<p>Wow, just scanning through these and want to probe deeper into some suggestions and reiterate some restrictions.</p>
<p>We will not be hiking. I have very bad knees and husband has diabetic cellulitis.</p>
<p>We do love to go out on boat tours, though the rapids may be too much for us. An “easy” boat tour would be nice.</p>
<p>Helicopter out of the question, as husband scared of flying.</p>
<p>Train would be an option. Husband loves train traveling.</p>
<p>The lay on your backs and look at the stars with a park ranger, where is that? OMG, that would be heaven! </p>
<p>Also, the trip would probably be between May 10th and May 20th, just a few days. We have limited vacation time, so this may have to wait until later, but I’m wondering, weather/heat wise, when is a good time to go when son is on college break.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your posts and keep them coming!</p>
<p>What about going through a tour company to book this trip? It seems that it covers a large geographic area, and it would help to have some guidance since we’ll be limited to a week at the maximum.</p>
<p>We’re Triple A members, so maybe they may be of some assistance?</p>
<p>montegut, the lay-on-your-back stargazing was on the South Rim and done by a NPS ranger. We were camping at one of the sites there. We saw it in the newsletter for visitors we picked up on arrival and thought it would be cool.</p>
<p>Due to the budget cuts the NPS has taken in recent years, I don’t know if it’s still offered. It was a happy coincidence for us.</p>
<p>P3T, I also liked the tower and there are some easy trails in that area, too that we took early in the am. The first time we visited, we came through the southeast entrance and I was <em>really</em> sorry we didn’t stop at some of the art and jewelry stands. I naively assumed there’d be more on the other side of the park. This was pre-internet so we were relying on AAA guidebooks and curiosity to find our way.</p>
<p>The night sky in the desert and at altitudes is awesome. Try to at least bring some binoculars on the trip and plan on heading outside at night away from lights (watch your step around the rim!! ) and just watching the sky. </p>
<p>Mid May is a pretty good time for the trip. It can start being quite hot in the desert (but not as guaranteed hot like in June-Sept) but I expect it’d be pretty nice at the GC. Also, most schools will still be in session so it shouldn’t be as busy or crowded as it would be in the summer proper when most people are doing their GC vacation.</p>
<p>One word of caution: you mention your husband is afraid of flying. Is he also afraid of heights? My wife doesn’t like heights, and the Grand Canyon was a challenge for her. I think she’s glad we went, but she couldn’t get anywhere near the edge. Make no mistake: there is an edge, and you could fall off of it, and in many places there’s no railing. If this might spoil your visit, there are lots of other great places in the Southwest, many mentioned in other posts.</p>
<p>Heights are definitely something to consider. I am mildly weird about heights because I have a balance issue. I have strategies for dealing with it, all of which I employed in the Grand Canyon! It didn’t get in the way. Hunt is right that the Southwest is a fantastic destination in general. I would definitely encourage you to go–somewhere.</p>
<p>Fortunately you don’t need to stand on the very edge of the GC to enjoy it. In addition many of the lookouts most frequented by tourists have very sturdy railings. You can get as close or stay as far away as you want. I think your H will do fine since he can decide how close he wants to get but be able to enjoy it regardless of where he’s at. He might ‘not’ want to try that new overlook that projects out over the canyon and has a clear floor (but that’s very expensive anyway)!</p>
<p>My son is doing a project involving a needle and the Grand Canyon. I think he is leaning towards the Grand Canyon trip now. He suggested a trip to DC to see the Mus of Am Hist, since it was closed on our last trip to DC. I suggested Grand Canyon as a possible alternative since we’d never been. He’s also taking physics from an astronomy professor, so I just may talk him into some stargazing activities in Arizona as well. So, keep those low impact Grand Canyon ideas coming! BTW, we’re Marriott Rewards members, and husband likes Spring Hill best, does not like Courtyard, so if any recommendations for a Spring Hill, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn in the area, I’d appreciate it. We’re also looking to use/earn Southwest Rewards, so any suggestions on where to fly in, ie, Reno, Phoenix, Tucson, would be appreciated as well.</p>
<p>Reno’s very far from the GC and Tucson is fairly far from it also. Phoenix is where to fly into for the south rim - Las Vegas for the north rim. Southwest flys into both of those locations.</p>
<p>If you stay in a National Park, the evening Park Ranger talks are a must. The summer of2008 we did 2 weeks starting in Yellowstone and ending in the GC and those talks were some highlights - even the kids looked forward to them.</p>
<p>We loved Bryce, but you will probably not fully appreciate since you can’t hike into the Canyon. If you do go, I would recommend renting one of these cabins - it was the nicest place we stayed on our trip and well worth the money. 2 bedrooms & baths with a full kitchen & a hot tub. We sat in the hot tub at night and enjoyed the stars. </p>
<p>mapesy - this sounds like a great trip! I’m putting it on my “to-do” list :)</p>
<p>I’ve been to the GC before and also Sedona…love it there. And I second the recommendation to do the Pink Jeep Tour in Sedona. We did the first one in the morning (it was April and when we got to the departure point it was still dark and COLD!) But totally worth seeing the sunrise and the red rocks. I’ve always wanted to go back.</p>
