Igiman

Ok, so my wife and I are headed to Vegas for the first time to attend a wedding in late April. We want to turn it into a longer vacation. We would like to see Vegas for 2-3 days . Our son is getting married at Ceasar's so we are thinking of staying at the Mirage or TI. Would love any good hotel suggestions close to Ceasar's that have inexpensive deals. Then we want to rent a car and drive up to Bryce and Zion NPs, then down to Grand Canyon and possibly Sedona and Painted Desert before flying back East out of Phoenix or Flagstaff. Would love itinerary suggestions, including routes, places to stay and perhaps other sights to see, great lodges or B&Bs to stay at along the way. Also, any ideas on how to best get a good deal on an open jaw ticket in and out of Providence, RI. Any and all suggestions are welcome and super appreciated. Thanks!

Dayle

Igiman,

So many people do this same trip! You should start by doing a search here for those states and collect your ideas. How much time do you have and do you enjoy hiking, photography, etc.?

emalloy

Dayle has given good advice, also look into doing a loop back to Vegas to avoid drop off charges on your car, the drive from GC to Vegas is a couple of hours longer than the drive to Phoenix, but the charges may be hundreds of $.

Igiman

We are planning on arriving in LV by Saturday, 4/24. The wedding is Monday night and we would like to head out on Tuesday for Bryce and Zion. We will be returning home on Saturday, 5/1.....not a lot of time but whatever we get to see will be amazing to us. We do like hiking and certainly want to take pictures. Thanks for the tip about the rental car. I don't mind a few more hours driving if it will save $$s.

peterboy

It would be a lot easier to suggest an itinerary if we knew how long your trip is.

peterboy

Oops!...now we know LOL.

enzian

I too suggest you loop back to Las Vegas. It will save you $$ on the rental car and probably on flights as well. And you don't have to worry about finding an open jaw flight.

To do all you want in that abount of time (you have 4 nights on the road) you would have to spend one night each at Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, and Sedona. And that assumes a late flight on Saturday, as you would need time to drive from Sedona or the Grand Canyon.

You might consider dropping Arizona and spending your time at Zion and Bryce, 2 nights each. Both parks are worth it!

peterboy

I have to agree with enzian...skip Sedona. After the other attractions, Sedona will pale in comparison.

Igiman

If we left Vegas Early Tues. morn and got to Zion- couldn't we hit Zion and Bryce in the same day?

emalloy

What do you want to do at Zion and Bryce? If it is just drive through and look, then yes you could do them both in the same day, if you spend the night at Bryce. If you want to do a little hiking in them, then you would need a day in each. I suppose you could get to Zion by 10 or so, do a little hike, then drive to Bryce and spend the night and do a hike there the next day. It is a haul from Bryce to Grand Canyon so you couldn't spend much time in Bryce and still get to GC in daylight. Do go to www.nps.gov and click on the parks you want to spend the night in and make reservations asap. If they say they are full, take the number and keep calling as they get cancellations all the time.

peterboy

Try this:

Day 1 Vegas to Zion then hike up to Angel's Landing and perhaps the Emerald Pools. Spend the night at the Desert Pearl in Springdale.

Day 2 Drive from Zion to Bryce and enjoy the overlooks and make sure to see sunset. Spend the nightat the Lodge or cabins at Bryce...call daily to pick up a cancellation....they happen all the time but never showup on the website.

Day 3 Get up for sunrise at Bryce then head for Grand Canyon south rim

Day 4 Enjoy viewing Grand Canyon

Day 5 Return to Vegas for flight home

This will give you a nice short trip that isn't just driving, driving and more driving.

Igiman

Thankx peterboy - that sounds like a plan for us
I have to book our flights this week so I think the Day 1-5 trip is what we will do. I have a AAA book to make reservations for hotels in Bryce and the GC-south rim it is!!
Thankx for all the ideas

enzian

Desert Pearl in Springdale would be my suggestion too.

For Bryce and Grand Canyon (South Rim) stay INside the park if you possibly can. This way you can maximize your time with the great views of the canyon. There are 4 lodges at the Grand Canyon lined up just steps from the rim, and two more a bit away from the rim in the forest. Bright Angel Lodge, on the rim, is the least expensive (and rustic); El Tovar is the most $$, and the others are in between.

Make reservatons for the lodges inside the parks at both Bryce and GC on the Xanterra website:

www.xanterra.com or

www.grandcanyonlodges.com (for GC only)

Booking direct is better than using AAA or other agents.

enzian

forgot this part--if no rooms show up on the Xanterra website, find their number there and call. Peterboy is correct about the cancellations---people make reservations long in advance and then cancel, and many times these cancellations do not get put back on the website. So if you don't see anything there, pick up the phone.

peterboy

Bryce is no longer xanterra but forever resorts:

http://www.brycecanyonforever.com/

I agree with enzian again. You'll get a better experience at both Bryce and Grand Canyon if you stay in the park near the rim. Sunrise and sunset at these two parks are once-in-a lifetime experiences.

At Zion this is not the case although an early hike to Angel's Landing would be right up there. Though a nice experience, it is less important to be in the park at Zion. Springdale, Zion's gateway town, has lots of nice places to stay and eat and is close to the canyon. Bryce and Grand canyon have no gateway towns that are close enough to offer a decent alternative to in-park alternatives especially if you are on a quick tour such as the one you are contemplating.

enzian

Thanks for the update on Bryce---when did that happen?

abram

We stayed at Bally's, pretty close to Caesar's, and got an excellent rate at www.i4vegas.com.

spirobulldog

Only thing I might do different than peterboys and enzian suggestion would be where to stay in Zion. I would go for Zion Lodge in the park. I just really like the historic lodges. Having said this, I am sure the Desert Pearl must be really nice as it has far more positive comments than the Zion Lodge on here and tripadvisor. And since I haven't stayed there, maybe I shouldn't be so quick to judge. At least have a meal there and sit out on the lawn under the big tree for lunch. You should make lodging ASAP-wherever you stay at. I assume you meant Grand Canyon South Rim, the North Rim doesn't open until Mid-May. I like Peterboy's Iten. But, I might cut out GC and stick with just Zion and Bryce. There is lot you can do in and around each place. just depends on if you want to hike and see more of each park, or if you want to see just a little bit of each. Have a great trip!!

LJW17

See Pops! Didn't I tell you this was the place to get advice from the best travelers in the world! I really like Peterboy's itinerary. I highly suggest staying at the Bryce cabins, they are really nice and you can wake up to the brilliance of the hoo doos at dawn I camped in a tent in Zion and it was pretty special waking up to moose deer outside my tent, but I am intrigued by the Desert Pearl, and would trust these folks If you want to stay in the park though, the lodge there looked really nice. I would see GC if I were you guys. You have never seen it before and it is quite breathtaking. I like the roundtrip out of Vegas as well. Just easier and cheaper.

Igiman is my dad. Thanks to all for such a kind and informative welcome to Fodors

Igiman

To all who have written suggestions for our vegas/national park trip -thank you so much. This site is truly amazing.
Len - thankx for suggesting fodors!! We will probably hit Zion, Bryce and GC (south rim-good to know!) (as we probably won't do too much hiking - mostly looking!!!)
We are again watching the national park series on PBS and can't wait to get there!! We will definitely give you a report when we get back May 1! Thank you again Nancy & Bob