Canyon in November

[millanduk]

My brother and I are planning a trip in Novemebr to see the canyon and other spots. We are bringing my Dad for his 80th Birthday.

the plan so far is to land at vegas 4.30 pm, 18th nov hire a car/suv and then try to get to George/hurricane/zion or Kanab. I have already dropped the plan to go to Bryce. Overnight and have a look around zion on morning of 19th, afternoon drive on down r89 and see the staircase or even north rim if road is open, carry on to overnight in Page. 20th drive along to south rim and have a good look around get him on the skywalk etc, overnight in loughlin. 21st drive up to hoover and see the dam and maybe a boat ride then o to vegas for three nights, at some point then take a flight around the canyon and a show, fly back to UK on 24th.

Firstly are these legs feasible, should we be safe and make sure we hire a 4 x 4. Bryce is too far and we do not really want to be driving furhter than around three hours straight off a trans atlantic via detroit. Any advice is most welcome.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I think you're trying to fit too much into too short of a time period.

First of all, if you are landing in Vegas at 4:30 after a transatlantic flight, I would strongly recommend just staying in the city for the night. By the time you land, get your luggage and rental car, it will already be past dark and you'll certainly be tired/jetlagged. Trying to add another 2-3 hour drive on top of all that just wouldn't be fun.

There are some other aspects, like going from Page, seeing the grand canyon, and making it to laughlin in one day is a whole lot to try and fit in during one day. It would require about 7 hours of driving alone. Just for comparison, I did a trip to the grand canyon, starting in Williams and ending in Laughlin in one day. I wasn't able to see everything I wanted to, and I still didn't get to our hotel in Laughlin until after 1am. You would be starting your trip 1-2 hours farther away.

You should also know that the Skywalk is not part of the Grand Canyon National Park's south rim. It is part of an Indian Reservation area known as the west rim, and is several hours away from the national park.

Finally, 4x4 rental vehicles are in my opinion a fabulous way for car rental agencies to make a great profit, but they are kind of pointless for the average rental. None of the roads you will be using will require 4 wheel drive, and even if they did, most rental contracts forbid the use of the vehicle on any off highway area where you would actually need it. If you've got the extra money and want the feeling of being safer, then you certainly can rent one, but its usually an extravagant expense far more than a practical one.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome,

As Much as it's tempting to see as much as you can when on a special trip, sometimes less is more, especially taking into consideration your 80 yr old father. As Michael said you will not be in the mood for picking up a rental and a 3 hour drive after your flights.
I think you would be better off having a couple of nights in Vegas when you arrive, remember Vegas is 24 hour and although fantastic is quite exhausting in itself. Then choose between Zion/Bryce or the Grand canyon/route'66/ hoover dam for a couple of nights before returning to Vegas. You could always do a day trip or an overnight in Death valley as a side trip from Vegas.

If you need any other info then ask away. :-)