First night's break between Phoenix and Grand Canyon?
 

We are flying into Phoenix on a Monday and getting there early afternoon. We plan to pick up a rental car at the airport. How far north should we drive until we make our first night's stop? THe next day we are hoping to get to the Grand Canyon and we will do Sedona on the way back down.

I would suggest Flagstaff as a stopping point.

Depending on what time of day you get in, you could make it to the Grand Canyon. That way, you'd be there for the sunrise. Alternatively, if you wanted to stay in a smaller town than Flagstaff, you could stay in Williams, 60 miles south of the GC. Williams is a little closer to the GC and has another advantage: you won't have to fight the Flagstaff traffic in the morning. <BR> <BR>Nothing wrong with Flagstaff though. This is just an alternative.

We did the same leaving Phoenix and stopped at Flagstaff..Fairfield Inn. Benefit of doing that was going thru Painted Desert on way to Canyon, Indian village ruins, a lava field and a mini grand canyon where Indians sold their crafts. That part of the trip was terrific. Really enjoyed it. Williams you will pass back down on way to Sedona. Dont push to get to Canyon and miss the beauty of the journey between Flagstaff and the canyon.

If you have or can get reservations in a lodge at Gr. Canyon consider driving straight through. An alternative would be to go to Tusayan which is just outside the south entrance. If you decide on <BR>Flagstaff go to GC via rt 89 to Cameron and then head to GC entering through the east entrance. If you do this you can visit Walnut Canyon National Monument off of I40 and Wupatki and Sunset Crater National Monuments via a loop road off of rt. 89.

Absolutely agree with John & rqf - don't miss all the great things in between. We flew into Phoenix early afternoon and headed north immediately on Route 17. Spent the rest of the afternoon seeing Montezuma's Castle Nat'l Monument - great cliff dwellings. Stayed that night in Flagstaff, then on to GC next day. On the way back, we stopped at Sunset Crater Volcano Nat'l Monument - took a great hike for few hours, then on to Sedona for that night's stay. Wish we'd spent more time in Sedona.

When you are in Sedona, suggest staying at either Enchantment Resort or L'Auberge de Sedona. Enchantment is our favorite place to stay - incredible red rock views in this canyon. A nice restaurant is Heartline Cafe. When we went to the Grand Canyon, we spent the night in Flagstaff on the way up.

If you visit Montezumas Castle (i recommend it), then I would also consider the nearby Montezuma's Well. <BR> <BR>I would stop in flagstaff for the night

We flew into Phoenix and stayed the night in Scottsdale. Went to Rawhide (?) for dinner and enjoyed the view of Scottsdale. The next am we drove up through Sedona (stopped for lunch and to admire the red rock canyons and headed to GC. We did a side trip to Flagstaff, Dinosaur Caverns and Craters. It was great!! I wish we had more time to go slower and enjoy the scenery and environment. It's so awesome the photos don't even capture the feeling. We stayed at the hotel right outside the Canyon and it was fine. Clean and provided a decent place to sleep at an affordable price. I wasn't there to spend time in a hotel.

I would tend to agree with the above poster. I dont know where you're flying from but driving for a few hours after a (long?)flight isn't fun. Stop in Scottsdale for the evening, what's the rush??

Thanks for the feedback. I think we will aim for Flagstaff the first night. Thanks.