We will be flying into Phoenix sometime in September and will be staying overnight one night before and after our stay in Sedona Summit.

We like to golf. Can you suggest a course in Phoenix?
Can you suggest a hotel, not the most expensive and not right near the airport please.

How is the drive from Sedona to the Grand Canyon?
My sister said it is horrible and scary. My husband is wondering if we should chose the railway instead of driving. We will stay overnight a night at Brights Angel lodge, booked months and months ago.

Are you a photographer with a DSLR? Which lenses would you bring for this trip?
Thank you so much!

We live in this area and there are many hotels and golf courses. One of my favorites is Rancho Manana in Cave Creek, which is on your way out of the city area and on your way to Sedona, it also has a wonderful restaurant Tonto Bar and Grill and if you are lucky enough to be there at sunset you can often see the Javelina crossing the eighteenth hole. There are many hotels close by, there is a Hampton Inn on Scottsdale Road near the 101. I am not sure what your sister is referring to, I do not find the roads scary at all. I prefer driving as it gives you the flexibility to enjoy and be on your on your own schedule. I hope this has helped some, and keep in mind it can still be very hot in Arizona in September but Sedona and Grand Canyon will be wonderful this time of year. Enjoy your stay in Arizona, regardless of what the media says it is a wonderful place to live and visit.

September is a great month for Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Your sister may be referring to the drive up Oak Creek Cabyon as the "scary" part. But it really isn't scary. It is a very scenic route. It is narrow and does have several switchbacks and some places where there is a dropoff at the side. But really not scray unless you absolutely hate driving on mountain roads.

After Oak Creek Canyon (89a), you will get on I-17 for just a couple of miles, then could take scenic 180 through Flagstaff and up to the GC, or head west on I-40 to Williams, then up to the GC. Or you could go up 89, east of Flagstaff and enter through the east entrance. That is the route I would take because Desert View is my favorite first view of the GC.

If you don't want to go through Oak Creek Canyon, you could take the long way around, back down 179, then I-17 north.

Don't bother with the train because it will take (round trip) 5 hours out of your sightseeing time. Plus, other than Oak Creek Canyon, none of the drive could be even remotely considered scary -- all through forests and meadows along relatively flat roads. The elevation gain from Sedona to Flagstaff is about 2500 feet ( 4500 to 7000), but the south rim of the GC is also right around 7,000 feet, same as Flagstaff.

Thank-you both for your replies.
I certainly do not want to spend all that time on a train. I will pass this along to the DH.

Another reason to not take the train -- it isn't at all scenic between Williams and the Grand Canyon, and you can't see the canyon from the train.

A bit more info on the route from Sedona to the GC. The route through Oak Creek Canyon up to Flagstaff is about 30 miles and takes around 45 to 50 minutes. The alternate route, down 179 and back up I-17 is about 60 miles and takes just over an hour. Most people prefer the beautiful drive through Oak Creek Canyon. But for someone who is really fearful of mountain roads, it isn't much longer taking the alternate route.

For photography.

As with almost all travel that doesn't include wildlife you are better off with wider rather than longer. Very little need for a telephoto lens unless you want to try and pick off a raft in the GC from the rim.

Depending on whether you have a full-frame (28-105) or crop frame (17-70) camera reasonably wide is what you want. Of course, depending upon the camera make and/or lenses your might vary slightly but this is what I use.

I'm going to Yellowstone is a few weeks and will most likely bring along whatever length I have in the event we see some wildlife. But my standard walk around lens is a Canon 15-85.

The trip from Grand Canyon to Sedona is not bad at all and I completely agree that the drive through the Oak Creek Canyon is absolutely gorgeous! We drove out the East entrance, stopped in Flagstaff for lunch and then made our way to Sedona. We HIGHLY recommend going to Elote in Sedona for dinner and get there really early!

I have a nikon d90 which is crop. My widest lens now is a 28-85 so it looks like I am in need of another lens or at least to rent a lens.
I may have a 28-200 aspherical from my film nikon but it still doesn't seem wide enough given the crop factor

Concur with Amere..Elote Cafe is excellent and there was another poster who felt it didn't measure up and I respect all op's but when they said to get Mexican at the Coffee Pot, all bets were off.good for omelettes..
The drive is wonderful down 89A from Flag to Sedona.
Several great courses in Sedona..one next to Radisson..7 Canyons, Oak Creek and Sedona.

robbiegirl,

When I first went from my film camera to a DSLR (crop) I brought over my beloved 28-105 (equivalent to 45-170 on a crop) lens. It was sharp throughout and I wasn't afraid to use it wide open.

At first I thought it was fine. Then I went on my first trip with it and noticed that I was taking a lot of shots at the wide end.

I downloaded a free program called ExposurePlot and ran statistics on my photos. I found that I shot about 80% at the very wide end and almost none at the long end.

I retired the lens and got a Sigma 17-70 (that I was never really happy with due to the sharpness).

I recently went to the newer model of the same camera (Canon T2i or 550) and decided to also change my lens to the recently released Canon 15-85. What a difference. It's pretty much sharp throughout.

Definitely wider than 28 (45 equivalent) on a crop camera.

Forgot to mention. I was in Sedona in 2007 and you can see my photos at:

www.travelwalks.com

Select the 2007 trip to Bryce, Zion, GC (I didn't think it compared to the other places but that's me) and Sedona.