oceania

Let me start off by saying, yes my itinerary is jammed pack but that's how I like it. This is my travelling style and every trip I've been on, I always have people telling me it's too jammed pack but I've loved every one of my trips that I've designed for myself. So please keep this in mind. Also the chances of me coming back to this region are slim.

I also have a reason for choosing all of my destinations so please, please try to refrain from making suggestions changing my itinerary.

I'm posting to my itinerary to see if logistically it can be done as I'm using Google maps to plan it - e.g. construction, traffic, etc:

Background info: I'm a young, female travelling solo end of Aug/ beg of Sept, flying in and out of Vegas

Day 1
- Arrive in Vegas and drive to Springdale (3hrs)
- Night: Springdale, Utah

Day 2
- Day in Zion
- Night: Mt. Carmel

Day 3
- Day at Bryce Canyon
- Night: Mt. Carmel

Day 4
- Drive to Page, AZ by sunrise (1.5 hours) - visit Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon
- Around1pm start drive to Cortez, Co, via route 163/191 stopping at Monument Valley (2.5 hours) and then to Cortez 8pm (2.5 hours)
- Night: Cortez

Day 5
- visit Mesa Verde as soon as it opens (estimating 6 hours at park)
- drive through 4 Corner Monument on my way to GCNP (5.5 hours)
- Night: GCNP

Day 6
- whole day Grand Canyon
- Night: Flagstaff

Day 7
- visit either meteor crater or Sedona in the morning before driving to Vegas
- meet up with fiends in Vegas

Days 8/9
-Vegas

paula1470

Oceania-You are asking for our advice but don't want us to suggest changing your itinerary. So not really sure about the point of this thread and don't know how much help you'll get. Anyway, when is this trip taking place? I'm assuming it's summer and you'll have long days of sunlight.

Day 5 seems impossibly long to me. I'm not sure what time Mesa Verde opens but you already have listed 11.5 hours if you stay at Mesa Verde for 6 hours. If you start at 8am, you'll be lucky to get to GCNP by 8pm.

Day 7-Since you're staying at the Grand Canyon, I'm not sure I'd detour to Sedona before heading to Las Vegas. You wouldn't have a whole lot of time there and adds quite a bit of driving time.

oceania

Paula, I did state my reason for posting my itinerary: to see if logistically my itinerary is possible. I would love to hear suggestions about the routes, order of things, etc. but not about changing the destinations. Everyone will have their opinion of what I should go see but like I said I have my reason for going to the places I'm going.

Mesa Verde opens at 8am and if I leave by 2pm, I should get to GCNP by 8pm...it's a 12 hour day which I'm fine with it. This leg of the trip is not meant to be a leisurely vacation, it is work...Vegas portion will be the leisure part. The longest drive without a break is 5.5 hours (not including restroom breaks), I have done that before, no problem.

The night of Day 6, I will be staying in Flagstaff so Day 7 I'm not at the park.

HappyTrvlr

Day 7, Sedona over major crater...

paula1470

Sorry didn't see you were staying in Flagstaff. I would definitely do Sedona over Meteor Crater.

Myer

The night of day 2 I would stay in Bryce or if you can't get reservations Ruby's just outside of the park.

Two things I suggest to people about Bryce; Sunrise at Bryce Point and any hike that get's you down into the hoodoos. You could do Navajo Loop - Queens Garden.

To get to Bryce Point for sunrise you would have to sleep close.

If you do what I suggest for Bryce the only other sight that's different it Natural Bridge.

Since you like to pack it in (I don't pack it in but somehow seem to get a lot done - I guess I pack it in), in the afternoon I would drive to Cannonville and get instructions in the visitors' center on how to get to Willis Creek.

It's only a 10 mile dirt road drive below Cannonville and the hike there is easy but you'll be in a real slot canyon. I was there 2 years ago and I'm taking my daughter there in mid-September. Little visited by people here but well worth it.

Myer

I forgot to mention. Getting to Page by sunrise doesn't do much for you. You want to visit Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon when the sun is high in the sky.

That would put you there between 11AM and 2PM.

You can add to those two sights The Best Dam View. It's only a 15 minute stop just after crossing the bridge into Page. You get a bridseye view of the dam.

Myer

And what did you intend to do visiting Sedona.

Sedona is just a little town full of restaurants that close at 9PM and t-shirt storers.

The beauty of Sedona is hiking the red rocks surrounding the town. If you go to Sedona have a hike set and ready to go. I would suggest either the Pink Jeep Broken Arrow, the Broken Arrow hike or Boynton Canyon Vista that's very short.

seniormsuedu

Thanks for not inviting me.

oceania

Myer that's for helpful posts! Do you have any recommendations on budget accommodation near Bryce? I chose Mt. Carmel because the prices are more reasonable and easily accessible to/from Zion, Bryce and Page.

Would you recommend the upper or lower canyon at Antelope? I was going to go for lower but I can't seem to find any tour companies go there. So Horseshoe is also best seen at high noon? I knew that about Antelope but not Horseshoe.

