Arizona Itinerary - what do you think?
 

Hi,

I have read the posts here and think I have developed a plan of action for my fall Arizona trip. I am under time constraints:

Although I live in Washington, DC, I will be in San Francisco until Friday September 24th for a conference, and I have to be in Tempe on Wednesday, September 29th.

So, given those constraints, here are my plans:

Day 1: Fly from SF to Phoenix in the afternoon, pick up rental car, drive to Sedona. Night in Sedona (Sky Ranch Lodge? I don't have reservations yet).

Day 2(Sat): Jeep Tour and Hike around Sedona (any company you recommend for the jeep tour? I read about the Pink Jeeps - any others I should consider?). Night in Sedona.

Day 3(Sun): Drive and hike in/through Oak Creek Canyon. Stay in Flagstaff. Where to stay?

Day 4(Mon): Drive to South Rim of GC in the morning. Do the West Rim and East Rim drives, do some hiking. I have reservations at Yavapai, it's all I could get. I know I can try to watch for cancellations for places on the rim, but is it really that bad at Yavapai? I don't mind walking around :)

Day 5(Tues): 1/2 day mule ride (I made reservations for this), watch the sunset, etc.

Day 6(Wed): Head back to Tempe. I have a place to stay here already.

Does this sound OK? Any help on hotels in Flagstaff or Sedona (besides Sky Ranch) would be appreciated.

Also, from Wednesday to Sunday I will be in Tempe. Although I will be busy part of the time, I'll have some free time to tour around. What should I see in Tempe and/or Phoenix? I am most interested in scenery and hiking but am open to anything fun to do, especially in Phoenix since I have never been to this city.

Thank you in advance for all of your help!

Karen

Hi Karen,

If you are into hiking, there are some great trails in South Mountain park, which is very near Tempe. Some of the trails have great views out over the Valley of the Sun. I always try to get over there when I'm visiting. Here's a link to the map, etc.

http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/PARKS/hikesoth.html

Old Scottsdale is another idea, for shops, etc. It is a fairly quick drive from Tempe, depending on where you are staying.

Old Scottsdale is very nice, with some terrific art galleries and nice restaurants. When we were there last summer, we were introduced to one of the last remaining "Windtalkers", about whom the movie was made. He was thrilled that we wanted our picture taken with him!

Do not think you are giving yourself enough time at GC. Hiking can take 1/2 to entire day depending on how far down you go. If you have never been there before, I would recommend taking a plane ride over canyon first. Awesome.
You also noted that you are taking 1/2 day mule ride...is this on the South Rim?? Did not know that had 1/2 day on South, only North.

I think your itinerary sounds great! It's a short trip, but you'll see some awesome sights, and I hope you enjoy it! No, Yavapai isn't that bad at all, it just isn't right on the rim; it's across the railroad tracks in some pretty woods, about 1/2 mile from the rim. I have stayed there, and the accomodations are very comparable to what's on the rim. On the rim is best, so do keep checking for cancellations. Can't help you with lodging in Flagstaff, sorry! And I always recommend Sky Ranch in Sedona, but there have been lots of threads here about new resorts, etc. in Sedona, and discussions of various Jeep tours, so do a search for other suggestions. Btw, late Sept. is a great and popular time to be there, so do make some kind of reservation soon...happy trails!

Thanks everyone!

I understand that I won't be able to do any long hikes in the GC - I'll just go partway down a trail or whatever I have time for.

Scottsdale and South Mountain Park are great ideas - I will definitely look into both of those!

retire - yes, the mule trip is from the south rim. Here are the details:
"A one-day trip is also offered which goes part way to the river stopping at Plateau Point on the Bright Angel Trail. The seven-hour day trip to Plateau Point costs $132.88 per person and includes tax and a box lunch."

So, that's what I booked.

Thanks, E, for confirming my image of what Yavapai will be like from reading threads and the website. I'll try to get on the rim over the next months and see what happens.

If anyone has any thoughts on where to stay in Flagstaff overnight, that would answer my one remaining question! (Of course, I'll take other opinions about my itinerary as well) :)

Thanks again,
Karen

I recently returned from Flagstaff where I did some research on hotels in preparation for a wedding there in the fall. If you tell me what you're looking for, I bet I'll have some ideas for you.

Hi Mary,

I'm looking for a hotel that is central to whatever there is to see in Flagstaff (or is a scenic view more important/better?). I'm pretty open at this point, but I am looking at a budget of under $100 if possible.

I am only staying there one night, and I don't need fancy. Better than a Motel 6 would be nice, if possible.

I am also thinking I could just go to Priceline for Flagstaff. Is it big enough to worry too much about location (since with Priceline, you are never quite sure where you will be).

Thanks,

Karen

We just returned from a trip to Arizona. While in Sedona, we stayed at the Canyon Villa Inn which I absolutely loved and would recommend highly. The view of Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte is right outside your window. You can even see it from your bed. There is a pool with a fireplace that also overlooks the rocks. The living and dining rooms have cathedral ceilings with floor to ceiling windows - again looking out at the rocks. Each afternoon they have appetizers that you can take out by the pool and every morning you have a full breakfast. Beautiful place, great service and gracious hosts (Pat & Les). Check out their website at canyonvilla.com. While there, we took the Broken Arrow Pink Jeep Tour and thoroughly enjoyed. Really enjoyed our driver, Kimba. You may be able to request her, if you'd like.

Thanks, SueDoc! I'll check it out.

Karen

Kaudrey,you don't want to be in downtown Flagstaff because of the train noise. Most hotels are a mile or two outside the downtown area. I really prefer staying on the west side of town and I don't know what Priceline is kicking out for Flagstaff these days.

I looked at a bunch of them to recommend to wedding guests, so I'll give you quite a list of them. Tell me if you want more specifics on any.

Embassy Suites, Radisson Woodlands, Hampton Inn (on Beulah Blvd.), Comfort Inn, AmeriSuites, Sleep Inn, and La Quinta. Embassy Suites is closest to downtown, but out of the 'train whistle zone'. The others are all about 2 miles from downtown. The Radisson is the only one with a restaurant on the premises, I believe, but the others have restaurants nearby.

I stayed at the Sky Ranch last month and I recommend it - make sure you're there in time to see sunset!

For Flagstaff I did use Priceline (PL) and got a room at the Raddisson for $45 I think (might have been $40, I booked rooms in several cities thru PL) It's a nice hotel. Since even $45 is cheaper than the Motel 6, definetly worth taking the "risk" with PL

Thanks MaryZ and wowser! I did see on www.biddingfortravel that the Radisson in Flagstaff seems to come up a lot, and quite cheap!

Since I am not going until September, I'll probably wait awhile, but I think Priceline is the way to go. However, in case that doesn't work out, I now have a list of hotels to look for as I solidfy my plans!

Thanks again.

Karen