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I am getting married in November and would like to visit San Diego and the Grand Canyon. I'm flying in on a Wednesday to Vegas and then starting the drive Saturday morning. Would like to Fly back home to Florida by Tuesday the next week. Is this even possible? I'm willing to change the road trip destinations if necessary. Not interested in LA or San Francisco.
Welcome to RTA!
The only way you can pull this off is if you change your return flight to leave San Diego on Tuesday afternoon, and return your car there instead of in LV.
It's a 5 hour drive to the GC from LV, and you would need to spend the night in the park or in Tusayan. This will give you an afternoon and morning at the GC, and you can watch the sunset and sunrise over the canyon. Leave early afternoon and spend the night around Phoenix. This will also give you an afternoon and morning in SD.
You just don't have enough time to close the loop and get back to LV by Monday night.
Thanks for responding so fast! I'm planning on flying back from wherever I end my road trip.
Definitely no problem flying back from San Diego! :) thank you so much for your advice!
For planning purposes - it's about 4 hours from the GC to Phoenix, then 3 hours to Yuma (essentially no lodging in between) then another 3 hours to SD.
I'd take I-17 to Phoenix, then Loop-101 west to I-10, find a hotel unless you can drive 3 more hours to Yuma. There is virtually nothing between Gila Bend and Yuma. Take I-10 west to AZ-85, take that south to I-8 to Yuma and SD.
To be honest I wouldn't go anywhere near Phoenix. The rest will depend on how much time you want to actually spend in SD. So Saturday get an early start to the canyon so you have a good portion of time to enjoy the views that day and stay in the NP or nearby. Sunday revisit the rim for a couple of hours and make your way to 29 Palms. You could take the old section of route 66 through Oatman. Then Monday drive through Joshua Tree NP early and spend the rest of the day and part of Tuesday in SD. If you want to go direct to SD you could go through the Prescott National Forest and join I-10 near Brenda and then take CA78 south to I-8. That's about 70 miles shorter than going via Gila Bend.
You will need to watch out for one way drop off fees on a one way rental. If that's an issue and SD is not a must you could simply visit the Grand canyon, Monument valley and Sedona and head back to LV. Personally that's what I would do.
Unless SD is a real must for you, I would go with the suggestion Dave made. Why not get hold of a good detailed map of AZ (AAA is a good source), and see for yourself just how many attractions there are in that area, which would make for a very interesting and memorable trip.
Besides what Dave mentioned there is Walnut Canyon - near Flagstaff, Oak Creek Canyon - near Sedona, Lake Havasu City, Meteor Crater, and as already mentioned a good section of historic route 66, especially that part which goes through Oatman, where burros roam in the main street.
Sounds like a wonderful few days on the road. One warning though: When you are in LV you will see many day tours to the GC advertised, both by road and by air. Be aware that rarely do any of these go to the national park. They go to the West Rim which is nowhere near as spectacular or as deep as the national park, and all the sites with which you will be familiar from photos and movies..
Lifey