Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Be gentle! :D

I am doing a whistle stop tour of California in October

SF, Carmel, Yosemite, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon Lake Havesu (for a stop over) Los Angeles ... will be a hell of a week! No, joking, 15 days!

I organised tours of Alcatraz, usual Universal experience in LA and going to see the Blue Man Group in Vegas, but the question is about Grand Canyon

Concierge at the Canyon Plaza Hotel has quoted me for a raft trip and as there are 4 of us I'm wondering if anyone has done these trips, or knows a company that they used that might do a similar one as its a lot of dosh to pay out. Also its a 6 hour round trip on a coach to get to Page

Would appreciate any input
Smooth Water Float Trip

This wonderful day trip includes transportation aboard a luxury motor coach or van to and from Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, transferring through the Grand Canyon National Park, the Navajo Indian Reservation and the Painted Desert. You will board an inflatable, motorized 15-22 passenger river raft at the base of the Glen Canyon Dam in Page and cover 200 million years while leisurely floating 15.5 river miles of spectacular scenery on the mighty Colorado River. Along the way you will enjoy lunch and can take a short hike to see ancient petroglyphs. This rafting adventure is great for all age groups and members of the family. (Seasonal – through October 15, 2008)

Cost $179.00 Adult $159.00 Child (4-11) Duration approximately 12.5 hours

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

You want to hire a car rather than go by coach.

There are any number of outfits that do rafting trips from Page - we paid way less than $179!

Try to spend some time at Lake Powell - it's beautiful.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Yo, Mitzyboy, what's with the title? We don't charge by the letter over here you know. :lol:
sorry, just had to give you a little bit of stick. ;)

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Dunno if this is at all relevant, but I recently drove from Vegas to Grand Canyon West. Got a rental for 30 bucks a day from Fox's Car Hire on LV Boulevard. It took a little over three hours via the Hoover Dam. The final 15 miles is winding dirt road. The turnoff from the main highway is easy to miss.

They charged 85 bucks in all to go on the Skywalk, including the Indian reservation fee. Just to look at the Grand Canyon was 45 bucks. It was amazing though. Very impressive indeed.

There are also helicopter tours from Vegas.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

And small planes. That's the way I went from Vegas.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

i wouldnt pay that to rent a boat for a week on there :rofl:

Tourists get so ripped off ffs :rofl:

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Thanks for the suggestions

We already have a hire car, just that with all the driving we were doing we thought a day of rest might be good. But I found a raft company in Pace that did a half day for $75 each, which means that the hotel would be charging us $100 x 4 for getting to Pace from the South Rim & lunch!!

We cant fly as the daughter wont go up in one of the small aircraft after the experience we had about 10 years ago when we flew over the CG

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Actually it does sound like about a week in California with a few days each in Nevada and Arizona ... :)

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

I would strongly recommend the inclusion of Bryce Canyon and Zion NP in Utah - VERY close to Vegas; I'd do that at the expense of Lake Havasu. Bryce can be appreciated on a 'fly by', as can Zion (as in, quick drive through). I would also strongly recommend a pass through Sedona. I did the Vegas/Death Valley/Yosemite drive a couple of months ago, it was fabulous. I tried to drive through Yosemite last weekend but 120 was closed (fire) and had to go via Lake Tahoe instead. The '395' road from Tahoe, 'behind' Yosemite, and past Death Valley is one of the best drives I've ever taken.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

100% agree. And if it makes things any easier, almost everyone who's been to the north rim of the Grand Canyon will tell you it's superior to the south rim. Zion - can be done as a 'fly by' but you could spend a day or two there if you want. If you do, take some shoes suitable for hiking in a river.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Done all those while staying in Vegas...but did stay overnight in the GC. Bryce is spectacular...Zion not so much. My husband loved Death Valley and Monument Valley.

Mitz take a tour of the Hoover Dam whilst staying in LV. Think you could do with more time in the LV area.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Thanks again all, its really helpful

I'll actually be driving over the Hoover Dam on the way if everything goes to plan. Ive flown over it a long time ago, but looking forward to seeing it close up.

Yes, have been a bit worried about how the fires might effect us to be honest.

I'll have to suss out where Bryce & Zion are, and I'm pleased to heat that the Yosemite / Vegas road is a brilliant drive. We're actually staying in Death Valley at some Ranch complex.

I dont really want to go to Lake Havesu tbh, but it was only really included as a stopover between GC and LA.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

What they said. :thumbup:

Have a great trip!

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Be aware, the Hoover Dam is in the midst of a major, major road-works project - they are building a bridge over the whole thing, getting the traffic off the dam itself. There can be delays of several hours. I would LOVE to see the construction (this is a MAJOR project!) but when I had to get from PHX to LV for a show (ie, deadline), I bypassed it.

I would not be overly concerned about fires; just check the news/etc. There's always an alternate, just try not to get stuck in traffic. Any of the several roads through the Sierras are spectacular (Yosemite/120, 50, 80, Sonora pass, etc).

I just drove from PHX to Sedona this weekend. It was gorgeous. Driving in from the South gives you a wonderful perspective of the red rocks; driving in from the north (Flagstaff) gives you a tranquil drive amongst pine forest, not unlike a drive in the UK Lake District (on a sunny day :) ) .

