I had a really good idea (I thought) which is turning out to be a nightmare. For my husband's birthday surprise, I wanted to send him on holdiay. (The surprise is he doesn't know a thing about it and there is a lot of cloak and dagger stuff going off) He has always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, so this is the focus. My son will go with him and he would like to visit Las Vegas. The idea was wonderful and was to be for 14+ days just after his birthday in April - however, it's all going pear shaped because he now has commitments for the dates decided on and my son is having difficulty getting any other time off. Now, it will take place towards the end of May and only for seven days! Is this long enough? The idea was to fly to Phoenix and drive to the Grand Canyon and, hopefully, somewhere else, before visiting Las Vegas on their return to Phoenix. They don't have to fly Heathrow to Phoenix, it just seemed the best plan as I'm told getting out of Las Vegas airport can almost take longer than the flight! Does anyone have any (polite) suggestions of the best places to visit and stay. Yosemite, Yellowstone and a couple of other places have been suggested, but I have no idea how far apart these places are and whether all can be done within seven days. I stumbled on this forum quite by chance (if there is such a thing) and I'm sorry to sound so wet, I just haven't a clue where to go from here and time is of the essence!!

Thankyou.

Do your husband and son play golf? If so, I would suggest a few days in Phoenix for golfing, then they can drive up to the Grand Canyon (4 hours) for at least two days and one night, more if they want to do hiking or something like the smooth water float trip in Page Canyon. They could also do a stop or an overnight in Sedona which is on the way to the Grand Canyon and has different desert scenery. If you tell me your hotel budget, I can suggest some hotels.

If possible, staying right on the rim of the Grand Canyon is the best way to see the Canyon, and to avoid having to drive in each day (and pay admission fee). However, these hotels fill up early and very quickly, so call 1.303.297.2757or visit the website at http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com. There is one entity which runs all hotels in the park. In order of preference, I would take El Tovar (rim view rooms on upper floor, other rooms are small and noisy), Thunderbird or Kachina Lodge, Bright Angel Lodge, then Maswick or Yapavai. These are all on the South Rim, which is the prettier end, there is one hotel on the North Rim that may be better in terms of being able to get a booking.

There are golf resorts in the Las Vegas area as well, I believe, so they could do GC first then Las Vegas.

Another thought is to spend a few days in New York, Chicago or Washington DC and then go on to Phoenix and go right to the GC. All are great cities with good weather that time of year, should also be able to do non-stop flights from Heathrow and then non-stop on to Phoenix or Las Vegas.

Yosemite is in California, Yellowstone is in Wyoming. It might be possible to combine a trip to either one, however IMO with only 7 days and jet lag this may involve longer drives and more flights than they would want. The website for all US national parks is nps.gov.

I assume you have looked into all the visa regs for visiting the US. I was under the impression that a personal visit to the US embassy in London was required, but perhaps not for UK passport holders.

Oh, thankyou so much, Cicerone, for your prompt reply.

Firstly, neither of them are golfers. My son worked in a golf club for several years and the people he would not want to be around are golfers! (No offence, I'm sure they're all very nice people, but not for this occasion). My husband much prefers animals to people, so city life is not for him - we live in a green and pleasant land and it's very quiet. Except for the birdsong.

I'm leaving the visa necessities to my daughter who is well travelled (and spends around a third of the year in San Francisco. For some reason, she doesn't think he will want to go there - although she loves it). I know the security is much tighter than it used to be, but a visa is not required by British passport holders as long as they hold a valid, machine readable passport issued prior to October 2004 (which has apparently been extended to 2005). Thanks for the reminder.

Thankyou for the information on the hotels - I suppose the budget will be middle of the road. Cleanliness and comfort are more important than status for them (especially since I won't be there!) However, it might be nice to stay somewhere special in Las Vegas and I have looked at the information of several hotels, but it's quite mind boggling. There's so much razzle dazzle, I don't know where to start!!

I'm gathering all the information together as quickly as I can as the final dates cannot be fixed until next week. Then it will be all hands to the pump and full speed ahead.

Thankyou, again for your assistance. It's very much appreciated.

Melanie

Phoenix, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Yosemite and Yellowstone in seven days? It would be tough to do those in 14 days!
You are talking great distances between these sites.
For seven days, Phoenix, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and back to Phoenix will easily fill up the time.
Why do you have them returning to Phoenix for the flight home?
It sounds like more research is needed.

