I have spent hours reading the posts regarding the travels in this area, stayed up reading til 4am when I finaly got a headache! Some great advice and trip reports. We just decided at the last minute yesterday to add on to our week in Vegas and go out to see the Grand Canyon. Well, once I started reading, I decided I had to add Sedona, Bryce and Zion! I always wanted to go to Sedona and now the parks and scenery are beckoning as well! Makes for a lot of driving, but we LOVE to drive and thats what was missing from our LV trip anyway.

So, here's my question after pouring over all these posts: choices are, depending on flights and fares, fly into PHX and drive up to Sedona, overnight there, on up to GC South Rim, overnight there, possibly Bryce for an overnight as well, OR just to Zion, not going to Bryce at all, overnight there, then on to Vegas. Everyone talks about the sunrise and sunsets being spectacular, and as we are not hikers at all, I figured I should try to overnight in each Park. We are early risers! And we will still be on Eastern time. So lots of 4ams I'm sure! The other option is to do more of a loop. LV to Zion, Zion to Bryce possibly or Zion to GC South Rim, then GC to Sedona, then the drive back to LV from Sedona. So my question is this: does it make any difference at all for the view/drives if you are travelling from one direction to the other? Is one of these a more "preferrable" way to do the loop? It is possible that we dont ever fly into PHX and start out in LV and head to Sedona directly. I am just wondering if the direction we make this tour matters. Any help is appreciated! Thanks.
Sherry

Personally, I say do the "loop" LV / LV, either way is great. I've done it both ways.

Your flights would be much more expensive if paying for one way Phoenix and one way Las Vegas.

Don't leave out BRYCE, even if you just get there for 1/2 day. A great thing to do for non-hikers is the 2-hr horseback (mules actually) ride down into the canyon at Bryce. Great views, lots of interesting talk from the guide. Very easy ride if inexperienced.

Thanks for the reply. So I will base the loop direction on simply the availability of the lodge at GC, which is pretty much dictating my dates at this point. As to flying into PHX and out of LV, the price is the same. Its a multi city fare, almost identical to a round trip in and out of same city. I actually do this quite a bit when I travel. And the drop off charge for the rental car isnt significant for PHX to LV so I was going to possibly do it that way if it was deemed to be "better" views/trip. The drawback to it is more the flight arrival and departures times than anything else. PHX doesnt give me what I really want on the dates I need it.

As to Bryce, well I guess I better add it in for sure then, and yes I did look at the mule ride idea. Maybe we could do that all in one day, but it just seemed so long of a day, GC to Bryce then on to Zion, so if we werent overnighting there I was going to skip it entirely. I'll have to rethink that. Thanks again for the advice.

You could plan to arrive at Bryce area in the evening, stay overnight, do the mule ride the next morning, and be on your way to Zion by noon-ish.

Overnight in Zion, then to Vegas.

(if that works in your time frame)

The mule/horse ride in bryce is great.
we all loved it.
when you start and look over at bryce , you will be amazed.

don't skip it

Somewhere in my notes or in my head that is spinning from all the posts I have read, I am sure I knew what the travel time was between South Rim and Bryce and then on to Zion or just from the South Rim to Zion but I cant seem to find it now. Could you possibly refresh my memory on this? Thanks! And the idea above sounds like a good one. I guess we could leave GC mid morning and find ourselves in Bryce for sunset?