Dear Arizona Travel:

Visiting the US for the first time from Wales UK in early April. We will stay in Phoenix for 2 days with our daughter at Uni.,then shuttle to Flagstaff for much of the remainder of our 10 day trip. The Budget Inn, Flagstaff, seems to be well considered or do you have another to recommend?
However, we fancy seeing Las Vegas for a short trip (1 or 2 nights.) Please can you advise us on travel? We would welcome advice. Thank you.

Rebecca R.

Dear Rebecca,

Your trip sounds wonderful! Welcome to the US!

Flagstaff’s weather should be lovely in early April; you’ll experience high temps of about 57°F (14°C) and lows around 26°F (-3°C) with a majority of the month being sunny or partly cloudy.

The Budget Inn in Flagstaff is not a hotel with which I’m personally familiar but I can recommend a couple of other hotels that might suit your budget as well as be a bit more comfortable for a 10-day stay. Look for “Inn and Suites” type hotels, which has become a sort of code word or euphemism for “upscale motel.”  I think a suite hotel, with a typical two-room setup (or at least a bachelor suite with a separate sitting area) and sometimes a fridge, microwave or even a full kitchen, makes an extended stay more comfortable, less expensive and healthier (when you prepare some of your own meals and snacks in the suite.)

Try these Flagstaff inn and suites:

• Hotel Aspen Inn Suites (around $64/night for a two-room suite in early April) Book Here
• Days Inn and Suites (around $75 – $99/night for a mini-suite to two-room suite in early April) Book Here
• Embassy Suites Flagstaff (around $129/night in early April) Book Here

» Another smart tip: Look for hotels with a 3rd or 4th Night Free promotion, and those with complimentary Continental or full breakfast included in the rate (such as Embassy Suites) to add further value to your 10-day stay.

Embassy Suites Flagstaff

Las Vegas is a great 1 – 2 night side trip idea, and it’s easy to drive there from Flagstaff.  I suggest you rent a car (I would rent a car in Phoenix for the entire trip, myself… Flagstaff is a walkable city, but you’ll need a car at some point, since cabs get expensive and there is no public bus or metro transportation in and around Flagstaff.) Drive yourselves to Las Vegas via Interstate 40 to US-93. Las Vegas is approximately 250 miles (402 km) and takes 4 hours, 10 minutes.  You can browse, compare and book Las Vegas hotels on Flagstaff.com’s hotel booking tool, and I suggest you opt for a Las Vegas hotel on “The Strip” versus Downtown Las Vegas or Off the Strip. Of course, the Strip is where you’ll find the ultimate in luxury hotels (and prices) but there are several budget-friendly casino resort hotels such as Bally’s that will put you right in the center of the action and still leave money left over for a little gambling and entertainment.

You can’t come to Flagstaff for ten days and not venture out to see the Grand Canyon (another reason to have your own rental car.) It’s just 90 minutes from Flagstaff to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, and you can soak up the awesome beauty in a day-long trip, walking along the Rim Trail to different view points, attending free Park Ranger talks and dining in the Grand Canyon National Park lodges and visitors’ areas. Check out our sister website, theCanyon.com, for things to do at the Grand Canyon, from helicopter tours to day hikes to free events.

Once again, welcome to the US and enjoy your trip!

– ChristinaToo

Get outta town! You can book an outstanding Sedona hotel for up to 50% off this Tuesday and Wednesday.

Call or go online to make your reservations during Kokopelli Suites’ 48-hour sale August 24th and 25th for almost any travel dates through 2010.

During this sale, suites will be available for Sunday through Thursday travel dates at 50% off rack rates and a 30% discount on Friday and Saturday nights through the end of the year.

Guests can book online using promo code 50 or by calling the hotel directly at 800-789-7393.

There are a few rules you have to follow in order to get the deal, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. First, you have to book between 12:01 am on Tuesday August 24th and end at midnight on Wednesday August 25th – it’s a 48-hour sale, after all. The sale excludes the holiday weekends of Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas weekends, but there are tons of other dates of which you can take advantage. And you’ll have to pay for the balance of the stay in full at the time of booking, and the reservation is non-cancelable and non-refundable… no biggie since we know you’ll be so excited to get outta town and explore Sedona that nothing will get in the way of your vacation getaway.

Upscale Sedona Lodging On Sale 50% Off

Now, about the hotel itself: Kokopelli Suites, a AAA three diamond rated property located in West Sedona, has undergone a four -phased $2 million renovation of the hotel, which was completed this year. The hotel won the 2009 “Best of Sedona Hotel Management” award and prides itself in offering upgraded amenities such as plasma TVs, down bedding and organic bath products. In addition, guests receive complimentary snacks at check-in and a buffet breakfast each morning included in the price of their suite.

