Southwest touring

We will be driving from Phoenix and want to see Sedona, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon. We have up to 4 days to get back to Phoenix. How much time should we allow in each stop and where to stay? We won%26#39;t be going to the bottom of the canyon or rafting.Route suggestions? Side trips worth seeing? Going early April. Thanks!

Bruce

Southwest touring

Hi Bruce, welcome to the forum.

Driving to Bryce and back from PHX will take the most of 2 days so maybe ';limit'; yourself to Sedona and GCNP. Make your reservations at GCNP now (www.grandcanyonlodges.com)

Going to the canyonfloor and back requires 2 days. Maybe spend 2 nights at the rim and 2 nights in Sedona.

Tet

Southwest touring

Trying to do all 3 in 4 days will not give you enough time at any of them, and certainly not side trips. For example, Bryce Canyon back to Phoenix is 9 hours of driving. As stated by Tet, stick to Sedona and GCNP. I would suggest going directly to GCNP from Phoenix, and stay there 2 nights. Then Sedona for 1 nights.

Renting a car

I will be driving to the Grand Canyon from Vegas. Would I be ok with a regular rental car or is it recommended to rent an SUV?

Thanks for your advice!

Renting a car

If you are going to the South Rim (Grand Canyon National Park), you are fine with a regular car. It is a good paved road all the way (part of it freeway, part 2-lane highway).

Renting a car

Thanks a lot! This helps (and saves me some $$).

Maybe you could answer another question for me? Lodging inside the park is fully booked so I am looking at Tuscayan. There is a Best Western and a Holiday Inn Express, both of which have very mixed reviews. Any ideas / suggestions?

Thanks again.

I%26#39;m not sure about either of those hotels, but don%26#39;t give up on accomodations within the park. I%26#39;d recommend booking at one of those 2 places (esp. if you only need a card to secure it, not an actual deposit), then, again, just keep checking on openings within the GCNP.

Hi Curioisness,

If you have been checking on the lodging in the park on the web only, call. Cancelations do not always make it to the web site. I have found the people on the phones to be very helpful. (888) 297-2757

Enjoy your trip!

Definitely keep trying by phone for rooms inside the park.

I stayed at the Tusayan Holiday Inn Express about 18 months ago and found it rather pleasant and the staff extremely helpful (although I%26#39;m usually no HI fan).

wrinkle eye cream

Best Accomodations and Grand Canyon Tour option

Help! We are two Canadian Couples going to Vegas for a week in October, are going to rent a car to go to the Grand Canyon for the night...we want to be near or in the Grand Canyon but want as nice accomodations as possible AND view! Any advice is welcome....and pics! Thanks so much!

Best Accomodations and Grand Canyon Tour option

If you know your dates, book lodging in GCNP now. Lodges with views are El Tovar, Bright Angel, Kachina and Thunderbird. All are on the rim of the canyon. When you check available rooms on the web site, it will include information about views, and will have photos of rooms and views. www.grandcanyonlodges.com

For more photos, go to www.nps.gov/grca

You cannot see into the canyon very well from any of the rooms, so if lodging is not available on the rim, the Maswik North Lodge is close and has nice rooms.

Best Accomodations and Grand Canyon Tour option

Thanks, BB!

Phoenix last week of May-want to visit GC,GC railroad?

Hi-I have reservations at the Arizona Grand for the last week of May in Phoenix. We have two kids-19 and 12. We would like to visit grand canyon and have rented a car but do not want to spend our entire trip driving. We were thinking of driving to Williams and doing the grand canyon railroad tour with an overnight in williams. Any advice?

Thanks

Phoenix last week of May-want to visit GC,GC railroad?

Overnighting is the way to go to get more time out of the canyon. Now the other option is that www.openroadtours.com does pick up at the Phoenix airport and will take you to Williams and even can drop you off there or in Flagstaff or back at the Phx airport. You are going to get mixed reviews on this. The kids will certainly enjoy the train but its 3 hrs there and 3 hrs back. I%26#39;d overnight at the GC. Or the other thing is to do it all yourself but that would require you driving. So its kind of up to you what you want at this point. The train can be kind of pricy too if thats an issue. I do know they give AAA members a discount.

If you do the train I recommend even with the kids upgrading out of coach to one of the other cars. First class is awesome you are in the caboose car with few people. You can go to their website www.thetrain.com or call them at 1-800-the-train for more details and hotel packages.

Phoenix last week of May-want to visit GC,GC railroad?

The GC Railway staff do a great job and the experience is pleasant. Staying in Williams will shave 2-3 hours round-trip off your drive time. The only caveat I would mention is the train ride is not particularly scenic. Don%26#39;t expect breathtaking vistas and endless pine forests, most of the trip is through relatively non-descript plains. That said I would still recommend the train ride, if only to pretend it%26#39;s 100 years ago.

Thank you both for your input. This is going to be a very different vacation for us. We usually go to Mexico, Bahamas or Florida. Trying something new so I thought the train ride would be fun. Any knowledge on the Arizona Grand where we will be staying?

Thanks again.

Arizona Grand is very nice. A new owner has plans to make it even nicer, and room renovations and a general makeover have been completed.

They have a nice water park for guests only and several other free-standing pools. The resort has a roomy feel about the grounds, and it%26#39;s right next to a large desert mountain preserve, which provides lots of chances for easy or moderate hikes of just about any length. You will always be near civilization, but not necessarly see it.

There is a very nice spa and athletic club, and horseback riding is available on-site.

