Visitor how far away is the skywalk from the south rim?
Sandy about 5 hours.
Visitor what is there to do on the south/west rims?
Sandy west rim has the skywalk, another view area and the opportunity to take a helicopter to the bottom of the canyon and take a short pontoon boat ride.
Visitor Oh, that sounds fun. Is there information about that on this website? Including the pricing?
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Sandy south rim has more view areas, is cooler than the west rim, and there are several options for tours, including an overflight or a jeep tour to the bottom at Diamond Creek
Sandy will you be driving to grand canyon west?
Visitor Possibly. We want to plan a trip but have never been. We know we want to go to the skywalk and are strongly considering a mule and/or helicopter ride. But, we don’t know how to start planning!
Sandy Here is a link to the travel planner: https://grandcanyon.com/pdf/
Visitor thank you. what is the helicopter/pantoon boat ride called?
Sandy to take a self tour (drive out) to grand canyon west, check this link: https://www.grandcanyonwest.
Sandy it shows the heli/boat option from there – but we also book a tour that will take you there from las vegas
Sandy https://grandcanyon.com/
Visitor OK. If you’re driving down from UT, can you get to the south and west rims easily?
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Sandy what part of ut will you be coming from?
Visitor salt lake city
Sandy You could go to las vegas on I-15 and circle around to get to the west and then the south rim.
Sandy or you could go to Nephi and take the exit for Levan and Gunnison
Sandy at Gunnison the hwy becomes hwy 89 and you can take it south through some scenic country to kanab
Visitor OK. That helps a lot. Thank you. Back to that heli/boat tour, I’m not finding where it’s at on the Grand Canyon West site…?
Sandy at Kanab you continue east on Hwy 89 to Page.
Sandy Just a moment and I will get the link to the page – their website isn’t easy to navigate
Visitor Thank you
Sandy https://grandcanyonwest.com/
Sandy You have to choose a package first and then you can see the add-on options on the right sidebar
Visitor Oh OK, thank you for providing that link.
Sandy The heli/boat tour is at the bottom of the column
Visitor Do you have any recommendations for first-time Grand Canyon visitors?
Sandy when are you planning to arrive?
Visitor Sometime this August, probably closer to the end of the month
Sandy grand canyon west is at about 4,000 ft elevation and gets quite hot. however, if you want to see the skywalk then you need to go there.
Sandy south rim is about 7,000 ft elevations so is quite a bit cooler – it just doesn’t have the skywalk 🙂
Visitor Oh, OK. Good to know. Any other recommendations? We’re not big hikers…
Visitor Would you recommend mule/horse rides through it?
Visitor Or would that be really similar to the heli/boat tour?
Sandy Unfortunately, you will not be able to get a mule ride – they are sold out several months in advance
Sandy Will you be returning to SLC after your trip?
Visitor Oh OK. Good to know. Are most things sold out?
Visitor Yes. We will be returning to SLC after the trip
Sandy In-park lodging is probably sold out at the South Rim. Some of the Vegas tours and some of the South Rim tours may already be sold out.
Sandy If you want to do something fun on your return to SLC -0
Sandy go to Vegas first and then go to the South Rim.
Visitor OK. Would you recommend postponing our GC trip till next summer then?
Sandy after you leave the south rim (you could also do grand canyon west if you have time) go to Page, AZ and take the Colorado River Float Trip.
Sandy No, there are other places you can find lodging
Visitor OK. This is all very helpful. Can all of these ideas be found on the sites you gave me?
Sandy Page will be on your way back to SLC
Sandy hotels can be found on this page: https://grandcanyon.com/hotels.
Sandy a lot of the tours can be found on our website and the rest will be found on grand canyon west’s.
Visitor OK. Thank you for all of your advice and for sending me this chat in advance!
Sandy You’re welcome. Have a great day and thanks for visiting.