One of the 7 wonders of the world is a place that Americans don’t need to leave the country to experience this natural wonder, the Grand Canyon. The canyon stretches 217 miles so there are a lot of places where you can see this magnificent monument.
This time we’re going to visit the south rim. You can fly in to Phoenix or Las Vegas then you can take a car from there. You can either stay at one of the hotels in the Grand Canyon Village or in a nearby town and drive up for the day. The price is going to be less staying out but it’s not near as fun. For something fun to get the whole experience you can take the Grand Canyon Railway up–either for the day or a night or so. With the railway you can book coach or first class, which includes pastries, fruit, juice and other non-alcoholic drinks nix the morning and snacks in the afternoon. In first-class you can also upgrade to a dome car which gives you a better view. Each car has a bar available as well. The top class is the parlor car or the luxury dome. These also get champagne for a toast at the end of the ride. The train rise is only 2 hours and a pleasant way to travel.
A great package is to stay a night at the Grand Canyon Hotel in Williams, Arizona the get on the train the next morning. The train depot is right beside the hotel and the Grand Canyon Cafe is next to the depot. Just a block away is the center of town where you’ll find a great little restaurant called Pine Country Restaurant where you can choose from 49 amazing kinds of pie!
With this package you can choose among the hotels at the Grand Canyon Village which include El Tovar, Kachina, Thunderbird, Bright Angel, Maswik and Yavapai Lodge. All are near the rim except for Yavapai Lodge. The train depot is also within walking distance.
They don’t sell bottled water there or the hotel in Williams so you should buy one and take it with you. They do have water stations where you can refill them with purified water. You can also choose several tours that are reasonably priced. The Desert View tour includes several stops at various pints as well as the Watchtower which affords an amazing view of the canyon and Navajo Reservation.
If you’re in the Southwest be sure to take a couple of days to check out this natural wonder. You’ll be glad you did!
