The GRAND CANYON- South Rim Or West Rim? (Phoenix: rent, to buy)

[KevK]

We will be in Vegas in a few months for 5 days and this time we want to take a bus tour to the Grand Canyon- or drive there ourselves, we have not decided yet. The bus tours seem to offer either the west rim or the south rim. One offers some kind of sky deck and another offers lunch with the Indians which would be awesome.
What would you take? Which is better? Would you do bus tour or just drive yourself?

[kdog]

They're completely different experiences. Some would say the west rim really isn't the grand canyon. It's a lot more narrow there. The west rim is completely owned and operated by the Hualapai Indian tribe. The only way to see the west rim is to buy a tour package when you arrive for $50 or more. Then, they scalp you another $25 to go out onto the Skywalk. For that price, you do get unlimited bus rides to several viewpoints and attractions like a western village, a recreated Indian village, and Indian dance performance, and you get lunch. It's a good 1/2 day worth of entertainment. There are no guard rails or fences there, so you it's more of a wide-open experience. This "lunch with the Indians" sounds more like the west rim too. That would be the lunch that they give you, literally served by the Indians and some may join you as well. The west rim is MUCH closer to Vegas. I'd probably just drive there, although there is a good stretch of dirt road on the entrance to navigate.

The south rim is a national park. So there are lots of guard rails at the main viewpoints, but still plenty of open canyon as well. There's a lot more hiking, and places to drive around, more restaurants, gifts shops and galleries, tour buses, etc. Most of the grand canyon pictures you see are from the south rim, or possibly the north rim. Super views there, but not as built-up and commercialized as the south rim.

I'm not a big bus person, so I'd drive to any of these areas before I'd take a bus tour. And just to confuse the issue, you might also consider going to the north rim. Super views there, but not as commercialized from what I hear (I haven't been there yet.)

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by KevK

We will be in Vegas in a few months for 5 days and this time we want to take a bus tour to the Grand Canyon- or drive there ourselves, we have not decided yet. The bus tours seem to offer either the west rim or the south rim. One offers some kind of sky deck and another offers lunch with the Indians which would be awesome.
What would you take? Which is better? Would you do bus tour or just drive yourself?

From what I've heard the skywalk is a rip. You drive hundreds of miles out of your way and then the road is closed. You have to take their buses to the Skywalk that cost $49, then you get to pay another $25 each to get onto it. When you're done there is nothing else to do.

The Train is a little expensive but it takes to to the middle of everything.
I drive and then go east along the South Rim hit Wupatki and Sunset Crater

[kdog]

Originally Posted by Boompa

From what I've heard the skywalk is a rip. You drive hundreds of miles out of your way and then the road is closed. You have to take their buses to the Skywalk that cost $49, then you get to pay another $25 each to get onto it. When you're done there is nothing else to do.

A few corrections. First of all, GC West is 133 miles from Vegas, while the south rim is 275 miles. So GC West is MUCH more convenient to Vegas.

Second, I would have to take exception to your characterization of GC West as being "a rip" based on what you "heard". I've been there, and I didn't consider it a rip-off. You get a good 1/2 day of entertainment and lunch. One doesn't need to spend the extra $25 for the Skywalk if they want to skip it. I'll tell you one thing, GC West will give you a chance to see Indian culture that you will never experience at the south rim national park.

[azdr0710]

kdog makes some excellent, balanced analysis....

the "West Rim" (I think that's a name the local natives came up with) IS much closer to Vegas, but you have a somewhat bumpy dirt road to navigate at one point and it isn't flat....also, this area of the canyon is not the widest, most-wow part of the canyon....in fact, the Skywalk is over a side arm of the canyon, not the main channel...so there's a trade-off.....I presume the natives have come up with a decent setup for the tourists, despite the seemingly-high price....would be easy to go from LV and be back at a decent hour

the South Rim, as kdog says, is part of the National Park, so is highly developed and very organized, but much farther....better views and facilities....I'm sure LV has tours to here, but would be a long, tiring day and you need time to just sit, hike, and enjoy the canyon...it IS spectacular.....

many feel the North Rim, also part of the National Park, has the best views of all the developed areas...but it is longer from LV than any of these other options...it's higher, colder, much-less developed than the South Rim....too far from LV for a day.....

official sites (not private advertising):

Grand Canyon National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Grand Canyon West

[MissingIndiana]

I was just in Vegas early last December and drove out to the west rim with some friends. We stopped at the Hoover Dam, which is only 30 miles or so from the strip, because it was on the way. The west rim is kind of out there on some backroads, but I enjoyed that part of the trip. You still get to see some rocks and mountains out that way and the twisty dirt road portion really wasn't much more than 10-12 miles of the entire trip. We easily drove it in a Ford Focus, so it's not like it's really that rough of a road.

I also felt that it was a little expensive once you got there. You do have to pay what seems like a large amount just to travel the 1.5-2 miles down to the canyon rim on their bus. The skywalk is another $25, and I would skip it. You are able to walk right up to the edge a little farther down for free and it's just as good of a view in my opinion as going out of the skywalk. They also have helicopter rides through the canyon, but those were a little expensive too.

I'd like to go back and visit the south rim, but I'd think that could take much more time. If I were you, since you're just in Vegas for 5 days, I would rent a car and drive out to the west end.

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by kdog

A few corrections. First of all, GC West is 133 miles from Vegas, while the south rim is 275 miles. So GC West is MUCH more convenient to Vegas.

Second, I would have to take exception to your characterization of GC West as being "a rip" based on what you "heard". I've been there, and I didn't consider it a rip-off. You get a good 1/2 day of entertainment and lunch. One doesn't need to spend the extra $25 for the Skywalk if they want to skip it. I'll tell you one thing, GC West will give you a chance to see Indian culture that you will never experience at the south rim national park.

I guess it is an assumption on your part that the OP would be coming from Las Vegas rather than Phoenix or the East. You haven't seen the Canyon unless you've been to Mather. What about the bus, or can you now drive to the skywalk?

[MissingIndiana]

Originally Posted by Boompa

I guess it is an assumption on your part that the OP would be coming from Las Vegas rather than Phoenix or the East. You haven't seen the Canyon unless you've been to Mather. What about the bus, or can you now drive to the skywalk?

He wasn't making an assumption. The very first sentence of the OP specifically says they will be travelling to the Canyon from LV. Just sayin.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by kdog

A few corrections. First of all, GC West is 133 miles from Vegas, while the south rim is 275 miles. So GC West is MUCH more convenient to Vegas.

Second, I would have to take exception to your characterization of GC West as being "a rip" based on what you "heard". I've been there, and I didn't consider it a rip-off. You get a good 1/2 day of entertainment and lunch. One doesn't need to spend the extra $25 for the Skywalk if they want to skip it. I'll tell you one thing, GC West will give you a chance to see Indian culture that you will never experience at the south rim national park.

Gosh bless! I did not know the south rim was so far away from the west rim! I thought maybe 20 miles or so! We will DEFINITELY be going to the west rim in that case. Is the view from the sky walk worth $50 for 2 of us? For that much it better be spectacular!

[KevK]

All I am looking for is a really great view and good pictures for the camera. Do the Indians mind if people take photos of them? I know some people have religious hang ups about photos.