Okay --never been to GC before so have no idea as to logistics, layout etc. Have one night (all I could get) at Bright Angel Lodge. We have ruled out a mule ride (I think it would kill me??) Interested in bus tour as we won't be able to drive around at time of year we are going.(Early April) We have the time to spend a couple of days there. I was thinking staying outside one night and taking the long bus tour--then when we get to stay in the GC just concentrating on our view, sunrise and set. So if you were me which bus tour would you recommend (if at all)and any other suggestions for how best to use our time to thoroughly enjoy our first visit to GC> Thanks in advance for your input. H

Not sure what you mean by bus tour. Park has free shuttle - 2 different loops - one departs right near Bright Angel and has a dozen or so stops at different overlooks. The other is a more business oriented loop - goes to shops, visitors center, etc.

Keep calling and checking website. Since there is no cancellation penalty, many people make reservations and then cancel, even at the last minute.

Gail:
I guess I do mean the free shuttle--just trying to plan my time and need help with visualization. I will keep calling . Thanks for the advice. Would it make sense to stay at two different hotels for the two nights in GC? h

Personally I would hate to move. I would keep trying for another night at Bright Angel OR book the other night at one of the other GC properties. That would be much better than traveling from off site.

There are always cancellations. Keep calling and if for some reason you have not been able to extend your time, try again when you arrive. I changed a 2 day trip to five days by being persistant and this was during the high season - summer.

Great advise guys!! Will be on the horn FREQUENTLY to GC. Now may I ask about opinions about dining options in GC Park itself!! For the one night we have our cabin is on the rim with a fireplace. I thought perhaps seeing the sunset and then a fire(do we buy the firewood there?) with a cooler full of snacks?? Perhaps? or would we be missing a dining experience. Plus if we are lucky enough to get another night?? Eating recs anyone? H

There are 4 places to eat at South Rim of GC. 1) El Tovar dining room - if you do a search here you will get mixed reviews. My opinion is that the atmosphere is better than the food - but just eating staring the the GC in a really old building is worth it. We got to eat during a violent thunderstorm with flickering lights. You could just imagine you had made an exotic trip to Grand Canyon a hundred years ago. 2) Steak House (forget name) a short distance away. We ate one dinner there and it was basic grilled American steaks, chops, salads. No atmosphere, OK food. 3) Coffee shop in Bright Angel Lodge (don't even know if they are open for dinner). Ate breakfast and lunch there - our least favorite choice. Overpriced, poor service. 4) Cafeteria style at (? forget name of lodging) a short walk away from Bright Angel. Your basic cafeteria style place with different stations - pasta, sandwiches, grill, salad. Better than Bright Angel coffee shop, but it is a cafeteria - nice view of the parking lot. A fast choice for lunch or breakfast before day of seeing Grand Canyon.

Here is an idea:

Take a Celiene Dion CD with you to the edge of the canyon and wing it....oh wait, that was a different GC thread!

Yeah! The Celine Dion question was whether you should pay $225 to see Celine Dion in Vegas or drive 5 hours to the dentist to have your wisdom teeth extracted! I believe the consensus here was the wisdom teeth, right?

My SO and I just got back from a trip to the GC, and we stayed outside the park in Tusayan (5-10 minute drive) at the Holiday Inn Express and Arizona Rooms. We were pleasantly surprised by our room since we payed such a cheap price for it and it turned out to be a suite. Great value for the price. ($54.00 per night) Only drawback was that it consists of two buildings separated by a parking lot. The main building has an indoor pool which I was looking forward to, and our building across the street, had a hottub. Which I actually liked better after all. (Chose not to hike it across the parking lot in my bikini in 30 degree weather.)
Back to your question about restaurants in the area, we ate at the Best Western next door for dinner one night at their Coronado Room. Great food, great service, romantic atmosphere, slightly on the pricey side, but well worth it. My Chicken Valentino was divine and so was my SO's Filet Mignon. Have fun! The CG is breathtaking!

