tfortiggr

Hi,

I am trying to research our trip because we can book a hotel this Saturday for next year.

Family of 5, 16yo and 12 yo girls when the trip comes around April 2018.

My thoughts are flying into Vegas on a Friday afternoon. Having the kids check out the main seeing points....

Leaving early Saturday Morning and driving to Zion, spend day at Zion and then travel to Bryce staying at possibly Ruby's?

Sunday- Bryce

Monday early leave for Page to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, Drive to GC South Rim

Tuesday & Wednesday GC staying somewhere in park, leaving Wednesday Night for Sedona

Thursday & Friday? Sedona

Saturday drive back to Vegas, doing the "rollingeye" Route 66 drive and seeing the hoover dam.

Saturday night in Vegas

home Sunday

Would you spread your time out differently?
1 day Zion
1 day Bryce
1 day antelope and horseshoe bend
2 days GC
2 days Sedona/Red rocks?
1 day drive?

I had difficulties searching and finding recent info on these trips so any info or pointing in the right direction would be great!! I need to figure it out so I can book the hotels!

Very excited about this trip. Oh and we are not serious hikers, we are average in fitness so wont be doing anything strenuous.

edjim

A lot of stops and of course not enough time. I think you need more time in Zion. Lots more to see there. I'd take time away from Bryce because you can "see" the park more quickly and in April it might be cold there. Others can weigh in on the merits of Sedona.

tfortiggr

Thanks Edjim,

we could totally take a day away from Sedona and add to Zion. I am open to suggestions. Was thinking in April the weather might not be great to see Bryce

StantonHyde

Check queries and trip reports here--use the search function. Lots of people have done this itinerary and you can see helpful Fodorite comments on this exact trip.

If you search my user name, you will see trip reports with kids for Bryce, Zion, and Page/Kanab.

emalloy

I agree with the other posters. Bryce has always had snow on the trails when we have been there in April. The roads and viewpoints on the rim have been fine, dry.

I like staying in the park for Grand Canyon, it lets you be there for sunrise and sunset and in the late afternoon when the day trippers have left. elTovar is the nicest, but Thunderbird and Kachina are right on the rim too. Bright Angel lodge is too, but check the bathroom situation as some rooms share one down the hall and the rooms in the cabins are fine for a couple, but too small to put an extra cot in. Maswick and Yavapai are just a short way back from the rim.

Let the kids know there will be no swimming pool or game rooms at any of the in park lodging that I've stayed and spotty wifi if that matters to them.

tfortiggr

Stantonhyde, I will click on your name. I'm sucking with the search function. I definitely clicked on Edjims and found info on our trip to Maui in May. I am going to have to look more into Maui info. But even though that trip is in 6 weeks, I had to put those plans on hold to figure out NEXT April since things book up so quickly and we just got the dates for our April vacation.

emalloy-I'm thinking we may make it Zion 2 days and a quick trip to Bryce because of weather. I hadn't heard of Thunderbird or Kachina. Was looking at either Bright Angel or Yavapai but maybe leaning more towards Yavapai now after reading your info on Bright Angel.

The kids will have to deal with no pool or wifi. It will be good for them to just experience things! Thank you for that info.

emalloy

Another thought about lodging. Once when we were at elTovar, the guy checking us out told us that sometimes the suite on the top floor was more cost effective for a family that otherwise would have to get more than one room. Haven't gone with more that 2, so haven't checked on that but it would be awesome to stay there.

I think that Yavapai is run by a different concessionaire than the other places on the rim.

emalloy

check this site:

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/lodging.htm

bailey123

I'm booked into Bryce and Zion next week but thanks to advice on this website, a change in our weather in SW CO and a check of the NPS website today for Bryce, I'm thinking of cancelling because of snow closures on some of the trails @Bryce. My advice would be to make flexible reservations for Bryce and Page in the event of snow next April. Ruby's will allow a late cancellation and Page generally has availability if you decide to change dates around. If Bryce is snowier than you would like, you might want to consider a detour to Escallante or just drive down to Page and spend that extra time exploring that area like Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, etc. For Antelope Canyon, I would recommend Lower rather than Upper, less crowds, easier to get to. Horseshoe Bend is best viewed at sunset. I agree with prior post taking a day away from Sedona and adding to Zion.

edjim

I think the contingency plan from Bailey is a good idea. Bryce is not that far from Zion, so you might be able to adjust things accordingly. Just a guess, but I think the kids will like Zion. (They will certainly like Maui).

tfortiggr

Edjim- they were hating us because Hawaii is just my husband and I. Can't afford to fly the whole family or hedge them miss school for when my mother in law timeshare is available.

I think I will book hotels for longer than we need so next year I can tailor ur better but looking at zion for 2 nights and overnight in Bryce so we can see sunrise with hoodoos. Then travel to Page and do stuff there for day before going on to GC.

