Seems to be a popular time for needing help with 60th birthday gifts. Here is my story:

My mom turns 60 in February. My parents are in the middle of the divorce so either it would be a solo trip (which she would like) or let her choose a guest.

She has always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. We have tried to pull out more details from her but that has proven to be difficult.

We (the 4 kids) would like to surprise my mom with a trip but I'm not sure how to do it. Does it make sense to book her with a tour company? If not, do you have suggestions for companies that would let us purchase a vacation package? Sorry for the vagueness but any advice is appreciated.

Would any of the kids be able to go with her? I think that she would like that more? In any case, there are MANY tour trip places that you could book. Just do a google search on Grand Canyon trips - some are specific to women only too. I believe alot are based out of Las Vegas.

One question - are you sure she would want to go to the canyon in February??? Its too cold! Are you talking about perhaps a gift certificate for the trip? You could give her some kind of card that says the gift is for the Grand Canyon then you could get more details from her. The El Tovar is a beautiful hotel right on the rim so maybe you could book a room there as an example and there are companies that go out of Vegas and Flagstaff. Just google Grand Canyon tours and see what comes up. I know there are lots of them. I have heard (never done it that the train trip from Williams is not so great) Its a start but check out the El Tovar. Good luck with what you are trying to do. I know she will be pleased.

Thanks for the replies. One of the kids could go but who to choose????

I did not mean to imply we would send her in February. We would look more towards June as she is also a teacher.

I have looked at several sites including information on El Tovar and that looks great. I think maybe I should just call them and see what ideas they have but I'm happy to accept more advice from Fodorites.

The most difficult part of planning this trip is probably going to be getting a reservation at El Tovar in June. Right now, they show rooms available on the 22nd, 23rd and 29th. They typically have cancellations though, so if you're persistent you would probably get something.

Here's what I would do: book a room at El Tovar for 1-2 nights now. On her birthday, present her with the reservation and an explanation that you want to send her their, but need more info and help from her to plan the best trip. She may very well want to go to the Grand Canyon just to see it for a day or two, and then go somewhere else like Sedona, etc.

I would not book a tour company or package without getting a better idea of what she wants to do. You have plenty of time to get a flight, rental car or make tour arrangements but let her make that decision. I would do enough research to at least present her with various options and timeframes on her birthday - I'm just thinking that your comment about her liking a solo trip means she might absolutely hate a packaged tour with a bunch of people. Or she might love it, but that should be her choice.

I know that's a vague answer, but maybe once she knows you're sending her there and paying for it, she'll really start looking into it and coming up some ideas/details to help you out.