caribbean_dreamin

I am kind of behind on making reservations. This trip is for our honeymoon and will go from 11/2 to 11/9. Please let me know what you think of this itinerary. If you feel that I am missing seeing something important, please let me know how you think I should go about fitting it in. It is important to note that our primary interests on this trip are taking great photos and seeing as much as possible of the natural beauty available. Also important to note that we are trying to be economical about this trip as we are saving for a house. Thank you so much for your advice.

Day 1 (Sun.)- Arrive at PHX airport in the afternoon. Drive to Flagstaff. If light and energy levels allow, visit Walnut Canyon, Wupatki monument or Sunset Crater. Stay the night in Flagstaff at Radisson Woodlands or spring for The Inn at 410 B&B, since it's our first night. Opinions?

Day 2 (Mon.) - Leave early in the am, drive to Hualapai Hilltop and hike or ride a mule into the Havasupai Reservation. Hike along the trail and see the waterfalls. Spend the night at the Havasupai Lodge.

Day 3 (Tues.) - Hike or ride a mule back out of Havasu Canyon. Anyone know if it's possible to canoe or kayak out somehow? Head to GC South Rim entrance. Drive around the rim. Stay at the Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn in Tusayan or at Bright Angel or Yavapai Lodge in the park. Comments on where to stay?

Day 4 (Wed.) - Grand Canyon-South Rim. More rim travel, more photos. Hike part way down and back out. Drive to Page, stay the night at Wahweap Lodge.

Day 5 (Thurs.) - Take the Rainbow Bridge boat tour. Visit Antelope Canyon. Spend the night at Wahweap again.

Day 6 (Fri.) - Natural Bridges National Monument. Drive to Sedona in time to see sunset there. Spend the night in Sedona at Sky Ranch Lodge or Sedona Real. Opinions on these two lodging options? Instead of going to Natural Bridges I think we could also go to Canyon de Chelly or Monument Valley. What would be the best use of this day?

Day 7 (Sat.) - Early a.m. hot air balloon ride over Sedona. Jeep tour, horseback riding, and hiking. Stay in whichever hotel we picked for the night before.

Day 8 (Sun.) - Drive back to PHX to catch departure plane. Stop and see Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well if time permits.

Dawlfns

I can't respond directy to your itinerary- but I went to Flagstaff on my honeymoon. It was the first time I had ever seen snow fall...it was absolutely beautiful. Your note brought back some special memories...thank-you Now 32 years later, we are planning a trip to NYC.

cassidy2002

Well, can't comment on first part of itinerary but it sounds lovely! As far as Sedona goes the Sky Ranch Resort is nice, have also heard great things about the Enchantment Resort. Having parents that winter in Sedona, I haven't stayed at either. I would definately recommend seeing Montezuma's Well, really neat! The Castle is OK, but you are far away and don't get the experience you do at the Well. Although, it doesn't take too long to get through, so wouldn't be a waste. I would also recommend taking a trip (renting a car I assume) from Sedona to Jerome. It's a really quaint artsy town literally clinging to a mountain. Beautiful and great shopping! On the way, stop outside Clarkedale and see Tuzigoot Monument (I just love saying the name!!!) really great ruin that you can walk in and around. When in Jerome go to the new hotel (forget the name) used to be a hospital, and has a supposedly great restaurant. Didn't dine there as they had a party coming in, but looked lovely. Or, if you're more into casual, there's a little cafe right on the road you enter town on that has a great deck to look out on. On a clear day you can see the San Francisco's in the distance. Of course, never been in November and don't know if the weather will allow that. In Sedona the Cathedral in the Rock (?) is neat, no matter religion, great photo ops there! Talaqapaque (sp?) in dtwn Sedona is great for wandering, shopping, and picture taking as well. Have a great time and congrats! Make sure you hike Cathedral Rock!! Awesome!

utahtea

Day 5, I don't think you will have time to do both the Rainbow Bridge boat tour and Antelope Canyon at this time of the year. Remember in November you won't have as many daylight hours!