Stay 2 nights in GC.

Drive to Montezuma castle and see the red rocks in sedona before driving back thru rte 66 way to Hoover dam and back to Vegas

Do you think I should reverse route?

emalloy

Either direction would work would work.

I would check what time the flights get in/leave. If you get into Vegas before noon, you could be at Zion the first day, assuming your plane is on time. We're working on a 3 hour time difference and have not been able to get into Vegas that early, so I usually book the first and last night on whichever side of Vegas makes sense for the direction I'll be starting.

That said, doing Sedona as a drive through is not something I would want to do. You could leave GC by heading east on 64 then south on and stop at Wupatki for a quick look at a ruin. When you get to 70, head east a very short way and go to Walnut Canyon, where there are cliff dwellings you can climb up into.

If you do the 66 thing, go a little west of Kingman on 70 and pick up 66 through Oatman before you head up to the Dam.

tfortiggr

I totally wrote that wrong. I just wrote out an itin if only because I'm trying to figure out where I will need hotels.
Here's a rough draft

FRIDAY
land 3pm
rent a car
check into hotel
wonder the strip for the evening see fountain show
Friday Night Vegas Hotel?
Saturday
Leave vegas 8am
arrive Zion 1130am
drive thru park
check into hotel
Saturday night Zion-Zion lodge?
Sunday morning
hike Zion
Sunday Night Zion
Monday Morning
drive to Bryce 2 hours
Arrive 10-12pm
drive around, lookouts
Monday Night Bryce
Tuesday morning
pre sunrise, hoodoos
drive to Page, leave 8am get there 930am
antelope tour 10am -12pm
horseshoe Bend 1230-130
drive to South Rim
drive desert scenic road to hotel coupls hours
Tuesday Night GC
Wednesday
explore GC
Wednesday Night GC
Thursday
tour grand canyon
drive to Sedona 2 hours
see Sedona???
Thursday night Sedona
Friday
Sedona
Montezuma
Friday night Sedona
Saturday
leave drive route 66,kingman, hoover dam
back to Vegas
Saturday night Vegas
Sunday
Flight out lol

tfortiggr

I was going to post that nicer but accidentally posted and can't figure out how to erase! Sorry

bailey123

When leaving GC, I recommend going to 89 heading south to Flagstaff. Downtown Flag is cute; you could grab lunch there before the short drive to Sedona. Rather than taking the 17 to Sedona, take 89A through Oak creek Canyon for a nice drive into Sedona. Sedona red rocks are beautiful but the town is very touristy and is normally a traffic jam ever since the "vortex" was discovered, so you might want to consider taking a jeep tour through the red rocks. I remember loving Montezuma's Castle when I was growing up. When you leave Sedona, head north on the 17 to Flagstaff and pick up rt. 66 from there

lemiller

Well, I just showed up because I was going to type up my notes on a very, very, very similar trip we took about two weeks ago.
Our itinerary looked like this:
Travel day
Zion (1)
Bryce (1)
Horseshoe Bend/Antelope Canyon (.5)
Grand Canyon (1.5)
Sedona/Flagstaff (1)
Hoover Dam/Valley of Fire State Park (1)
Death Valley (1)
"Rest day" in LV (1)
Travel day

My recommendations for your itinerary posted above - spend two days at Zion. Seriously. Outside of the fact that it was our favorite park and there is SO much to do, you want to account for extra time needed. The shuttles are already running in mid-March/April in Zion, which means you should plan to account for about an extra 1.5 hours of daylight if you go all the way out and all the way back. Unless you plan to hike GC down and back, I'd take one of your extra days there and move it to Zion.

Also - I'd really strongly recommend driving in through the East Rim after your day at Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon. We drove in mid-afternoon, stopped to explore a few of the points, then chose a spot to watch the sunset. It was a shorter drive and there were fewer people to contend with at East Rim. (Definitely plan to see South Rim later.)

Happy to provide extra notes or will buzz back through and link when I get around to posting our itinerary/trip notes.

tfortiggr

lemiller, I look forward to reading your trip review. We are definitely staying 2 nights in Zion, 1nt in Bryce, 2 in GC and "2nts" in Sedona.

We plan to enter from the eastern entrance and drive to the south rim.

We didn't get the hotels we wanted but will make do with Maswik Lodge.

bailey123

The lodging at Grand Canyon has cancellations on a pretty regular basis. If you would prefer to be closer to the rim, you can check back to the G.C. Lodging website over the next year and you should be able to find something else come available. You can also call the reservations number since sometimes rooms come available before they're posted on the website.

sharondi

You are looking at 2.5+ hr drive from Bryce Canyon to Page. Be sure to account for that since you are planning to tour Antelope and Horseshoe Bend. Definitely add some time to Zion.