Grand Circle Itinerary Experts Needed!
 

After successfully planning our family '06 adventure to Costa Rica via the helpful people on the boards, I am now reaching out to all of you itinerary experts for my Grand Circle vacation Summer '07!

My kids 11 & 9 & 38 (my husband, LOL) are very adventurous and with our Costa Rica trip under our belt, I have a good sense of how much car travel they can stand and the need for scheduling down time for them.

That said, I have exhausted myself reading many, many posts and have come to the following itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive Vegas late afternoon
Day 2: Vegas
Day 3: Early departure for Grand Canyon (SR), hike and possible Sunset Tour
Day 4: Watch the sunrise (if kids cooperate) drive to Page (hit a few GC overlooks on the way) do Antelope Slots tour overnight in Page
Day 5: Early River Float then just hang out rest of day (kids chill time)
Day 6: Early drive to Bryce and horseback tour canyon overnight Bryce
Day 7: Early drive to Zion (hike, tube)
Day 8: Full day Zion
Day 9: Zion to Vegas to Home

Any suggestions or changes? Too little GC time? Too much Page/Lake Powell time? I was shooting for 8days but it just doesn't seem possible, right? My "biggest" kid doesn't want to shorten Vegas.

Look forward to your replies! Thank you!

Just Got Back and we did a few things differently.
We drove from Vegas to Williams, AZ. where we spent the night.
We then drove up to the airport outside the South Gate of the canyon and took a helicopter ride.
We spent 2 nights at Bright Angel Lodge.
We then drove to the North Rim and spent 1 night.
We then drove to Page and spent one night. In Page there are 2 things you have to do. One is go to RDs Drive In on Lake Powell Blvd and get a great burger and fries. The other is book a visit to The Navajo Village. Wally Brown and fellow Navajos entertained us with a Navajo Taco dinner, dancing and just talking about being raised a Navajo or Dine'. We learned so much.
We then drove to Bryce and then to Zion for the night. After Zion we headed to Mesqite where we spent our las night before heading to LAS to fly back to SC.
I don't think you are allowing enough time to do what you wish but I like things a little slow.
Best Wishes for a great trip.

Thanks for the info ruvidu. I will definitely look into RD's and possibly visiting the Navajo Village. As for the helicopter thing......freaks me out! It must have been so cool seeing the canyon from the air. I'll have to think long and hard on that one!
Thanks again-
kcshoe

You might want to add an extra night in the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon. If you and your family are adventurous, you might want to consider taking a mule ride to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and stay overnight there at Phantom Ranch.

Also, you might want to an extra day in Zion to allow time for a hike to the Narrows for one day, and a hike to to Upper Emerald Pools for another day. I saw eight year old children do these hikes, but they seemed bigger than the average eight year old.

You need time to hike Bryce Canyon, because the hoodoos are much better viewed on the trails. You will want to do the Queen's Loop Trail, because it is one the easier trails. Tackle Navajo Loop if your family is up to it.

Also, if you like Mexican food, the best Mexican food we had was in Page. I forget the name, but it is on the road to Antelope Canyon. While in Page, you might consider a hike to Horseshoe Bend or taking an all day boat trip to Rainbow Bridge.

I'm with FlyingMaltese. We did your exact trip in 2004 with 8 and 10 year olds and had another night at GC (hiked into the canyon one morning which was memorable--not all the way but enough to be able to see the changes). Also had a full 24 hours in Bryce and glad we did. And had another night or two in Zion.

We didn't do the float trip in the Glen Canyon area which may have been a mistake and may be worth trading off the GC hiking.

This is a MEMORABLE trip. We still talk about it and have travelled many places since. May need to check out Costa Rica next.