Hi everyone,

I have to eliminate 2 places from my itinerary from the following : Sedona,Grand Canyon (south rim) Bryce Canyon, Zion, Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, or Las Vegas. Which 2 should I eliminate? Which are the most important?

I have never been to any of these places, but will be going in November with husband, we are late 30's early 40's from New Jersey.

Thanks in advance
Valerie

It kind of depends on where you are flying into. But it's an easy answer from me - definitely eliminate Las Vegas, Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire. That will give you more time to see the incredible beauty of Zion, Bryce, etc. Bryce is going to be chilly while you are there in Nov so be prepared with warm clothes. There will probably be snow on the ground which will be gorgeous but can make hiking tricky. If you are flying into LV (like we always do) just grab a rental vehicle and head out immediately. We drive straight to Springdale (Zion) only 3 hrs away.

We will be flying into Phoenix and thought we would fly out of Las Vegas. We were going to rent a car and drive up from Phoenix through GC, Bryce, Zion, then drive to Vegas and fly home, BUT we only have 5 full days. Any suggestions?
Thanks again, Val

Before you go any further, check on cost of one-way car rental at that time of year and airfare flying into and out of different cities - that may influence your decision.

We did a very similar thing in 8 days - landing in Phoenix, flying out of Vegas. With Dollar rental, there wasn't that much of a penalty to return the car in Vegas, and it was well worth it. This is a lot of driving for 5 days, especially from Grand Canyon to Bryce. You might consider 1 night in Sedona, one at the GC, one in Bryce, one or two in Zion, one in Vegas. This might be exhausting, but it could be done. Although I much prefer the outdoors to gambling casinos, our 2 days in Vegas was a nice change of pace from a week of desert and rocks (even though we loved all the places we went!)

Personally speaking, I wouldn't waste any time in Las Vegas at all but that's because I've been there several times. If you've never been, it's worth at least one overnight to experience what the strip's all about. As far as eliminating anything else, I think you would be far better to spend your 5 days in Utah and save Sedona, Valley of Fire and the Hoover Dam for another time.

If it were me, (and believe me, I'm the queen of trying to squeeze every minute out of every day in order to see as much as possible), I'd fly into Las Vegas, drive straight to the South Rim, then on to Zion, then Bryce and then back to Las Vegas. There's just not, IMHO, enough time to see anything else. And even this itinerary is pushing it.

Thanks for the quick replies, and to answer your questions on driving and money, they are both not an issue. Driving even 10 hours in a day is not a problem nor do we care about extra fees for auto/airports/hotels.

Main concern is time, Thanks again

We visited the area last year. Flew into Phoenix and out of Las Vegas. Hertz does not charge a drop off fee for one way rentals there. We did rent our car offsite however--Phoenix seems to have lots of taxes on their airport rentals.

We planned to do Sedona/Grand Canyon/Las Vegas. All great places to visit especially if you hike.

We will return for a Las Vegas/Zion/Bryce trip.

If you just picked one place to visit, I would pick the Grand Canyon. If you stay 2 nts, you can do some hiking and see the sunrise and sunset.

Las Vegas is fun and different from your other places, especially if you have never visited. Make reservations to see a Cirque du Soleil show---I think you can book seats 3 months in advance---check their website. We loved "O".

I would drop Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, siteseeing in Las Vegas and just drive thru Sedona..maybe have lunch.

As for driving distances I have included Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion. Those are the must sees and limiting your driving will save time for seeing the parks.

Starting in Phoenix and ending in Las Vegas is going to be your shortest route at 770 miles and Sedona is only a few miles out of your way.

Las Vegas to Las Vegas round trip is 810 miles without Sedona and 940 miles if you drive down to Sedona. Phoenix to Phoenix is 1000 miles.

I would drive by Oak Creek and Sedona on your way to the Grand Canyon for day one. Spend 1 - 2 nights at the Grand Canyon. One night at Bryce and 1- 2 nights in Zion. Zion is only 3 hours drive to Las Vegas so maybe you could spend the morning in Zion and drive to Las Vegas to get a late evening flight home.

Utahtea

Within the limitations you specify, my choice would be Las Vegas, Zion, Bryce, and the north rim of Grand Canyon. The Valley of Fire and Hoover Dam can be visited in a half-day while in Las Vegas.

happytrailstoyou,

The North Rim will be closed in November when ValerieCPA is going.

Utahtea

But if you drive 10 hours per day, what can you see except the road? At that time of year that is about all the daylight there is, and I would not want to drive some of those roads after dark.

