Heavens

We might just hop in the car and go before all of the tourists hit the place. I think anytime before the 4th of July should be OK. We are taking our college son with us. For a quick trip up there, what are the must sees, must dos and where is a good place to stay for convenience and budget for the three of us. We are traveling from Palm Desert to the GC. Also, any must eat stops, please be sure to mention.

Placename

Have you checked the National Park website for Grand Canyon? Always best to stay in the park. If not, Tusayan is just outside the park boundary, 11 miles from the South Rim.

http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/index.htm

doug_stallings

In a real pinch, you can almost always get a room in Williams, but that is about an hour away. But. There are many motels in Tusayan if you can't get a room in the park. Do check for cancellations, but don't think the park is not already really busy now.

J62

A few years ago when we visited at the end of June I was surprised to find out that I could have simply walked up and gotten a room at 2 different in-park hotels. The Yavapai, and one of the on-rim hotels. Apparently there are big blocks of rooms reserved by tour operators and they (or anyone) can cancel up until 2 or 3 days in advance without penalty.

I wouldn't count on it, but you can call daily and check if they have any free rooms for your arrival date. xanterra.com is the concessionaire's website.

Heavens

Which hotel is the best to stay in? And where to eat?

doug_stallings

The best places in-park lodges are the Bright Angel Lodge or El Tovar. El Tovar is very expensive, and Bright Angel is rustic. But these are also the least likely places to find cancellations because they are the most popular lodgings. The rest of the in-park lodges are just motels, and they are not on the rim. I don't think it matters much which one you choose. The importance of staying in the park is that you can park once and use in-park transportation and see more when the canyon is less crowded. It's not for the great accommodations, though some rooms at El Tovar are quite nice.

emalloy

Actually, Kachina and Thunderbird are on the rim, right between el Tovar and Bright Angel. Some of the rooms in Bright Angel share a bathroom, if that matters to you. There is a reasonable place to eat in BA and also one on the end of it, a more pricy one in el Tovar, and a cafeteria type place near Yavapai. I'm not sure what is near Maswick but there is probably something. Make a reservation if you want to eat at el Tovar, the others are first come.

All lodging is an easy walk from the rim and as has been mentioned, people make reservations a year in advance, as do tours, and then cancel last minute, so keep calling. The openings appear when you call on the phone faster than they appear on line.

Heavens

If we do not stay in the park, is there a place you recommend? Thanks again for all of your info.

J62

You already have the answers above. The little town of Tusayan is just outside the south entrance of the park. There are several hotels there. Find out what's available - beggars can't be choosers. If there's nothing there then you'll need to look farther away in Williams.

Bill_H

In addition to the in-park lodges and Tusayan (which are by far the best places to stay because they are so close to the canyon) there is a nice motel in Cameron (Navajo village about 30 minutes from the east entrance) and a not-particularly-nice motel in Valle, about 16 miles south of Tusayan (23 miles from the rim).

These are closer than Williams (60 minutes) or Flagstaff (~90 minutes). There are a lot more lodging options in Flag than in Williams because of the relative sizes of the towns.

Usually you can score rooms almost any time at Cameron or Valle (Cameron is much nicer) ... here's a recent Fodors thread with more info on lodging options:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...or-lodging.cfm

Here are links to the motels in Valle and Cameron:

http://www.camerontradingpost.com/lodge.html
http://www.grand-canyon-inn.com/ (Valle)