Aunt Chilada%26#39;s Mexican Restaurant is on-site and is very good. There%26#39;s also Rustler%26#39;s Rooste western steakhouse. It%26#39;s kind of touristy, but the food is good (as long as you%26#39;re not expecting Morton%26#39;s) and the view is great.

My wife and I ate at Latitude 40 on-site and it was wonderful, though I hear they may change the concept there.

Overall, you should be pleased with your choice.

com and interop

Catalina Park Inn

Hello,

We read the great reviews of this B and B in a couple of guidebooks and here on Trip Advisor. The only thing I am unsure of is whether the area is safe for walking in. I can%26#39;t tell exactly how close it is to the University. If anyone knows, I%26#39;d be grateful.

Catalina Park Inn

hi

we stayed there back in 2000 - wife and i had a lovely room with side balcony and the boys had the billiard room - which seemed to occupy the whole basement (michael calculated that the bed alone was bigger in area than his whole bedroom back home!!)

its pretty close to teh uniuversity in a residential area and seemed safe enough - we were driving which certainly meant there were no securiy concerns

walking at night i guess would be like any city - keep you wits about ou - but i wouldnt think you would call it unsafe

Catalina Park Inn

It is safe to walk in the area where this B%26amp;B is located. It is about 1/2 mile from the university, and a few blocks from the 4th Ave shopping district.

Thanks for your help. It%26#39;s always good to hear from someone who knows the area.

Casino Arizona

Is Casino Arizona worth going to? We are staying at the Legacy Golf Resort and wondering if it%26#39;s worth the drive.

Thanks

Casino Arizona

No, it%26#39;s a dump.

Casino Arizona

I haven%26#39;t been, so I can%26#39;t honestly say, and it wouldn%26#39;t really occur to me as a ';must see'; for visitors. If you were going to drive out to Scottsdale from the Legacy, I%26#39;d certainly suggest visiting Frank Lloyd Wright%26#39;s Taliesin West over the casino. But everyone likes something different. Casino Arizona did appear in a travel article in the New York Times just a few months ago, in a recommended itinerary for ';36 hours in Scottsdale.'; I happen to agree with most of what they said about the other places on their list. Here%26#39;s what they said about Casino Arizona:

';Somewhere, say, between the glitz of the Venetian casino in Las Vegas and the smoke-choked spots on the Mississippi coast is Casino Arizona 101 %26amp; Indian Bend (9700 East Indian Bend Road; 480-850-7777; www.casinoaz.com), a low-key gambling hall run by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indians. Try your luck at blackjack (minimum bets range from $5 to $25), or develop a case of repetitive stress injury by yanking on the slots as a cover band oozes the hits of Lionel Richie. ';

The full article is at the following link, and you may have to register (free) at the NYT website to read it.

鈥ytimes.com/2007/01/14/travel/14hours.html鈥?/a>

I have been to Casino Arizona several times, and it is not a dump as suggested above. It%26#39;s not a large casino. It%26#39;s attractive, and the food is good. There is also the Wild Horse Pass Casino south of where you will bve staying ... south on I-10 to Wild Horse Pass Rd and then west to the resort.

There are 2 of em-I think the original is the one on McKellips. The other one is still in tents (no buffet).

As for the Buffet-it%26#39;s the best casino buffet in the Phoenix area.

CAZ is hardly a dump. The McKellips Road location has the best poker room in town...non smoking too! There are high limit games there that would shock you. They also have a nice sports betting room for horses and dogs. I do not like blackjack there as they use a continuous shoe...that means they put the dealt cards immediately back in the shuffler...you can never get a read or count of cards.

It%26#39;s certainly no dump. Don%26#39;t let the outside fool you.

needing help for brief stay in Pheonix

Visiting Phoenix beginning of April, the only places we need to be are the airport and the raceway in Avondale (attending the Nascar race on April 12th).

While I am sure this city has many fabulous things to offer, we haven%26#39;t really planned an itinerary for the brief time we are there (Fri.- Mon.).

Narrowing down a hotel has been a challenge for me.

Can someone advise me about whether there is an area we should be avoiding in terms of safety/security ?

There are 3 adults and 1 toddler traveling in our party.

needing help for brief stay in Pheonix

I would narrow your search to Goodyear or Avondale if all you need is access to the track. Both are easily accesible from I-10 (from the airport) and offer a wide variety of hotel options with surrounding restaurants and shopping. Your commute from there to the track is about 15-20 minutes, depending on traffic.

needing help for brief stay in Pheonix

There are many national chain hotels such as Hampton Inn, Residence Inn, Motel 6, Courtyard by Marriott, etc. along I-10 between downtown Phoenix and the racetrack.

I would AVOID anything between I-17 and about 83rd Av. That part of town is dicey. The farther west you go, the newer the hotels are.

There%26#39;s a Radisson, I believe, at Westgate in Glendale (where the Super Bowl is being played this week.) That would be my first choice if I were you.

Closer to the airport, the Airport Marriott on 44th street is great. The neighborhood is nothing special, but it%26#39;s o.k.

Thank you, your feedback is appreciated (particularly the radius of the ';dicey'; area). I am finding the hotels nearest the racetrack are booked up... but am continuing to search. Haven%26#39;t looked much into the Radisson you mentioned.

Would it be a super long drive to the racetrack if we were to stay near the airport ? I see the distance but of course have NO sense of what traffic would be like along I-10 ? I ask because a Marriott near the airport was appealing to me.