Airport

Phoenix/Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is served by more than 20 commercial carriers, including AeroMexico, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, American, British Airways, United, Northwest, Continental, Delta, Southwest, and US Airways, with connections to Flagstaff’s Pulliam Airport via US Airways. Sky Harbor has three separate terminals for commercial flights, and getting around the airport is a bit tricky. If you need to make a connection on an airline located in another terminal, you can use the interterminal shuttle. Ground transportation, including hotel vans, taxis, intercity shuttles, and the rental-car shuttle are located in each terminal’s baggage claim area.

Train

Amtrak (800/872-7245) has service to Maricopa, a town on the Gila Indian reservation, about 20 miles south of Phoenix. You’ll need to use Amtrak’s Thruway connecting bus system or another form of transportation to get the rest of the way to the canyon.

Bus and Shuttles

Greyhound (2115 E. Buckeye Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, 602/389-4200 or 800/231-2222, www.greyhound.com) makes daily trips from Phoenix to Flagstaff, where you can make connections to Williams or Grand Canyon. The Greyhound station, open 24 hours daily, is near the Phoenix airport.

Open Road Tours (602/997-6474, 877/226-8060 or 800/766-7117, www.openroadtours.com), makes several trips a day from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport to Flagstaff. From Flagstaff, they provide service to Williams and Grand Canyon Village.

Tours

Grayline (4001 S. 34th St., Phoenix, AZ 85040, 800/777-3484, www.grayline.com) provides a 14-hour express tour of the canyon’s South Rim. Canyon Tours (www.canyontours.net, 800/301-7152) handles reservations for several companies that offer tours to the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas.

Car Rental

Most national car-rental agencies have service desks at the Sky Harbor’s Rental Car Center (602/683-3741, 1805 E. Sky Harbor Cir. S., 24 hours daily). To get to the Rental Car Center, look for the rental-car shuttle outside your terminal’s baggage claim area. All rental-car agencies use the same shuttle system. A handful of rental agencies don’t have service desks in the Rental Car Center; they offer van service to their off-site locations from the center.

RV Rental

If you expected the Valley of the Sun, Arizona’s snowbird capital, to have numerous RV rental agencies—then you’d be right. Cruise America (11 W. Hampton Ave., Mesa, AZ 85210, 480/464-7300 or 800/671-8042) has offices here. Other agencies include Arizona Sunshine Coaches (9038 N. 33rd Pl., Phoenix, AZ 85028, 602/482-0835), Arizona Travel Center (40 E. Pioneer St., Phoenix, AZ 85040, 602/903-5275, www.arizonarvrentalsonline.com), and Ultimate RV Rentals (6302 E. Calle Del Paisano, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, 480/990-1011, www.ultimatervrentals.com).

Equipment Rental

REI has two stores in the Phoenix area, in Paradise Valley (12634 N. Paradise Village Parkway, Paradise Valley Mall, Phoenix, AZ 85032, 602/996-5400, 9 a.m.–9 p.m., Mon.–Fri., 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Sat., 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Sun.) and Tempe (1405 W. Southern Ave., Tempe, AZ 85282, 480/967-5494, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Mon.–Sat., 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Sun.). Both rent camp stoves, tents, backpacks, and sleeping bags. The Tempe store also rents mountaineering gear and snowshoes.

Accommodations and Food

You’ll probably want to get closer to the canyon before finding a place to hit the rack, but if you’re planning to spend some time in the Phoenix area, you’ll have a dizzying number of accommodations choices. Most major chains are represented here, and rates are usually cheaper from May to mid-September.

If you’re planning to catch a Diamondbacks or a Suns game, get a place to stay in Phoenix’s renewed downtown, which has risen from urban decay like, well, the proverbial phoenix. For Southwestern resort-style accommodations, neighboring Scottsdale is home to dude ranches, spas, and golf kingdoms like the Phoenician and Westin Kierland.

Before heading north, where most adventures take place outdoors and not on your palate, you might want to fortify yourself with some ethnic food. The Phoenix area has Cuban, Indian, Middle Eastern, Thai, and other global cuisines, but the local specialty is Mexican food, from taco stands to trendy cafés. Macayo’s is a dependable local chain, but if you like it hotter, try Los Dos Molinos, which offers fiery New Mexico–style dishes. Via de los Santos offers the classic neighborhood restaurant experience (and outrageously inexpensive margaritas).

© Kathleen Bryant from Moon Grand Canyon, 4th Edition