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grand canyon... if you had the time??

Discussion in 'Misc. Vegas Chat' started by sweetcanadian, Sep 30, 2013.

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  1. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    I always second guess myself on decisions when going to a new place. Having never been anywhere near vegas before is it worth the drive to go to the grand canyon?? In april??

    We are in vegas for enough days to go somewhere else.

    Tentative itinerary is:

    Get to LV about 5pm on a thursday, will book a hotel through myvegas, not sure what. Have breakfast and go to the pool, c/o 11-12 and then go on to the hoover dam. Do a tour there and drive on to williams or flagstaff, get there about 8ish i would guess.

    2nd day have breakfast, go for a short swim, shower then onto the GC. I would rather be there as the sun sets so i was thinking maybe get there around 1-2ish, leave when it gets dark and drive back to the hotel.

    3rd day breaky, pool, then onto vegas, checking in around 3, then go drop the car off at the airport and pick up friend that is meeting us there and we will share a cab back, depending on the deal though i might go with the car company at the hotel and drop it off there, have to also see when friends flight gets in, may tell her to take the bus.

    We are then in vegas from the sunday-friday. I would think that would leave plenty of time to do most of the major stuff.

    With that much time does that make the grand canyon worth it?? We probably will never get back, just too many places to see. So it would be this time only.

    I know there are other posts, i have searched them but they aren't quite the same as what i am looking for. I know in some ways it is worth it, the drive is long though, but i guess broken up a bit.
     
  2. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    Oh, and if you think that is too long of a drive but want to get out of vegas for 2 days where would you go??
     
  3. bardolator

    bardolator Lifelong Low Roller

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    If you're iffy about driving that far, you could try Zion. It's beautiful, and the town is sort of fun. Wherever you decide to visit, if it's overnight the best thing to do dollarwise might be to spend one or two weekend nights there if you can swing it, since weekends in Vegas are a lot more expensive than weeknights. That's what we did.

    Can't say what Zion would be like in April. We visited in summer.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2013
  4. mdee

    mdee VIP Whale

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    We visited the Grand Canyon over the summer. Sounds like you will be doing a lot of back and forth driving.
    It could be avoided by flying into say Phoenix first and then driving to Vegas making your stops along the way.
    If you haven't done so already please read my award winning trip report! :rolleyes2:

    https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95043
     
  5. Nittany1

    Nittany1 VIP Whale

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    I have been to Las Vegas many, many times and have never been to the canyon.
    In December we finally booked a sunset helicopter flight that touches down there.
    My sister did a bus trip last year and she really enjoyed the canyon but thought it was a real long day.
     
  6. shifter

    shifter Degenerate Gambler

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    I've always wanted to head out there, but just never made the time. but I just booked a heli tour for my next trip. 5 hours hotel to hotel and get to see everything, can't beat that.
     
  7. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    My husband drives truck locally so he drives every day, driving does not bother him. I was just wondering if it is worth it compared to the drive.

    We are going on the weekend so that we are saving the rate.

    I would love to do a heli tour, 5 hours isn't bad at all, but i can not afford it. You are in a diff league than i am shifter lol.

    I made a bit of a change in plans, will leave vegas in the morning, go to the canyon, only stopping to eat quickly along the way and bathroom. We will then go to flagstaff and stay at the woodlands (changing to a hilton). Got a good deal for $79 and even on their website it says 129, can not beat that.

    Will pop over to sedona and check things out there the 2nd day and then stop at hoover dam on the way back to vegas.

    It seems we will get more rest time this way and can take it a bit easy. I am not worried on making it to the canyon too early. 3pm is good for me.
     
  8. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    will be reading your report. we are already booked on airmiles, have to fly out of where we fly in.
     
  9. lickyy

    lickyy Tourist

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    Hi Sweetcanadian!

    My gf and I were actually just back from our 9/26-9/30 trip! We stayed for 4 nights and managed to fit a GC South rim road trip in there.. We rented a car from the airport and drove out on saturday. If a 4-hour drive does not bother you/your husband, you should definitely drive out there. The drive is a little boring i would say, with not too much to see on the way, but once your there you won't regret it!! Its much better than the skywalk where they won't let u take any pictures.

