How To Do The Grand Canyon Best: Where To Stay And What To See

Hello first-Grand-Canyon-timers! I, like you, had never seen the Grand Canyon up close and personal. In late May, I decided on a whim to book a flight and just go – solo.

I checked it off my bucket-list in early June and I couldn't be happier with the result. I'm going to break down everything, from where I flew in (PHX), to renting a car (Turo), to staying close by (Flagstaff), and getting the most bang for your buck.

Exhibit A: Antelope Canyon, shot on iPhone X (with some editing, I'll admit!)

First things first, I flew Southwest from San Francisco to Phoenix. Yes, I landed in Phoenix, not Las Vegas.

A lot of people keep asking me this question and it really comes down to where you want to stay. I personally wanted to stay on the Arizona side so I opted for a Phoenix flight. I feel like this has become a personal decision, so what does your heart tell you?

I rented a wonderful little Honda Fit on Turo to drive almost exactly the amount of miles allowed.

When renting on Turo, one of the most important things to look out for is the mileage amount. Unless you're renting a car to zip around town in, keep a close eye on the amount of miles and the fee per mile over.

A lot of folks have never heard of Turo before, but I've used the company quite a few times instead of using a big chain. The cars listed belong to individual owners and because of that, there's not as much waste involved as regular car rental companies like Hertz or National. There's also a significant amount of flexibility with the vehicle. You can take an Uber to go grab the car – or they pick you up at the airport – or you find the car in a parking lot nearby – there are many options! Oh, and by the way, IT IS SO MUCH CHEAPER.

If you'd like to try out Turo (anywhere), you can use this referral link to get $25 off your first trip! That might not seem like much to the Hertz customer, but once you see the price difference on Turo, you'll realize that it can be a day free in some cases!

For this solo trip, I stayed in Flagstaff, Arizona.

This was another hot-button issue throughout the blogosphere – where on earth should you stay? Sedona? Williams? In the park? I chose Flagstaff and I'll tell you why.

Although I was looking for a small, great town to stay in, I wasn't looking for anything too small. I still needed to have access to gas stations and I wanted to enjoy restaurants and bars and quality coffee – Flagstaff is perfect for this.

Situated along Historic Route 66, Flagstaff is a wonderful community with a bustling downtown. The people were friendly and the only traumatic experience was the road work at 9 pm that completely shut down every highway entrance into the place (extending my drive by almost 45 minutes trying to navigate another way into town, in the dark). I decided not to stay in or near the park because visiting a National Park is so much more than just that. It's also learning about what surrounds the park, supporting the people and businesses nearby, and showing appreciation for something on many different grounds.

Learning moments: the hotels in Flagstaff are great. I was on an extremely pinched budget, but I'd recommend staying at the Hotel Monte Vista. Although haunted, it sounded great and the staff was so wonderful and friendly on the phone. You can call to book your room and secure something sans ghosts and loud noise. Not to mention, the location is unbeatable.

Image via Flickr on Google

First up, entering the Grand Canyon from the South Rim.

I drove over from Flagstaff around 4:30 PM, which meant there was pretty much no car line to get in. I took Highway 180 to Highway 64 (hello, Flinstones!) and mapped to the Grand Canyon Village. Parking was pretty available since it was much later and I avoided the crowds. This was perfect for summer, as sunset wasn't until 7:50 PM.

This spot has that ~*Grand Canyon View*~ you've been searching for. There are also other points I've outlined in my map at the bottom that have great views of the Canyon.

I hiked a portion of Bright Angel Trail as the sun was slowly going down.

This was perfect for photo opportunities WITH MY SELFIE STICK – five stars, highly recommend for solo Grand Canyoning – and finding people on the trail to take pictures of me/I'd take a family photo for them. 

Everyone says this, but remember that the hike down is way, way easier than the hike up! Thankfully, there was much more shade on the way up. Once I made it up, I ate some ice cream in the village and watched the sun go down from one of the many points up top to view.

Drive around Flagstaff, enjoying the lights and grab a beer!

There are so many adorable spots and so much neon to photograph. I highly recommend checking out the downtown strip, grabbing a beer or three, and maybe a late-night bite.

Image via Flickr, through Google

Taking a guided tour of Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon.

I decided to book a tour of Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon with a professional company since A. I didn't want to drive all the way to Utah, and B. I wanted to make sure I could get into Antelope Canyon since it's hard to get a spot last minute.

I opted for Grand Canyon Adventures, an established tour company that was fantastic. Our tour guide knew all about the Navajo Reservation we drove through and told us historic stories of the Navajo and Hopi people. We had the opportunity to stop for a photo and see the Canyon from semi-above, which was really cool. 

The hike up and down the hill to Horseshoe Bend was quite intense in the 95 degree heat. We were warned of the number of people who had fallen to their untimely deaths at Horseshoe Bend and saw that they were in the process of building a fence (as of June, 2018) – so I'd get there fast! One surprising aspect of Horseshoe Bend that you don't really understand until you experience it is how vast and giant it is. In the photo below, you'll notice a white dot near the upper right-hand side – that's a freakin' boat! 

Antelope Canyon should be on everyone's bucket lists. It was phenomenal. Antelope Canyon requires a Navajo guide. The guides are normally young and extremely knowledgeable about both Antelope Canyon – and your camera settings! You'll realize that every single photo you take looks like it belongs in National Geographic.

One thing they don't really communicate is how many stairs/stair ladders you'll be climbing. I would be careful if you not in the best health or if you're older! My fifty-five-year-old parents would've been fine, but this was not something I could take my 79-year-old grandmother to. I included an image below of the stair out and my emergence, taken by one of the wonderful retirees on my tour.

After returning from the tour, I drove to Sedona, AZ – which was basically the Lost City of Atlantis meets Old Town San Diego – for a delicious dinner of fancy taquitos at 89Agave. 

I drove from Sedona to Scottsdale, checked into The Saguaro Scottsdale and spent the following day sunbathing and getting ready for my flight home!