Hi fodorites. I am planning a trip to Arizona in early November after posting questions on another thread. Due to air flight constraints, I will fly into Phoenix on Friday night, 11/3, and leaving from Las Vegas on Saturday, 11/11.

How does the following schedule work?

Two nights in Scottsdale, leaving all day Saturday to see Taliesen West and, maybe, Tombstone?

Three nights in Sedona.

Two nights in Grand Canyon village.

Last night in Las Vegas so I can be near the airport when I leave.

I've never visited Arizona before, except for the north rim of the Grand Canyon. I'm just beginning to plan my trip and always love suggestions and ideas from fellow fodorites.

Thanks to those who answered my last posting.

Keep in mind, Grand Canyon could be chilly while Phoenix and Scottsdale could still be warm (highs in the 80's I think). Your schedule looks good.

From Scottsdale to Tombstone is close to a four hour drive. What I would do is stay the first night in Scottsdale, see Taliesin West on the 4th, then drive to Tucson, spending the nights of the 4th and 5th here (maybe also the 6th).

On the 5th, try to go to Kartchner Caverns, then drive to Tombstone (only about 30 minutes from there) and maybe Bisbee. If you want more southern Arizona suggestions, visit my blog, the second post on the page.

http://mikepintucson.blogspot.com/

Although Tombstone is fun, it is very touristy. I would suggest using that day to see the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, San Xavier del Bac mission, and Saguaro National Park. The SNP West branch is right next to the desert museum, although I prefer the East branch.

2 or 3 nights in Sedona would be good. Do some hikes http://www.hikearizona.com/Region-Hikes.php?RID=9, take a jeep ride, see Jerome, maybe take the Verde Canyon Railroad ride. Then drive up through Oak Creek Canyon on the way to the GC. Take a side trip to Walnut Canyon. Then 2 nights at the GC will be more than enough unless you plan on doing some hiking up there.

I realized that I goofed by thinking Tombstone was in the Phoenix area. I realize now it is in southern Arizona. I think I will save Tucson & vicinity for another winter trip. That leaves me a full day in Scottsdale to see Taliesen West & Desert Botanical Garden.

Any suggestions for accommodations in Scottsdale? Sedona? Grand Canyon?

In Sedona, we stayed at Sky Ranch Lodge on our trip last week. Some of the rooms have wonderful views. In fact, the view on their home page is the view from our room.

http://www.skyranchlodge.com/

At the Grand Canyon, we stayed at Kachina Lodge. Nothing great, but clean and nice amenities. It is right next to El Tovar and right on the rim.

You don't say what your budget is, but I'd highly recommend Enchantment in Sedona. If you don't go there, go for dinner one night for the beautiful setting.

Most Grand Canyon Village hotels are booked. I found a room for 2 nights at the Kachina Lodge facing the street. The only other alternative was the Maswik Lodge. Which has the nicer setting?

Kachina Lodge is right at the rim. Maswick is about 1/4 mile in from the rim. Our room was a streetside room, too, and it was no problem. the room actually overlooks the parking lot. But I don't think the rimside rooms really have much, if any, real view of the canyon.

Is Maswick more pleasant than Kachina Lodge. I'm worried that the confluence of hotels at the rim might make me feel overcrowded. I've stayed inside lots of other national parks like Bryce, Zion, etc.

MikePinTucson, thanks for paying attention to my posts since I started. I bookmarked the Sedona hiking link. It looks like you have a great blog for Tucson.

We didn't feel at all crowded right near the rim. And it was nice to be able to walk just a few steps and be right there. But maybe someone else who has stayed at Maswick can say how they liked being away from the rim.

Thanks for the nice comment on my blog. I do hope that info will be helpful if you ever decide to visit Tucson.

The canyon-view rooms in Kachina actually have pretty good views. When we visited at Christmas a few years ago, we noticed commotion outside our window. It was people watching a young condor sitting just off the rim. We were out the door and rim-side in about 30 seconds.

We were in Sedona last year in December and we loved it - it was beautiful. We went on the "Pink Jeep Tours" and that was enjoyable. I loved the scenery and the fact that we were able to get so close to all the beautiful red rocks. My husband loved the powerful jeeps and the fact that they were able to climb up some really steep rocks at a 30 degree angle (arr...arr...arr...)

Scottsdale was beautiful. We visited the Desert Botanical Garden and went around the place with a very interesting guide called Cactus Jack. He was able to share a lot of interesting information about the land and how the Native Americans lived with the land and utilized the plants for various purposes (everyting from sowing needles to Tequila).

The other thing I enjoyed in Scottsdale was horseback riding.

Hope you have a good time.