A Fling With Vacation

Arizona, where some of the World’s most visited and photographed places are located, inhabits nature’s wonders that can knock people off their feet. The significant sites to visit are the Grand Canyon- south rim and Grand Canyon East rim including the Antelope Canyons, Horseshoe Bend, Glen Dam and much more.

It is easily accessible by air but driving through the area is much recommended to explore the real beauty of the area. A trip to Arizona is not complete without visiting the Grand Canyon or the Antelope canyons. My first visit to Arizona and these beautiful landscapes left me amazed. They are a must visit once in your lifetime, and these places will leave an impression on your mind.

Are you planning to visit Arizona? Are you planning to stay at Flagstaff and want to know what to do in 2 days and where to eat? You have come to the right place! For your upcoming plans to visit Grand Canyon or Antelope Canyon or Horseshoe Bend, wondering how to plan the travel, stay and places to eat? Don’t worry we’ve got you covered!

Flagstaff and Areas around:

Stay in Flagstaff and plan to visit the grand canyon and antelope canyons, you need to plan the itinerary right. Flagstaff, a city in Arizona, surrounded by mountains, deserts and pine forests. It is well connected to Phoenix, Sedona, South Rim of Grand Canyon and Page.

Planning a two day trip to Flagstaff gives you just the right amount of time to explore the best in and around the town including the Grand Canyon, Horseshoe bend and Antelope Canyon.

Before jumping onto the details, I have included the most important information that all travelers will need to know about before traveling to Arizona (currency, weather, travel, timezone, visas, etc).

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Currency:
USD. All the restaurants and hotels accept cards, but a few places would take cash only so keep them handy in case need be.

Visa:
Visa for the United States of America. Check if you require a visa and if you do, apply for one with the required documentation. For all information regarding visas check here.

Weather:
A hot place as surrounded by desert. Usually, the temperature ranges from 12 to 40 degrees Celsius. During June-July when we visited it was hot with scorching sun ranging from 25 to 40 degrees Celsius.
Travel tips and My Travel Essentials list:

Reaching Arizona form some neighboring states, Drive up. You can also fly up here. The roads are good and easily accessible, but beware to put navigation beforehand and expect connectivity problems. Most of Arizona and neighboring places have network issues, so don’t expect much connectivity on the roads. Travel by Car is recommended. Driving is on the right-hand side and the driver sits on the left.

Sports shoes for a lot of walking and helping against tanning, a good SPF sunscreen is a must, moisturizer as due to winds and the sandy weather skin gets pretty dry, clothes to keep you cool (cottons, Linens, Shorts or loose clothing), lip gloss an essential for me where ever I go and to protect against drying.

Timezone:
Unlike most of the United States, Arizona does not observe daylight saving time (DST), from March through November. With the exception of the Navajo Nation, which does observe DST. The Hopi Reservation, which is not part of the Navajo Nation but is geographically surrounded within it, does not observe DST.

Arizona is in the Mountain Time Zone (MST). Most of the state (except the Navajo Nation) remain in MST all year round, but, during daylight saving time(DST) in USA, from March to November, most of Arizona has the same time as the Pacific Time Zone (PDT).

Depending on when and where you’re visiting, you’ll need to reset your watch. Although cell phones and smartwatches no more have to be set manually to update the time on your devices when traveling. It still is beneficial to know how to calculate the time in Arizona based on the Universal Time Coordinated.

Note: The Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona does observe Daylight Saving Time from March to November. Phoenix does not utilize Daylight Saving Time. So, there is an hour difference in the time of both Zones, when one is observing DST and the other isn’t.

Accommodation:
Airbnb in Flagstaff: Serenity farms, Flagstaff. A cute home located on the farm with 3 Bedrooms and 2 washrooms, fully equipped kitchen, barbecue, backyard with comfortable couch seating, farm animals around- a friendly cat named ginger, chickens, ducks, bull, geese, sheep, etc. But apart from the cat, all other animals are caged and at their place.

The Airbnb was at a 2 hours drive to Grand Canyon. We chose Flagstaff as many restaurants and well-located stores were available next to the Bnb and a Farm stay experience with the family and a kid was exciting. Many hotels are located near the Canyons.

Languages:
English, Spanish

Electricity:
Sockets used in the USA are Type A and Type B. So carry your Adapters in case need be.

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Top Things to do when in Arizona, United Stated:

How to cover the best of Arizona in 2 days itinerary keep reading.

1. GRAND CANYON SOUTH RIM
2. UPPER ANTELOPE CANYON
3. BEARIZONA
4. HORSESHOE BEND
5. GLEN CANYON DAM
6. WUPATKI SPIRIT TOTEM
7. BEDROCK CITY- FLINTSTONES THEMED AMUSEMENT PARK AND ROADSIDE ATTRACTION
8. FLAGSTAFF DOWNTOWN

Places to eat at:

• Delhi palace (Indian), Flagstaff Downtown: A great Indian cuisine restaurant with a buffet available. The food is delicious.
• Himalayan Grill (Indian, Tibetian, and Nepali), Flagstaff Downtown: Amazing Indian and Nepalese restaurant. Their spice levels are Indian style so when you do choose the spice levels to be wise. The noodle soup and sizzlers were nice. Great portions too!
• Fat Olives (Italian), Flagstaff: Reservations recommended and needed well in advance. Otherwise, try your luck, but bright chances are you would have to wait a minimum of 15-30 minutes to grab a seat.
• Fiesta Mexicana (Mexican), Page, Arizona: The most amazing Mexican food and margaritas I have ever had. Their Guac is just perfect. Authentic, tasty and a must-try restaurant on your visit.

