I haven’t done this tour yet…but I was just thinking of a good tour which would complete in say 3-4 days – a normal working person’s long weekend.
Starting from Los Angeles (I live there).
Fly to Phoenix by an early morning flight to reach at around 8am. Pick up a rental car in Phoenix and drive north to Grand Canyon. I wonder if this drive passes through Sedona. In 3.5 to 4 hours, we should be in Grand Canyon National Park. Have lunch. Board the free shuttles to take you to various points. Experience sunset at a recommended point. We did it at Yaki point – a stop in the green shuttle. If time permits, watch the IMAX movie in Tusayan (~7 miles from Grand Canyon visitor center). Sleep the night in Grand Canyon (hope that you get a lodge booking in the canyon itself or in Tusayan). Wake up early to catch sunrise at the canyon. Leave at around 7 or so for Page, AZ for smooth water rafting. This drive may take us via Antelope Canyon – I need to check on that. I wonder if the raft goes through the Horseshoe bend or we need to view it from elsewhere. Summer tours are at 6:30am and 12:30pm. 12:30pm is a more humane time to be there if we aren’t in Page the earlier night itself. Page is 2.5 hours from the south rim. Stay that night in Page. Leave for Las Vegas from Page. Try to get a route that passes through Zion and Bryce Canyon (SR-12). Reach Las Vegas at lunch time. Go to MGM grand for the lion exhibit. See the pyramid, sphinx, disneyland, etc in the daytime so you don’t have to go to the southern end of the Strip later on. Have lunch and check in at a hotel on the Strip (Imperial Palace). Rest for a while. Leave at around 4pm or 5pm. Go to the Venetian. Take the deuce to go to Fremont St at around dusk. See the Fremont street experience and return to the Strip for the water fountains at Bellagio. See the conservatory in Bellagio. Try to make it for a Mirage volcano eruption. And retire after a long day. Next day, if your flight is not early, leave for Hoover dam and return in an hour. Hotel check out times on the Strip are usually 11am. Check in times are 3pm. Reach around lunch time back home in Los Angeles.