Buy an 'annual' pass to the national parks if you plan on driving through more than a couple ... there's a break-even point you can work out yourself, but it's pretty low.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

The North Rim is less touristy, more 'low key' (and thus appeals to those who take pleasure in avoiding 'tourist spots'!) but - the view was not as impressive in my mind - I visited both on one trip, and the 'expanse' is more apparent from the south. I may be mistaken now, but there are only a few 'vantage points' at the North Rim, while along the South Rim there are many, each offering a radically different viewpoint. I think the key to success at the south rim is to get away from the visitor center and the 'drive-by' view areas (though 'EVERY' view area is worth a look, as every one offers something different). There is a whole section that must be either hiked or reached by (very quaint/quirky!) free buses. A day wandering along that rim is a day in heaven! Watch out for flash storms - amazingly variable weather there.

If you go to Bryce, you CAN get a sense of it just by getting out of the car for 10 minutes - it's visually amazing - but taking a 2-hour hike down amongst the hoodoos is like nothing else on earth (that I've seen!). Zion is boring by comparison, but I like to think of it as 'Yosemite on steroids' - where yosemite is all gray granite, Zion is multi-colored rocks. And the weird 'lava' formations - something else!

Watch out while driving in Arizona ... I've been in the US for 27 years (all CA), and had a total of 6 tickets; 3 of them were in AZ in visits!

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Thanks again peeps. Hoover Dam is a bit concerning, I dont have the time to be caught up in a two hour traffic jam when I have a 5 hour journey ahead.

I'm being offered satnav at $11 a day by the car hire company. If I get a decent map book of the areas is that generally good enough? I know its a bit of a daft question but my past driving in the states has proved its pretty well signposted and the roads are good (Southern California & Florida)

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

We found Havasu was the only option for a stopping point between the 2 places aswell, make sure you time it so you spend your day at the GC and drive to Havasu late afternoon to arrive in the evening, as there is absolutely nothing to do there.

We have been while construction was ongoing. Although we were held up, it was only 20-30 mins. The bridge is looking spectacular.

Driving in LA can be a bit of a nightmare without Sat Nav, signposting is fairly non-existant.

Then again, I am a terrible map reader and having the Sat Nav has saved countless arguments between me and hubby.

Hope you have a great trip. A few years ago we did a similar thing from the UK and actually got married in Yosemite. We did 8 hotels in 21 days with a 4 year old. Had a fantastic time and something I won't ever forget.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

I personally think you ought to just stay in Vegas, sit by a pool and order Margaritas.....

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

He could do that in Spain.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Very true, but with only 15 days to do so much, it might be better to really experience a couple of things rather than try and cram too much into one visit.

One other option for the Grand Canyon is to take the Train from Williams up to the GC. They stage a hold-up on the train and is supposed to be alot of fun, you get a few hours at the GC when you arrive and then take the train back.

Hang on a minute, why haven't I done this....:blink:

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Ive come to that conclusion myself. Theres only so many times you can walk over London Bridge :D

That seems like an admirable idea sambuc! Unfortunately it would end in certain divorce

Its a retirement event for my wife, so our daughter is coming and had limited time off work unfortunately. We wont be able to make Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley and quite a few other places so I suspect we will be back at a more leisurely pace sometime in the future

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Just cross the Colorado at Laughlin.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Hoover Dam traffic is VARIABLE ... several folks have made it quickly, but they also conduct random security checks and it can apparently take a long time (side note - one of the justifications for the dam bypass is terrorism - if someone were to blow the dam, it would be devastating for the western US!). If you are driving mid-week, mid-day, I'd say risk it. Weekends - maybe not.

SATnav (commonly called GPS here) - you can buy a great Garmin Nuvi for prob. the same cost (could pay for itself on one trip; maps for other countries can be loaded but may end up costing too much - though I see the one linked to has both Europe and US - a new deal!) - http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...lang=en-US&s=1 I love these devices! My new car has a built in GPS that is far less useful (and was a $2k extra!); I always pull out the Garmin when I rent a car.

What I LOVE about having a GPS is - you can completely wander off the beaten path - dive into a residential neighborhood in Sedona, for example, just to see 'how locals live', get wrapped up in dead-ends/etc, or - just drive off on some interesting-looking road to 'see where it goes' ... and still find your way back.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Just went through hoover dam other week on way to south rim from vegas on a coach, went without a problem but driver did say they can sometimes not allow you through when there are security alerts and you have to go back around the really long way?

It was a long journey for one day but we were time limited and it was relaxing on the coach with movies playing.

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

A little late, but I wanted to thank you all for your advice. We had a wonderful time, although wasn't too keen on Los Angeles.
Yosemite & the GC were amazing, and it was well worth taking the river trip, albeit we were in the same raft as a bunch of Japanese tourists which was quite amusing. Heres a few shots ... thanks again

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...nyon-3-web.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ile-drop-w.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...uise-4-web.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...uise-2-web.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...Dusk-4-web.jpg

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...t-Dusk-web.jpg

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

Absolutely wonderful photos. Thanks for posting! :)

Ian

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

If you're single you have to make a stop at the Bunny Ranch right outside of Vegas. It's a full service gentlemens club. My buddies went out to Vegas with their wife's and after taking care of the wife's needs (trinket shopping and whatnot) they parked the ladies at the Spa so they could get new hairdo's and everything and the boys headed out to the Bunny Ranch in the rental car. After the wife's got all dolled up they took a 2 hour motor coach tour the hotel offers to guests..The tour stopped briefly at the Bunny Ranch and the wife's recognized their rental car in the lot. When my buddies got back to the hotel the bags and the women were gone, and when my pals eventually made it home all their stuff was in the yards..Fortunately they both eventually reconciled but those ole boys were in the doghouse for years! LOL

Re: Your help pse RE Grand Canyon
 

So what you are saying is I have to make a stop there if I want a divorce :lol: