tamac

I needed help with the trip (march trip)
1. Arrive Phoenix 10:30 and head right to Sedona
Stay 2 nights at Best Western of Sedona 3/12 and 3/13
Pink Jeep tour - Broken arrive 9am 3/13
Was thinking-- Oak Creek and Chapel of the Holy Cross and Montezuma Castle-- what order and any other ideas?
Dinner at Dahl and Deluca one night 3/12
Lunch at Enchantment one day 3/13

2. Leave early 3/14 and head to GC
Booked late but got in to Bright Angel 3/14
Dinner at El Trovar
Hike -- which are the best hikes to take
Plan on getting in by 10 or 11 am and would want to do an afternoon hike on 3/14 and then a morning hike 3/15

3. Leave mid afternoon say 3pm to go to Page
Staying at Courtyard at Page 2 nights 3/15 and 3/16.
3/16 rafting trip (6 hours)
3/17 thinking of morning --doing Antelope Canyon any suggestions on where and how long?
Diner at Slackers -- any other suggestions for eating?

4. Drive to Winslow or Flagstaff?? which would be better stay at on 3/17
want to stop at Wuputki ruins on the way down
3/18 want to go to the Painted Desert and petrified forest
Could stay at La Posada in Winslow which is 1 hour away
Dining options?

5. Drive late afternoon to Phoenix
Stay one night at Radison at the airport and we leave early in the morning.

Any help or directions or information would be great. This was a last minute planned trip and just finished this itinerary.

Thanks so much!

Myer

For Sedona there are several BWs. I stayed at BW Inn of Sedona. It was a few years ago and had just been renovated. Don't know what it's like now.

It's located right near the "Y" so is very central. On the other side of the highway is the road leading up to the airport for those views.

The layout of the BW is great. You drive up a little hill that takes you away from the highway noise. Because you're up a hill the motel goes down a level instead of up. I had a room directly across from the office. There are several such rooms. They have two doors. One in the front leads to the parking lot and office. The door in the back is on a patio where you can relax and maybe meet some people from nearby rooms. You can relax there are have a drink or snack. The view from there is Chimney Rock. Ask for those rooms.

Page.
Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land. So one way or another you will involve them. Some people book a tour in Page. I see no reason to do that. Call and find out if things have changed. I drove east on Rte 98 past the Big Lake Trading Post until I saw a parking lot for Upper Antelope Canyon. Turn right into the parking lot. At that point they charged $6 for parking (probably more now). Then I paid about $15 for the ride / guide in an open back truck for 3-4 miles to the canyon. It's an easy 20 minute walk in the park on a level floor. You'll be there an hour for photos etc. Most of the time people cooperate and move out of the way. Otherwise yell.

If you're really into photography bring with a tripod. You don't want to use a flash. Also, bring with a plastic bag for your camera on the ride. Somewhat dusty.

There's another amazing sight in Page. From Antelope Canyon you can drive west on Rte 98 until you get to Rte 89 (that's right - I would have thought the numbers would be less confusing). Then go south less than a half mile and on the right (west side) you'll see a parking lot for Horseshoe Bend. The parking was free (hopefully still is). Then it's a 3/4 mile hike that's level but no shade. At the end there are no screens, fences or barriers (so hang onto any kids). Just a spectacular view 1000 feet down of the Colorado River making a horseshoe curve.

Go to Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend when the sun is high in the sky. In the canyon the sun has to bounce off the walls. At Horeshoe Bend if it's too early it will be dark below and too late the sun will be in you eyes.

If you click on my name and look way back you can find my trip reports. And you can see my photos of the area at:
www.travelwalks.com

spirobulldog

I'm a pretty avid National Park person. Petrified Forest is really at the bottom of my list. That said, I've been to it 4 times. It is a worthy stop for 3 or 4 hours. Painted Desert is better at Sunrise or Sunset. I'm sure some people could spend a full day there, but I think most people don't spend that much time there. I normally spend a few days when I visit a NP.

You could do a hike along the rim and then a hike down into the canyon a bit. Depending on weather, you may or may not need crampons, if you go down.

