So my husband and I want to go see the Grand Canyon. Have you been?
We are not young so will not be walking down and UP the trail so is the plane ride worth it? What are the best places to see the sites and to stay/eat?
We are from South Carolina so I guess we have to fly into Vegas and rent a car.
I need your help to make this a great trip. Thanks
The South Rim has buses that can take you from lookout to lookout. Park your car there and let the public transportation take you around. If you get tired of looking at the canyon, there are galleries and museums to check out. El Tovar is a pretty cool historic hotel, and there are some other things to see as well.
You can also visit the North Rim, but it is hours away from the South Rim, and is somewhat limited in different views. Both rim views are spectacular.
You can also drive instead to Williams, and take the train to and from the canyon. About a two hour ride each direction. There are plenty of places to stay in Williams, and it is a nice town to visit on its own (Think Route 66 stuff).
I haven’t been on the plane ride since the 1970s, but I know there are plenty of operations including helicopters. Someone else might know about them.
Enjoy your vacation!
I haven’t done the plane, so I can’t speak to that.
You can also fly into Flagstaff; it’s closer to the part of the canyon that most people want to see (south rim). If you start out from Vegas, you will be closer to the western part, which is not as deep - although it does have the Skywalk, where you can walk out over glass and look directly down into the canyon. And there are native American tribal areas you can go into.
If you have a few days, you could try what we did: white-water rafting from the eastern end down the river to the bottom of Grand Canyon, which takes about 2-1/2 days (2 nights camping out), then overnight at Phantom Ranch at the bottom, and hike out the next day up Bright Angel Trail to the south rim. I was 60 when I did it and my sister was 63 (truth in packaging: I trained for 6 months on a treadmil at 21 degrees slope to get ready; I was in better shape than I needed to be to make it to the top in one day, it took about 5 hours). The rafting is mostly pretty tame, but it’s only available May through October. If you’re going in the winter, this isn’t an option. If you do go on this trip, we used Canyoneers and liked them a lot.
Be prepared for colder weather than you might expect at the top of south rim. This is Arizona, but it’s high desert up there.
If you do go in the winter, maybe the west end would be better after all. I can’t really say, I didn’t go that way.
I hope you will be able to do something other than just go along the rim. I had done that before, but being down in the canyon is incredibly amazing.
Roddy
ETA: in my opinion, walking up is easier than walking down, easier on the knees for us older folks.
You don’t have to do long strenuous hikes to appreciate the canyon. The various lookouts are fantastic and you can still see quite a bit just hiking part way down and back. If you are intent to go all the way down there are also helicopters and the mules, of course.
In terms of travel you can also fly into Phoenix and rent a car. The drive might be a bit longer but there are things to see/do along the way in Sedona, Flagstaff, etc. Of course, there are also things to do in Vegas:p
I did 2 days on the north rim, and 4 on the south.
On the north rim I stayed in one of the cabins. Rather rustic, but a great experience. I arrived there following a huge forest fire, on the day they lifted the evacuation. Some of the forest was still smoldering. As you drive or hike around the area, you see evidence of past fires, and the different levels of returning flora. And there are signs posted, telling you the year of each fire. And the North Rim Lodge has a great restaurant and spectacular views.
On the south rim, I did the overnight mule ride down to the river and back, and I had a great time . . . though I was a little sore for a few days. And here’s a warning: try to get a mule near the front of the line. I was on the last one, and got all the accumulated excrement odor from the other mules. The only negative aspect of the experience.
Another day on the south rim, I got the plane and rafting package, which I highly recommend. You meet at the airport at 6 am, get in a plane that takes you over the canyon, all the way east to the Glen Canyon Dam. Each passenger on the plan has a nice big window, and the wings are over the windows, so everyone has a great view. Breakfast at the Page airport, followed by a Jeep ride and tour of Antelope Canyon. Then back to the dam, and into rafts for a very picturesque tour of the river (non-whitewater), including a picnic lunch. After that, a stop for souvenirs, followed by a bus ride back to the airport. Very much worth the money!
I also did a smaller hike into the canyon, down one trail and up another. Though I was 62 at the time, and not in great condition, I was able to do this . . . but you have to pace yourself. Bring plenty of water (or half Gatorade and half water).
