Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report: LV/GC/Lake Powell/Bryce/Zion

We just returned from an 11 day swing through the Southwest and benefited greatly from all of the good advice of the Fodorites on this site. I planned the trip in December '03 for our family of four (daughter age 8 and son age 10), and we all agreed that there was nothing that we would change. It was a FABULOUS trip--and we do quite a bit of travelling. The kids loved it almost as much as the parents and we had no glitches. I am glad that we did the parks in the order that we did--best to see Grand Canyon first, IMHO.

So here's a trip report to help others have an equally fun trip.

Day 1: Travel from Boston to LV. Quick (10 minute) check-in to Flamingo at LV airport. Great service. Picked up SUV at Hertz--spent 10 minutes switching type of car but no real hassle. Made wrong turn coming out of airport but ended up entering the Strip from the South and kids LOVED seeing all the lights. Room at Flamingo needed an update (guess we miss the updated rooms) but was just fine for us. Beds comfortable, bathroom small, but easy to get around hotel.

Day 2: Son and I up early. Go looking for breakfast--he's shocked that grownups are sitting at craps tables with martinis at 6 a.m. Decides the gambling is 'bad for you'. Works for me! Have breakfast at Lindy's--like eating at a diner, food fine, good start to day. Decide to see the sights before going to the pool. Amazed at how much we can get in in just 4 or 5 hours. Helped that heat only made it to mid-90s that day so we are not dying of heat.

Take monorail (nice but ridiculously expensive) to MGM. Walk through MGM, over through Excalibur (kids love the arcade downstairs) through Luxor through Mandalay Bay (HUGE!) to Shark Reef. Spend $16 per person for Shark Reef but think it's worth it. Very well done aquarium. Kids love it. Make long hike back to NYNY. More arcade games. Don't do roller coaster--looks too scary and at $12 it was easy to pass on it. Monorail to The Venetian (which was beautiful) for lunch in St. Mark's Square. Walk back to Flamingo (figure we walked several miles that day) for pool. Hard to find chaises at 2:30 p.m. but we do find 4. Kids LOVE pool with waterslides and waterfalls. Crowd of wedding parties is quite rowdy but no problems. Have dinner at steakhouse in Paris (good food and service--kids too exhausted for any of us to enjoy it) and then up Eiffel Tower (highlight of the trip for our daughter).

All in all, Vegas was better than my husband and I expected and the kids loved it. Good way to start trip. Not too sleazy. Smoky but not too bad and some of the hotels are just fascinating to see.

Day 3: Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon South Rim.

Some confusion over getting our car at the Flamingo but finally leave at 8:30 a.m. Read directions from AAA wrong leaving hotel so do some U-turning but get out of Vegas safely and without my husband and I arguing (good omen for rest of trip!). 45 minutes at most to Hoover Dam. It is HOT. Son is not happy to be there but we do the tour and engineering husband loves it. Son and I, who don't like heights or elevators, are good natured and do the whole tour. It really is interesting but we only stay 1 1/2 hours. Worried about trip to South Rim being long. Turns out better than we thought. Driving time (averaging 8 to 10 miles over speed limit) was 3 1/2 hours. Can't believe how much open space there is in the Southwest (compared to Northeast!). One warning: there isn't much in the way of fast food on this drive. If you're hungry, buy it when you can. And, if you are driving with children, bring snacks in the car. And WATER--can't believe how much water we drank on this trip.

Easy driving. Kids unbelievably good--license plate game and "Who Am I?" help. Arrive at South Rim around 2:30 p.m. and stop at Mather Point. Have tried to lower everyone's expectations saying that they may decide that the GC is just a 'hole in the ground.' Strategy works. All four of us are in awe upon arrival. It is simply magnificent and not-to-be believed. Son is a bit afraid of the height but that subsides after leaving Mather Point. Check out new visitors center for advice on hiking into the canyon. Rangers helpful.

On to El Tovar to check in for Kachina Lodge. Parking a bit remote but we never use car for next 36 hours. Room at Kachina is updated and comfortable. Nice bathroom. Love having a fridge and a coffeemaker. Requested a 2nd floor room (Fodorite suggestion) and was glad we did. Beautiful view of canyon out our window.

Worst dinner of the trip (due to awful, inattentive service) at Bright Angel Lodge. We survive--meant to eat at Arizona Room but didn't realize we were in the wrong place until we ordered!

Day 4: GC Hiking

We grabbed the 6 a.m. Hikers Express Shuttle to South Kaibab trailhead and started hiking down into the canyon at 6:30 a.m. Took plenty of water since there is none on this trail. There are so many warnings at GC about dehydration/lack of electrolytes that we over-prepared with snacks, water and first aid kit. Not a bad idea. Hiked 1100 feet down to Cedar Ridge. Would have gone further but feared children might have trouble coming out. Probably took us about as long to go down as to come up as we took so many pictures on the way down. Out of canyon by 10 a.m. Highly recommend getting down into the Canyon if at all possible. Totally different, humbling perspective. Met several groups of people later who had hiked down and back in one day. Not recommended but they survived. We hope to do the whole hike someday.

Had lunch in the Arizona Room--good food and quick service. Attempted a Rim Hike from Pima Point to Hermits Rest in the afternoon. Treacherous--not great for the two of us with height issues--but a good challenge.

Great dinner at El Tovar that night (made reservations the month before and they were not jammed). Great waiter, Miguel, gave us good food and park visiting advice. Food was better than expected and kids could split a meal.

Day 5: East Rim/Antelope Canyon/Lake Powell

After breakfast at Bright Angel, we departed the GC along the East Rim. Beautiful. Enjoyed our stop at Desert View with the watchtower. Really interesting structure and a great view of the canyon/desert. Very arid landscape from GC to Page. Again, not many services and no fast food (we're not fast food people but it does come in handy when travelling with kids). Stopped to view where the little and big Colorados meet. Amazing. Bought inexpensive native american jewelry along the roadside. Loved the view up over the Antelope Pass. Stopped at the viewpoint--you can see for miles--and bought some things from the native american vendors.

Got to Page around 1 p.m. Quick bite to eat and then got a last minute Antelope Canyon tour. Totally worth it, as others on this site had said. Antelope Canyon is fascinating and beautiful and we had a Navajo guide whose love of and pride for the Canyon was great to see. Very hot and dry getting out to the canyon (about 20 minutes by monster truck) so take water and sunscreen.

Will finish report later...
Decided to drop laundry at a wash and fold laundromat in town. Great service. Done by 7 a.m. the next day.

Checked into Lake Powell Resort. Room was average--decor was boring but well-kept. We all enjoyed the pool and dinner at the Rainbow Room. Not that impressed with Lake Powell (due to low water level) but were glad we stopped here for the night for a break.