The Grand Canyon should be on everybody’s bucket list. It was definitely on mine. I mean, who doesn’t want to see one of the most amazing wonders of the world!?
The biggest question for me though, was how I was going to get to the Grand Canyon. I struggled with this decision, as all the options to get there take some planning.
In general, it’s 4 to 5 hours away (driving wise) from any of the big commercial airports. However, we did know that we only wanted to visit the Grand Canyon for the day, and that we wanted to be in Las Vegas that same night.
I also had to factor in the fact that my hubby is not fond of long road trips. (I keep trying to convert him, as I think road trips are like the best thing ever, but I’m probably never going to win this battle, like ever… but, I keep trying! ha)
So, I’m going to go through my list of options, and then I’ll ultimately tell you which option Nate and I chose to get there. Let’s dive in!
But first, which entrance should we pick?
There are four entrances to the Grand Canyon, and we need to figure out which one we want to go to.
Here’s the breakdown of all the entrances:
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The South Rim which is the most popular and it’s open all year round. It has the most to offer as far as tourism, hotels/shops, ect.
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The North Rim is more remote and doesn’t have as much tourism. It’s also only open from mid-May to mid-October due to weather.
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The West Rim is owned and operated by the Hualapai Native American tribe and it’s not a part of the Grand Canyon National Park. You cannot drive into the park; you must park your car in a parking lot and take a hop on hop off shuttle to the attractions. For the non-faint at heart, they have a skywalk that juts out over the rim. The park is open year-round, and it’s only 2.5 hours away from Vegas. For more information on pricing and attractions, Click here.
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The East entrance is not as easily accessible and is more known for being close to the popular Horseshoe Bend or Antelope Canyon.
I had no idea that there were 4 entrances when I started my research!
So, the rim I’m choosing is the South rim as it’s the most popular, and I really wanted to see the grand vistas that the Grand Canyon is known for!
Ok, now that we know which rim we are going to, let’s get back to how we are getting to the Grand Canyon.
Flying into Las Vegas
Flying into Las Vegas meant that we would either have to rent a car and drive to the Grand Canyon (and then drive back to Vegas), or we could go on a bus tour.
Let’s look at the breakdown of these options.
Bus tour to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas
Taking the bus tour would involve getting up at the crack of dawn to get on a bus by 6:00 AM. Ok, first of all, we are in Vegas… who’s getting up that early with a hangover? Um… not me!
But… the good thing about a bus tour is that you don’t have to worry about driving, and directions, and all that headache. The bus will pick you up right at your hotel. And bonus, they even stop at the Hoover Dam on the way to the Grand Canyon. Additionally, they will also provide you with breakfast and lunch on the tour.
It is a little spendy, but if you factor in the food, and the other costs, it could be worth it. Here’s where you can find more information on tours.
Driving to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas
The next option is renting a car for the day from Las Vegas, driving to the Grand Canyon, and driving back to Las Vegas.
So, it’s a little over 4 hours to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas with no stops. Realistically, it’s probably going to be more like 5 to 6 hours (we stop a lot) before we get there.
While I liked the freedom of this option, the up to 12 hours of driving is really not sounding like a fun time. Especially with my road trip challenged hubby.
Traveling to and from Las Vegas is not looking good for us. But there is one more option I should mention if you are thinking of traveling from Las Vegas.
Taking a Helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas
There are helicopters that will take you over the Grand Canyon for a spectacular aerial view.
This is a good option if you are pressed for time, or just don’t want to be away from your winning streak on the Vegas strip for too long.
That, and the views can’t be beat.
The caveat is, it’s expensive… Like $300-$600 per person expensive. Now, I didn’t dig into this too deeply as neither one of us are fond of heights, and to be honest, I didn’t want to spend the money. But you might be able to find them cheaper if you do shorter helicopter rides, like to the West Rim instead of the South Rim.
People that have done it, say that it’s an amazing way to see the canyon, and I totally believe them. So, if you have the funds, and are not afraid of heights, it’s worth it. Here’s more information on helicopter rides.
If you decide that you want to start out in Vegas, or if you want more information on planning a Las Vegas vacation, check out my Vegas Guide.
Flying into Phoenix
Flying into Phoenix will require us to rent a car since we still want to ultimately end up in Vegas.
The drive will be 3.5 hours to the Grand Canyon. A little shorter than the Vegas option, but we would still have a 4.5-5-hour drive after the Grand Canyon, so about 8 hours and some change total for driving.
Driving from Phoenix also offers us to see some of the landscape of Arizona (something we hadn’t seen yet), and the drive would be continuously going forward, versus going through the same terrain with the driving to and fro option from Vegas.
We liked that idea. Plus, I wanted to see some cactuses.
Well… maybe you guessed it. We flew into Arizona
The drive was amazing! We went from cactuses, to rolling hills, to flat land, and then, shockingly, pine trees with Mule deer at the entrance to the park!
Grand Canyon
On the drive, I wanted to stop every 5 miles and get out of the car to snap pictures, no joke. Arizona is such a pretty state!
We made it to the Grand Canyon about an hour before sunset.
If I could do it differently, it would be to arrive in the Phoenix airport as early in the morning as possible. Our plane didn’t land until 11:30 am, and by the time we got the rental car and was on the road, it was 1:00 pm.
We made it to the Grand Canyon around 5:00 pm. And we spent a little over an hour walking around and checking out some of the overlooks. We didn’t realize that the sun would be setting so early at 6:00! So, we left earlier than we thought we would, but it was probably a good thing, because, as it was, we didn’t get to Vegas until 11:00 pm.
Next time I would stay overnight closer to the Grand Canyon
One other thing I would do differently, would be to stay overnight in either Sedona, Flagstaff or Tusayan. I recently stayed in Sedona and was blown away by how beautiful it is there. If you are looking for more information on Sedona, check out my post on 4 days in Sedona.
If you are looking for more information on what to do and where to stay in the Grand Canyon area, check out this detailed guide from Arizona travel.
Final thoughts on how to get to the Grand Canyon
As you can see, there are many options for getting to the Grand Canyon. And there are even more options that I discovered since this trip, like you can do a day trip and take the train from Williams, Arizona! So neat!
Whatever way you decide to get to the Grand Canyon, have fun making those memories!