For more information, visit www.kokopellisuites.com or call 1-800-789-7393.

Still looking for something to do for the Fourth of July?  Want to get away to the cool pines of Northern Arizona?  Or are you looking for a really great, old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration to beat the band?

Take advantage of some of the last-minute getaway offers from these Northern Arizona and Grand Canyon area hotels and bed & breakfasts.

Check out thecanyon.com’s 11th Hour Getaways page for last-minute deals and big savings in the Grand Canyon area.  For example, you’ll find a two-night stay in a luxury bed & breakfast in Williams – just a beautiful one-hour drive from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon – for less than $200/night.

You’ll find more Arizona hotel deals on thecanyon.com and all our Arizona Travel Sites – check them out on the right side menu.

THE DEAL: Caravan Tours’ 8-day escorted Grand Canyon tour takes you from Phoenix to Sedona, and on to the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and ends in Vegas. Price includes hotels, tour escort, 12 meals, and activities such as a Jeep tour of Monument Valley and a boat cruise in Antelope Valley. Tour dates: October 8, 17, 24. Note: Price does not include airfare. For more information, go to www.caravantours.com or call 800-CARAVAN

On your tour…
WHERE TO EAT: In Phoenix, Pizza Bianco is the go-to place for some of the best pizza in America. Bronx-born chef Chris Bianco took home a James Beard best chef award not so long ago for his crisp-crusted pies. The downside is the wait — they don’t take reservations, and it can be hours. There is, however, a bar right next door. If, on the other hand, you don’t want to hang around, there’s a branch of Brooklyn’s own Grimaldi’s over in Scottsdale. (Pizza Bianco; 623 East Adams Street. Patsy Grimaldi’s Coal Brick-Oven Pizzeria, 4000 North Scottsdale Road)

WHAT TO SEE: The premier American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, made his home in Scottsdale, at Taliesin West, which also served as the master’s office. The complex is open for tours. For more info, go to www.franklloydwright.org.

WHERE TO SHOP: Check out the galleries and shops in the artist town of Sedona; pick up Native American pottery and jewelry at the trading posts on the itinerary.

WHAT TO ADD ON: Once you’ve seen the natural wonders at the Grand Canyon, take a look at the manmade wonders on the strip in Vegas, and add an extra few days to your trip, gambling on luck and seeing a show or two.

Adventure Photo Tours, an eight year veteran in the Las Vegas sightseeing tour industry, introduces the most upscale ground tour package ever to the magnificent Grand Canyon National Park, the world’s #1 sightseeing attraction.

(PRWEB) June 2, 2006 — Adventure Photo Tours is known for its unique and very interesting tours in a fleet of Ford Expedition 4×4 vehicles to some of the southwest’s most interesting geographic locations. With the addition of a NEW fleet of 14 passenger luxury mini coaches, Adventure Photo Tours is making their customers feel very pampered and special. The vehicles are equipped with soft ride suspensions, extra sound insulation, oversize viewing windows, pillow top luxury motor coach seating, pillows & blankets, HD widescreen DVD players and top line sound systems. To insure everyone is well fed on their way to the Grand Canyon National Park, breakfast, lunch, snacks and bottled water are all included on this tour.

Because Las Vegas has grown away from the discount days of the old El Rancho, Binion’s and Stardust hotels to the upscale city of today with properties like Bellagio, Paris and Venetian, a more upscale ground tour product was necessary to satisfy these new buyers. Although, Donna Tryon, President and CEO of Adventure Photo Tours comments, “Just because the town is now a very upscale destination there is still room for a high end tour product at an affordable price, this is a business model that works in any industry.”

Interestingly, Las Vegas is near many of the great natural wonders of the southwest which allows Adventure Photo Tours to service most of them with a wide selection of day tours. Will Tryon Vice President of Adventure Photo Tours commented, “Most people prefer day tours and I can identify with that. I like to think of myself as Indiana Jones but at the end of the day I want to be in a fine dining room with a Sirloin steak and a glass of Merlot in front of me.”

The word “photo” in Adventure Photo Tours indicates their style of tour presentation which is to stop as many times as possible during a tour to allow the passengers to get out to take photos. This type of fun and interactive day combined with knowledgeable tour guides creates a wonderful and memorable experience for the sightseeing customer.

For more information on this wonderful company and the natural attractions surrounding this remote and amazing city in the middle of the Mojave Desert go to www.adventurephototours.com or call 888-363-8687

How to Make Family Road Trips Good, Healthy Fun

Here, a suggestion for Arizona family-oriented road-trip vacations:

Grand Canyon: Many tour companies offer Grand Canyon packages that include lodging, several meals, and guided hiking, rafting or air tours. The terrain can be challenging; this kind of package is best suited for children at least 10 years old.

from May 2006 issue of budgettravelonline.com