Advice on Arizona Vacation itinerary

Here is my rough itinerary. I am open to any and all suggestions and critiques. I will have my wife and 2 kids (ages 12 and 10) with me. Fly into Vegas on July 5th. Spend some time in Vegas. See Lance Burton, Cirque De Soleil, and whatever else. Leave Vegas early July 8th. Stop and see Hoover Dam. Head for Grand Canyon South Rim. Spend July 8-10 at Grand Canyon. Found something called Canyon River Adventure that looks interesting for July 9. Leave Grand Canyon July 10 for Sedona, Arizona. Definitely do a Pink Jeep Tour on July 11. Go back home July 12 leaving from Phoenix Airport. Any suggestions.

Advice on Arizona Vacation itinerary

I addressed your question about the canyon River Adventure in your other post, but I%26#39;ll elaborate here as well.

You have a good basic plan. You have allotted one full day at the Grand Canyon Nat%26#39;l Park. The Canyon River Adventure would take you far away from the park and would therefore detract from the time you have planned there. If rafting on the river is something you seriously want to do, you need to add that time to your plans. It would be a shame to go all the way to the GCNP and then miss it by committing to an excursion that takes you so far away for a long day. I would suggest that you skip one day in LV and go to the Hualapai reservation on the 7th for a day on your way to the GCNP. That%26#39;s where the raft trip takes place. You could stay at Peach Springs and then get to the river early on the 8th. By driving to the reservation on your own, you would save a big part of the expense of the CRA by skipping the flight. Then you would still have the full time at the GCNP when you get there on the evening of the 8th.

You%26#39;ve allowed two nights and only one full day in Sedona as well. I wouldn%26#39;t trade that time for anything else. You and your family will wish you had more time to spend at both the GCNP and Sedona.

Advice on Arizona Vacation itinerary

If this is the Canyon River Adventure by Grand Canyon Hotels and Tours, it does not go to Peach Springs. It goes to Page by air for the river float trip and a tour of Antelope Canyon. Unfortunately it does take all day from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM.

www.grandcanyon.com/canyonriveradventure.html

Thanks BB43. It appears that you are correct. But our point and advice to the OP is the same. They would be missing the Grand Canyon.

..........Grand Canyon..you cant imagine, photos do not do the portray the vastness of such an incrediable site.......just take it all in! In Sedona there is slide rock......., a conservation type park on the river that flows and there are huge rock formations in the river as the river runs wild, its a kids heyday and you can bring a picknik and park yourself along the river bed for a nice lunch.

You could be there all day!

Have fun!

Thanks for all advice especially to you Red Rox. I think we will take a day off the Las Vegas part. Arrive July 5th, spend one night in Vegas and then head for Canyon West. I did not realize that Skywalk was at Canyon West. Still debating between 1 day rafting at Canyon West and Canyon River Adventure. Both look like long days. Great advice from everyone though. Just trying to make the most out of my 1 week for my family.

As cool as the Skywalk looks online, I would not spend the money to see it, $80 per person! Search her on this forum for reviews!

Day 1 July 5 arrive Vegas. Play in pool, visit the strip etc.

Day 2 July 6 Vegas again

Day 3 July 7 Drive to Grand Canyon South Rim. Stay inside the park or in Tusayan. Stop and see Hoover Dam on the way.

Day 4 July 8 Grand Canyon again. Your kids may enjoy the Junior Ranger program and maybe a short hike into the canyon to say they did it!!

Day 5 July 9 Raft trip out of Page AZ. Either stay in Page and enjoy Antelope Canyon and Lake Powell or return to Grand Canyon.

Day 6 July 10 To Sedona

Day 7 July 11 Sedona

Day 8 July 12 to Phoenix and home.

The ';Canyon West'; river rafting is not at the Skywalk, though it is possible to add the attractions at Grand Canyon West after the rafting trip. You need to understand however that it starts at Peach Springs which is about 3 hours from Las Vegas on old Route 66 east of Kingman. You have to arrive very early. You are taken to the river in an old school bus. There is a side hike to a falls while on the river, then part of the river trip is a calm water float. You are taken up to the rim by helicopter at GC West where you are now 100 miles by road from your vehicle. You can tour GC West including the Skywalk and then return to your vehicle. The return is by an old school bus on unpaved rough reservation roads which takes about 3 hours. The rafting costs $328 per person. The Skywalk and other attractions costs extra; the web site does not specify how much.

destinationgrandcanyon.com/rafting.html

After all that, you are now 3 hours from either Las Vegas or GCNP. The closest decent lodging would be in Kingman about an hour away.

Having been corrected about the Canyon River Adventure, I would urge you to stay away from grand canyon west. The skywalk is a total rip off and as bobbear43 pointed out the short raft trip option there is very expensive. The sky walk alone is about $90 per pwerson.

If you have an extra day, I would do the Canyon River Adventure trip instead. You could do it by leaving LV a day early and drive to Tusayan, just outside the GCNP park gate. Then you could use that first day to either exlore the GCNP and do the CRA the next day, or vice versa. The trip to Page with Antelope Canyon and the Glen Canyon raft trip is a good one. Much better IMO than any time or money wasted at grand canyon west.