Southwest Trip Questions

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip to the southwest for next
year. Locations we want to visit - Las Vegas for a day or so, Grand
Canyon and then some areas in Arizona (that's where I need the help).

Questions -

1) I was thinking of flying into Las Vegas and renting a car and then
driving down into Arizona, see the GC, etc. and then flying out of
Phoenix. Will there be a problem dropping off the rental car in Phoenix?
How much extra do the rental companies usually charge for doing this
type return?

2) We'd probably spend two nights and one day seeing Grand Canyon. Where
is best place to stay for this type visit?

3) We've heard about Sedona. What is there and how long should I budget
time-wise?

4) Is Tucson worthing visiting? If so, for how long?

5) What else in Arizona should we see?

Thanks for any and all help.

As far as dropping the car is concerned it depends what you mean by a
"problem". The car hire company will almost certainly charge a one way fee
(at a guess USD100) but other than that there shouldn't be any problems.

If you can get a room at the Grand Canyon do so (See www.nps.gov). If
you've never been to a US National Park then be aware that the rooms inside
the park tend to be simpler than those in commercial motels (nothing wrong
with that, it's just a fact). There are commercial motels about 7/8 miles
south of the rim at Tusyan but, in my opinion, there's no substitute for
staying in the Grand Canyon Village and being able to amble over to the rim
for sunrise, sunset and just another quick peek because it's there!

If I didn't stay in the Village I'd be tempted to stay in Williams and ride
up on the train http://www.thetrain.com/index.cfm

What else to see? Tucson hosts one of the best aircraft bone yards and
museums at Davis Monthan AFB. There's a trolley (tram) runs downtown some
nights (using a 2nd hand Japanese tram!). We enjoyed the botanical garden
(small). Continuing south east you come to Tombstone which is a wonderful
tourist trap but still well worth an hour or two. Beyond that there's the
Chiricahua Mountains (NPS web site again) which are beautiful.

East of the Canyon, past Tuba City, you come to the southern end of Monument
Valley (Cowboy films etc) a little further on you go past 4 corners (only
place in the US where 4 states meet at one point and you can crouch with one
appendage in each state!). Then on into Colorado to Mesa Verde (NPS again)
and Durango (http://www.durangorailway.com/). Turn south after Monument
Valley and you can go down past Canyon de Chelley and the Painted Desert
(both NPS) and on to Phoenix (across country).
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Graham Harrison wrote:

East of the Canyon, past Tuba City, you come to the southern end of Monument
Valley (Cowboy films etc) a little further on you go past 4 corners (only
place in the US where 4 states meet at one point and you can crouch with one
appendage in each state!). Then on into Colorado to Mesa Verde (NPS again)
and Durango (http://www.durangorailway.com/). Turn south after Monument
Valley and you can go down past Canyon de Chelley and the Painted Desert
(both NPS) and on to Phoenix (across country).


You have this a tad mixed up. Four Corners is WAAAAAYYY past Tuba City. And
Monument Valley past Four Corners (in Colorado, IIRC).

You might be thinking of the Painted Desert.

I'd do this drive crossing the Painted Desert, Canyon de Chelley, maybe
Window Rock or Shiprock on the reservation, then Four Corners, Monument Valley,
possibly Mesa Verde, across southern Utah to Bryce, Zion.

For the Original Poster, South from the Canyon, through Flagstaff, about 4 to
6 hours (cannot remember exactly) to Sedona's red rock country. Then only
a couple hours to Phoenix from there.

I also liked Jerome, a town on a very steep hill.

Julie


--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Graham Harrison wrote:

East of the Canyon, past Tuba City, you come to the southern end
of Monument Valley (Cowboy films etc) a little further on you go past 4
corners


From: Juliana L Holm

You have this a tad mixed up. Four Corners is WAAAAAYYY past Tuba City.

Perhaps a scenic 3 hour drive, with only one stoplight the entire way. Not bad
at all.

And Monument Valley past Four Corners (in Colorado, IIRC).

You're the one mixed up, to find Monument Valley drive past Tuba City to the
next town (Kayenta) and turn north for 24 miles, well before you hit Four
Corners. Monument Valley is located on the Arizona - Utah border, a couple
hours drive from Four Corners and the Colorado border.

Bill

WolfpackFan wrote in message ...
I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip to the southwest for next
year. Locations we want to visit - Las Vegas for a day or so, Grand
Canyon and then some areas in Arizona (that's where I need the help).

Questions -

1) I was thinking of flying into Las Vegas and renting a car and then
driving down into Arizona, see the GC, etc. and then flying out of
Phoenix. Will there be a problem dropping off the rental car in Phoenix?
How much extra do the rental companies usually charge for doing this
type return?

Check with the rental agencies. Then decide if the charge is worth
"saving" a day that you would otherwise need to spend driving back to
Las Vegas.

4) Is Tucson worthing visiting? If so, for how long?

Sure, it's worth a visit. How long depends on what you want to see.
It's a pretty good base for visiting a lot of the other sights in
southeastern AZ. It's close enough to Tombstone for a day trip. A
day trip to visit some of the old Spanish missions [Tumacacori and San
Xavier del Bac] would also make sense. Tucson also puts you between
the two segments of Saguaro National Park, and at the base of Sabino
Canyon [Of the two choices, I think Sabino Canyon is more
interesting]. Then there's the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, which
is definitely worth a day.