As usual, I'm with Utahtea on the plan but wish you had more time. If you are not interested in doing much hiking/horseback riding, etc. (which are terrific ways to see these parks), I think you can do it. Here's my suggestion:

Day 1: Fly out of NJ in late afternoon, get to LV late and stay overnight
Day 2: you'll be on East Coast time...so get up early and drive 4 to 5 hours GC (could make a quick stop at Hoover Dam). Spend afternoon on rim and loop out to Hermits Rest. Catch sunset.
Day 3: drive out eastern entrance to GC, stopping at a few places, got to Bryce (bet this is a 5 hour drive with no stops). Overnight at Bryce.
Day 4: spend bulk of day at Bryce, leave in midafternoon to Zion (1 1/2 hours)
Day 5: Spend day touring Zion
Day 6: Leave Zion early for 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive to LV airport. Catch afternoon flight home.

I realize this is 6 days not 5 but the first day is a late afternoon flight. If you can add a day, you might like to spend another night in LV to get acclimated to time zone and rested. You'll be covering lots of ground.

Do your darndest to get accommodations in the parks to make the most of your itinerary.

Have fun--it is spectacular out there!

I think Utahtea's plan is about perfect too. I would have dropped what everyone else did, Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam and LV, but wasn't thinking just a drive through of Sedona, but really that is all you need, especially with your time frame. You will see the beauty, but you won't be able to hike or shop (no great loss with the shopping). The beauty is awesome though and I wouldn't want to miss that. Drive out through Oak Creek to reach the GC via Flag.

Your other question...which are the most important, I'd say Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion and I'm not even sure which order I'd put them in. Each is so different from the other and each so beautiful. If LV is not calling to you, and it doesn't sound as if it is, I wouldn't bother with it, but that's just me. I didn't think I'd like it before we got there and that was confirmed once we did. It's convenient to fly into or out of for Utah hiking though and we've done that 3 times now.

I also agree with the poster who urged you to stay within the parks if at all possible. Park housing is very basic, nothing luxurious, but it's the ambiance and the experience of being IN the park and seeing it in all lights. Happily too, it is extremely reasonable although that wasn't a consideration in where we stayed. In the Grand Canyon, see if you can get into Bright Angel cabins. Zion has cabins as well that look really neat...we've stayed in the lodge though and loved being in the park at night and waking up to that beauty in the morning. We stayed outside the park our first trip to Zion and after staying in, would never stay out again. It is gorgeous at night under the moon! Depending on when in November you are going, park lodging within Bryce may be closed. We've been there at Thanksgiving and it's closed at that time, but Zion is still open. We've made probably 4 or 5 trips over Thanksgiving week...sometimes just Sedona and the GC, sometimes just Zion and Bryce, and the last time, last Thanksgiving, Zion and Lake Powell. All are cold that time of year...or delightfully crisp if you are hikers. We are from FL and it didn't bother us. We had no snow at Bryce, there was snow one day on the upper elevations of Zion (in two trips), and a little snow on the rim of the GC a couple of trips, but none once you've hiked about 20-30 minutes down.

Sounds like a wonderful trip--you are in for an awesome experience!

Hi everyone

I've read all the comments with interest. I have an itinerary dilemma which brought me to this site. Am travelling from Ireland to LA at the end of this month for 15 nights. My route by car will take me from LA to Palm Springs, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon, probably Page, then Zion or St George, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Ridgecrest, Oakhurst/Yosemite, San Francisco, Monterey, Big Sur, LA. I'm exhausted already! Stops are one night only except for two nights each at LA, LV and SF. I'm wondering whether Flagstaff to Grand Canyon to Page is viable in one day. Also, do I need an overnight between Page and LV. My feeling is that a stop at Zion or St George will be necessary for my sanity. Any advice?

Ditch Sedona. Tourist traps, pretentious "spritual types," and scnery surpassed many places in the world

I agree with Sharondi. Eliminate L/Vegas,Valley of fire and Hoover dam. All the others are relatively close together and dont forget to hike in Bryce canyon. It's wonderful>. Paul

Irishman, I can't imagine trying to do all those stops in 15 days. You will be doing a tremendous amount of driving and may be too exhausted to enjoy what you are seeing. Driving from Page to LV definitely warrents an overnight in Zion. I wouldn't worry about missing St. George unless you are house hunting for a retirement home. Flagstaff to GC to Page is probably doable in one day if you just want to glance at the canyon in passing. Sights such as the Grand Canyon, Zion, Yosemite, etc are so amazing they deserve more than a quick pass thru.

In my opinion, Tburke99 is way off base. Although the actual town of Sedona really IS nothing but a bunch of shops, the surrounding area is among the most beautiful in this country. IMO, the Sedona / Oak Creek Canyon area is a "must see". You should do MUCH more than just drive through Sedona. You could take a jeep tour, rent bikes and go on a tour, or just hike around, if you are into that, and enjoy the beauty.

Like most of the others, I would forget Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. In fact, I don't think they even let you stop on or near Hoover Dam any more since 9/11. But you can drive over it on the way to Las Vegas. You don't say what time you fly out of Vegas, but I would suspect it will be rather early morning. If so, just get into Vegas the previous evening, take a quick trip up the strip, and you will have seen most of what's there.

Utahtea is on target again. got to second the suggestion.