You can fly to the edge in a small plane from Vegas and then take a helicopter down. I can’t tell you what it’s like though as we got as far as taxiing on the runway and then the flight was called off because of a sandstorm 
Last year I arranged a bus tour from the hotel to The West rim and back and back. This is where the skywalk is. Its the closest to Vegas by far… We stopped at two jaw dropping sites, the skywalk stop although I did not get on the skywalk, and Guano Point. This is where you walk out on a linear outcrop (30 feet wide approx for a short stretch) with unrestrained 4000 foot vertical drops all around. You’ll want to put a leash and harness on your kids. We had a great day trip.
You wimp! I walked.
Never mind.
Thanks everyone that is a big help. What is the best time of year to go? Spring?
It depends a little on your heat tolerance, how active you’ll be, and where you’ll be. The North Rim is closed in the winter and I think both sides get snow. Summer gets very hot down in the Canyon, but if you’ll just be at the rims it probably wouldn’t be too bad. Spring and fall are a good compromise.
I’ve only been there in the fall, and the altitude and geography make a difference. The Canyon traps heat so it can be hot at the bottom and cold at the rims. Once you decide what you want to see, do a web search and see if you can find the average high and low temperatures by month.
Get into the canyon via Mule in the spring.
Depending on your budget, there are many ways to get to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas.
There are helicopter tours from Las Vegas that just fly over, or some fly you down into the canyon for a lunch and then back. There are also bus tours - be be forewarned, it is a bit of a schlepp, so plan on an entire day of riding in a bus to and fro, for just a short visit.
Another option is to rent a car and drive, but you might want to consider a hotel room somewhere along the way as it is about a 3-1/2-4 hour drive each way from Vegas to the more popular South Rim.
Another option is to spend a night and take the train. Perhaps a bit touristy, but some people like that tour.
I don’t mean to be negative, but to be honest, staring down at the Grand Canyon from above is fun for about 10 minutes tops. As Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband said, “Once you’ve seen the big hole, their ain’t much left to do.”
I think the real fun of the Grand Canyon is to somehow get down into it and see it from that perspective.
At any rate - have fun, and your time in Vegas will certainly not be boring either.
I really recomend that train ride from Williams. It’s a fun little town with a few good places to eat. If I were you, I’d set it up to ride it up one day, stay some time in the places available to rent, and then ride it back.
There’s a lot of entertainment on the train and it’s nice to just sit and ride and watch the countryside.
My wife and I have also been on this tour, and we had a lovely day. Some of the people on our trip also arranged for helicopter tours of the canyon itself and had great things to say about that.
Word. Descending into and later rising out of the canyon is like exploring the petals of a flower, with different shapes and hues at each layer.
Bring lots of water, and top up every chance you get.
I went a month ago and stayed for 2 days. October was a nice time to go; the leaves were changing and it wasn’t too crowded. Rooms at the canyon can go fast; I booked last spring and El Tovar was booked solid and the only rim view room I could get was at the Thunderbird Lodge.
Parking was bad - as the desk clerk told us, guard your parking spot like it was gold if you are lucky enough to get a close one. We parked and took the shuttle around the rim to different places. We hiked the rim trail up towards Hermit’s Rest and then jumped the shuttle bus after we got tired and rode the rest of the stops.
I’ve heard you need to book the mule rides like a year in advance so we didn’t do that.
Water is very important and I bought a water bottle as they have fill stations near the trailheads.
FWIW - I have never been so violently airsick as I was on the plane ride. I threw up everything but my kneecaps and spent the last 30 minutes just praying for the plane to crash so that it would all stop. The air currents over the canyon are really bad; if you don’t have a high tolerance to motion sickness, I would advise against either the plane or the helicopter.
Having said that, I envy you. I’ve been to the canyon twice and it is the most incredible work of nature that I have ever seen.
Absolutely, for a sufficiently painful definition of the word “fun”.
My experience was exactly the opposite: a totally smooth ride. The most amazing thing was looking down and seeing the river reflect the brilliant blue of the sky . . . with everything around it in shades of red. Like this shot of Horseshoe Bend.