Thankyou for your message, Howard. You obviously didn't realise I am a woman and, as such, have no idea of distances or lengths. (Oh dear, is that politically incorrect??)

I guess it was decided that It was better to return from the same airport, but nothing is written in stone. I promise you I have done quite a bit of research - but the USA is so vast and it's quite a task. I read someone's report of their fourteen day fly-drive holiday and they flew to and from Las Vegas and visited the Hoover Dam, The Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, The Colorado River, Rocky Mountain National Park, Custer National Park, Big Horn Mountains, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Bear Lake, Salt Lake City, Zion National Park and back to Las Vegas with many, many other places visited on the way. I was exhausted just reading it!! It's a real shame the time has been cut from fourteen plus days to seven, but I live in hopes that something will happen so that it can be extended - and then I shall need to have all the information at my fingertips.

Thanks very much Howard for putting my feet firmly back on the earth!!

Melanie

Bemused, enough of this this "helpless female" stuff! My friends from Italy "suffer" the same distance confusion.
Seriously, that trip you reported about is hardly the ideal for you to follow! To cover that much territory in 14 days means more time driving than seeing!
Since Las Veagas and the Grand Canyon are on the must-see list, you might want to consider flying into Phoenix and leaving from Las Vegas. Inbetween, you could build in stops at the Grand Canyon and Zion and/or Bryce National Parks.
Now, that's something manageable.

Thankyou Howard - sorry I took so long to reply.

The field is narrowing and I'm just about to look up information on Zion and Bryce Canyon. Thankyou for that. Also, you are right, it would be better to fly to Pheonix and return from Las Vegas, if they can fight their way through the crowds!

One more question. Well two, actually. I have been told today that Sedona is a must and Monument Valley is spectacular. Well, as far as I can see, everything is spectacular so how does a gal pick and choose!!!

Thanks for your time Howard.

Melanie (I'm not blonde - honest!)

I'm not sure what you mean by "the crowds". Las Vegas airport is just an airport. It's among the busy ones, but it's not anything traumatic or impossible. I'm sure it's no worse than Heathrow.

As to how to decide - accept that they cannot see it all this trip, and that there can possibly be future trips. Also, I understand that this is supposed to be a surprise, but maybe it's best to reveal the surprise now. You're having trouble deciding. What if you decide wrong? Maybe they should be in on the decision making since they're the only ones going on the trip.

Hi and thankyou. One of them is in on the trip, but for some reason I am always the one who gathers information and then presents it to others. Had I had the time, this would already have been done without asking for help. I just came across this site and was sure someone would be able to help me. And they have.

I like to have a positive outlook and find that the more information I have, the easier it all comes together - whether I have six months or two weeks to organise events, they always come together in the best way possible with a little help from old and new friends.

Melanie

You said your DH doesn't prefers animals to people, then I would pick Monument Valley over Sedona, but keep in mind that Monument Valley is off the beaten path.

With 7 days, I highly recommend flying in and out of Las Vegas and doing a 825 mile circle. Grand Canyon 2 nights, Lake Powell 1 night if they do the float trip on the Colorado River (which I highly recommend), 1 night in Bryce, 2 nights in Zion and 1 night in Las Vegas.

Here are some great websites:

http://www.so-utah.com/

http://www.americansouthwest.net/uta...onal_park.html

Here is a link to my pictures of a similar trip: (check out the 2003 Vacation Pictures)

http://www.utahtea.lithium.com/pages...ation.list.htm

Utahtea

You are fortunate for such good responses to a rather USELESS title for your thread.

"Help!"

If you'd used a more descriptive title maybe you'd have received many more suggestions from people who could have helped, but skipped over the vague title.

RB--
This poster explained she is new to this site and I'm guessing that she didn't realize the traffic that travel talk gets. IMO, you're being a little harsh: you, like me, were curious enough to open it.

Melanie--I'm hoping by topping your email others with info can help you. Utahtea's timeline was a good one. See if you can purchase open-jaw tickets so they can fly into Phoenix and out of Las Vegas or vise versa. Good luck! I'd love to have someone plan a surprise trip for me!