As for Sedona, to be honest I'm not fussed about going but people keep saying it's a must see for the views so I thought I'd just drive through but most likely I'll probably head straight to Vegas as the only time I can go is early in the morning on my last day and I imagine I'll be quite tired.

oceania

oops that's supposed to be "Mayer thanks for the helpful posts".

seniormsuedu - why bother posting in this thread??

elnap29

If you have the energy on that last day, I think a drive into Sedona is worthwhile. If you are up early, you could drive down there through Oak Creek Canyon, which is very scenic. Stop at one of the local cafes and have breakfast with an outrageous view. (Yes, we prefer spending time and hiking there, but the scenery is beautiful and unique from the road also). It's only about 30 - 45 min. from Flagstaff.

Myer

It's Myer.

I went to the Upper. The one without the ladders, etc.

I didn't go with anybody. I drove into the parking lot and bought a ticket. I went with the next "guide"/driver and spent an hour walking thru the Canyon and taking photos. Spectacular.

As for Bryce. Start off with Ruby's just outside the park. I don't think it's much more than $100 per night. A little farther out is Bryce Canyon Pines but I think it's an occupancy issue rather than a price issue.

In Mt Carmel you're not near enough to anything to take advantage of them. Driving just before dark (be careful with animals on the road) saves the daylight for you.

The reason you need high sun at Horseshoe Bend is that it's straight down about 1000 feet and you want the sun to be up high otherwise it's dark down there. For sure Antelope Canyon.

The best scenery from Sedona is look up and turn in a circle. Getting their driving thru Oak Creek canyon is scenic but Sedona itself is there for the surroundings.

If you do go to Sedona I would do the Boynton Canyon Vista (not the full Boynton Canyon) hike. It's a slight detour off Boynton Canyon, is a vortex sight and is extremely scenic. In less than an hour you can get a taste of Sedona Red Rocks. It's in Sedona west.

You can see my photos at:

www.travelwalks.com

oceania

Myer - did you go to Antelope during the off season? Because everything I read says you have to go by guided tour and that it's best to book in advanced.

Dayle

Hi Oceania,

Since you are not allowing us any input except whether or not this is "doable", yes, it is. Only you will be able to answer whether you enjoyed it - afterwards. The more you rush, the less you see.....

Buona fortuna

Sara

You should be aware that there is road construction on the Zion-Mt. Carmel highway, which might impact your schedule, depending on the day you'll be traveling through there. According to the Zion NP web site, the highway is closed Sunday - Thursday from 8:00 PM - 8:00 AM until Oct. 28. Other times, expect up to 30 minute delays.

Remember that it is an hour later in Utah than in Nevada, so be sure to take the time change into account in your planning for that first day.

Myer

Sara is correct. Depending upon the day of the week you'll want to leave Zion early enough to get thru the construction.

I went at the very end of May 2007. It's true you cannot go alone, but unless they've changed things you don't have to book an actual tour.

I drove east on Rte 98 (it's about a half mile north of Hoseshoe Bend on Rte 89) a couple of miles and pulled into the parking lot for Upper Antelope Canyon. At that time the parking fee was about $6. I then bought a "guide" ticket for about $20. and waited for the next truck.

There were six of us in the next truck and the drive was about 10 minutes. The "guide"/driver was a Navajo student who had his own stories about the area.

When he saw that I had a tripod he kept pointing out good spots to photograph. He spent a lot of time with me while I took photos.

I have their brochure. It doesn't show a web site but there's a phone number: 928-698-2808.

Maybe somebody who'se been their recently can comment on this.

If you do a search on:
Antelope Canyon Navajo Tribal Park their web site comes up. It says you must have an authorized guide. I guess the truck driver was an authorized guide. They do mention the name of organized tours but it doesn't mention that you must use these or that you cannot just show up and do what I did.

Call them.

MikePinTucson

I have been to Upper Antelope twice, with no reservation, once in May and once in October. All of the guides will point out the places to take pictures and will take them for you if you are having trouble. Focus is very difficult because of the shapes in the canyon. Here are the pictures from ym last visit. I discarded more than I kept because of focus difficulties.

http://mikepintucson.shutterfly.com/1384

bachslunch

Oceania, I think your itinerary will work, at least knowing the parts of the country I've visited. It'll be full and busy, but that's what works for you.

And yes, Oceania, I totally get what you're looking for here re advice. You want to know if the itinerary you've posted is manageable given that you're a full-plate style sight-seer -- and you're hoping for some tweaks and other wild-card issues you hadn't considered from the folks here. I've often posted full but what turn out to be perfectly manageable itineraries here, and like you I often get grumbles from folks who say "why are you bothering to ask for advice?" It's a difference in sight-seeing style more than anything else.

Good advice from Sara about road construction and from Myer on some smaller details. That's the kind of help folks like me find really helpful.

peterboy

I'll go renegade here and suggest that you drop the four corners visit. It is the most over rated attraction I've encountered. Add to that the fact that the monument isn't really the actual spot where the four states meet (it is actually a mile or so away as they've recently discovered through modern mapping techniques). The current, incorrect location was identified in 1868. Since the whole idea of going out of your way to see Four Corners is to be in four states at once it seems a little sad that it isn't even in the right spot. It was a boring attraction before and even more meaningless now.