You are time poor - I suggest if you want to see the Grand Canyon, get a helicopter flight.
Welcome to the forum, Justin ... and a nice post.
However I think most regulars on here would try to persuade the OP to drive, and spend a night at the GCNP South Rim. Did your helicopter tour go right to the GCNP Village, or was it limited to the West Rim area ... most helicopter trips are.
I had been a little confused over the difference between the National Park and National Forest.
Will there be massive sequoias there I can photograph and just look at in awe?
The US land management system can be dauntingly complex for tourists. National Forests (and Bureau of Land Management areas) contain vast tracts of land with all sorts of different primary uses, with scenic or recreational attractions usually being a bit lower-profile than NPs (not always true, but generally). National Parks are lands set aside specificially for their scenic, recreational, scientific or culutural significance, ususally with much more developed visitor services. Most foriegn visitors have only heard of the NPs, and if they have heard of other natural attractions outside the NPs, they often understandably assume that its all part of a NP. Sequia NP and Sequoia NF are a particularly confusing example. Another good example is Horseshoe Bend - it is sort of near the Grand Canyon and is often featured with the GC in marketing materials, but it is not part of GC National Park, and the canyon is not the grand canyon.
Anyway, FWIW, you can see the giant trees in Yosemite, without a time-consuming detour to Sequoia (and sparing you an essentially wasted night in Bakersfield).
Although I see what you're thinking with Day 6, I'm going to side with the others that it is a pretty nutty schedule. Don't do this to yourself. Its technically possible, I suppose, but like has been pointed out above, leaves absolutely zero margin for either things going wrong, or slowing down to enjoy yourself a bit more. "seeing more" doesn't necessarily mean ticking off more boxes, it might mean doing a bit better job seeing the places you are most interested in. I'd start by not trying to squeeze in an hour at GC North Rim. If you're going to go to the north rim, it demands at least a full half day, and more is better. Otherwise, skip it and make better use of your time at the South Rim.
I do hear what you're saying about scheduling a bit of a margin for yourself at Vegas, since you can't miss the concert. But I do think you've gone a bit far in that regard, having multiple days of hiking at Red Rock and a couple more just kncoking around Vegas, and just a couple hours each at Zion and Grand Canyon. That's all out of whack. Also consider that September is still more or less summer in the desert around Vegas - you'll enjoy hiking a lot more at other spots on your itinerary.
Other comments...the Zion shuttle is not a "tour", its just a shuttle bus that goes up the canyon and back down. A single shuttle bus ride a Zion is a tragic waste of a visit, compounded by the fact that you'll likely be driving out of the spectacular east entrance in the dark.
FWIW, #3 misses the point a bit with driving at night. I'm a "local" and I don't avoid driving at night, nor does anyone else I know. I've driven these very roads at night literally thousands of times. You do have to be extra vigilent for animals, that much is true, but I would not build my trip around that concern. More significant to me is that you can miss a lot incredible scenery driving at night - the whole reason you're here.
Anyway, IMHO you should look over each of these comments carefully and construct a new, slightly looser itinerary that doesn't try to do quite so much so quickly with such tight tolerances.
Wouldn’t it become too long of a drive and tiring at the same time if do Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe bend all in a day and drive up 4.5 hrs? I’m guessing we’d be done by around 4 or 5 pm at antelope/horseshoe and then a continuous 4 hour drive means we’d reach Bryce only at 9pm.
Sunrise at the Grand Canyon will be before 5:30 am (Arizona time), so while it will be a long day, you should still be into Bryce Canyon Village well before sunset (even losing an hour on the clock). It's only 2-3 hours from Page, and a beautiful drive indeed.
I don't think Page is a horrible place - it's stark desert country, with not many trees or much grass, but Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon are impressive, as is Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell.
You really don't need to do a backtrack day from Springdale to Bryce Canyon. Spend the night at Bryce, enjoy the Canyon - simple hikes - and then drive through the tunnel into Zion NP that afternoon (I assume the outstanding tunnel road is open again, or will be).
Spend the night, then all the next day in Zion NP, and either a second night in Springdale, or head down into the Mojave Desert - Hurricane, St George, Mesquite - all of which can be cheaper than Springdale, and with greater availability.
Pahrump is okay as an overnight ... I'm not suggesting they take out a mortgage, or spend a week on holiday there - and it makes logistical sense, since they can avoid a third Las Vegas night, and visit Red Rock Canyon NM along the way. Places like Furnace Creek can be hugely expensive.
Lol..well clearly my previous post will not apply as i see youve managed to change your name.... A little light brevity!!
Be careful of thinking there will be flights.. A friend of mine just managed 2-3 days back to get out, as 6 flights shown operating were ultimately canceled.. I believe ive read that air asia is stopping all domestic flights as of tomorrow?? Others sure to follow.
Despite its temperature, and smoke, i would stay in chang mai given the choice. I used to live out in Hang Dong area and plenty of great houses, cheap, large expat community etc..(social distancing aside) Plus the availability of food i would think might be better and good quality medical care if needed.. By getting out of chang mai main
Area, temperature drops as well.. Hang dong to Grand canyon area..
Thank you all, this is extremely helpful!
Ideally we want to end with a few days in Santa Fe and we will arrange our flights out from here.
Ok so based on the above, a revised itinerary:
Day 1: Las Vegas to Grand Canyon, sleep at Grand Canyon [can anyone recommend somewhere on the rim that's a good base?]
Day 2: Grand Canyon to Antelope Canyon - continue to Monument Valley and sleep at Monument Valley
Day 3: Drive to Mesa Verde, sleep in Durango
Day 4: Durango to Santa Fe
Thank you!!
