Short Grand Canyon vacation help please

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amother

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 2:52 pm

Hi. We have 3 days in which to take hubby, myself and kids on vacay. Would love to visit the Grand Canyon! Is there anyone who did this for just three days?
Flying in from tristate area, where should we fly in to?
Where to stay and what would be the best things to do?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.

amother

Ultramarine

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 3:05 pm

Stay in Phoenix or Vegas
Spend 1 day at the Grand Canyon

Eta: thus doesn’t sound like something I would do (I’ve been to both Phoenix and Vegas, as well as the Grand Canyon. But I wouldn’t do either for such a short trip)

doctorima

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 3:08 pm

It can be done, but you'll be in transit a lot of the time. Closest major airports are Phoenix and Las Vegas, each about 4 hours away (each way), so just check which offers better and cheaper flights. The best is to stay at the South Rim, so you can maximize your time there and have an easier time getting sunrise/sunset. Check options at https://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/

ssspectacular

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 3:09 pm

It's a six hour flight. Plus waiting time in airport. Then a 4 hour drive from airport to Grand Canyon. Are you sure you want to do this with kids?

amother

Olive

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 3:17 pm

You only need a few hours at the grand canyon. On the way up from Pheonix sedona is a must see. You can do that the first day and sleep there the first night if you leave ny early morning. second day you can do the grand canyon. You can head back to pheonix at night sleep t and spend the next day in that area there is a lot to do (you can go to a resort and have a pool waterpark) there is and good kosher food not to be missed.

amother

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 3:19 pm

doctorima wrote:

Thank you. Flights to Las Vegas seem to be cheaper. What do you recommend we do to maximize our time. Do you think it’s worth it with the amount of time we gave?

amother

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 3:19 pm

ssspectacular wrote:

It's a six hour flight. Plus waiting time in airport. Then a 4 hour drive from airport to Grand Canyon. Are you sure you want to do this with kids?

I’m trying to figure out if it’s an option.

amother

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 3:23 pm

amother [ Olive ] wrote:

Thank you so much for that. What would you recommend we do in Sedona?

amother

Ultramarine

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 3:24 pm

amother [ Olive ] wrote:

But I’d she’s for 3 days there does 3 days including travel? So 1 day is travel, next day is Grand Canyon, the last day is travel (and hotel check out) there’s hardly time for hotel pool or restaurants

DrMom

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 3:33 pm

The ratio of travel time to activity time is too high, IMO, esp if you are travelling with kids.

Can you extend by 2 more days?

amother

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 5:58 pm

I can’t extend it. The question is, is it doable? Tickets are really expensive so trying to figure out if it’s worth it?
Thank you

amother

Ultramarine

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 6:08 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I can’t extend it. The question is, is it doable? Tickets are really expensive so trying to figure out if it’s worth it?
Thank you

It sounds doable but not enjoyable

amother

Daphne

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 7:55 pm

I went with my husband and kids this past May. It's very cold now in Grand Canyon/Sedona. I researched and learned that the best time to go is either May or September. We went for 5 days and had the best memories. I wouldn't recommend going for just 3 days and especially this time of year

scintilla

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 8:10 pm

I went with a friend several years ago, when I was single - so not sure about the kids aspect, really depends what your kids are like in the car/with nature. We were in Phoenix for a wedding and only had 2 days for sightseeing so we crammed it in, totally was worth it but it was a crazy amount of driving. We left Phoenix early one day (I think 5am) and drove to the Grand Canyon, 4.5 hours I believe, stayed there till sunset and then drove back. It was exhausting but amazing, and the drive itself is gorgeous let alone the canyon itself! Got back to Phoenix late at night. Next day got up also early and drove to Sedona (2 hours I believe) for sunrise, then did a hike with pink jeep tours - they were great and Sedona is breathtaking. We didn't have time to stay too long as it was a Friday (we flew out motzei Shabbos) but we got a great hike in and sunrise was nice, but I've heard sunset is much better.

We got all our food in Phoenix; they have a few places that make kosher food and plenty of regular supermarkets as well. Had no issue in that regard, bought food the day before for the next day when we left early in the morning.

Also, we went early January and it was perfect! Snow on the Grand Canyon was breathtaking, and Phoenix and Sedona were gorgeous weather. The only chisaron was that we couldn't hike down too far because the trails were a bit icy and it made it much more exhausting & time consuming, but we still made it about a mile and if you're coming with kids you probably weren't planning on too much hiking anyhow.

I hope this helps. It was an amazing trip and I can't wait to go back with my family one day, when my kids are a bit older; you DEFINITELY can't do it in 2 days like we did when you have kids, the question is if you can do it in 3. I think renting a place in Flagstaff or Sedona will help make it easier as you won't have to drive back to Phoenix each time, but still consider what would practically work for your family.

amother

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 8:50 pm

Thank you. That was helpful.
I’m listening to everyone

Mandelmaker

Wed, Dec 15 2021, 10:37 pm

If you’re in the area, horseshoe bend in page, Arizona is incredible. It’s a 2.5-3 hour drive from the Grand Canyon village. Antelope canyon is also around there. That requires advanced tickets and they are expensive but def both of these are bucket list items!

doctorima

Thu, Dec 16 2021, 9:41 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I can’t extend it. The question is, is it doable? Tickets are really expensive so trying to figure out if it’s worth it?
Thank you

It's definitely doable in the sense of physically doable. Whether you and your family will have a good time is completely individual. It's totally something I would do, and I've done similar or even more harried itineraries.

As others have said, it will feel a bit rushed, so if you're okay with that and know that going in and decide it's worth it in order to be able to experience the amazing wonder that is the Grand Canyon, then go for it. If you or others in your group need to relax and go slow and won't be able to enjoy it and may also prevent others from enjoying it, then there's your answer.

When I have travel dilemmas like this, I often ask myself if there's a realistic chance of being able to do it in the near future under more optimal conditions. If yes, postpone; if not, grab the potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, enjoy, and then rest up when you get home and enjoy the photo memories forever.

amother

Candycane

Thu, Dec 16 2021, 10:51 am

DH and I took a weeklong trip to Arizona without our kids. We spent maybe half a day at the Grand Canyon. We drove up from Sedona, did some other stuff on the way and got there in the afternoon. We went to all the lookout points and stayed through sunset. It's gorgeous to look at but there isn't much to actually do unless you hike down into the canyon itself or take an expensive helicopter ride over it.

I would definitely not plan a trip with kids just to go see the Grand Canyon. That would be a lot of travel without much reward other than some pretty scenery to look at. Your kids will be completely bored by the second lookout point. There are much more fun things to do in Arizona if that must be your destination, but it would be hard to pack it all in to 3 days.

ValleyMom

Fri, Dec 17 2021, 12:05 am

My kids looked at the Grand Canyon for about five minutes and were done.

Sedona was incredible- so many hikes and Pink Jeep Tours has 8-10 different options I highly recommend. There is NOTHINGKosher in Sedona and less at the Grand Canyon.

It is not worth the shlepping to squeeze it into three days- too much money for not a lot of time.

You cannot hike any section of the trail down into the canyon as it is icy and requires crampons to be attached to your shoes- it is treacherous.

amother

Fri, Dec 17 2021, 12:34 am

Thank you everyone for your answers. I’m leaning towards saving it for a different time. Unless by some miracle we find really cheap tickets.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to answer.

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