Thanks Rachpilaw for your review. I will keep calling each day for another night at Bright Angel but my backup plan will now be the Holiday Inn for $54>!!!!! Does anyone know anything about the Arizona Restaurant inside GC? When I reserved Bright Angel she told me I could now make reservations there one month prior to our stay.

The Arizona Steakhouse is on the rim just below El Tovar, but because you have the paved walkway between the rim and the restaurant, you don't see much unless you're right at the window. The food was expensive and good but not great. We both went with the night's special, a blackened ribeye steak with Southwestern seasoning, for something like $28 each, and it was good but the taste of the seasoning was quite overpowering and neither of us finished it. You'd probably be fine with their regular steaks.

hi,
don't mean to highjack this thread, but we're also going to GC for first time, at the beginning of May.

I haven't made hotel reservations yet--itinerary is still being finalized--but am enchanted by the idea of a $54/night hotel. I was wondering what the drawbacks were, for instance, you you had to wait in some long traffic line to get in the park, etc.?

Also, we're thinking of going to less crowded North Rim. Any advice for places to stay there?

Thanks.

Elr - I'm not sure the North Rim is opened in early May. If you decide to go to the North Rim later in the year, be advised lodging is practically limited to the Grand Canyon Lodge which books up FAST (as in a year in advance fast).

Cats

To elr,

According to the Grand Canyon National Park website, the North Rim will not be open until mid-May.

http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/north-rim/index.htm

Utahtea

Regarding staying outside the Park - although we stayed in the park, on our way out we drove by the many "outside the park" hotels. We all were glad we were able to stay inside - the drive was far longer than we expected, and you miss the entire atmospehere of staying at one of the Rims. While I realize that availability may be an issue at Park lodging, I would rather stay fewer nites at more money than stay outside at less money.

While at GC there are few inside places you can rest, regroup, etc - except obvious restaurants and gift shops. It was nice in the heat and then thunderstorms of the summer to be able to head back to room to change clothing, rest for 15 minutes, have a meeting place. Imagine it would be nice in variable weather of spring as well.

thanks, everyone.
of course, I checked the NPS website for the GC after I posted, and realized that the North Rim doesn't open until mid-May. I do think we'll be too early...next time, I'll check into that stuff first.

I'm going to go over the dates of our stay this evening, and will try to book something tonight. We're not big hikers, just sightseers, so perhaps one night in the park will be enough for us.. .and we could spend the extra day taking our whirlwind AZ tour a bit slower....and staying another night somewhere where I can use Hilton pts.

thanks again, and happy trails, Ellen

elr,

You would be surprised how much time you can spend at the S. Rim without doing much hiking. Want to post your whirlwind AZ trip here so we can tear it apart

Utahtea

I would like to see your whirlwind tour as well. Here's my next question as I am determined if we can to stay two nights in or around GC. I now have one night booked at Angel -a rim cabin with fireplace. If say a room became available at Tovar does that make sense to you guys "in the know" to stay at two different hotels within GC? My planning is going very slowly. Had these plane tickets I got at a charity auction last year I planned to use. Now I find out AirTran doesn't fly to Phoenix?? Hello? I do like planning trips all over the world but for some reason this trip is not going as smoothly as usual or is it this frigid weather that is beating moi down? H

hi Utahtea and Reeder (and everyone else),

ok, here's the whirlwind tour. It's not in the exact order, since this is my husband's trip to map out. We already have our (free) airline tkts, that I don't think can be changed, so arriving and departing are set.

Day 1. April 30: Arrive Tucson around noon: Saguaro NP
some sightseeing in Tucson
2. Painted Desert/Petrified Forest
3. Canyon de Chelley
4. Hopi Reservation
5. Antelope Canyon
6. Monument Valley
7. Grand Canyon
just overnight to depart on May 8 around 11:30 am.

I know that Tucson sort of makes things a bit out of the way, but I'm the one who really just had to see very big cacti!

Any ideas of how to put this together in the most logical fashion would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again!