Utahtea thank you so much - this is a great help. I will check everything out and I'm sure this trip will be fully organised soon. I hope.

Thankyou once again, you're a gem.

Melanie

Dear travelerxATyahoo

Perhaps your day wasn't going too well when you posted your message to me. I hope today, tomorrow and every other day is better for you. Thankyou for your response.

Melanie

Dear One Wandering Jew (love that name, it made me smile!)

Thankyou for your advice, I have it on my 'to do' list now. And thankyou so much for your good wishes too.

Melanie

Well, but if he has always wanted to see the Grand Canyon, why not stick with that as a priority?

It would be a little tight squeeze in a week, but he could fly in and out of Las Vegas, and drive to the canyon round trip. 3 nights in vegas, 3 nights at the south rim (or north rim, pick one), and 1 night to play with. We did a 12 day trip that also included Vegas, Red Rocks, Bryce, Zion, and Flagstaff, and it was fine.

The Vegas airport is not unusually bad -- I don't know any reason to avoid it, and they usually have great airfares.

Bemused and OneWanderingJew

My day is just fine, thank you - and I hope yours is too.

My comment was a sincere suggestion. Yes, some people opened this thread, but how many skipped right over it.

Bemused: You probably clicked on various subjects in the drop down window that appears when you "Start a new Topic" ... but that only is for indexing the threads. Your post just goes into one big "United States" message area, and really- a simple subject as "Help" does not serve you well, and is somewhat a waste of time for those of us who enjoy helping others, but cannot offer any advice for your particular query.

Have a great weekend. I'm sorry if my suggestion seemed too harsh.

Hi.

It sounds like flying into Vegas and driving from there to the Grand Canyon with various other stops in a loop will do want you want.
Phoenix to Las Vegas via the Grand Canyon is a solid day's drive with the Grand Canyon at the half way point. The straight run from Las Vegas to Phoenix will cut a few hours off, but is still a half day.
The Las Vegas airport isn't any worse than others I have been to or thru. Compared to BWI (Baltimore-Washington International), it is a pleasure. It can take a while for your luggage to get to the carousel, but not enough time to make it worth driving from Phoenix ;-)
Did you choose Phoenix for any reason other than to avoid the airport in Vegas?
During that time of year, a trip from Las Vegas to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with stops in Zion and Bryce should be quite nice.
If they ‘prefer animals to people’, how high a priority is Vegas compared to the natural wonders?

Take Care,
Mark

Good evening everyone (at least it's evening here) and thankyou for your input. A few responses below...

My husband is the one who prefers animals (and birds) to people - my son wants to visit Las Vegas and I dare say my husband will enjoy it as well. It has to be an experience not to miss (and variety is the spice of life!) I guess I chose Phoenix because it is closer to the Grand Canyon than Las Vegas - I also love the name. The Phoenix rising from the ashes!! Several people have told me that it's really busy at Las Vegas airport at that time of the year and it takes a long time to get through customs, wait for the baggage and eventually leave. After a four hour journey to Heathrow, a two hour wait and a flight of ten to twelve hours (depending on airline and route) I didn't think waiting around at Las Vegas would be a good idea. I was actually thinking of my husband and decided it may be a good idea to stay not too far from the airport, hoping for a little peace to recharge his batteries. However, I am now looking at them returning from Las Vegas as my son said he'd rather go there at the end of the holiday instead of the beginning. Then again, I understand there is a helicopter flight which flies right into the canyon (on the west rim) and it can only be taken from Las Vegas.

It may not seem that way, but the mists are clearing and I am getting a much better picture, thanks to you lovely people. As it is Easter, my husband is home and I am not able to do attend to all my skulduggery! By next Tuesday, though, I shall know if the time can at least be extended to ten days and then I shall be madly booking flights and hotels.

I really do appreciate all the help I've received. Thankyou everyone - I'll be back! (Now stop groaning!!)

Hope you are all having a good day!

Melanie

I would fly into Vegas, then drive to Zion National Park (Vegas rooms are $$$$ on Fri and Sat). Then 2 nights near Zion, drive along the north rim of the Grand Canyon to Lake Powell and the South Rim, one night near south rim plus the following day... take advantage of cool evening breezes for the drive back to Las Vegas. Sunday is the only day that Las Vegas airport can be painful.