Dear Arizona Travel:

We are traveling from London 1 adult, 3 children- I do not want to drive. We would like to head for the Grand Canyon in late October -  maybe fly into Flagstaff and take the train. Then stay at a lodge, take a scenic flight and take the overnight mule trip. We then need to go back to Tucson where we plan to stay on a dude ranch. Can you help me build an itinerary?
Thanks,
Anne

Hi, Anne. I believe you’re in a position in which many potential Arizona visitors find themselves. It’s easy to misunderstand the geography of the area and be confounded by the array of available tours available at the Grand Canyon.  I’ll be honest and tell you that driving yourself yourself at least some of the trip is the most sensible way to go, but if you’re dead set against driving yourself, it’s not impossible to do it your way.

The Grand Canyon Railway does not depart Flagstaff; it leaves from Williams, which is 39 miles west of Flagstaff. Most people drive from Flagstaff to Williams, but you could take a taxi (try www.afriendlycab.com).  You can certainly stay in a lodge at the Grand Canyon rim, using the free shuttles to explore the South Rim itself, and take your scenic helicopter flight over the Grand Canyon from the South Rim area (flights depart from the airport near the Village of Tusayan. You’ll need a cab from the lodges at the Rim to go about 8 miles to the Grand Canyon airport helicopter pad for your flight.)

You will take the mule trip from the South Rim. Call Xanterra Parks & Resorts at (303) 297-2757 to reserve as soon as possible. Reservations can be made up to 13 months in advance and they fill up very, very quickly.

You may take the train back to Williams on a different day than your train trip up to the Grand Canyon rim, I believe up to 2 nights, 3 days between trips. If the Grand Canyon Railway folks give you the go ahead, note that the train goes back to Williams in the afternoon… just be sure to ask the mule trip folks if you’ll back back up at the Rim in time to catch the train back to Williams.

You’ll need to drive or take a cab back from Williams to Flagstaff and board your flight from Flagstaff, connecting through Phoenix to Tucson. As for transportation to the dude ranch in Tucson, I can only speculate that you’ll be able to take a cab from the airport to your final destination.

Thus, your itinerary might look something like this:

• Day 1:
  • Flight from (or connecting through) Phoenix to Flagstaff
  • Cab ride to Williams
  • Stay overnight in Williams (For your itinerary, I recommend the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel)
• Day 2:
  • Train ride up to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon
  • Explore Rim by shuttle and on foot
  • Cab ride to Grand Canyon Airport for a helicopter tour
  • Cab ride back to Grand Canyon Village at the Rim
  • Stay overnight in one of the Lodges (book up to 13 months in advance)
• Day 3:
  • Depart on Mule Trip from the South Rim
  • Stay overnight at Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the Canyon (book at least 13 months in advance)
• Day 4:
  • Return from the Mule Trip, back up the Rim
  • Take the afternoon train back to Williams
  • Cab ride to Flagstaff
  • Stay overnight in Flagstaff
• Day 5:
  • Flight from Flagstaff through Phoenix to Tucson
  • Cab ride to Dude Ranch (theoretically)

Hope this helps! Take care and enjoy this very full and exciting-sounding trip!

–ChristinaToo

Dear Arizona Travel,
My wife and I will be visiting Sedona in April, and then will spend a few days on the South Rim.  I want to go ahead of her by a day to do some hiking and would like to find out if there is a bus or shuttle service from Sedona to the South Rim.  If so, can you please provide details on it or a web link?
Thanks,
Brian, Pennsylvania

Hi, Brian.

Sure! You can either pay for a “tour” from Sedona to the Grand Canyon and maybe not take the round trip back to Sedona, or you can take a shuttle from Sedona to Flagstaff and Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon.

For the “tour” option, we recommend All About Grand Canyon Tours (priced at $99).
For the shuttle option, we recommend Arizona Shuttle. You’ll pay $25 for Sedona to Flagstaff and $24 – $28 for Flagstaff to Grand Canyon (does not include the park entrance fee.)

Have fun!
ChristinaToo

Here’s a question we received this week on our site, Scottsdale-Phoenix.net:

 

I am planning on flying to Phoenix in September and was hoping to locate a bus or train that goes to Sedona, near Phoenix airport. Please let me know the status of transportation from Phoenix to Sedona. I wasn’t planning on renting a car.

Thanks, Sue from California

ChristinaToo says:

Hi, Sue. We recommend the Sedona-Phoenix Shuttle. You can find a link to their website from this page on Sedona.net: Sedona Shuttles & Transportation

However, you may rethink not getting a rental car; once you arrive in Sedona, you’ll want to explore the town and it’s too large to do so on foot and taxi service would equal the cost of a rental car anyway. If you want to wait until you get to Sedona to rent a car, that’s a viable option and there are several companies to check into: Sedona Car Rental, Enterprise Rent-a-Car and several others. Check out our Directory page for more details: Sedona Car Rental Directory

FYI: There is no train that runs from Phoenix to Sedona. Folks interested in riding a train can, however, board an Amtrak line in Maricopa (train station MRC) to Flagstaff (train station FLG). Greyhound bus options are available to and from Phoenix, Flagstaff and Sedona to augment your trip.

Good luck and have a great trip!

–Christina

We hope this helps anyone out there with the same question… enjoy Sedona!