Fly in to Phoenix or Flagstaff. Drive to the South Rim and stay two nights at any available property in the park. This gives you an afternoon and then one full day there. Drive on Desert View heading east, stopping at all overlooks. In Cameron you can stop at the Cameron Trading Post and get some Indian fry bread to go. Head south to Sedona. Once past Flagstaff you’ll take 89A towards Sedona for a beautiful drive in.

In GC your kids are old enough to go down South Kaibab trail to Ooh Aah Point or Cedar Ridge. You’ll need to take a shuttle bus to the trailhead, and there is an extensive fee shuttle system throughout the South Rim to use. I also really enjoyed walking the Rim Trail from the village to the West. There are multiple overlooks, and the shuttle bus stops every mile or so, so you can walk a mile or two then ride to the next overlook and continue that way until the end then ride the bus back.

At the National Park website, research the hikes, closures, how the shuttle system works, and things to do.

Grand Canyon hikes

In Sedona, plan three nights. we did the Pink Jeep tour which we found VERY underwhelming but it is popular. I think the Broken Arrow is their most popular tour. We did the devils bridge hike to the end but there is zero chance I’d let my kids go out on the bridge … although the hike there is cool. There are many other great hikes in Sedona on my list to try when we go back.

Sedona hikes

You absolutely don’t need a guided tour for this trip. 1. Make accommodation reservations 2. Research things to do and hikes for each location 3. Download alltrails app if you are going to hike in Sedona … not necessary for GC as you really can’t get lost if you just do the basic trails.

Option: fly into Las Vegas, cross Hoover Dam, drive on Rte 66 towards Grand Canyon, stopping at Delgadillo’s Snowcap Drive in for ice cream, on way to GC.

The North Rim is closed in April.

Option 2 if you want to drop Sedona … fly into LV, drive to GC for two nights, drive to Page, AZ for one night to see Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, drive to Bryce Canyon for one night [gorgeous and incredible hiking here and beautiful scenic drive through park], drive to Zion and stay three nights [We loved Cable Mountain Lodge]. Drive back to LV to fly home.