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Dear Arizona Travel:
My children are ages 6, 14, 15 and 18. What tour(s) would be safe for all? What would you recommend? Thanks.
–Deborah H.

Dear Deborah,
Your kids are the perfect age for almost any tour. The only thing you probably wouldn’t be able to do is river rafting as I believe most companies require a child be at least 8 years old.

Where are you starting your trip from, Nevada or Arizona?

For your crew, I recommend the Grand Canyon Railway (www.thetrain.com) at the South Rim, any of the Grand Canyon helicopter tours or airplane tours (either from Las Vegas or the South Rim), a Jeep tour (there is a great one to the bottom of the Grand Canyon through Grand Canyon Jeeps Tours (www.grandcanyonjeeps.com) that also includes a stop at the fascinating Grand Canyon Caverns… it departs from the South Rim), or just some guided hiking at the South Rim. Try Canyon Dave’s (www.canyondave.com) for a really great educational tour that everyone will enjoy… it’s hiking and learning at the same time.

If you’re coming from Las Vegas, you might want to skip the South Rim and instead check out the West Rim (it’s a 3.5 hour drive versus a 5 hour drive) and take a walk out on the Grand Canyon Skywalk (www.grandcanyonskywalk.com). it’s the glass bridge that extends 70 feet out over the canyon rim and looks straight down through the glass 4,000 feet to the canyon floor below.

I always recommend trying to fit in one or two of the guided National Park ranger talks, too. They run almost all day for about an hour each, meet in several different spots at the South Rim and cover a range of different topics from wildlife to geology to art and history to astronomy. All are great and they’re completely free. Check out the Spring 2010 edition of The Guide – the National Park’s newspaper – for detailed times, descriptions and meeting places.

Hope that helps, Deborah! Have a great trip!

Dear Arizona Travel:

We are looking to tour the west side of the Canyon and would actually like to go down in. Are SUV’s allowed to be driven down in to tour? Do these have to be guided or can we tour ourselves.

Thanks.
–Amie, Michigan

Hi, Amie.

Yes, but very few people actually make the trek. If you’re so inclined, you can take Indian Reservation Route 6, also known as Diamond Creek Road, a bumpy, unpaved 19 miles track from Peach Springs (about 90 minutes from Grand Canyon West) down to the Colorado River. Diamond Creek Road is the only road down to the Grand Canyon accessible by private vehicle. The journey takes about 2 hours and requires a $16.00 permit (purchased at the Hualapai Lodge in Peach Springs at the head of Diamond Creek Road at Historic Route 66.) Be prepared that you’ll need a well-tuned vehicle with high clearance such as the SUV you mentioned, and you need to understand that there are no gas stations, no services, no cell phone coverage… and likely, very few other people besides guided tour participants… on this road. But the trek is well worth it!

If you don’t want to drive yourself to the bottom, or you’re starting your trip from the South Rim instead of Las Vegas, take a guided Jeep tour down Diamond Creek Road with Grand Canyon Jeep Tours. Grand Canyon Jeep Tours Inner Canyon tour is their most popular, and includes a stop at the fascinating Grand Canyon Caverns, a boxed lunch, and knowledgeable friendly tour guides. This tour is a great winter activity because temperatures at the West Rim and the inner gorge at Diamond Creek are a pleasant 20 degrees warmer than the South Rim.

Another popular way to get to the bottom of the Grand Canyon at the West Rim is by helicopter. Helicopter tours are available at Grand Canyon West. Check out tours like this one: Grand Canyon West Rim VIP Helicopter Tour from Las Vegas.

Have fun!
–Christina

We got an email from a visitor to theCanyon.com, our Grand Canyon tours and hotels guide, today that totally struck a chord with me. I think Diana’s question is really common and who better to answer than another mom? Check it out and see if it will help you with your Grand Canyon vacation plans.

Dear Arizona Travel:

My fiance and I are getting married in Vegas in July 2010. From Vegas we want to visit the Grand Canyon. We only plan on spending 1 day there and we will have 3 small children with us. What is better? the North, South, or West Rim? Would you suggest renting a car and driving from Vegas or taking a tour? I am totally lost at what to do. Any and all help is appreciated. Thank you so much!
–Diana R

Read on for my answer:

Hi, Diana.  Best wishes on your upcoming marriage and congratulations to your fiance!