Day 6, You want to drive all the way from Page to Natural Bridges National Monument and then to Sedona in the same day? That's 10 1/2 hours of JUST driving. Are you sure you meant Natural Bridges National Monument? I would recommend Monument Valley Tribal Park instead. That will still be almost 8 hours of driving but Monument Valley is much more scenic than Natural Bridges. You will still have a hard time getting to Sedona for sunset. In November sunrise is almost 7 A.M. and sunset will be about 5:30 P.M. That's only about 10 1/2 hours of daylight.

Utahtea

MaryZ

Regarding Flagstaff: the Radisson Woodlands is a very nice hotel with a good Japanese restaurant called Sakura. (There's also another restaurant on site if you don't like Japanese.)Not really within easy walking distance of downtown, but just a short drive away.
The Inn at 410 is a lovely B&B in the downtown area. Pricier than the Radisson, but with a great breakfast included. And, within walking distance of restaurants and nightlife.
I don't think you can make a bad choice here. May just be a decision about a B&B vs. a hotel.

caribbean_dreamin

Thank you all for your input, keep it coming! Utahtea, I was hoping you'd respond. I've read your other posts and you seem to be quite the expert. I hadn't really mapped out any distances yet. Didn't realize Natural Bridges National Monument was so far. Sounds like we'll skip that one this time. I really wanted to see Arches too, but couldn't figure out a way to fit it in. Maybe next time. What time does the Rainbow Bridge boat tour leave Wahweap and what time does it return? I thought it left around 8 and would return around 2 or 3 which I thought would give us time to go see Antelope Canyon on the same day. I've heard it's best seen around noon when the light is shining directly overhead anyhow, so maybe we'll save that for the next day, then go to Monument Valley and then reach Sedona by bedtime (not going to reach it by sunset, but we'll be able to see sunset there the next day). Sound like a better plan? Do you think we're trying to squeeze too much into one trip? Sorry if I sound inexperienced at this. I am-this is the first vacation I've planned on my own. Thanks for your help everyone.

Uma

If you can splurge a little, recommend
you stay at Enchantment Resort in Sedona. Red rock views are incredible, photo opportunities galore.

mdv9802

For Sedona you should look at staying at L'auberge de Sedona (It can be pricey but you may be able to find a deal since you're going in Nov.)It is a gorgeous resort. It has a hotel on the hill with great views! They also have a lodge at the bottom of the hill. And they have beautiful cabins they lie next to Oak Creek. It's definitely worth the extra money. My husband and I got married there last September! It's a breathtaking place! Here's the website lauberge.com

josi

If you stay in Sedona look at the Graham Adobe Inn. The casitas are private and so romantic!! Nice touches such as warm bread in the breadmaker and homemade cookies at bedtime. Great restaurant in Sedona is the heartline cafe we went 3 times for lunch the courtyard in the rear is a nice spot. Enjoy sedona is awesome!!

bigtyke

you might be able to canoe out of Havasu, but you would be taking several days to do it!

While I enjoyed the time I went to Havasu Falls, that's alot of driving and hiking (or mule riding) - especially on a honeymoon! I would spend more time in the other locations.

Cicerone

For the Grand Caynon, it is so much better to be IN the park. You can see sunset and sunrise and all in between, and don't have to worry about parking and waiting in line at the entrance. As much of the park is off-limits to cars anyway, you are better off in the park to get on the buses. You can also take walks along the canyon rim from the Bright Angel/El Tovar area.

