Grand Canyon & Las Vegas
 

My girlfriend & I are thinking about, right after Xmas, flying from Atlanta to AZ & then driving to Grand Canyon & then on to Las Vegas. My questions are: where in AZ should we start the trip; could weather (snow) affect the trip, and any suggestions for a 4 day itinerary from AZ to Vegas? Thanks

That's a long drive from most airports in Arizona.

One alternative is to fly into LV, rent a cheap car there for your visit, and take either a helicopter or airplane tour of the Grand Canyon.

It's over 500 miles from Phoenix, as an example.

I would rather spend my time in Vegas than driving in the desert.

Yes, weather could affect your trip. LV is in the desert - but it does get winter and the grand canyon gets snow every winter. Exactly what the weather will be when you are is a guess - but expect winter.

We've gone from Vegas to GC several times with no problem weather wise, although you could get snow at that time of year. I would look for loding in the park for a night or two and cancel if weather gets bad.

There are several places to do as day trips from Vegas if you can't get to GC. Check out Valley of Fire, Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam and Death Valley.

If your main wishes are Las Vegas and the south rim - then fly in/out of Vegas. Much closer to the Grand Canyon than Phoenix or other AZ airports.

It's a lot less expensive to rent a car in Las Vegas than in Phoenix so if it were my trip, I'd fly in and out of Las Vegas. And it may very well be less expensive to fly to and from Las Vegas than Phoenix - at least it is from where I live.

Did the Grand Canyon move?? It's 230 miles from Phoenix, and 280 miles from Las Vegas. Not sure why 2 different people have mentioned how the drive from Phoenix is soooo long??

Grand Canyon is 4 hours from Phoenix, 5 hours from Vegas, those are well established/predictable drive times.

As Shanti said though, it is usually a lot cheaper to fly in/out of Vegas and get your car there. Usually. Occasionally you can find comparable flights and decent car rentals from Phoenix with no drop-off fees for the one-way trip to Vegas, but that's rare. Check prices for your dates - if price is not a consideration then do whatever makes sense for your itinerary.

Maybe we were speeding or my memory stinks but I think it took us four hours to drive from Las Vegas to the South Rim which is also the drive time from Phoenix to the South Rim. We chose Las Vegas. Instead of Phoenix because it cost less for both the flights and the rental car. And in our case the flight time was shorter going into Las Vegas.

I've seen snow at the GC South Rim in MAY. No guarantees re weather obviously.

As for the drive time, who cares, it's a half day either way. HOWEVER, the OP is asking for a 4 day itinerary, which to me means they want to see a bit of the area, not just Vegas and the GC.

For example, from Las Vegas to GC south rim there is little of interest other than the Hoover Dam. Not so from Phoenix to the south rim.

From Phoenix the OP could stop and visit Montezuma's Castle; Sedona; Sunset Crater; Cameron Trading Post (short detour north on 89 to the Little Colorado River) before heading west on hwy. 64 which is a nicer drive to the south rim than north on 180 which is how you would get there from Vegas.

Day 1 from Phoenix through Sedona to overnight at Cameron Trading post. Full day so depends how you are counting your days Bklyn and your arrival time in Phoenix if that is where you fly into.

Day 2 to south rim. In December there will be little to see/do regardless of the weather. The average visitor to the south rim spends about 12 minutes actually at the Rim looking into the Canyon and taking the obligatory snapshots. Then an hour or two visiting the Visitor's Centre and souvenir shops.

Staying overnight at the Rim or just south of the park is a waste of money in my opinion. There is little to see/do that a half day won't have already let you cover.

However, you pretty much have to as there are few places to stop between there and Vegas.

Day 3 to Vegas arrive early afernoon. Walk the strip, lose $20 in a slot machine, try to buy tickets to Cirque du Soliel and that day's done.

Day 4? More gambling? Some shopping? Look for a cheap lunch? Whatever.

Day 5: Presumably fly home from Vegas.

Reverse the itinerary if going the other way (Vegas to Phoenix).

WhereAreWe - if you use google maps, and put in PHX to LAS via the Grand Canyon, 500 miles.

Thanks everyone. We're going to drive from Phoenix, check out Sedona, on to GC & then to Vegas.

Watch out for the timeshare touts all over Sedona Bklyn. Very annoying. But Sedona is still worth seeing. When you go into Sedona from Phoenix, before you turn right going into town, turn left and drive a bit out of town. The best views of the Red Rock scenery are on that side of town. Otherwise you will be turning right into town and then continuing on through Oak Creek and up to Flagstaff, not knowing what you missed.

Hope that explanation makes sense.