I am assuming you want to drive yourselves and are not considering taking a helicopter or air tour from Las Vegas to the South Rim.  If you hadn’t thought of flying, you might.  It’s a great way to minimize car-trip boredom, and get your tour and transportation in one.  It’s also the most time-efficient, as you can do one of these tours in half a day instead of a full day.

If you want to drive, start out early to maximize your time and the canyon and beat the heat.  As to where to go and what to do:

From Las Vegas, the West Rim is closest – only about 121 miles (2 hours) versus 278 (4.5 hours) to the South Rim.  The North Rim, while amazing and a great choice, is a longer drive-time from Las Vegas (only 282 miles, but over 5 hours) and with 3 small kids in the car, might prove to be just too long a trip.

The West Rim is where you’ll find the Grand Canyon Skywalk and several other Native American cultural sites.  While the Skywalk offers a unique view of the Canyon (a glass bottom sidewalk that juts out over the edge of the canyon, allowing you to look straight down) it might not be the most kid-friendly activity and while there are several small educational exhibits out there, too, the Skywalk is really the main attraction.  Also, Grand Canyon West is not actually a part of the National Park; it is on Hualapai Tribal land, so if you are going for a more informative, educational and “classic” visit to Grand Canyon National Park, I think the South Rim is a much better choice.  Further, the West Rim is rather expensive to visit… it’s at least $81.20 per adult and $61.16 per child ages 4 – 11. Children must be at least 4 to walk on the Skywalk.  There are extra fees (up to $35 total) just to enter the West Rim and ride the optional shuttle bus from the parking lot.

If you do choose the West Rim, I recommend U-Drive Tours (udrivetours.com) – they’re amazing. They not only package up all the Skywalk tickets and entrance fees to make things easy, but they include in their tour price the rental of a Jeep, SUV, Escalade, Prius or other fun cars that can handle the unpaved road that is the final 15 miles to the West Rim.  The owners are a super nice couple with young kids so they could be very helpful to helping you book the best trip to the West Rim possible. They know that area like the back of their hands and they operate / depart your tour from Las Vegas which is great for you.  They can also help round out the activities by recommending an add-on helicopter flight to the bottom of the canyon, horseback riding or a rafting trip.

The South Rim is the most visited for good reason.  The views are amazing, and the park service does a great job offering free ranger-led programs that are great for kids and will allow you to get the very most out of your 1 full day there.  It’s most crowded in the summer, though, so the trade-offs are big crowds at popular viewpoints and it can be difficult finding parking.

As the mother of an almost three year old, I suggest driving yourself to the South Rim vs. paying for a traditional bus tour for all of you.  I would like the flexibility to come and go in my own car, stop for bathroom breaks, keep “mommy” supplies in the car (change of clothes in case of potty accidents, snacks, etc.)  Plus, not knowing the age of your kids, you might want to bring strollers or a wagon as there is A LOT of walking at the Grand Canyon. Parking lots are usually about 1/4 mile from the rim itself, plus walking along the rim trail.  You can also ride the free hop-on-hop-off shuttle bus that runs around the South Rim from one viewpoint to the next… Definitely take advantage of that.

That’s not to say that tours aren’t a good idea… there are some FABULOUS choices once you’re at/near the South Rim.  Here are some of my favorite totally kid-friendly tour ideas at the south rim:
1) Ride the Grand Canyon Railway from Williams (an hour south of the park) to the South Rim of the park.  There couldn’t be a more relaxing, value-packed and kid-friendly way to spend a full day at the Canyon and they have different price points. www.thetrain.com
2) Take a Jeep Tour with Grand Canyon Jeep Tours… you can depart from either Williams or Tusayan (which is the town just outside the park entrance.)  They do a jeep ride to the bottom of the Canyon which is super cool. (www.grandcanyonjeeps.com)
3) Take a helicopter tour with any of the companies on theCanyon.com – they’re all great and you can’t go wrong. Two popular choices are MaverickHelicopter.com and Papillon.com (which also owns Grand Canyon Helicopters)

To find all these companies, check out theCanyon.com:

Grand Canyon Jeep Tours, U-Drive Tours and Grand Canyon Railway

Grand Canyon Helicopters, Papillon Helicopters, Maverick Helicopter and all helicopter tours from Las Vegas

Have a great trip and again, best wishes for your marriage!

–ChristinaToo