AZ/UT Road Trip Day 9 – Last Day & Itinerary

30 Aug 2015 By Lyuda

This post is about the last day of our Arizona-Utah road trip and the itinerary. Since our flight departure was scheduled around 1 pm, we didn’t have time to do anything else, but to drive from Sedona to Phoenix International airport. I posted a few pictures from the road below. Our itinerary by day follows the pictures.

This morning we had a chance to enjoy the beautiful sunrise in Sedona from our hotel, while packing our luggage and taking it to the car. After a quick check-out, we had a really nice breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant and hit the road shortly after that.

Here we just left the hotel, driving through Sedona.

Cute wagon.

It is a pleasure driving the beautiful and clean Sedona roads.

Here we are getting closer to Phoenix. I can see my favorite cacti again. 🙂

We stopped at one of the shopping centers in the suburbs of Phoenix. Interesting trees are growing around this shopping center.

And we noticed this enormous cactus nearby. Just Beautiful!

There are more cacti around. I really like these plants! Within a half an hour we were at the Phoenix International Airport, ready for our flight home.

Now, here is our itinerary of this road trip. All together we spent 9 days, mostly in Northern Arizona and Sothern Utah. We flew from Washington, DC to Phoenix International Airport and back with direct flights, 5 hours each way. In Phoenix, we rented a car and started our journey from there. The map below shows the main stops of our AZ/UT Road Trip: Grand Canyon South Rim, Antelope Canyon (including Horseshoe Bend and lake Powell), Bryce Canyon, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Monument Valley & Sedona.

What can we say about this road trip? It was AWESOME!!! It was intense but a very interesting journey. It was exciting walking around gigantic mysterious rocks inside the canyons, or seeing all these unique gorgeous places from the overlooks.

We learned that Arizona is not only deserts and canyons, but it snows in some Northern parts of the state. There are some ski resorts available around Flagstaff. Southern Utah is incredibly beautiful with very small population density. It was nice constantly driving different roads and staying at different hotels almost every day of our trip.

We really didn’t have any problems during our trip. We were lucky with the weather. It was nice and hot (August in Arizona and Utah). 🙂 It was raining only for a half a day in Moab, but Phoenix got flooded the day after we left. Our timing was perfect (see the picture below). BTW, this flood broke a 75 year old record.

We had no problem with the rental car during our trip. All hotels we stayed were nice and convenient, with spacious rooms, good amenities and service. We booked all our hotels well in advance, so it made our trip go smoother. In short, we are happy with our lovely vacation to the gorgeous South-West of the United States.

Day 1 – Arrival to Phoenix & Grand Canyon.

Our flight arrived at Phoenix around noon. We rented a car and had a 3.5 hour drive to Yavapai Village at Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim. Here we stayed at the Yavapai Lodge located inside the park. It is a nice and conveniently located hotel. It was the best way to see the sunset and sunrise in Grand Canyon. This hotel must be definitely booked in advance.

Day 2 – Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell & Horseshoe Bend.

We left Grand Canyon around noon for the 2.5 hour drive to Page. We stayed overnight at the Lake Powell Resort. It is a nice hotel with a panoramic view of Lake Powell. Must pay park admission to get to hotel, but it is valid for 7 days. We had the 3 P.M. tour of Upper Antelope canyon and visited the Horseshoe Bend after that. The Upper Antelope tour we booked in advance. Horseshoe Bend access is free of charge.

Day 3 – Horseshoe Bend & Bryce.

We visited Horseshoe Bend in the morning, then we had the 3.5 hour drive to Bryce Canyon. We stayed overnight at the Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel. Really nice hotel and it is located close to the canyon.

Day 4 – Bryce & Moab.

We spent most of the day in Bryce, then had a 4 hour drive to Moab, where we arrived after dark. We spent 3 nights in Moab at the River Canyon Lodge. We have no complaints about this hotel.

Day5 – Arches

Half a day we spent at Arches National Park. Then, explored Moab. The 2nd night at River Canyon Lodge.

Day 6 – Arches, Canyonlands & Dead Horse State Park.

Half a day we spent at Arches, the second half at Canyonlands and Dead Horse State Park. The 3rd night at River Canyon Lodge.

Day 7 – Arches & Monument Valley.

We visited Arches for half a day, then drove for 2.5 hours to Monument Valley. We stayed overnight at The View. It is the one and only hotel there, therefore must be booked well in advance during tourist season. Very nice new hotel.

Day 8 – Monument Valley & Sedona.

Spent some time at the Monument Valley. Then had 3.5 hour drive to Sedona. Stayed overnight at Arabella. Modern hotel, conveniently located.

Day 9 – Departure from Phoenix.

Drove for 2 hours from Sedona to Phoenix in the morning. Flight home from Phoenix was around 1 P.M.

All posts from this trip:

AZ/UT Road Trip Day 1- Grand Canyon Sunset

AZ/UT Road Trip Day 2 – Grand Canyon Sunrise

AZ/UT Road Trip Day 2 – Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend & Lake Powell

AZ/UT Road Trip Day 3 – Lake Powell, Horseshoe Bend & Bryce

AZ/UT Road Trip Day 4 – Hiking Bryce

AZ/UT Road Trip Day 5 – Arches Part 1

AZ/UT Road Trip Day 6 – Arches Part 2