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Grand Canyon

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kartking

kartking

Low-Roller
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
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218
Location
Southwestern Ontario,Canada
Trips to Las Vegas
14
looking to do a day trip to the grand canyon
which is better...south rim or west rim
would like to do the skywalk as well if its not to expensive
which is a good tour operator to go with
looking for a bus tour as my gf doesnt like helicopters
 
West Rim is closer but I prefer the South Rim for the views. It's a long day on the bus though.

You could rent a car, drive yourself and stay the night out there.
 
I did the Skywalk in 2014. It is a great view, but it is expensive (I don't know the exact prices). They charge for going to the west rim and then they charge you extra for the Skywalk.
 
It always comes down to how you value your time, money and experiences, and your capabilities.

Is the West Rim notable? Yes, compared to what most folks have back home it's probably amazing. But it's not the South Rim. Tour? Let's be honest, most travelers are happy with a kick-the-tires experience -- arrive, peer over the edge, snap some shots, hit the gift shop, peer over the edge a few more times, check out the historic/interpretive offerings, depart. That can be accomplished on a day trip.

Now if you're not averse to driving, if you're cool with missing a night (or two) in Vegas, then overnighting opens up more options, the most important of which is that you're on your own schedule, not that of a tour company and the 45 other folks on the tour with you, and you can linger or move along as you please, experience as you please.

My personal opinion: If a person gets one shot in his/her life, and that one shot is time in Vegas or time at the Grand Canyon (Zion, Bryce, wherever), the neon loses. Thankfully Vegas and the spectacular desert southwest can be combined.
 
Rent a car, stay overnight and enjoy watching a sunset at Hopi point on the South Rim.
 

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Last time out there we took the in-laws and did the south rim tour. The shuttle busses pick you up at your hotel(s), then drive you over to the transit center. The transit center is where you'll hop your specific bus for the onward trek to the Hoover Dam (brief stop, stretch your legs, shoot some pictures). Hop on the bus, roll along until breakfast and then lunch*, then more driving to the canyon. I'm not sure what the total time there is, but it's long enough to enjoy the vista, take some photos, etc. It's not enough time to do any hiking but it's sufficient. Then it's back on the bus...until dinner....then more driving. Back in Vegas, we split busses and were dropped off at the hotel. It's a full day...from around 06:00 until close to 21:00~22:00. Granted, it's a lot of time ridin', but again - this was my only shot at seeing the Grand Canyon. Well worth it.


* lunch is included with the tour, you spring for breakfast & dinner.
 

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We just did the Grand Canyon Tour Company south rim tour last Friday. It is a long day 6 am pickup and got back around 9 pm. They didn't stop at Hoover Dam as the driver said they stopped doing that as it made the day too long. Although he did a slow drive by on the way back. I just swapped my normal 3 hours of sleep from about 4-7 am to sleeping on the bus. Stayed up the night before until we left at 6. Slept on the bus until lunch and then another hour and half to Grand Canyon. Slept on the bus again on the way back until dinner. Then enjoyed Vegas all night. If you decide to do this they drop you off at the first view point where you have a little over an hour and then pick you up and take you to the other viewpoints where the visitor center is and you have I believe a little over an hour. if you are able (we were the only ones to do it in our group) you can walk between the points. I believe it is about 2.5 mi. We had about 10-15 minutes on each end and then the walk in between the two points with lots of stops for pictures in between. (and walking out literally to the edge if you wish).

I would second renting a car and staying out there for a day but our timing didn't allow for that.
 

South Rim all the way. Spend the night, or two nights.

If you can afford it, stay at the El Tovar Hotel.

https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/upload/grca_pano.pdf

I really enjoyed the eastern side views of the south rim; Yaki Point, Moran Point and Lipan Point.

That Indian Ruin Museum was small but interesting. Tells how long humans had been on the edge of the canyon.

The north rim is higher than the south rim and seems to be colder.
 
Just wondering, could you even get near, driving yourself?
I mean, been looking on Google for roads to get close, but there don't seem to be any....
 
We did the south rim air/ground tour from this company...
https://www.canyontours.com/grand-canyon-south-rim-deluxe-air-ground-tour/
It is more cost but you are not on a bus for hours and you spend 3 hours at the canyon with a boxed lunch that is actually tasty.
You will actually fly over the glass bridge rim site in route to the south rim. I highly recommend this canyon tour.
 
We went with the grand canyon tour company back in April to the south rim. Excellent tour. Got picked up at our hotel at 530 am then went to a dispatch center where we got on another bus. Bus driver was great. Stopped a couple times on the way and once on the way back. Got back around 9 pm.
 
We did not want the all day ride or drive. We did a helo trip and it was awesome. Half day and awesome views. Lunch half way down in the Grand Canyon.
 
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