...the cabins and hotel in the park book up a year in advance.

That's true -- actually a year and a day at most parks...but.

If you can't get a reservation, you need to do two things: call back periodically, and learn what their cancellation policy is (it varies from park to park). Intensify your calling as the cancellation period for your dates approaches. A LOT of people reserve a year and a day ahead to protect themselves, but their plans change and they cancel right before the deadline. We've gotten into numerous national park lodges using that strategy.

 

[JimMIA]

I was able to get some information from RCI, but I'm not sure how helpful it will be.

RCI has 2 resorts in Flagstaff, and 14 in the Sedona area. However, I don't know how many of those are available for DVC points exchanges. I think the DVC/RCI link is going to be down until the 15th.

And if any of those are available to DVC owners, the important question for your situation would be whether any of them were available for nightly stays...as opposed to full- or partial weeks.

 

[carlbarry]

I don't know how good a deal it is to trade so many DVC points to RCI for a Las Vegas stay. Hotel rates are extremely low in Las Vegas, as they are hurting. I stayed there last year in a very nice hotel, with a kitchen and living room, on Flamingo Road about 2 blocks from the Strip. Booked it the day before my stay, as I found prices drop dramatically last minute. It cost me $18 per night!
Added: Just remembered the name of the hotel I stayed at: Tuscany.

 

[jns]

Thanks again everyone for all the great info
love the idea of the train ride

 

[wildernessDad]

We're doing something similar next May.

We're hitting VGC for a week and then flying into Las Vegas from John Wayne airport and renting and SUV for over a week of touring the canyon area. We're staying at Zion, Grand Canyon North Rim, Monument Valley, Canyon De Chelly and finally Grand Canyon South Rim before driving back to Las Vegas to drop off the SUV and fly home.

 

[jns]

We're doing something similar next May.

We're hitting VGC for a week and then flying into Las Vegas from John Wayne airport and renting and SUV for over a week of touring the canyon area. We're staying at Zion, Grand Canyon North Rim, Monument Valley, Canyon De Chelly and finally Grand Canyon South Rim before driving back to Las Vegas to drop off the SUV and fly home.

sounds like a great trip
will you be doing a report

 

[nunzia]

I don't know how good a deal it is to trade so many DVC points to RCI for a Las Vegas stay. Hotel rates are extremely low in Las Vegas, as they are hurting. I stayed there last year in a very nice hotel, with a kitchen and living room, on Flamingo Road about 2 blocks from the Strip. Booked it the day before my stay, as I found prices drop dramatically last minute. It cost me $18 per night!

That can be true, but if you want to stay in a nice place on the strip at peak times, deals aren't as good. We paid quite a bit for our stay at the Venetian last month..almost stayed at our old haunt Arizona Charlies for a song, but location can be a selling point. Just like Disney, it depends on HOW you want to do a trip. Vegas has some big blocks, so depending on how much you want to walk/drive should be considered too. I'd use points if I had them to stay in a nice place on strip if there was such a thing.