Phoenix to Las Vegas via Sedona, Navajo Nation and Grand Canyon

[jeffhanff]

Hi all

this is the first "real" road trip we plan in the US, so please bear with me :-). This forum as well as the American West Travelogue have been most helpful to answer many of our questions and to put together a tentative itinerary.

However, since this is also our first time in the Southwest, we would really appreciate your assistance. Is this itinerary realistic (without constantly being in a rush and driving for too many hours)? Are our estimated travel times correct (google maps, bing maps and rand mcnally deliver often very different travel times)? And of course, all your suggestions are most welcome!

So here we go:

Day 1: Phoenix to Sedona, via I 17, SR 260, SR 89a, plus a detour to Jerome; approx. 3 hours
We plan to see Jerome and Sedona

Day 2: stay in Sedona, Red Rock State Park, if possible some hiking

Day 3: Sedona to Flagstaff via SR 89a; approx 50 minutes
plans: see Oak Creek Canyon, e.g. a short hike or some bathing, and then Flagstaff

Day 4: Flagstaff to Chinle via I 40 and US 191; 3 hours 30 minutes,
then in the afternoon a guided tour of the Canyon de Chelly
Here we have some questions: is the driving time realistic? do we make it for an afternoon tour of the Canyon? Can or should we book in advance? What tour would you suggest?

Day 5: Chinle to Monument Valley via US 191, Indian Route 59, US 160, US 163; 3 hours; guided tour in the afternoon of Monument Valley (and stay for the night in Kayenta after that).
Basically, we have the same questions here :-)

Day 6: Kayenta to Tusayan (Grand Canyon) via US 160, US 89, SR 64, so taking the east entrance; 3 hours
We plan to the desert view on the way there and then to some walking on the Rim Trail

Day 7: stay in Tusayan and do some hiking at the Grand Canyon

Day 8: Tusayan to Kingman via SR 64, I 40 and, of course, from Seligman on SR 66; 3 hours 30 minutes
Plans: sightseeing in Williams, Seligman and stop along Route 66

Day 9: Kingman to Las Vegas via US 93; 2 hours 30 minutes
on the way, we plan to visit Hoover Dam

Again, your input on whether this is realistic and whether we have enough time to really see the places we visit would be greatly appreciated

Jeff

[EDIT] I can't tell when this trip is scheduled for, so I arbitrarily moved it to Summer. We'll move to correct forum when we know more.