Grand Canyon

This canyon, which has one of the most interesting geographies in the world, is one of the must-see places in my opinion. It gives a different pleasure to see the places where the comics we read as children take place, by visiting them live. With these feelings, I experienced incredibly different emotions during this trip that I made as a family, and I had the opportunity to witness very interesting moments.

Planning before traveling to this region and making reservations in this context will prevent you from experiencing potential problems. First of all, choosing the summer period for travel will be appropriate in many ways. For example, staying in the canyon and camping is an activity allowed only in the summer period between April and September. While you are here, spending a night in the canyon will give you a lot of pleasure and a good experience. Likewise, the sunsets that take place in the summer period contain incredible beauties.

In general, going to the Grand Canyon from the Las Vegas region will be the most convenient route. The pattern we applied was Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Having a suitable amount of accommodation in each of them will allow you to travel comfortably, enjoyable and without fatigue. As I have just stated; If you make your planning and reservations before your trip, you will both benefit from the economy and you will not encounter a problem such as not being able to find a place.

It is possible to enter this area from Las Vegas from two zones. The entrance area, called the West Rim, is the area generally used by visitors with time problems. In this region, which you can reach by a 2.5-3 hour drive from Las Vegas, the canyon can be viewed from the glass section called skywalk. When you come to this region, you must enter from the South Rim region for a real canyon visit, as there is no other place you can see in the canyon area except here. While coming to Las Vegas, some people who want to see the Grand Canyon can come here by helicopter and watch from Skywalk and come back again, of course, at the risk of higher fees. Since some people do not prefer long car journeys, they only follow the Canyon region from this region. But even this way you will have to pay higher fares than on the South Rim. In fact, if you do research before you come, you will see that; The place entered from the West Rim and seen with the glass bridge “Skywalk” is not even the real canyon, it is only the beginning part, and the South Rim is the perfect choice for a real canyon experience. You can easily compare it with photos.

If you have taken the risk of a 4-5 hour drive from Las Vegas and you want to make your visit more meaningful by staying in the canyon for the night, I recommend you to enter from the South Rim as we did. Entrance from this region, which is also a National Park, is very cheap (25 dollars) compared to other options, and if I remember correctly, it is a place where you can enter with a ticket that can be used for 1 week. In other words, you can stay inside the canyon or stay outside the canyon and re-enter the next day.

In the last 3 hours of your car trip to this region, you will see that phone networks and GPS are not working. Do not be disturbed by this, when you follow the road straight, you will encounter the entrance door. In addition, you will relieve your tiredness with many hotels and many conveniences in the settlement (Tusayan), which is like a small village before the entrance. However, during the car journey to this region and many parts of America, you may be the only one in the empty field, do not be disturbed by this, but always have your car tank full of fuel and have food and drink ready with you, just in case. As in many places, you will not find a rest station here. When you see an abandoned gas station similar to the one in the movies, it is a useful course of action to be careful in terms of safety.

The canyon you enter is not a place to park your car and walk in a limited area. As you will see on the map you will get at the entrance, it covers an area of ​​size and variety that you could not possibly finish by walking on footpaths and byways if you stayed for 1 week.
After entering the canyon, if you park your car in a suitable place and walk towards the crowd you see, you will encounter the legendary Grand Canyon view. Here, after taking photos and selfies for a long time, you will start to visit buildings that do not attract your attention. You will feel that it is extremely cool inside the earth and clay colored structures. After visiting these buildings, which are used as resting places by those who travel in time, my suggestion to you is to plan an area in the canyon where you can stay in a tent if possible. Small information offices on this subject will help you with fees and procedures. Provided that you pay the fee Rangers in the region are also able to provide important details, especially on procedures, by providing guidance. Although it is up to you to do it with or without a guide, people who come here for the first time usually make a more useful trip and accommodation with a Ranger who knows the area. As a family of 4, we stayed for 2 nights for 50 dollars per night for tents and other materials and we were extremely satisfied. We also paid $30 to $60 a day for the guiding Ranger, and we learned important details for safety, especially in the wild. When you get a guide, all activities, from making a fire to coffee and limited breakfast service, are covered by them. If we said breakfast, don't expect a breakfast you know. Black coffee constantly cooked on the fire, boiled eggs, red beans and loaf of bread constantly cooked on the fire. I mean, ranger style in the canyon.

Walking in different vegetation, experiencing live how gold prospectors did this job (unfortunately, there is no gold - you filter the mud), visiting closed mines, etc. were all conveniences offered by the rangers who provided guidance services. I am not sure if we would have made such a useful tour if we had not received such a service. In addition, the location and time planning for the magnificent sunset, which I will present to you with the images taken by my daughter, was one of the conveniences they offered us. Also, I would like to remind you that if you plan to stay in the canyon for the night when you come here, don't forget to take thick clothes with you because you will be in a seriously cold environment especially after sunset and at night even in summer.

There are two must-see attractions on the way from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon via the South Rim. One of them is the Hoover Dam, and the other is the town of Seligman with the famous Route 66 that stretches from Chicago to Los Angeles and is the subject of movies. You can visit these places on your way or on your way back. We visited Las Vegas on the way back. I wish you a canyon trip that you will enjoy and you will not forget for the rest of your life.