I haven't eaten at that particular Slackers, but they are just a good burger joint, also good shakes and malts. Be sure and try the "fry sauce". This is served at most cafe type places in Utah. It's pink and each place has their own variation of it.

MichelleY

Montezumas's Castle is between Phoenix and Sedona, not far off the freeway, so stop in on your way up to Sedona or back down to Phoenix.

tamac

Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help. I just get confused on what to do and when to do it. There are so many options.

jeffergray

You might want to check out the photo essays below, which I posted from a trip last summer to Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Monument Valley (which we did as a day trip from Page):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2768598...7632778236402/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2768598...7632560721363/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2768598...7632741702094/

I would add the following:

Sedona: If you're arriving at 10:30 a.m. in Phoenix, you can do Montezuma's Castle on your way to Sedona on the way up (it may be a couple of miles north of the exit for Sedona on the interstate). It doesn't take that long to see, since you can't go up to the ruins themselves: you take like a 2-mile loop trail and look at them from below.

For hikes in the Sedona area, I recommend the trail to the Vultee Arch or the West Fork of Oak Creek. I've posted a couple of restaurant reviews on Trip Advisor.

I love Wupatki. You can either do it on your way to the Grand Canyon or when on your return trip. Bear in mind that it is spread out -- some 5-7 miles off the main highway north. Visit the main pueblo by the NPS Museum, the Wukoki ruin about 1.5 miles away, and stop by the Citadel on the way back. If you care about photography, it's great to be there when the sun is slanting low late in the afternoon.

If you can afford to take a helicopter trip at the Grand Canyon, it is well worth it.

The Cameron Trading Post on the way north to the GC -- or coming out of the east gate of the GC on your way to Page -- is well worth a stop, especially for it's "treasure rooms" of really high-quality Navajo work. Good spot to stop for lunch and get Navajo fry bread, too.

We loved Upper Antelope Canyon. The key thing is to be there at the time in the middle of the day when the shafts of sunlight come slanting down through the top of the Canyon. We didn't see Lower Antelope, but it sounds like a different experience -- whereas Upper Antelope is all on one level, Lower Antelope has staircases and the elevation varies by about 200', as I understand it.

We did Monument Valley as a day trip from Page; it's about 110 miles each way, as I recall. I would recommend it.

The Petrified Forest is of interest, but it doesn't take that long to see. A far more interesting place to visit in northeastern Arizona is Canyon de Chelly. That needs to be at least an overnight visit, though. There are trails along the rim.

I like the Hopi villages along the southern end of the Black Mesa. There's a good tribe-run arts and crafts place there, as I recall. I think there's also a good place to buy Hopi and Navajo work in Tuba City. And if you do go to the Petrified Forest, try to get to the Hubbard Trading Post north of the interstate there. It's on the way to/from Canyon de Chelly.

Myer

A couple of more things. Broken Arrow is very nice and scenic. It's a trail maintained jointly by the NPS and Pink Jeep.

I hiked it and several Pink Jeeps passed me. They were on the road and I was on the trail. They seemed to be having fun and it is an adventure.

For the best sunset in Sedona, go to the Crescent Moon Picnic Area and ask where you can view Cathedral Rock across Oak Creek. That's the view Sedona used (I believe there's was a daytime view) on their promo literature for a while.

The next night I went up to the airport for the sunset view there. It was full of people and doesn't come close to the view I had the night before.
Photos of these are on my web site shown on my earlier post above.

panecott

I pretty much agree with all of the above, especially about adding Monument Valley and the Canyon de Chelly. Both are well worth seeing.

I did a similar trip to yours two years ago. After Page, I spent one night at Monument Valley, from there to Canyon de Chelly for overnight, and from there to Winslow, via Petrified Forest/Painted Desert.

The two parks were little more than a drive thru', with an occasional brief stop in the PF.

La Posada is very lovely and it has a restaurant but I was not too impressed with the food or service, but there's not much to choose from in the area, and not much to do in Winslow except driving a bit of Route 66 and standing on the corner taking it easy.
See my trip report.