    If we had the extra cash, we would have flown there in a helicopter but considering we had a nice convertible for the weekend, we decided to drive out with the top down (part of the way) :)

    Left the hotel at 8am, arrived at 1pm, walked the 'trail of time' and started heading back around 5:30pm. Back to the strip at 10:30. We took a couple of small breaks in between each way, but yes it will be a tiring day!

    Hope this helps.

    PS - I think we are in a similar profile where we won't be visiting vegas again anytime soon, flights from canada are very expensive lol so we wanted to hit up as many landmarks as possible.
     
  10. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    Thanks lickky, i remember you asking about it and mentioning a convertible before you left T/O. Did you do a trip report?? We are in central Canada now but moving to the west side in a couple years which makes it more doable but still too many places to visit. Husband wants a beach next which at this rate won't be till our 10 year anniversary lol.

    We will be staying in flagstaff after the GC and i think our timeline will be similar to yours in terms of the time we spend there. We are used to farmland, ND didn't even have trees nor cows (at least flat MB has both lol) when we drove to MN so i imagine it can't be worse than that lol.
     
  11. Jerseyguy

    Jerseyguy MIA

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    The GC and The Panama Canal were my two big "bucket list" items

    Places that I could reasonably go to see unlike The Great Wall and The Taj Mahal. I would definitely go.
     
  12. kel3420

    kel3420 VIP Whale

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    I would recommend going. I think everyone should see it once in their life. Have you thought of taking the Grand Canyon RAilway from Williams? THAT was an awesome trip. They recreate a train holdup by guys on horseback.

    http://www.thetrain.com/

    We were there in late March, during our Spring Break and there was still snow on the ground at the canyon, so check the weather before you go and dress accordingly. Now, with all that said, my family was truly awed by the size and grandeur. Me, not so much, I just thought it was a pretty hole in the ground. Haha. It didn't help, that I was having to keep a tight grip on my five year old since there are very few guard rails. :eek:

    Have fun planning!
     
  13. lickyy

    lickyy Tourist

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    Haha no.. I am not sure how to write one. We didn't party nor gamble much, just mainly sightseeing and eating around lol so not too much to write about anyways. :eek:

    Just beware the climate is very dry there, i've never had to put on so much hand cream & lotion... :faint:
     
  14. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    I live in a cold climate 6 months out of the year and our winter stuff will have not yet be put away so i will be bringing warm stuff too lol. I would LOVE to take the train but the bottom tier is sold out when we are there and paying another 50pp is too much for me. I really, really want to do this but can't justify the cost. Thankfully no kids with us (mine is 15 anyways) so we wont have to worry about that.

    Ya taj mahal etc is a tad out of reach lol. I got the point though, thanks. Why not right??? Worst that could happen is it wouldn't be our thing but i am sure that is not the case.

    Lol lickky you just do it under trip reports. You may think it is nothing but there could be something you saw or did that another person was wondering about. I have gotten some pretty useful info from trip reports as have many others.
     
  15. mdee

    mdee VIP Whale

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    You can't snap picts on the SkyWalk itself but that doesn't stop you from snapping pictures everywhere else.
    Personally I felt that the SkyWalk area offered a more dramatic view from the 2 different locations I visited.
    The South Rim National Park has trails, bushes and railings blocking your view. I felt the view wasn't as nice.
    At SkyWalk you are free to walk out onto the rocks, you can sit on the edge and take it all in. But watch your step!
     

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  16. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    Nice pics!!
     
  17. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    The South Rim really isn't a kick-the-tires experience. Just getting a bit of the ways down one of the trails or away along the rim pays dividends. And it's a better rim experience during shoulder or slow season because it can be a bit Disneyesque there; we often "love" our parks to death. That's why I always direct those with time to the North Rim. That's definitely not a Vegas day trip!
     
  18. Zera

    Zera Tourist

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  19. sweetcanadian

    sweetcanadian High-Roller

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    i have thought of north rim but it is closed in the winter so not sure when it opens for spring.
     
  20. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    I forgot to add what I usually add in such situations:

    Having said all that, no matter how one "sees" the canyon, or for how long, a glimpse is better than going through life without one.
     
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