<p>montegut, since you are definitely leaning toward the Grand Canyon (not literally, of course), I’d urge you consider staying in the park for a couple of nights to minimize the walking involved. For a short trip, you could arrive at check-in time (late afternoon) on day 1, spend day 2 seeing the sights, spend another night, and head out early the next morning for another destination. You’ll have to act quickly, because reservations are hard to get. If you’re not sure, go ahead and reserve anyway. You can change your mind and cancel. I’d recommend flying into Phoenix.</p>
<p>I like the idea of flying into Phoenix, as there is a direct flight from New Orleans to Phoenix,which would make my husband very happy and cut down on our air travel time.</p>
<p>I’ve done some looking for Marrioot properties in the Phoenix area, and there are bunches of them. Since we’ll drive to the South Rim, probably, what area of Phoenix would be best to make home base: Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, North, South, East and West.</p>
<p>As said before, husband likes Spring Hill best. We may even get to use some points for a day or two. So if y’all could help me narrow down a hotel location, I’d appreciate it.</p>
<p>Also, I saw some popups when searching the internet for bus tours from Phoenix to the South Rim. Anybody ever done any of these and can you recommend one or direct me to where I can find reviews for them?</p>
<p>I’ll probably purchase a tour guide book, as I’ve done this with past family trips, and if y’all can recommend one, I’d appreciate it. </p>
<p>Thanks so much for all your help. With the straight flight from New Orleans to Phoenix, this may actually be doable for us.</p>
<p>Unless you want to spend some time in the Phoenix area or are getting in late, you might want to just rent a car in Phoenix when you land and head up to the GC area. Another option is to rent the car and head to Sedona and stay there the first night. Sedona’s on the way from Phx to the GC and quite scenic.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to stay there and want to head closer to the GC upon landing you might want to stay in Williams. This is pretty much the gateway to the GC although it’s still over an hour from the GC. It has a fair number of hotels including a Marriott (Fairfield Inn). Williams is where the train to the GC leaves from if you wanted to do that but you’ll probably find it more convenient to just drive your car - especially if you want to stay by the rim.</p>
<p>The GC is fairly due north of Phoenix so if you want to stay in Phoenix the first night but want to be closer to the edge of town for less traffic the next day you’d want to be on the north side. If you want to enjoy the Phoenix area a bit then Scottsdale has some very nice resorts and some are pretty scenic.</p>
<p>Take a look at when flights get into Phoenix from New Orleans and use that timing (and what you feel like doing) to dictate where you should stay the first night and to work up a schedule.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, uc dad. I’ve still got the train in the back of my mind, and Williams just might be a good place. We really don’t like to change hotels unless absolutely necessary. We split up our Seattle trip and did that (and got some free hotel nights as a result). But a less trafficky area is a must. Son and I hate driving, and he really dislikes traffic. As Arizona is a possible grad school/work stop in his future, I don’t want him to sour him on the place. Thanks for the train link. I might prefer that over a bus tour.</p>
<p>You guys are so awesome in all your tips. I so appreciate it.</p>
<p>Phoenix has its share of traffic and the airport is fairly central so there’ll be some traffic areas to get through on your way to the GC. Of course, the time of day makes a big difference. Once you get out of the Phoenix area the traffic should not be a problem so for almost all of the trip there won’t be much traffic to deal with.</p>
<p>The Phx airport is very close to ASU so your S might want to check that out while you’re there if he’s considering ASU for grad school. </p>
<p>If you want to minimize hotel stays then maybe think about just driving from the airport to the GC and staying there a couple (or whatever) nights. With mobility issues you’d probably enjoy it more if you could stay right there and enjoy it right in the area of the hotel and nearby.</p>
<p>Thanks for the ASU tip. We briefly considered it when first researching BME schools, but thought it might be too big for son. As it turns out, he is at a large OOS flagship now, so I don’t think it will bother him too much. I am a huge ASU baseball fan, so I’m glad to hear it’s near the airport.</p>
<p>I do prefer to stay closer to the destination, as we like to limit driving, but don’t mind staying in a less expensive hotel near the airport the night before an early flight.</p>
<p>What about Flagstaff or Scottsdale, are those near the Grand Canyon?</p>
<p>Seems the Williams hotel is sold out, but there are some Residence Inns in Flagstaff and Prescott that may be acceptable. One is near the Painted Desert and one is near the National Forest. I’m leaning toward the Painted Desert myself, but I don’t know if that will be out of the way of the GC or the train depot.</p>
<p>I am really terrible in geography, but will we perhaps be anywhere near the Devils Tower featured in Close Encounters? It is my all-time favorite movie, and I would love to fit a trip in to there.</p>
<p>Scottsdale is a suburb of Phoenix (and borders Tempe) so that’s reasonably close to the airport but far from the GC.</p>
<p>Flagstaff is reasonably close to the GC and is an acceptable option to Williams.
Flagstaff to GC is 80 miles - about 1:45 hours
Williams to GC is 60 miles - about 1:15 hours</p>
<p>I still think you’d enjoy it more staying right at the GC if you can even if it’s somewhat more expensive. Picture being able to walk out of your hotel room and see the GC right there.</p>
<p>The painted desert isn’t close to the GC. It’s in eastern Az while the GC is more central. They’re about 4 hours apart.</p>
<p>Devils Tower is in Wyoming. I don’t know if that’s the same one as in the movie.</p>
) and just watching the sky. </p>