The University of AZ campus is in Tucson, and on that campus are the
state playhouse, a natural history museum, and a science
center/planetarium.

5) What else in Arizona should we see?

A rather astonishing number of national monuments in addition to the
several national parks. Many of the national monuments are
anthropology-based, and a few are geology-based. In the northeastern
portion of the state is Monument Valley.

TK

Not sure of your time frame, I would suggest Las Vegas to Williams/Grand
Canyon. Williams if you want to take one of the "Train" packages to the
Grand Canyon. In the Canyon the El Tovar is the "Grand" Hotel but needs to
be booked well in advance. This goes for as the others on the rim as well.
From The Grand Canyon I would head back through Flagstaff to Holbrook,
Petrified Forest & Painted Desert, stopping in Winslow on the way. Great
little museum in Winslow.
From Holbrook head up to Monument Valley via 191, and visit Canyon De
Chelly along the way.
From Monument Valley head over to Zion and Bryce via Page AZ. This will
take you by Lake Powell and the Rainbow Bridge. If you want to take the tour
to the Rainbow Bridge you might want to stay in the Page area for the night.
From Zion NP it is about a 3-4hr drive back to Las Vegas, saving you any
surcharges on the car rental.
This can be done in just a week but I would stretch it out a little
longer and spend some time enjoying the sights and people.

Hope this helps
Frank

In article ,
WolfpackFan wrote:

1) I was thinking of flying into Las Vegas and renting a car and then
driving down into Arizona, see the GC, etc. and then flying out of
Phoenix. Will there be a problem dropping off the rental car in Phoenix?

I did precisely this a few years ago, and the one-way rental was
reasonable. We did it the other way, though, so you may want to check
with the car company to make sure that one direction isn't cheaper than
the other.

How much extra do the rental companies usually charge for doing this
type return?

Dunno, but it wasn't much for us. Call 'em and ask.

2) We'd probably spend two nights and one day seeing Grand Canyon. Where
is best place to stay for this type visit?

We made it to the canyon on a day trip from Flagstaff, but overnighting
there probably isn't a bad idea. No recommendations for lodgings, but
staying in the park shouldn't be unreasonable, if you can find a room.

3) We've heard about Sedona. What is there and how long should I budget
time-wise?

The country around Sedona is gorgeous, but the town seemed pretty dull. I
found Flagstaff much more to my liking. It was a good base for
sightseeing visits, and fun to come back to at night for food and drink.

5) What else in Arizona should we see?

I highly recommend the section of old Route 66 that loops north around
Williams and comes back down into Kingman. It's a pleasant change of pace
from the Interstate. Not much to see other than mountains, desert and
two lanes of blacktop, but if you're into that, it's a great trip.

--
---
"I never had to pretend I felt the lyrics. I could always relate to the words."
--Teddy Pendergrass

"Graham Harrison" wrote:
Tombstone which is a wonderful tourist trap but still well worth an
hour or two.

I'd say a few hours but the big thing about Tombstone is that it's on
the way to Tucson's great Desert Museum. Also on the way is a
wonderful mission.

Mesa Verde

I love it! It's fascinating and beautiful!
__________________________________________________ __________
Un San Francisqueño en San Francisco
http://geocities.com/dancefest/ http://geocities.com/iconoc/
ICQ: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/19098103 IClast at SFbay Net

Icono Clast wrote:

"Graham Harrison" wrote:

Tombstone which is a wonderful tourist trap but still well worth an
hour or two.


I'd say a few hours but the big thing about Tombstone is that it's on
the way to Tucson's great Desert Museum. Also on the way is a
wonderful mission.

It's not on the way from anywhere north of Tucson.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
Separate is not equal. The right time to do the right thing
is always now. Those who say "wait" usually mean "never."
--Bonnie Tinker and The Rev. Cecil Prescod

WolfpackFan wrote:

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a trip to the southwest for next
year. Locations we want to visit - Las Vegas for a day or so, Grand
Canyon and then some areas in Arizona (that's where I need the help).

Questions -

1) I was thinking of flying into Las Vegas and renting a car and then
driving down into Arizona, see the GC, etc. and then flying out of
Phoenix. Will there be a problem dropping off the rental car in Phoenix?
How much extra do the rental companies usually charge for doing this
type return?

2) We'd probably spend two nights and one day seeing Grand Canyon. Where
is best place to stay for this type visit?

3) We've heard about Sedona. What is there and how long should I budget
time-wise?

4) Is Tucson worthing visiting? If so, for how long?

5) What else in Arizona should we see?

Thanks for any and all help.


[The following are all just personal trip logs. We like to travel and
love the Southwest. There are no ads and they are completely
non-commercial. Feel free to email me if you have more specific questions.]

You might check my trip logs for Arizona and New Mexico at
http://www.travel-library.com/north_america/usa/southwest.trip.eleeper.html
(from 1992), Las Vegas at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/lasvegas.htm (2000), and Las
Vegas and Arizona at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/lv_az03.htm
(2003).

Mark also wrote recently about the Verde Canyon Railroad at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/4824/VOID0402.htm#verde.

If you're getting into Utah, check
http://www.travel-library.com/north_america/usa/utah/leeper.html
(1995) as well.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
Separate is not equal. The right time to do the right thing
is always now. Those who say "wait" usually mean "never."
--Bonnie Tinker and The Rev. Cecil Prescod