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WoW diemie - what a fantastic trip you're in for! Your biggest challenge is going to be knowing when to linger or keep moving as sooo many of those places and areas could fill days worth of outstanding opportunities! Looking at how your plans have evolved, here are some other thoughts:
If you're into photography, and have a day to spare, you should really consider putting Antelope Canyon back into your plans. If you leave Grand Canyon south rim and head to Marble Canyon as an 89A base with Harper Ferry and the area, it's a short backtrack to Page. I did lower Antelope Canyon this last summer with Ken's Tours, arrived about 10:30am and was on a tour before noon. The colors are to die for, and nothing like you'll find in Spooky, Peek-A-Boo, or other slot canyons. It's about an hour to walk through the canyon, easy stop at Horseshoe Bend on the way back to Marble Canyon. These places are popular for a reason, and considering you'll be so close...
Depending on how you time it, heading toward Zion from 89A passes road to entrance of North Rim Grand Canyon. The turn-off for getting to Angel's Window and Point Imperial is before reaching the lodge. Compared to South Rim, you'll have these places mostly to yourself. Friends visited this last year in May and had snow showers!
Wild camping @ Muley Point, overlooking the Goosenecks, would be surreal! Flagstuff - was also there in July this last year and would've loved to meet you! I've also seen people wild camping below in Valley of the Gods - which btw was just named a Dark Sky area for prime star gazing. Once you have a feel for the area, I think you'd prefer staying out here vs. closer to Monument Valley. For actually getting into the valley, take a tour. I wouldn't want to drive a truck camper on those rough roads plus the challenge of getting back up the hill to the parking lot.
For Dinosaur National Monument, I wasn't overly impressed with the Colorado side but the Utah part (through Jensen) were certainly worth a look. You'll need park and ride the shuttle up to where the collection displays of bones and fossils are. Otherwise, you're free to drive/explore through Utah side of the park - including numerous indigenous petroglyphs and pictrographs along the road, old homesteads, etc.
When leaving Vernal and heading toward Jackson/GTNP on 191, you'll pass through Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. The area is very scenic with overlooks and views along the highway, but the short detour on 44 back to the Red Canyon overlooks and small Visitors Center is worth your time if interested! Bighorn sheep were in the front meadows and ranger said they're regulars.
Have an incredible time, and please consider posting a detailed Trip Report when returning from this Epic Adventure!
As Bob mentioned, As of 5 March 2019, Pompano Beach, Florida-based Stonegate Bank is discontinuing its MasterCard branded credit cards that were valid for use in the Republic of Cuba. -https://www.cubatrade.org/blog/2019/2/14/kxgqwhndbtmkt8c8ebfxcqr5j5bj4f
However, this also states - Natbank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Bank of Canada that has operated in Florida for more than twenty years, confirms that its Mastercard credit card is valid for use in the Republic of Cuba. and San Juan, Puerto Rico-based Banco Popular of Puerto Rico, like Natbank, has authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury and from the Central Bank of the Republic of Cuba to have their Mastercard-branded credit cards and debit cards valid for use in the Republic of Cuba.
Does anyone know anyone who has cards from either of those banks ?
Do you have a route yet?
If you don't fly out until midnight on the 3rd you should go to Zion after Grand Canyon and stay the night of the 2nd in Springdale, awesome scenery and hiking.
For all the other NP's you should stay in the park. In the Grand Canyon stay in the village on the rim, a bit more expensive but worth every penny.
They have 2 web site for the Grand Canyon, https://www.visitgrandcanyon.com/ and https://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/lodging/
The rest you can wing. Probably best to book Oct.31st in LV, could be a blast being Halloween, bring your own beer/cooler to the room and have fun people watching.
If it fits your budget I would recommend staying on the strip, shouldn't be too expensive for a Thursday night, walk around and have a blast
For LA, maybe stay in Santa Monica. If you get in early on Friday get your car rental and try to get your motel room, at least drop off the luggage at the motel, go see Beverly Hills, the Hollywood sign, stay in the area and be back to your motel by 4pm or so, avoid rush hour.
Next day rent some bicycles and ride down to Venice and Marina Del Rey, have lunch in one of the tiny beach towns and watch the loonies, spend at least half the day.
Then back to SM and out to the pier, fun day.
By the way, I don't think you have time for Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and Methuselah Tree, it's a very cool area but out of the way, slow road, probably 2.5- 3 hours RT from Bishop.
Could maybe try and see it when you get to Bishop in the afternoon of Oct.30th after Yosemite.
Don't try it going from Bishop to Las Vegas via Death Valley, too much driving!
After another iteration of the plan (incorporating comments), and assuming I will just dive in Monterrey (still evaluating all the slot canyons options), I am left with the plan below. After so much "chopping", what should I do in days 19 and 20?
Day Activities Sleep
1 Flight to SF + SF / San Francisco
2 San Francisco / San Francisco
3 San Francisco / San Francisco
4 Monterrey / Monterrey
5 Monterrey / Yosemite
6 Yosemite day 1 / Yosemite
7 Yosemite day 2 / Lee Vining, Mamoth Lakes or Bishop
8 Death Valley (day), Vegas (night) / Las Vegas
9 Trip to Zion + Observation Point hike / Zion
10 The Narrows hike / Zion
11 Bryce Canyon / Bryce
12 Escalante area/Capitol reef? / Torrey
13 Arches / Moab
14 Full-day whitewater rafting on Colorado river / Moab
15 Canyonlands / Moab
16 Monument Valley including horse riding / Monument Valley
17 Horseshoe Bend & Antelope Canyon / Page
18 Grande Canyon South Rim / Grande Canyon South Rim
19 ??? ???
20 ??? ???
21 Hoover Dam + Vegas / Las Vegas
22 Vegas (morning) + flight home
23 Arrival home
