Day 1
Newark, New Jersey) – Las Vegas, Nevada.
Landed on Las Vegas Airport on a Friday night, stayed back in Flamingo Hotel for the night.
Day 2
Las Vegas, Nevada – Page, Arizona.
Started driving towards Page, Arizona via Zion National park. You can visit Zion National Park too(we did not visit the park), but it’s literally on the way. The drive is about 4.5 hours but we took our own sweet time, while enjoying some great views on the way. Slept the night in Page about 10 minutes away from Horse Shoe Bend.
Day 3
Page, Arizona – Monument Valley, Utah.
Drove to Horse Shoe Bend to see the sunrise, it was very cold that morning, so make sure to check the weather, it can get really windy out there. Since we visited at sunrise, the entire horse shoe bend was starting to lit up, I would recommend visiting late in the afternoon, when the sun is up, so there will be no shadows.
Next we went to Antelope Canyon, which is a 11 minutes drive from Horse Shoe bend. You can visit the upper canyon or lower canyon, both are beautiful, the only difference is lower canyon is shaped like a “V” meaning walls of the canyon are narrower on the Botton and wider on the top, so more sunlight can come in. Upper canyon is shaped like an “A” meaning walls of the canyon are wider on the Botton and narrower on the top. There are few narrow ladders in the lower canyon too. Make sure to book your guided tour well in advance as you can visit the Antelope Canyon (lower or upper) only through tours, also you are not allowed to carry anything inside , if you do it has to be in a transparent bag. We visited the lower antelope canyon and used the below website to book my tours, as this is a government website. https://navajonationparks.org/guided-tour-operators/antelope-canyon-tour-operators/
Next, we visited Lake Powell view points before driving to our next destination. Lake Powell also has some great canyon views.
Next, we started our drive towards Monument Valley, Utah. It is a 2-hr drive, we booked an Airbnb very close to the park entrance, that’s always my preference, staying close to the attraction, so that I can enjoy the attraction fresh in the morning.
Day 4
Monument Valley, Utah – Grand Canyon, Arizona
In the morning, we woke up to the beautiful views of monument valley. We booked a guided tour, which I DO NOT recommend at all. Please visit on your own vehicle and stop at very viewpoints. It is loop drive with rock formations everywhere.
Next, we had lunch at Goulding’s Lodge near the valley, I highly recommend having the Navajo Taco. Post Lunch, we went to Forrest Grump Point to take some pictures. Then we started driving towards Grand Canyon National Park, which is a 2.5 hour drive and stayed the night inside the park.
Day 5
South Rim Grand Canyon – Flagstaff
We started the day with South Rim Grand Canyon Views. We parked our car, near a bus stop and took the hop-on hop-off bus to enjoy the various views points of Grand Canyon. Yavapai Point & Geology Museum is a must visit, it explains the entire history and geology behind the park. After seeing the sunset in the park, we started driving towards Flagstaff and stayed in Flagstaff for the night.
Day 6
Flagstaff – Black Canyon City – Sedona
We started our day with an hour drive to Meteor Crater Natural Landmark. It is fascinating to see the enormous impact of the crater, you will also be able to touch a real crater, which was once floating in the universe.
Our next stop was a bit unplanned, but a friend recommended this activity and we could not resist. We drove to Black Canyon City for an adventurous UTV ride in the Sonoran desert. We did the Centipede Trail, and it was one of the best experiences driving with along the Saguaro Cactus. If you are an adventurous personality this is a must visit. https://azoutdoorfun.com/guided-tours We also found a great spot for Food, Rock Spring Cafe https://rockspringscafe.com, we ordered veg burger, which was too good.
Next, we got back to Sedona, as our stay for the night was booked in Sedona.
Day 7
We wanted to explore the vortex points in Sedona. We went on a hike to Boynton Canyon, where we received an exceptional handmade heart-shaped rock made by Robert, sometimes referred to as “Flute Man” or “Heart King”. Read more here, https://www.happinessontherocks.com/journal/heartrock
We explored the downtown of Sedona and visited Tlaquepaque Arts & Crafts Village. We saw the sunset at airport Mesa. We stayed back the night in Sedona.
Day 8
In the morning, we started driving towards Phoenix.
Arushi Sharma 