Travel Plan:

We drove to Arizona from San Jose, California. It was an 11:30 hours drive so we took a stopover at Palm Springs, California. To know more about the drive visit the blog A Road trip from San Jose- Palm Springs- Arizona- Las Vegas- San Jose.

We reached Flagstaff, Arizona in the night around 9:00 pm on our second day of the trip. The next day we were visiting the Grand Canyon- South Rim (no reservations needed).

Day 1: Grand Canyon South rim and Bearizona!

We left for Grand Canyon at 10:00 in the morning. It was about a 1:30 mins drive from our Airbnb in Flagstaff. Once you reach there, the entry fees for the car were 35$ which is collected at the entry of the park.

Along with the parking ticket, they provide you with a guide of all the points to visit. These make the most beautiful locations to look at the Grand Canyon. We visited the South Rim of Grand Canyon. It has some breathtaking views of the Canyon.

After completing and visiting various spots of sightseeing and interest we left and headed to a Drive through safari called the Bearizona. A fun drive yourself safari, where you can explore the animals in the wild. It definitely is one of the things to explore when traveling to Arizona. A few animals were bears, Arctic foxes, Deers, Reindeers, bison, etc. The charges are 25$ per adult and 15$ for a child. The park is open every day from 8:00 a.m. and the last Car is admitted at 6:00 p.m. The park closes 2 hours after last posted admittance. A great experience, for everyone. And the bears do put up a great show. We went for 2 drives around the park and it was worth it.

For a complete guide, tips and tricks before planing your visit to Grand Canyon South Rim don’t forget to visit the blog post here.

Day 2: Grand Canyon East Rim- Horseshoe Bend, Upper Antelope Canyon, Glen Dam, and Shooting.

While driving from Flagstaff to Antelope Canyon which is an hour and a half drive we also spotted the Wupatki Spirit Totem. The drive up to the Canyon exposes you to the amazing Arizona landscape. The drive is amazing, to be honest!

1. Antelope Canyon:

The Antelope Canyons are located on Navajo Nation Lands near Page, Arizona. Around Page also lies more beautiful places to explore like the Horseshoe bend, Lake Powell, Glen Dam, etc. The Canyons just look like any other hills or rock formation, but when you really get into them is when you see the real deal of nature. The canyons are managed by the Navajo nation and the tour operators and guides are Navajo Indians that conduct the tours.

The Antelope Canyons are nature’s wonders of Navajo Sandstone formed years ago by rushing water. Which as a result smoothing the rocks to form various patterns and sculptures. These bright orange striped sandstone canyons were carved by flash flooding and erosion. While there are 2 Antelope canyons: The lower and Upper Antelope Canyons.

2. Glen Canyon Dam

The dam is located on the colorado river near Page in Arizona. The dam forms Lake Powell, one of the largest man-made reservoirs in the USA. We visited here in the extra time before the upper antelope canyon tour. We had an hour to pass so we visited the Glen Canyon Dam. The visitor center, mostly air-conditioned offers a lot of tours of it. Since we were short on time for the tour we just visited the visitor center, displaying all the history and exhibits about the dam. The visitor center has big windows that give the view of the dam from inside an air-conditioned hall. The visitor center also conducts the tour of the dam for those interested in one. It is about 45 minutes tour of the dam.

Around the visitor center is also a bridge that gives views of the dam. One can walk the bridge for some views of the dam. You can also step outside the visitor center on the deck to have a clear view of the dam and the river. The visitor center also has a souvenir shop and restaurants.

3. Horseshoe Bend

This is located near Page, Arizona, close to Antelope canyons and glen canyon dam. The three places can easily be done in one day. A very popular spot to visit and absolute wonder of nature. It is not a part of the Grand Canyon but runs on the same river as grand canyon, the Colorado River.

The parking and visit to horseshoe bend are free, a short hike leading to the majestic view of the horseshoe bend is totally worth it. It is the most popular and one of the most photographed bend on Colorado River in Arizona.

4. Bedrock City, Arizona

Flintstones themed amusement park, a roadside attraction at the corner of Arizona State Route 64 and U.S. Route 180 in Arizona. How cool is that? A park named Bedrock City, a version of Flintstone’s home town along with Fred and Barney’s home replicas and other joints and attractions from the famous cartoon. A one of a kind park. The entry fee is only $5 per person. Make sure to go while it lasts as the speculations are that it might be tore down soon. May you have a Yabba-Daaba-Doooo fun-filled experience at this place!

For all the questions and tips on how to plan the trip around the East rim, the best time to visit the Antelope canyons, where to book the tickets, etc. visit the blog post on Grand Canyon East Rim- An ultimate guide with tips to explore the best!