Help with itinerary please

Feedback and suggestions needed to see if this itinerary is OK

We fly from Australia to New York and arrive back in LA on the night of 15th April. Overnight at LAX airport hotel and pick up rental car on 16th April.

17th April - Drive from LAX to Las Vegas and stgay for 1 night.

18th April - Drive from LAX to Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim). I think via Williams is the shortest route??

19th April - Drive from Grand Canyon National Park to Tucson, then overnight in Tucson

20th April - Hubby wants to go to the PIMA Air %26amp; Space Museum

21st April - Drive from Tucson to Anaheim

22 - 23rd April - 2 days at Disneyland

24th April - 1/2 day sightseeing before catching flight back to Australia.

We have been lucky that we have been to Las Vegas before so if there is another way to avoid Vegas or take an alternative route so that we don%26#39;t return to LA the same way we came.

Thanks in advance for your help

Help with itinerary please

What will you do on the 16th? It appears that your goal is to get from LAX to the GC as fast as possible. If that is the case, why not fly from NY to, say, Phoenix, Arizona and then drive from Phoenix, through Flagstaff, AZ to the GC? This will save SO MUCH TIME.

Help with itinerary please

I agree, way to much driving. Tucson is a long drive from the Grand Canyon, and you are missing everything in between.

If Disneyland is your goal, why not fly into LAX, or John Wayne Airport, and fly out of Las Vegas, or Phoenix.

We live in the LA area. We drove to Las Vegas and saw the Hoover Dam. We spent the night and then drove to Page, and did the Float trip on the Colorado River. We spent the night in Page and then drove on to spend one night at a hotel near the Grand Canyon. This allowed us two entire days at the Grand Canyon. We then drove to Sedona.

My recommendation is skip Tucson and visit the Sedona area, Jerome, Montezuma%26#39;s Castle, Oak Creek Canyon, etc. We loved the Pink Jeep Tour in Sedona.

I think you are trying to fit too much into too short of a time. Decide what you really want to see, and enjoy rather than driving from place to place. You can easily spend an entire week in Northern Arizona.

I%26#39;m a little confused. On 17th April you are in Vegas, and you drive to the Grand Canyon from there, not from LAX, right? Either way, yes, through Williams is the shortest route.

From Tuscon to Anaheim, take Interstate 10 from Phoenix into LA area.

Just to clarify our current travel plans.

We fly into LAX on the night of the 15th April. Our main aim is to see the Grand Canyon ending with taking the kids to Disneyland for 2 days on the 22-23 April.

We would like to take the shortest route to the Grand Canyon area and also see Sedona. We don%26#39;t want to backtrack over the same way we got there. This way we will be able to see more of the USA.

To us, Vegas did seem out of the way but our logic was that we would do a big loop!

Would love to hear better ideas to shorten our time driving everyday.

Thanks for the posts that I have already received.

If you are interested in a loop, and you want to see as much as possible, and end up at Disneyland, then

recommend LAX to Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon to Sedona. You can then take either the 10 or the 40 to Disneyland. Still an awful lot of driving though the Desert for such a short period of time. Keep in mind the Grand Canyon will still be chilly in April.

What about spending the first couple of days in Disneyland, then heading toward the Grand Canyon? I think driving all the way to the Grand Canyon after you have flown from Australia is a lot of sitting. Have some fun first!

Do you already have your NY to LAX air tickets? So you are stuck flying this route? Well, Seems you have no plan for Apr 16. I would drive directly from LAX to Anaheim on night of the 15th, after traffic, and spend 16 17 at Disneyland. Then 18th drive to Grand Canyon for two nights, then you have a few nights open to see everything else.

Joshua Tree National Park is nice that time of year so you might consider one night in Palm Springs, with a visit to Joshua Tree.

Based on forum postings we have adjusted our itinerary. Its now goes like this:

10th April Aust-LAX-NYC

15th April NYC - LAX then pick up rental car

15th %26amp; 16th April in Hollywood/LA Area

17th April drive from LA to GC South Rim

18th April Drive GC to Sedona

19th April Drive Sedona to Tucson

20th April Go to PIMA for 1/2 day then drive back to Phoenix area (western side)

21st April Drive Phoenix to Anaheim

22nd April Disneyland

23rd April Disneyland

24th April sightseeing then to airport for late PM flight back to Oz.

Does anyone have recommendations for reasonably priced accom in Tucson (near PIMA) and in West Phoenix area (maybe Avondale area/)?

Thanks everyone for your help

We%26#39;ve visited GC in April. At 7,000 feet, it was fairly cool! Tucson in April is much warmer; last year it was in the 80%26#39;s. Ask the helpful folks on the Tucson forum.

I think even a half day spent at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is ';required'; after traveling that far. Your kids should really enjoy it.

This weather website www.wunderground.com has a Trip Planner feature that will give you the historical weather of any destination. Very useful for trips like yours ~ varying elevations, seasons, and locations.