Yet another SF to LV question

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Originally Posted by Midwest Michael

Even before the bypass was completed, it still wasn't a full day drive to the Grand Canyon. It would take longer - often an hour or more longer - but even there it only made it a 6 hour drive. There's also always been the option of going down to Laughlin and then going across - which had been the truck detour for years.

Now 6 hours made it far too long to drive there and back in 1 day and have time to see anything, but thousands of people have done the trip over 2 days.

A drive to the canyon isn't in the current plans, but it is certainly an option with the time the original poster has available for their trip.

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Yes, you are correct. If you don't stop for Gas, lunch, restroom break or stretching your legs. If you do that you can tack a hour and half on your time, comes pretty close to 8 hours. Guess I'm getting old. Thought a 8 hour work day was a full day. Do you mean that 12 hours is a full day or 24 hours? Nuff said.

Not to beat this to death, but it's only 280 miles from downtown LV to Grand Canyon Village. With the new bridge, this can be driven in 4.5 hours plus stops.

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As for Tioga Pass. I have backpacked Yosemite and Tuolumne Meadows for 40 years and unless that is what you intend to do up there, I still stand by my statement to avoid Tioga Pass as a drive tour considering Aztarac's limited time.

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Living close by and having had the opportunity to back pack along Tioga pass for 40 years makes you real lucky in my opinion, and I am sure you can vouch for it's incredible natural beauty, even 'just' driving along it. [I'm not jealous! ] However, for many Europeans it is a 'once in Lifetime' chance to see this incredibly scenic area and one that most certainly shouldn't be missed in my opinion.

You will also note that the OP would like to see Death valley [another amazing landscape] which makes the Tioga pass the 'Short cut'. Yes it will take as long, [if not longer] by the time you stop for the sights, but compared to Interstate, I know what route I would take when on a trip of a lifetime !

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Originally Posted by gpatz

Yes, you are correct. If you don't stop for Gas, lunch, restroom break or stretching your legs. If you do that you can tack a hour and half on your time, comes pretty close to 8 hours. Guess I'm getting old. Thought a 8 hour work day was a full day. Do you mean that 12 hours is a full day or 24 hours? Nuff said.

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There's never anything wrong with taking more time, but I'm simply saying if it has taken you 8 hours to make that drive of 250 miles, then you are not typical. If you were making a full day drive out of it, I'd expect that you'd have detoured onto Route 66 for much of the trip or stopped to take the full guided tour of the Hoover Dam.

The real point is that if you have limited time, you can still have a very nice trip without being overly rushed driving to the canyon and back in 2 days. I can tell you from personal experience I've made the trip in that time, had time to hike down into the canyon a mile or two and see many of the viewpoints from the rim. Did I see everything there was to see? No, not even close. Could I have spent more time there and still enjoyed myself? Absolutely. But I still found it to be an amazing experience that was well worth the time.

If someone had told me that I couldn't or shouldn't try to visit the Grand Canyon because I only had two days from Vegas, I would have missed out on one of my all-time favorite roadtrips. And based on the hundreds of field reports from others who have done the same, I don't think I'm alone.

Nuff said. Uncle.

Thanks for all the tips and sorry for causing such a debate, that was unexpected :)

We've decided to attempt the drive to the Grand Canyon, spending a night over there and cutting down on time elsewhere. I never was a fan of flying there, it just seemed like the only solution at the time.

We're now busy shuffling dates and locations to see what works best. What are your recommendations as far as destination and lodging in the grand canyon area when only one day/night is spent there?

Thanks again.

Colin

I would try to stay in the park, if possible. Otherwise, there's lodging in Tusayan which is right outside the south entrance. It can be a bit pricey, to find "budget" accommodations you would have to go to Williams or Flagstaff.

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Thanks for all the tips and sorry for causing such a debate, that was unexpected :)

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No need to apologise, that is the whole point of the RTA forums, it is designed for discussion to offer up different points of view. Once you have 'digested' them you can make an informed decision that best suits you and your circumstance. That's why you will notice that we don't do 'best route', or 'best' anything else. The Roadtrip is a personal matter that allows you to do what you want, when you want, were just here to help guide you through the process !

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What are your recommendations as far as destination and lodging in the grand canyon area when only one day/night is spent there?

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If your budget can manage it, I would stay at one of the lodges inside the National park South rim area. Just outside the park is Tusayan and for budget friendly options you could look at Williams or Flagstaff

Thanks. I've started looking into accommodation, most of the ones inside the park are already sold out around the time we'd like to go, decisions will have to be made fast.

I'll post updates here.