As you are going rather late in the year and not during a school vacation. you should not have any trouble getting reservations at one of the rim hotels. I would recommend one of the canyon suites in the El Tovar; they don't show up on the website, but do call and ask. Rooms at all the lodges are basic (suites are the best) but fine and it is the location you are paying for. The food is very good, esp at El Tovar and the Steak House at the Thunderbird Lodge next door.

woodnj

We just got back from Flagstaff and Sedona. The Radisson Woodlands was disappointing to me. We stayed in the back annex and the rooms were very cramped, walls thin, shabby, carpet old, furniture and decor dated. It was fine for our family for one night but really not worth the price. I would not want to spend my honeymoon night there! (the public areas are nice) Try the bed and breakfast.

caribbean_dreamin

Thanks again everyone for the feedback. Maybe we will stay at the Inn at 410 in Flagstaff. Any other Flagstaff suggestions? Hadn't heard of the Graham Adobe Inn-sounds like I'll have to check it out. I have a brochure from L'Auberge but really don't want to blow large amounts of money on a room we'll just be sleeping in. If we got a great deal I guess we could stay there or Enchantment, but I'm looking for more moderately priced accommodations at this point. Thanks again everyone! Please keep the suggestions coming!

chitowngirl

We have done Sunset Crater and Walnut Canyon. Both are very nice. While staying in Flagstaff, check out Black Barts for dinner. Arizona U students sing for your dinner. It is a lot of fun! I would go back just to do that a again.

GC - we stayed at Bright Angel Lodge. Very rustic and right on the rim. We have stayed there twice. El Tovar was a little more expensive than what we wanted to rest our weary selves, but it is worth the splurge for breakfast. View is fantastic and when we were there, mule deer were grazing on the property. They were fun to watch.

We did not stay at the Wahweap, but checked it out. Very nice. Rainbow Bridge tour was great. The boat tour gives you a great feel for the beauty of Lake Powell. We really enjoyed this!

Sedona is my favorite. We stayed at the Sky Ranch Lodge and really liked it. It is not as fancy as some of the other offerings in Sedona, but it has the best view of any of them (you are up above everything). We enjoyed hiking around Sedona, so we didn't make it to any of the places you are considering. Make sure you drive through Oak Creek Canyon on your way down from Grand Canyon. It is spectacular.

Hope that helps!

MileKing

There's a Hilton Garden Inn in Flagstaff. You might try that.

mitchgx

Re: Inn at 410. My wife and I have stayed there several times and can't recommend it highly enough. The rooms are great, the location is perfect, and the staff is wonderful.

azgrl2

Your itinerary sounds great. Just a note though, book your hotels early. It's snowbird season in Arizona. Hotel rates start to sky rocket. Sedona is a favorite snowbird vacation spot. Happy Honeymoon!

utahtea

caribbean dreamin,

Hi, I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you. I was on vacation the last two weeks...guess where!

Anyways I'm here to let you know that the Rainbow Bridge tour now involves a 3 mile round trip hike because the lake is so low. It doesn't sound like it will be better by November!

http://www.nps.gov/glca/docs/parkissues.pdf

We went down the canyon where Rainbow Bridge is but didn't do the hike because it was to HOT and we didn't have enought time since we played around in other canyon's first.

Antelope Canyon was really neat but it only took an 1 1/2 hour and that included driving times to and from Page. We did the 10:30 tour and there was some good lighting then. Make sure you go on a sunny day!

I'm not sure if you will be able to do both in one day in November.

http://www.lakepowell.com/information/tourSchedule.html

Utahtea

Postal

The half day trip to Rainbow Bridge was a little more than SEVEN HOURS last month.

Barthox

Those last remarks concerning the Rainbow Bridge tour, make me thing again about my schedule in Page/Wahweap next October!

I will have a bit more than half a day at Lake Powel, since I plan to drive to GC in the afternoon (say, leave LP around 3:00 pm).

Is it realy worth doing the 'All day - no lunch' Tour from 8:00am to 3:00pm, then head to GC (and be there between 6:00 and 7:00)? It's basically staying for 5 or 6 hours on a boat, just looking at the scenery, PLUS hike 3 miles (how much time do you have?). Now, I suppose the scenery IS great, and the bridge IS the largest one in the world!

Or would it be better to sleep late (we'll have done Zion and Bryce the two previous days), and go to Antelope Slots around noon? Then leave for the GC, and driving lazily ...

Hum, one more dilemna in this USA trip planning ... ;-)