My extended (parents and in-laws) family will be coming with us to AZ in April where we have rented a house in Sedona. We have two nights reserved at El Tovar Hotel, but my DH thinks that we should only take it for one night and that two almost full days in the Grand Canyon is enough. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!

We'll be there for 5 nights, but that includes a hike into the canyon. I think how much time you spend at the rim depends on how long you want to gaze at all that beauty---there isn't much else to do there. If you don't mind my asking---what night might you be giving up at El Tovar? We've been trying to get another room during our stay in April. But I don't imagine there's an easy way to transfer the reservation, even if it is the right night. Still curious though.

We would be giving up the night of April 18th, since we have dinner reservations at the El Tovar for the next night. I could always email you when I was about to cancel and you could call right after. I guess that would be the best way to try it!

Thanks for the quick response! That's not the night we need, so I'll just keep trying with them. I hope you enjoy your stay there with your family--sounds like a great plan for Sedona, etc.

Day 1 - drive from Sedona stopping at Wupatki National Monument (and the N.M. next too it with the lava field). Enter GCNP from the east, stopping at all of the stops on the road. Check in to the hotel. Overnight at El Tovar.
Day 2 - Take the shuttle bus down the west side of the south rim. Stop at all the sites. Visit the central canyon viewpoints, like Yavapai and Mather. Overnight at El Tovar.
Day 3 - Return to the central viewpoints in the morning and leave around noon.

Thanks for all the responses - I guess that we are still up in the air about it!

When we stayed 2 nights it was not really 2 full days. Assuming you get there late afternoon, see the sunset have dinner. Next day you do have a full day - but the shuttle bus around various Rim sites is great, and it has 2 loops so it can take up much of the day.

Then if you leave after breakfast the next day - you really only had one full day and some straggler hours. I guess it really depends on what is on either side of the GC trip.

(Be sure to buy "Over the Rim: Death in the Grand Canyon" which details in a non-listy, interesting way various deaths over about a century at Grand Canyon. Have a good trip - if it were me going with parents and in-laws, I would be using the book for tips to plot the demise of someone - no way we could have traveled together when all were alive!)